Saturday, 21 April 2012
Evaluation question 4
Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction and
research, planning and evaluation stages?
There is a startling difference between my technological capabilities of this A2 year, and that of my AS year in my Media Studies coursework. These capabilities were this year shown not only through my confidence in using familiar programs, but also in how I managed to use unfamiliar programs/software. Whereas in my AS year, I felt restricted in my technological capabilities - residing to mainly using familiar, simpler programs such as Microsoft Publisher and other Microsoft programs - in this A2 year, I found a new confidence in my capabilities, branching out my skills and using more complex software such as Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 (64 bit), Prezi and Slideshare.
As the products produced in this years coursework differed from AS, I had to use different programs as well. I used, in abundance, Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 (64 bit) for the development of my ancillary products - a site of which I had never used before in my personal time or in college work. Using this program allowed a greater range of editing options, of which programs like Publisher can not give. Options such as; Picture brightness, shadowing, highlighting, cropping tools, smooth edges, refined edges, an array of different paint brush stroke styles and colours and so on. Though the program was complex to use, it was extremely helpful during developmental stages of my ancillary products - without it, the quality of my products would not of been quite the same standard.
I used Web 2.0 technology such as YouTube in the planning part of my coursework. In particular, for looking at music videos by similar artists to add genre specifics to our video. It was also very helpful for my creativity post, as I found a very helpful video on which I could base my writing for that blog post. Asides from this, it was also useful for researching theories such as Propp's and Goodwin's. Obviously, I used Facebook during the construction stages of my work. It was especially helpful for the development of my ancillary products as a large sector of Facebook users were of my target audience category. I could gather accurate criticisms on my products - displaying images on a private group wall with specially selected members - to improve my products, whilst all the time knowing that they still appealed to the target audience.
Though I had little difficulty in using various equipment and technology, the Apple IMac's, of which we used in class for editing etc., proved to be an annoyance. Navigating myself around the computer took time, as I am used to Windows, and the mouse was far too sensitive and would often select things I didn't wish to. Even using the internet was made a laborious task. It required having to log in with user name and password every few pages, even if I clicked on the "Remember me" box. Because of this, I decided to use my very own Acer Aspire 5532 to do the majority of blog posts and the ancillary product development. Having had the laptop for over a year now, I was used to It's features and saved a considerable amount of time. It also meant that if I needed to, I could take my laptop into college - which proved highly convenient.
I wanted to avoid using "overused" programs during my coursework, such as Microsoft PowerPoint. To make my blog posts more engaging and visually interesting I used a website called 'Prezi'. This was new to me, but I quickly found it was a great way to add lots of information to a post, without it being boring. It's unique and interesting layout and presentation style made information easily "digestable". What other people particularly enjoyed about this website, as I was not alone in using it, was the way big chunks of information could be separated into smaller chunks with the addition of images, shapes or videos - both YouTube and uploaded. This was one of my favourite programs to use during the coursework, as it was incredibly easy to use, fun, easy to upload onto Blogger, and best of all - free!
For the editing of the video, we used Final Cut Express - a program of which I was familiar with, having used it in last years mock music video. I found that I had greatly improved my capabilities on this program, navigation was simple, identifying icons was easier and I quickly learnt how to use them too. I played a major role in the editing of the main product, one example would be the changes I made involving sound. Unlike last year, I was able to render an independently downloaded soundtrack (Sierra Planes - George Barnett - Itunes) with the video action - captured on a Sony Mini DV, then uploaded onto a seperate file using a firewire cable - mute and lock the sound on the video footage and add a gentle fade effect to the soundtrack at the end of the video. These changes greatly show my improvement in ability using this software, last year I struggled to do any of these things without assistance. This time around, minimal assistance was needed.
There is a startling difference between my technological capabilities of this A2 year, and that of my AS year in my Media Studies coursework. These capabilities were this year shown not only through my confidence in using familiar programs, but also in how I managed to use unfamiliar programs/software. Whereas in my AS year, I felt restricted in my technological capabilities - residing to mainly using familiar, simpler programs such as Microsoft Publisher and other Microsoft programs - in this A2 year, I found a new confidence in my capabilities, branching out my skills and using more complex software such as Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 (64 bit), Prezi and Slideshare. As the products produced in this years coursework differed from AS, I had to use different programs as well. I used, in abundance, Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 (64 bit) for the development of my ancillary products - a site of which I had never used before in my personal time or in college work. Using this program allowed a greater range of editing options, of which programs like Publisher can not give. Options such as; Picture brightness, shadowing, highlighting, cropping tools, smooth edges, refined edges, an array of different paint brush stroke styles and colours and so on. Though the program was complex to use, it was extremely helpful during developmental stages of my ancillary products - without it, the quality of my products would not of been quite the same standard.
I used Web 2.0 technology such as YouTube in the planning part of my coursework. In particular, for looking at music videos by similar artists to add genre specifics to our video. It was also very helpful for my creativity post, as I found a very helpful video on which I could base my writing for that blog post. Asides from this, it was also useful for researching theories such as Propp's and Goodwin's. Obviously, I used Facebook during the construction stages of my work. It was especially helpful for the development of my ancillary products as a large sector of Facebook users were of my target audience category. I could gather accurate criticisms on my products - displaying images on a private group wall with specially selected members - to improve my products, whilst all the time knowing that they still appealed to the target audience.
Though I had little difficulty in using various equipment and technology, the Apple IMac's, of which we used in class for editing etc., proved to be an annoyance. Navigating myself around the computer took time, as I am used to Windows, and the mouse was far too sensitive and would often select things I didn't wish to. Even using the internet was made a laborious task. It required having to log in with user name and password every few pages, even if I clicked on the "Remember me" box. Because of this, I decided to use my very own Acer Aspire 5532 to do the majority of blog posts and the ancillary product development. Having had the laptop for over a year now, I was used to It's features and saved a considerable amount of time. It also meant that if I needed to, I could take my laptop into college - which proved highly convenient.
I wanted to avoid using "overused" programs during my coursework, such as Microsoft PowerPoint. To make my blog posts more engaging and visually interesting I used a website called 'Prezi'. This was new to me, but I quickly found it was a great way to add lots of information to a post, without it being boring. It's unique and interesting layout and presentation style made information easily "digestable". What other people particularly enjoyed about this website, as I was not alone in using it, was the way big chunks of information could be separated into smaller chunks with the addition of images, shapes or videos - both YouTube and uploaded. This was one of my favourite programs to use during the coursework, as it was incredibly easy to use, fun, easy to upload onto Blogger, and best of all - free!
For the editing of the video, we used Final Cut Express - a program of which I was familiar with, having used it in last years mock music video. I found that I had greatly improved my capabilities on this program, navigation was simple, identifying icons was easier and I quickly learnt how to use them too. I played a major role in the editing of the main product, one example would be the changes I made involving sound. Unlike last year, I was able to render an independently downloaded soundtrack (Sierra Planes - George Barnett - Itunes) with the video action - captured on a Sony Mini DV, then uploaded onto a seperate file using a firewire cable - mute and lock the sound on the video footage and add a gentle fade effect to the soundtrack at the end of the video. These changes greatly show my improvement in ability using this software, last year I struggled to do any of these things without assistance. This time around, minimal assistance was needed.
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Evaluation question 3
In order to gain audience feedback on my digipak and advertisement designs I decided first to create a facebook group. This was most certainly a good idea of mine as I could control what group members I had and therefore only receive feedback from my target audience, 16-25 year old students. The feedback was therefore reliable, changes that I then made to my designs would still appeal to my target audience. Aside from this, Facebook was not only an easy means of displaying design ideas, videos and digipak/advertisement drafts, but it proved a remarkably easy way for discussion about my work to blossom and develop - revealing more and more truths about my works as it progressed. It was easy for more and more people to join in and access information, partly down to how easy the group page was to navigate ones-self around but also because every group member was of the 16-25 age range, and typically being of that generation, had a firm grasp of how to use most technologies - particularly Web 2.0 based.
Other than gaining feedback by face-to-face conversation and group comments/discussion, I also asked my group members head-on with an online poll, only accessible to group members, thus producing accurate results. I asked questions such as "Did you understand it?" - referring to the music video - and "Did it remind you of anything else?" - in terms of intertextual referencing.
Naturally, for questions such as "Did you sympathise for the onscreen character?" a simple yes or no answer is not sufficient feedback. For this I resorted back to a regular group post, to encourage more in-depth conversation between many people, not just one or two. I gained a deeper insight into what effects my work was having on the audience. If these effects were desired, I could leave my work as it was. If not, appropriate editing could easily be made.
Continuing on the idea of effects, I hoped that the collaboration of both my main product and ancillary products would effect the audience in specific ways. I wanted to provoke thought. The idea of mystery about the central character, I hoped, would engage with the audience. I hoped for the audience to make a connection with the character, and find similarities within themselves. The idea of the video was that creativity can be crushed easily by a routinic lifestyle that lacked spontaneity - the kind of which many people, not just students, are faced with. I hoped for the audience to question themselves - "Am I really living my life to the fullest? Using my skills to their full potential?". Every person is creative and unique. I like the thought that everyone can contribute something of their own, whatever that may be, to society and the people around them.
Through audience feedback, it became increasingly apparent that my products contained elements of encoding, codes and decoding. I asked the group members of my Facebook feedback group the questions pictured. That is just one persons opinion on the main product, but not all comments by group members were the same. This is clearly an element of decoding shown through audience feedback - as this particular member of the target audience has derived different meaning from the codes of the products (codes being the culturaly agreed upon "signs" in a given creation) than that of other members of the target audience. Examples of encoding - placing meaning within specific objects - would be the artwork, symbolising creativity, and the burnt-out candle which symbolised the spark in the charcacters life having gone.
From audience feedback, I gathered quickly that on my ancillary products, my target audience doesn't stop to read the text. The only effective ways to draw their attention are through brand awareness and a visually interesting product - usually done through the use of a good colour scheme. The problem faced with my artist - George Barnett - was that he is an unknown artist. Advertisements by well-known artists/bands usually heavily feature the artist or their name. An example, being Rihanna - featured on the right of the screen. She is instantly recognisable to most and therefore people will be drawn into seeking more information - or, in terms of my target audience, they make the assumption that the artist is releasing another album or song. It was therefore not suitable to use the artists image to attract attention - as he is not recognisable. This is where my ancillary texts and other texts - such as Rihanna's advert on the right - differ in one key aspect - pleasure. The audience gain pleasure from the artist name and image, where as in my texts the audience pleasure comes from the use of branding and visual attractions such as the colour scheme.
Alterations to my work have been suggested by the facebook group members. These suggestions tend to focus around the narrative of the video. Some did not follow the storyline of the music video. And although this view was shared by a few people of the target audience, I am not sure I would change it. It was my original idea to have a complex, in-depth and mysterious/unusual narrative, and am apprehensive as any change to the narrative could alter the effect the video has on the audience - which I am satisfied with.
No changes to my ancillary products have been suggested by the target audience, they are highly impressed with the products and again, I am pleased with them in terms of pleasure and the effect they give to the audience. They seem to compliment the main product greatly. Personally, I see no need for change with the ancillary products.
Other than gaining feedback by face-to-face conversation and group comments/discussion, I also asked my group members head-on with an online poll, only accessible to group members, thus producing accurate results. I asked questions such as "Did you understand it?" - referring to the music video - and "Did it remind you of anything else?" - in terms of intertextual referencing.
Naturally, for questions such as "Did you sympathise for the onscreen character?" a simple yes or no answer is not sufficient feedback. For this I resorted back to a regular group post, to encourage more in-depth conversation between many people, not just one or two. I gained a deeper insight into what effects my work was having on the audience. If these effects were desired, I could leave my work as it was. If not, appropriate editing could easily be made.
Continuing on the idea of effects, I hoped that the collaboration of both my main product and ancillary products would effect the audience in specific ways. I wanted to provoke thought. The idea of mystery about the central character, I hoped, would engage with the audience. I hoped for the audience to make a connection with the character, and find similarities within themselves. The idea of the video was that creativity can be crushed easily by a routinic lifestyle that lacked spontaneity - the kind of which many people, not just students, are faced with. I hoped for the audience to question themselves - "Am I really living my life to the fullest? Using my skills to their full potential?". Every person is creative and unique. I like the thought that everyone can contribute something of their own, whatever that may be, to society and the people around them.
From audience feedback, I gathered quickly that on my ancillary products, my target audience doesn't stop to read the text. The only effective ways to draw their attention are through brand awareness and a visually interesting product - usually done through the use of a good colour scheme. The problem faced with my artist - George Barnett - was that he is an unknown artist. Advertisements by well-known artists/bands usually heavily feature the artist or their name. An example, being Rihanna - featured on the right of the screen. She is instantly recognisable to most and therefore people will be drawn into seeking more information - or, in terms of my target audience, they make the assumption that the artist is releasing another album or song. It was therefore not suitable to use the artists image to attract attention - as he is not recognisable. This is where my ancillary texts and other texts - such as Rihanna's advert on the right - differ in one key aspect - pleasure. The audience gain pleasure from the artist name and image, where as in my texts the audience pleasure comes from the use of branding and visual attractions such as the colour scheme. 
Alterations to my work have been suggested by the facebook group members. These suggestions tend to focus around the narrative of the video. Some did not follow the storyline of the music video. And although this view was shared by a few people of the target audience, I am not sure I would change it. It was my original idea to have a complex, in-depth and mysterious/unusual narrative, and am apprehensive as any change to the narrative could alter the effect the video has on the audience - which I am satisfied with.No changes to my ancillary products have been suggested by the target audience, they are highly impressed with the products and again, I am pleased with them in terms of pleasure and the effect they give to the audience. They seem to compliment the main product greatly. Personally, I see no need for change with the ancillary products.
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
Evaluation question 2
How
effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
The target audience we have selected, 16-25 year olds, are very aware of brands. Therefore, it was important not only to select the right ones, but to also make sure the brand names/logo's used were used to their maximum effect, on the advert more than the digipak. As the artist, George Barnett, is relatively unknown by most, the artist name is not the main feature of neither the digipak, nor the advertisement. Priority, it terms of positioning, size and colour was given to the brand names/logo's to draw maximum attention. When I asked people, of which fell into the audience profile, what they tended to concentrate on when looking at an advert or digipak, the majority said ratings and artist/s name. When also asked what name/logo demanded the most respect, they said "Q" and "NME". These were the views of both male and females. I decided to use both 'NME' and 'Q' logo's for this reason. Also, they gave the advert a professional look and didn't upset the delicate colour scheme. Becuase the logo's and stars featured some of the only colour in the advertisement, they drew maximum attention and brand awareness from the audience.
Although I wanted the brands etc. to stand out more so than any other feature, I did not want them to distract attention completely from the central image. This was important, as the central image was the house style which brought together all products - the digipak, advert and music video. I chose the stick figure as it is instantly recognisable from the video and inner-panels of the digipak, and it carries forward some of the key themes of the music video and all other products. Themes of individuality, mystery and iscolation. Iscolation clearly highlighted through the use of spacing between images and texts. Mystery is highlighted in a different way: the audience find themselves looking at this blank, expressionless figure - it's almost as if the figure is wearing a mask, which adds to the mystery, the audience want to know about the stick figure - what he knows. Audience members have commented in person how the stick figure gives off an oddly intense feel. This was the exact effect I wished for. In this respect, I am happy with the advertisement.
I used sans-serif text as it looked more creative, closer to the genre, more appealing to the target audience and less serious. It worked great for the artists name as it was still visable, yet not distracting from the more important aspects of the advertisement. A sans-serif type text was also used for the masthead (although it wasn't featured at the top of the advertisement) for the same reasons. The font was one of four drafts, each shown in various edits to audience members. It was selected by them on the basis that it was scruffy, yet readable, which fitted nicely with the themes of the video. It showed artistic flair, that of which is shown clearly in the character on the video. It also works with the text meaning "No Idea". It looks like it is written by someone who is tired of life as he knows it, and is searching for change - the title works in this respect as the character in the video has "no idea" what this change is, as he continues for something to give his life meaning.
The bottom-left icons - Facebook, Itunes - are very important features of the advertisement. The blue of the Facebook logo is instantly recognisable and our target audience will acknowledge it and the Itunes logo. It also fills a space of the advert that might otherwise of been blank and boring. This extra colour brought to the advert provides the audience with a more visually interesting image/information, which is vital amongst this target audience, as they have short attention spans and seem to have no time to waste taking in boring, colourless text. Adding these instantly recognisable icons meant that less information in text form had to be placed on the advert. Because they are a generation having been brought up with the use of technology, especially Web 2.0 technology, coming second nature to them, they will know how to access the information on this artist. The added benefit of Web 2.0 technology also being that publicity for the artist can grow with ease, and be cost/time-effective also. The QR code on the opposite side of the advert brings in even more widely used technology. This means that information relating to the artist and his products is even more accessable.
Unlike the music video, I took little inspiration from other texts in creating these ancillary texts. Although, I did take ideas from the video, which themselves were taken as inspiration from other texts. Oddly enough, I took inspiration from the movie 'I Robot'. From the image below I gained ideas of how to convey key themes, such as independance and iscolation.
In early development and storyboarding, we had the idea of these themes being symbolised by a red scarf, which would of been carried around by the character (the scarf actually having belonged to his girlfriend). Through audience feedback and further drafting this idea was replaced by the stickman idea.
Because our music video changes quite dramatically throughout the video (in terms of location, actor, timeline etc.), there were many recognisable aspects of the video that I was able to capture on my ancillary products. For the digipak, I decided to capture a different moment of the music video, and focus more strongly on themes of depression, as well as iscolation and mystery - so all the products were still linked by theme. This added another dimension to the video, it appeared more entropic and less generic and therefore unique.
As previously mentioned, i took inspiration from the movie 'IRobot' for design of the inner digipak panels (top left & right). Iscolation clearly highlighted though the spacing between images and the placing of the larger, iscolated figure - undeneath the CD itself. This design is instantly recognisable from parts of the video and advertisement. The spine of the CD even carries the same blank, iscolated effect of these panels.
The two texts - "No I.DEA" and "no escape" - were both created by use of the brush tool. This gave for a fitting distressed look, adding to the desperation of the image, almost making a mockery of the character - as they say "It's written all over your face". Again, linking the text to the video, were the characters mysterious problem is at the heart of the engaging action. I used this aspect of the character for my digipak cover design in the hope that the audience will again be intruiged by the character, and what he might be clueless about. The images themselves are headshots - the same that feature within the music video. The character is wearing the same facial expression and hair style. This is another link that the audience can make with the video. But it also gives the audience a further insight into the mind of this character. The dark shadow effect highlights the theme of depression, perhaps even loss, circling this character. No clothes can be seen being worn by the character. My idea was that it symbolised innocence and made for a more raw and intense look, but like the video, the audience is left to fill in aspects about the character for themselves.
Overall, through a combination of audience feedback and my personal reaction, I have produced an effective combination of main product and ancillary texts. All share recognisable features, whilst bringing new aspects to the main product, in particular to the character and storyline. I have been careful to make it generic, yet not so much so as to lose it's uniqueness and originality. It remains an entropic piece, which is designed to convey messages to it's audience, of which it I am satisfied it has succeeded in doing.
The target audience we have selected, 16-25 year olds, are very aware of brands. Therefore, it was important not only to select the right ones, but to also make sure the brand names/logo's used were used to their maximum effect, on the advert more than the digipak. As the artist, George Barnett, is relatively unknown by most, the artist name is not the main feature of neither the digipak, nor the advertisement. Priority, it terms of positioning, size and colour was given to the brand names/logo's to draw maximum attention. When I asked people, of which fell into the audience profile, what they tended to concentrate on when looking at an advert or digipak, the majority said ratings and artist/s name. When also asked what name/logo demanded the most respect, they said "Q" and "NME". These were the views of both male and females. I decided to use both 'NME' and 'Q' logo's for this reason. Also, they gave the advert a professional look and didn't upset the delicate colour scheme. Becuase the logo's and stars featured some of the only colour in the advertisement, they drew maximum attention and brand awareness from the audience.
Although I wanted the brands etc. to stand out more so than any other feature, I did not want them to distract attention completely from the central image. This was important, as the central image was the house style which brought together all products - the digipak, advert and music video. I chose the stick figure as it is instantly recognisable from the video and inner-panels of the digipak, and it carries forward some of the key themes of the music video and all other products. Themes of individuality, mystery and iscolation. Iscolation clearly highlighted through the use of spacing between images and texts. Mystery is highlighted in a different way: the audience find themselves looking at this blank, expressionless figure - it's almost as if the figure is wearing a mask, which adds to the mystery, the audience want to know about the stick figure - what he knows. Audience members have commented in person how the stick figure gives off an oddly intense feel. This was the exact effect I wished for. In this respect, I am happy with the advertisement.
I used sans-serif text as it looked more creative, closer to the genre, more appealing to the target audience and less serious. It worked great for the artists name as it was still visable, yet not distracting from the more important aspects of the advertisement. A sans-serif type text was also used for the masthead (although it wasn't featured at the top of the advertisement) for the same reasons. The font was one of four drafts, each shown in various edits to audience members. It was selected by them on the basis that it was scruffy, yet readable, which fitted nicely with the themes of the video. It showed artistic flair, that of which is shown clearly in the character on the video. It also works with the text meaning "No Idea". It looks like it is written by someone who is tired of life as he knows it, and is searching for change - the title works in this respect as the character in the video has "no idea" what this change is, as he continues for something to give his life meaning.
The bottom-left icons - Facebook, Itunes - are very important features of the advertisement. The blue of the Facebook logo is instantly recognisable and our target audience will acknowledge it and the Itunes logo. It also fills a space of the advert that might otherwise of been blank and boring. This extra colour brought to the advert provides the audience with a more visually interesting image/information, which is vital amongst this target audience, as they have short attention spans and seem to have no time to waste taking in boring, colourless text. Adding these instantly recognisable icons meant that less information in text form had to be placed on the advert. Because they are a generation having been brought up with the use of technology, especially Web 2.0 technology, coming second nature to them, they will know how to access the information on this artist. The added benefit of Web 2.0 technology also being that publicity for the artist can grow with ease, and be cost/time-effective also. The QR code on the opposite side of the advert brings in even more widely used technology. This means that information relating to the artist and his products is even more accessable.
Unlike the music video, I took little inspiration from other texts in creating these ancillary texts. Although, I did take ideas from the video, which themselves were taken as inspiration from other texts. Oddly enough, I took inspiration from the movie 'I Robot'. From the image below I gained ideas of how to convey key themes, such as independance and iscolation.
In early development and storyboarding, we had the idea of these themes being symbolised by a red scarf, which would of been carried around by the character (the scarf actually having belonged to his girlfriend). Through audience feedback and further drafting this idea was replaced by the stickman idea.
Because our music video changes quite dramatically throughout the video (in terms of location, actor, timeline etc.), there were many recognisable aspects of the video that I was able to capture on my ancillary products. For the digipak, I decided to capture a different moment of the music video, and focus more strongly on themes of depression, as well as iscolation and mystery - so all the products were still linked by theme. This added another dimension to the video, it appeared more entropic and less generic and therefore unique.
As previously mentioned, i took inspiration from the movie 'IRobot' for design of the inner digipak panels (top left & right). Iscolation clearly highlighted though the spacing between images and the placing of the larger, iscolated figure - undeneath the CD itself. This design is instantly recognisable from parts of the video and advertisement. The spine of the CD even carries the same blank, iscolated effect of these panels.
The two texts - "No I.DEA" and "no escape" - were both created by use of the brush tool. This gave for a fitting distressed look, adding to the desperation of the image, almost making a mockery of the character - as they say "It's written all over your face". Again, linking the text to the video, were the characters mysterious problem is at the heart of the engaging action. I used this aspect of the character for my digipak cover design in the hope that the audience will again be intruiged by the character, and what he might be clueless about. The images themselves are headshots - the same that feature within the music video. The character is wearing the same facial expression and hair style. This is another link that the audience can make with the video. But it also gives the audience a further insight into the mind of this character. The dark shadow effect highlights the theme of depression, perhaps even loss, circling this character. No clothes can be seen being worn by the character. My idea was that it symbolised innocence and made for a more raw and intense look, but like the video, the audience is left to fill in aspects about the character for themselves.
Overall, through a combination of audience feedback and my personal reaction, I have produced an effective combination of main product and ancillary texts. All share recognisable features, whilst bringing new aspects to the main product, in particular to the character and storyline. I have been careful to make it generic, yet not so much so as to lose it's uniqueness and originality. It remains an entropic piece, which is designed to convey messages to it's audience, of which it I am satisfied it has succeeded in doing.
Final digipak CD design
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