Closing Statement

ENDIND STATEMENT

Evaluation - Question 4

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

I have used 'Voki' to answer these questions.

CLICK FOR PART 1

CLICK FOR PART 2

CLICK FOR PART 3

CLICK FOR PART 4

Evaluation - Question 3

What have you leaned from your audience feedback?

I have decided to answer this question through the use of video. Watch it below!

Initially, the first set of audience feedback was on the ancillary product which consisted of the digipack and the advert poster. My group and I asked 10 people that were our target audience (male and females aged 16 and over) to tell us what elements they liked from the ancillary products, what they didn't like and what they thought needed improvement. The feedback overall was very positive, which didn't cause that much stress for my team mates and I. The aspects of the ancillary products that all 10 audience members thought were strong were the images, the text and layout of the whole digipack and poster. However, a problem that was not spotted till this late stage was the fact that the advert and digipack did not correlate as much due to the fact that he advert was in colour whereas the digipack was in black and white. This aspect was the only issue that the audience spotted and advised us to change. My team mates then created the digipack all in colour to match with the advert, but the audience feedback stated how the digipack appealed less. The black and white front cover, track list and extra panels looked much stronger as opposed to having it in colour. This left my team and I in a dilemma, so we decided to merge both the colour and black and white concept together to create a different digipack. This was the outcome.

The audience feedback helped improve our ancillary products improve and appeal much more. By having the elements of colour (i.e. in the thank you section and track list), my team and I have sustained the strong appeal of the black and white whilst correlating with the advert poster more. In addition, the iconic and 'signature' look of the artists bold purple lips, signifies the artists unique appeal which is presented in both the poster and digipack. This shows a clear link between the ancillary products whilst also following Richard Dyer's construction theory, thereby resulting in a realistic finished product to promote a new artist. This essentially allows the audience to identify the artist through the symbolism of empowerment, as the purple lipstick connotes the bold persona of the artist. Overall, this feedback was very useful and has made me learn that consistency will create a much stronger finished product.




After my team and I watched the feedback from the music video, there was an overall positive review from the target audience. We gathered that the strong aspects of the music video consisted of the exciting effects, lip sync and choreography, creative visuals (like the glitter on the drums) and overall aesthetics which challenged the standard stereotypical conventions of an RnB music video. However, there were minor elements which some of the audience thought needed improvement: the narrative and one particular shot of the artist 'KARMA' blowing a kiss. It was apparent that the masks added an interesting conceptual feel to the video, relating to Simon Frith's theory. Although this element deemed to be interesting, my group and I realised that it had not been elaborated more in the music video. As an improvement, my group and I should've added an effect to complete what seemed like an 'incomplete shot' of the artist blowing a kiss into the air, as well as expanding more on the narrative to make it clear that the artist is essentially becoming empowered from her toxic relationship, thereby creating a metaphorical 'army' of followers to join her in order to witness this empowerment.  

Evaluation - Question 2

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

Here is an image of the completed ancillary tasks... I have used the blog tool 'ThingLink' to analyse each section of the digipack.

Overall, the combination of the main task (the music video) and ancillary tasks (digipack and advert poster) presented and promoted the new artist extremely well, almost as if it were professionally created. The A2 Media coursework required my group and I to essentially create and produce a music video the co-ordinated with the ancillary tasks, i.e. the poster and digipack. This was so that we could promote a new and 'upcoming' artist. The selected song my group and I chose was RnB, so having certain specific conventions in the music video needed to be met, such as hair, makeup and even choreography. This also was applied to the ancillary tasks too, however, my group and I challenged and developed some of these codes and conventions (which you can view in my first evaluation question). By applying these conventions to all of our creations, this allowed an existing RnB audience to be enticed into watching and remaining engaged with the music video. The target audience of the artist is adolescents and young adults, as the artist embodies a sense of empowerment in regards to personal issues one may face (such as relationships and the effects of a negative relationship). This 'outcome' of a toxic relationship was the concept of the music video and selected song 'Wildfire'. The lyrics are much more relatable to an audience of women, as it stems from a female perspective, which ultimately makes the primary audience for this album/song lean towards a female audience. The following is an analysis of how effective the combination of my main product (music video) is with the ancillary products. 

To produce the digipack, we used the software 'PhotoShop', which allowed us to create a professional looking product. The design of the ancillary products itself was inspired through researching existing RnB products from artists such as Rihanna. However, our actual selected song - Wildfire - played a major role in the colour scheme and overall feel of the digipack. The lyrics essentially connoted a sense of darkness with lyrics such as "poison" and "hit me like a bullet". It was important that the colour scheme of all the products were similar and consistent throughout as this contributed to the iconography and branding of the artist. By following Dyers theory from his book of 'stars', the audience's perception of the album is ultimately influenced by their understanding of the artist. Therefore, we had to present our artist in a certain way in order for the audience to be able to identify with them. The elements of 'iconography' we used for the artist was the bold purple lips, bandana and handwritten name of the artist 'Karma' (created with the font Colours Of Autumn by dafont.com). This created a 'brand' and added a sense of individuality to the artist which enabled her to have a bold and important persona, especially because she is a new artist. My group and I inevitably aimed to create an artistic image to represent the RnB conventions of  young and attractive artist, a significant reason as to why we chose Olivia to be our star. This followed Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, as the artist should attract the attention of their audience. Furthermore, the use of dark colours were used throughout the ancillary products and was even represented in the music video as the RnB genre utilises dark colours with their posters and digipack (an example of this would be Rihanna's rated R album). We also used similar images throughout our digipack and advert in order for the audience to associate the two products with the artist. 

   

BELOW IS FURTHER ANALYSIS. HOVER AOUND THE BLUE DOTS!!!

Evaluation - Question 1

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

I am going to use the blog tool 'Canva' to answer this section of my evaluation. I am going to screenshot elements of my music video and placed them into the 'canva' to show how I have used, developed and challenged the conventions of a real media product. Click on the image to read it.

MUSIC VIDEO COMPLETE!

After months of hard work, I have finally finished editing the music video. Enjoy...

Digipack - Completed

My team and I have successfully completed designing our digipack along with the advert. They look extremely strong as the consistency of the branding of the artist is high.

Digipack Audience Feedback

Me, Richard and Shazia decided to print out the advert and two versions of the digipack in order to gain some audience feedback. We did this so it would help us as team, decide on what elements we needed to change and what we should keep.

There are two versions of the digipack - one that has more elements of colour, and the other that is mostly black and white. The black and white one was the original digipack design, however, after gaining some mixed audience feedback in regards to the consistency with the advert and digipack, we decided to create a version in colour. The underlying issue was that the advert was in colour whilst the digipack was not, which did not follow the conventions. Therefore we made the coloured version. However, the feedback we gained after making the coloured version was that it was not as striking as the black and white one, more specifically the front cover. Everyone preferred the black and white version opposed to the coloured version, but liked elements of the coloured version such as the thank you section. My group then decided to keep the black and white theme, but incorporate elements of the coloured version into the final piece. The issue of the advert image and front cover image not being the same and in different colour is overcome by the fact that the purple lips are the artist's signature look. The bold purple lips are what links both the advert and front cover, which in my groups and I's opinion, is apparent. Below is the merging of the two ideas into one digipack. The outcome is very strong. 

Digipack Progress - Back Cover 6

This the the completed version of the back cover of the digipack. Shazia has made more improvements to it, such as the black strip which showcases the record label and music streaming element. This adds a more professional look to the whole back cover. In addition, this correlates with the front cover that I have designed. 

Digipack Progress - Front Cover 6

As I need to focus more on completing the front cover, as my team members (Richard and Shazia) have made massive progress on the digipack, I essentially asked my team members what needed to be improved. The font at the bottom needed to be much clearer and the cover had to correlate more with the advert (i.e. the camo background). This is what I have made so far.

I think that this is so much stronger and correlates very well with the rest of the digipack. 

Before I placed the camo background, I smoothed out 'Karma's' hair. This is what it looked like previously. 

Music Video Progress #6

I have decided to start adding the last portion of the filler footage in the music video (ink dropping in water connoting poison). Below is what it looks like.

Music Video Progress #5

The music video is definitely on the verge of completion. I have added and edited the extra footage that my team mates and I filmed in the studio. This extra footage has really brought the whole music video together. However, we have decided to film more footage of the boys in masks in order to have the narrative consistent throughout. 

Behind The Scenes - Studio Footage #2

Because me, Richard and Shazia have decided to film more footage, we decided that the easiest way to do this would be filming 'Karma' in the studio with a different outfit. We also made sure that this look was much more 'harder' and 'tougher' as opposed to the car park and initial studio session scenes. We are pleased more with her charisma and hard front that she had in this shoot and is going to make our music video flow much better. 

Digipack Progress - Extra Panel 2

Shazia has created the final extra panel for the digipack, which will be a 'thank you' section. Below is what it looks like.

Digipack Progress - CD

Below is the completed CD that Richard created in one day.

Digipack Progress - Back Cover 5

Shazia has almost completed the first draft of the back cover for the digipack. 

Shazia has moved the billing block and record labels to the other side of the back cover, in order to put emphasis on the tracklist, which would be the focal point of the back cover, alongside the image of the artist.

Digipack Progress - Advert 4 (Completed)

Richard has completed the advert portion to our digipack. He has decided to incorporate a subtle camo background in order to have the consistency of an 'army' feel to the branding. Below is an image of the completed advert. 

We could not be happier with how the advert has turned out. 

Digipack Progress - Extra Panels

My group and I have decided to make the extra panels images of the 'backstage' scenery of Karma. Below are the two chosen images.

Digipack Progress - Back Cover 4

Shazia has made more progress on the back cover. 

She has added the record label '212 records', and has decided to divide the back cover background with grey.

Production Diary (Group Update) - 22/3/16

WE ARE MAKING CHANGES!

After discussing the issue of having less locations in the music video, my group and I have decided to FILM more footage. 

Music Video Progress #4

As the 'feminine' segment of the music video has been filmed in the studio, I have placed the footage in the music video. Below is a screenshot of the music video so far.

Re-watching the video myself, I think that there needs to be more variety within the music video. Because I am the one editing the actual footage, seeing the music video from start to finish repetitively, I think that it does not seem enticing due to the fact that there are only two different locations and outfit changes with the artist throughout the whole music video (Car Park and studio). I am going to discuss this issue with my group and we will see what we can do in order to make the music video appeal and meet the conventions more.

Digipack Progress - Advert 3

My teammate (Richard) has merged the adaptations that me and Shazia have put forward, creating this (image below)

 

 

This advert is close to completion, however, the whole group thinks that the bottom part of the advert needs more detail as it looks quite plain

 



Production Diary 18/3/16

Behind The Scenes - Studio Session Photos

 

 

Digipack Progress - Back Cover 3

Shazia has made more progress designing the back cover of the digipack. Below is a screenshot. She has added the billing block, the tracklist and the barcode. As a team, we have decided to keep the 'K' background and use it throughout the digipack as a symbol of branding KARMA. 

Production Diary (Group Update) 15/3/16

Digipack Progress - Back Cover 2

My teammate Shazia has made some progression with the back cover. 

She has decided to keep the background much lighter as it stands out and captivates the viewer quicker.

Digipack Progress - Back Cover 1

My teammate Shazia has begun designing the back cover, extra panels and 'thank you' section, whilst Richard continues on working on the advert, cd and spine. I am deigning the front cover and am also editing the music video. As a group, we have selected the photos that we would like featured on the digipack. This is what Shazia has done so far.

Shazia has begun photoshopping the image by making Karma's lip purple - a significant symbol of her branding which allows the audience to recognise her.