Music Video Evaluative Commentary

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

Our music video covers a range of forms and conventions of real media texts. One example of this would be the use of lip-syncing. The majority of music from various genres includes lip-syncing. In order to get this in time we had to spend a lot of time carefully editing to make sure the audio and visuals were as tight and precise as we could possibly get them. In addition, we have tried to use a clear narrative sequence (exposition, development, complication, climax, resolution) in the music video, which is a trait for lot music videos in similar genres; plus those from other genres too. For example we have used the first scene of Ally (lead male) playing the guitar. This is a ‘normal’ thing, which introduces the character to the audience and establishes the scene.

Moreover, we used camera angles that were common in the most part, for example extreme close up of Ally playing the guitar and mid shots of Ally and Shannon (lead girl) in the park walking together, long shots of Ally walking away. However, we decided to try and improvise and develop our filming and increase our range of footage, so we decided to increase our tripod as much as we could, hold it above our heads and turn the camera downwards, so we could film from a higher angle. However, because we wanted to catch Ally walking away, we had to move along with him, which meant that the camera shot was a little unsteady. This was soon fixed in the editing process where we used Apple software ‘iMovie’ in which we were able to use the stabalisation tool, which made the footage a lot smoother and got rid of jumps and unsteady filming that occurred whilst filming. The band ‘The Script’ inspired us to use an interesting idea – we decided to shoot videos of Ally and Shannon together and play them back as flashbacks on a projector with Ally sitting in front of it whilst singing the song. In order to make this work, we had to make sure that all of the lights in the particular room were turned off for the video to project clearly on the wall behind Ally, which meant we were unable to get any light on Ally, so we decided to have Ally in front of the projector so we were able to see Ally and the images behind him too. However, I believe that if we had a better location with a larger space, we could have had the images projecting on the wall and also have Ally lit up better without creating a shadow on the wall behind him, which would have made the video look more professional.

Also, we used a contrast in the video of black and white, with an almost sepia colour to make a clear contrast the feelings of the character. For example we used black and white for all of the scenes that Ally is alone to show how sad and distraught he is over his relationship ending. On the other hand when we introduce the flashbacks, we also introduce colour into the video, which instantaneously shows the change in emotions of the character and how he felt happier when he was in a relationship with Shannon.

Before we shot the video, we did a lot of research into the mise en scene of video of a similar genre (acoustic folk/soft rock/pop) and we made sure that the clothes that Ally and Shannon suited the audio and the lyrics of the song. Because the song was about a man being sad over a relationship not working, we decided to keep Ally in clothes that were not too bright. We also tried to make him look like an ‘everyday guy’, who looked normal. We did this, because we thought that the audience would find it a lot easier to empathise with someone in that they thought they had something in common with, rather than someone who is dressed over the top and looked too maintained and didn’t look realistic. We also picked suitable locations too. For example the park that we used for Ally’s solo shots and the flashbacks of Ally and Shannon was very big and we could shoot from a lot of angles. This was an advantage for us, as we could come in and should from a closer/tighter angle and frame which made the two characters look close, however we could also use a wider shot emphasizing the space around Ally to show how he had been left alone in the solo shots too. In addition to the mise en scene, we were lucky to be shooting in Autumn, because this meant that we could catch the autumn leaves scattered on the fields – we thought that this represented how Ally had separated from his lover and how he was feeling at the time.
 

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and your ancillary task?

The main product and the ancillary task work really well together in my opinion. The front cover is of Ally. We made sure that he wore the same outfit as he did on the first day of shooting, when the first scenes took place to keep continuity present in the product. This reoccurring theme and relationship between the audio, visuals and ancillary products helped to build a brand for the product. The use of branding helps familiarise the audience with the product, and they start to recognise the product without seeing the whole thing. Throughout the whole digipak we decided to keep the reoccurring theme of black and white. This builds the relationship of the music video and the ancillary products.

The front cover of the digipak is a still image of Ally. However the shot is taken from a high angle and the space around Ally is made evident. This links back to what we were trying to do in the solo scenes in the park to try and show the audience that something was missing with Ally, and how he felt alone and segregated after his break up with Shannon.

The CD slot in the digipak also kept the same sort of ideas. We used an image of winter trees without any leaves on them. This shows a separation – which was a key theme all throughout the music video. This is the only part of the Digipak that does not include Ally on it. I think this was a good decision, as the image speaks for it self.

Also, it allows the audience to think about the meaning of the song and the visuals rather than seeing the main character all the time. This also links back to the theme and branding of the product, as the audience would not always have to see Ally to remember the song/music video.

On the in-lay/lyrics page we have decided to use another picture of the protagonist, to again show the relationship between the music video and the album artwork. We wanted to show the character being alone again. We deliberately left Shannon (lead girl) out of the whole digipak, as we felt it would make it clearer to the audience the message of separation and how Ally was left alone.

In regards to our poster for a magazine we had to have a clear target audience and branding/marketing strategy that we had to follow. After doing some research, we decided that it would be suitable for our poster to occur in magazines such as ‘Q’ and ‘NME’. These music magazines have similar types of artists such as ‘Florence and The Machine’, ‘The Maccabees’ and ‘Coldplay’ featuring in their product. We had a similar target audience in mind, so it made sense that we would put the poster in these types of magazines. Also these magazines have got websites, in which we feel our product could feature, to further our target audience and brand. For example the websites have a ‘featured videos’ link available where our music video could be shown. This is also an example of technological convergence and the way we could expand our brand and the way we would market the product. In addition to this, we would use social networking sites such as ‘Twitter’ and ‘Facebook’ to promote the music video and the song too. Also sites such as ‘YouTube’ would give the viewer the option to watch the video for free and share it with their friends.

3.What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

We had a lot of feedback on both our rough cut and our final video, which made a monumental difference to our final product. When we showed people our rough cut, the majority of them came back to us and said that the lip syncing needed to be tighter and there needed to be more of it, so they could understand the feelings of the main character better. So we went away and re-filmed parts of Ally lip syncing and made sure in our editing, that we left more time to perfect this specific aspect of our video. Also many people from the audience that we showed found the story a little confusing in the rough cut and they found that they didn’t fully understand what was happening in the story line, as they couldn’t segregate the flashbacks from the events that were meant to be taking place in ‘real time’.

We decided to go back to the drawing board and re-write our story and alter the narrative, to make the plot simpler and easier to understand. Alongside this, we went back to previous locations to take some more footage for flashbacks of Shannon and Ally. This meant that we had more shots to choose from when editing the final piece. In addition to this, we also decided to put totally different effects on for the different parts of the video to make I clear to the audience what is happening. An example of this is the black and white scenes, to show Ally being upset and to show the atmosphere to be dull and the colour to be brought back in when the two characters were together in the music video.

Another thing that was brought up by the audience in the rough cut was the facts that the camera in some shots was not steady enough, which ruined some scenes and the atmosphere built around those scenes. In order to fix this, we went out and shot these scenes again, this time with a tripod to keep the camera still. However, still it was not how I wanted it to be and there was still some ‘jumps’ in the footage. To eliminate this problem, we decided to use the stabalisation tool, which allowed us to make the footage smooth and steady. This made the video look a lot more professional. After this tool was used, the audience feedback changed dramatically and they were left astonished at the difference in made to the whole video and the cinematic movement it gave to the scenes – especially in the end of the video with the high angle shot looking down on to Ally and seeing him walking alone into the distance.

Although we synced the audio and visuals well, I believe that it could have been better. However, does have do be said that the lip-syncing and the syncing of Ally playing the guitar in the beginning of the video improved considerably. Also when looking back on the video and being a harsh critic, I think the acting in the lip-syncing could have been done with a little more conviction. This was also one of the things that were picked out by the audience. If we were to film the video again, I would have spent more time perfecting this specific section of the video to ensure the audience instantly felt a genuine connection with the main character.

Another thing that was pointed out to us by a small amount of people in the rough cut was that they felt that some of the scenes lasted too long and they felt as if they were waiting too long for the video to move along. In order to try and manipulate this, when we edited the music video, we made sure that we included a lot of jump cuts/cross cutting to make sure the video kept moving at a steady pace. This was also important to do as the song was very slow and if the visuals were also at the same pace it would definitely make the video boring and hard to watch for the audience. Also we keep the camera moving when we filmed and resisted the temptation to have the tripod and film from one steady angle at all times. We made sure we experimented with using various camera angles such as:

High angle

Close-ups

Extreme close ups

Establishing shots

Long shots

This helped our video to flow and give the video movement throughout to stop it from becoming boring and stale. 

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

During our research stage we used the Internet a lot. Sites such as YouTube allowed us to view videos from similar and different genres for free and evaluate them and how they were made. This was a fantastic tool as this meant that we could watch these videos as many times as we pleased. This allowed us enough time to dissect these video and research how they were made, the use of different camera angles, editing techniques, mise en scene and the relationship between the visuals and the audio and how all of this was represented to the audience in such as small amount of time.

Also when planning our music video, we found the artist Erick Baker on the website www.unsigned.com which is a website where unsigned musicians and bands upload there music for it to be heard and for them to have a chance at being discovered. Locating this website meant that we could have a choice of artists and music to choose from.

When looking into and researching digipaks for our ancillary tasks we used Google images to try and find work from other artists to see what they have used for example front covers/magazine spreads/posters. This allowed us to learn how a digipak is put together and the style that artist from similar genres use.

During our planning stage we made extensive use of the smartphones we had available in the group. This was especially useful when trying to pick out locations to shoot the video. This was very convenient and practical, because when a member of the group found a location that they liked or they thought would work out well with our concept they would take a picture and send it via email or multi media message to other members of the group to see if we agreed. This was a quick way to work as it meant that everybody didn’t have to be together, yet the work was still getting done which shows evidence on how we worked well as a group and as individuals too. These photos, if approved by all of the members of the group would then go on to the blog as a reference for us to know where we were shooting and ideas for how the final video would/should look like.

When making the music video we used a HD quality video camera. This ensured that we had the best quality camera that we could afford, although most music videos are either shot on SLR cameras (commonly Cannon 5D) or Red Cam, which provide a much higher quality image. However, considering the camera we used, I believe that we have got an outstanding result. The software we used to edit our music video was Apple software ‘iMovie’. This software allowed us to cut and edit scenes (cut short/lengthen), add in transitions (cross fade/dissolve/cross zoom) edit sharpness, saturation and brightness of footage, edit footage colour (eg. Black and white/sepia/full colour/vintage) and stabalise shot with the use of the stabalisation tool.

When trying to evaluate the music video, we knew the importance of showing people and receiving audience feedback, so we decided to use social networking to reach out to as many people as we could. We used the social networking site Facebook and the private messenger provided by the site to share our video to people and get their opinion on it. Also when evaluating the project as a whole, I went back to YouTube and watched the videos that I watched when we were researching music videos and tried to compare their videos with our final product. Although the quality of the video itself lacked because the equipment used, the ideas and thought behind creating the product was very similar. 


Blogger was one of the most important parts of our research, planning, and the evaluative period during the whole course. We used this to keep information and present/layout our work such as research from other artists, storyboards, rough edits, location shots and of course the final video. Blogger also helped us as we could all share our joint work such as storyboards/call sheets/ rough edits and final videos. 


Although we used a lot of technology, we also had some difficulties. For example I was using a Apple Mac Laptop and the rest of the group were using PC. This made file sharing difficult at times as a lot of images were opening on different formats that PC's did not recognise. Also because iMovie is Apple software, it meant that we all had to do the editing when we had the Apple Mac which was challenging at times. Also when at school a lot of the time we could not access sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube due to security reasons. This made it hard for us in our research and planning sections as we used these sites to watch video and receive audience feedback. 

Magazines That Our Poster Could Go In

When we were deciding the way in which we were going to layout our poster and brand the artist/song, we referred back to the genre of the song and the artists that we found on the website www.unsigned.com. We found that Erick Baker (the original artists) had placed himself under the umbrella of Accoustic/folk. However after researching various different types of magazines we felt that his genre of music fit best with magazines such as Q and NME. I feel that Erick Baker could provide for this type of audience with his music and his image. Throughout this project we have tried to brand the music, music video and other ancillary products around this vision of how it will be presented by the media and where the music video will be shown and which audience will be watching the music video. 

Final Ancillary Poster

After receiving audience feedback and evaluating our product ourselves, we came to the conclusion that the previous poster did not fit the theme, style and branding of the rest of the ancillary products. We decided to use a still image of the protagonist, similar to the front cover, in-lay/lyrics page and the back cover to carry on with the constant mise en scene and to keep the constant link and relationship between the music, lyrics and the visuals. We changed the image on the poster as we felt that having the picture of Erick Baker could possibly confuse the audience and be detrimental to the brand that we were trying to build.


This was done by editing the picture to black and white, whilst increasing the saturation to bring out the detail in the background of the scattered leaves - something that again links back to the back cover of the digipak. In this version of our poster, we made sure we added in essential detail such as Erick Baker's website as it gave us another form of advertising that we could use to promote the artist in the magazine. 

Rough Ancillary Poster

On the poster, we decided to use this picture of Erick Baker. This was used because this poster is made to be included in a music magazine such as 'Q' or 'NME'. Using the picture of Erick backer would give the artist exposure and tell people about the song 'When Will I Be Loved'. 


To ensure this catches the attention of the audience we used big bold font and the use of capitals. This helped catch the eye of the reader, whilst also giving the message across about the song being released without the audience having to read too much. 


We also added in the date of release and who is distributing the product (e.g. iTunes). This was done to make the product look professional and that of industry standard.

Final Ancillary Task

After sitting down and evaluating our first ancillary product, and after receiving some feedback we decided to keep our front cover as it was. We believed that it had the correct links and gave appropriate connotations to the viewer. Also the use of the deep red writing was good and it linked well to the theme and narrative of the music video and the type of brand that were trying to build and the target audience that we were trying to reach out to.

In regards to our in-lay/lyrics page, we had felt we had to change the colour and of the font. Audience feedback suggested that the writing was difficult to read and it was straining on the eyes. We decided to change the colour of the font to black and it looked a lot better and in some ways fit into the theme of the product better too. The black writing on the brick wall canvas made it clearer and easier for the audience to read. 

The CD page for our previous was red. This looked slightly out of place and a little bit too bright for the overall theme of the ancillary product, considering the majority of the product was in black and white. We altered the colours to make the product black and white. It looked a lot better and in my opinion slotted well into the theme and style of the ancillary products. 

Looking back at the back cover of the digipak, it lacked detail that a professional industry standard digipak would definitely include. We added in a bar code at the back to increase the professionalism in the product. Also we included writing for the spine of the digipak to make sure we covered every detail a normal digipak would include. We made sure that the the background for the spine was grey and the writing black and clear for the audience to read. Plus this related well to our main theme of black and white which occurs throughout the ancillary products.

Rough Ancillary

 

With this ancillary product, we decided to use the re-occuring black and white theme that relates to the video. We made sure we did this because it was essential to create a brand that the audience could clearly identify and relate to. We used still images of the protagonist in the ancillary products to make sure the audience can identify a clear link between the music video and the ancillary products. 

The still shots are of Ally (main character) standing alone. This was done to show the separation in the relationship between Ally and Shannon (lead girl). In the front cover and the in-lay/lyrics page, Ally is looking frustrated and as if he is reflecting on something. This relates back to the lyrics of the song where Erick Baker is questioning his relationship and love life singing: "When Will I Be Loved".

On the front cover of the product we chose to have deep red coloured writing in bold capitals. One reason for this was for this was for it to stand out to the audience. Another reason for this was the connotation of the colour red - (sex/danger/love). These were all themes and situations that go along with relationships. The setting for the front and back cover were also very important. We made sure that we picked an autumn setting in which leaves were scattered and the place looked slightly deserted. We did this to elaborate on the mise en scene from our music video. The scattered leaves link to segregation and departure. Also the cold and misty autumn setting show mystery and a sense of uncertainty. 

The lyrics page shows the main character once again. His facial expression is once again very similar to the front cover - keeping the theme of separation and reflection going throughout. When taking the photograph, we had the idea in mind of where we wanted to place the lyrics. The plain brick wall was the perfect canvas to place the lyrics. We used red font again to try and keep with the theme of the front cover and theme of the ancillary products. 

For the CD inlay page we decided to use pictures of bare tree branches. This relates back to one of the last shot sequences in the music video where Ally is in a park setting and there are a lot of trees and leaves scattered around him. This also brings an element of simplicity to the product that we wanted as the rest of the ancillary products had a lot going on, in regards to font and images. 

For the back cover, we decided to use a still image of a mid shot of Ally. For the first time in the ancillary product we do not get to see the feeling or expression on the face of Ally. The way his back is turned indicates the way he has turned his back on his relationship and given up on love. The shot is also similar to a shot in the music video - which shows a relationship and link between the music video and the ancillary product.

FINAL VIDEO - WHEN WILL I BE LOVED (HD VERSION)

When Will I Be Loved – Final Edit Short Commentary/Evaluation

In the final video, I believe the camera work is done very well. The shots are held steady where appropriate. For example where Ally is walking alone at the end of the video, the high angle shot is steady with the use of editing and the stabalisation tool. We have also used varied camera angles such as mid shots, long shots, extreme close ups, over the shoulder shots and many more. I also believe we have used the correct amount of detail in the music video – for example the background of Ally’s (main character) phone is of him and Shannon – (lead girl). We got rid of previous unwanted material such as catching in litterbins in the frame of the shot.

We used various shot distances. For example there are close ups of Ally playing the guitar and of Ally lip-syncing. However there are long shots of Ally walking away down the road and wide angle aerial shots of Ally walking in the park.

The mise en scene of the final version is good. The clothes were suitable for the music video and the theme of separation, the genre of music and the audience that we were targeting. The way that nothing is too extravagant follows the techniques that we used in the rough cut of the video – in which we found a few things that could have been better that we chose to change.

The editing in the final video is tight. There is a lot more lip-syncing involved, which meant that we had to spend a lot more time editing the music video. In addition we also managed to fix the syncing of Ally playing the guitar at the beginning – which was previously out of sync in the rough edit.

When editing the final video, we used a lot more of the newer scenes that we went out and filmed again. We did this because we felt that we needed more material to make the video interesting and keep the audience engaged. Also after receiving audience feedback, we went back to film more scenes – (such as Shannon throwing the phone down) to make the narrative clearer. The newer scenes made a clear separation between the flashbacks and what was happening in the present in the video. In addition to this, we ended the video with Ally walking away on his own – even after the song finishes. This leaves the audience on a cliffhanger – this also relates to the audio, where Erick Baker does not finish his last line (“When Will I Be Loved”) and misses out the “Loved” part. This shows uncertainty about his future – something that we tried to recreate with our music video.