Evaluation

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

Clearly my video is aimed at women between the ages of 16 and 30. This video would be particularly liked by women who like artistic videos. The shots used, I hoped would appear like some of the photos from the influences, however the influences have all got an element of colour against the black and white.









This I hoped to create in my video, however the technology I used did not have the capabilities for me to do this. I felt that the video should still keep the softness and elemental, artistic quality of these images.

The music videos typically aimed at this audience usually show the emotions of the artist, for this audience the songs are about love, relationships and heart break. This is relateable to the audience, so the emotions shown in the video are immediately understood as they probably will have experienced them at some time or another. In order for these emotions to be shown within this video I used close-ups to capture the artists facial expressions.




Also how the artist is standing looking into the distance, as if she is remembering also shows the audience how the artist is feeling. This can be found in many female artists videos which have are about broken heartedness/longing.





I feel that the use of close-ups to demonstrate the artist's emotions is a typical feature of other music videos of this type, this is to allow not only promotion of the artist but also so that the audience can relate to the artist. This I felt was particularly well shown in Leona Lewis' song 'I Got You'.





These close-ups were off to one side of the frame and I thought this worked really well in showing the artist's emotions. These shots influenced how I placed Bethany in the shot when she was leaning on a tree.






The use of black and white in the majority of theshots gives the video a sense of softness as well as portraying the artist's emotions. Emotions are never black and white, and although the video is in black and white, the colour is more a grey scale reflecting the greyness of emotions, therefore reflecting the artist's emotions. The reason I decided to use black and white was because when watching Beyonce's video for 'Broken Hearted Girl' I really liked the emotion that was shown through this. It reflected the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Within this video it also had a section of the video in colour.

(unfortunately the clip I wanted to be here to show the use of black, white and colour in Beyonce's song Broken Hearted Girl will not upload, however you can view the whole video in my influences post).

I liked this idea although thought that for my video I would like more that on section of colour. This is why I chose to put the chorus in colour, as the lyics for the chorus I felt would suit a more colourful portrayal.

(unfortunately the clip I wanted to be here to show the use of black, white and colour in my music video's chorus however it will not upload, you can view the whole video in my final video post).

The locations used I felt would fit this music video as the audience would be able to easily relate them as they can all be found in most towns. Also as mentioned earlier I wanted this video to look artistic. When watching Alesha Dixon's 'To Love Agian'. I really liked the locations used and they way they were shot and the with the sunlight.

(unfortunately the clip I wanted to be here to show the use of locations and the artistic shots included in Alesha DIxon's 'To Love Again will not upload, however you can view the whole video in my influences post).

I felt that these types of shots and locations were the feel that I wanted my video to have.

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








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










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What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From my feedback I was pleased they saw that the target audience for my video was women aged between 16 and 30. They said that this was because the artist was female and the emotions portrayed by the song and the visuals were more relateable for women than for men.
When putting the music video together, I decided not to have a male presence in the video as I felt this would show that the artist is trying to move forward. Instead I wanted to show tese fears and emotions within the visuals, linking then to the song. The coloured sectons of the video links to the lyrics, of wanting and this I thought should be in colour as its knowing what she wants, where as in the verses, its more thinking back to memories and how she is feeling, so felt this was better shown in black and white, meaning to show the grey areas of her emotions. The difference between black and white and coloured video, the feedback said that the audience felt they could see the difference in emotions between the two and that this worked well. The feedback said that the codes and conventions of this video led them to see a girl displaying a broken heart and many feedback comments were that they could relate to the emotions shown.
I went on to ask how he artist was porrayed in this vdeo and many of the same comments got made, that the artist although appearing confident was actually lonely and hearbroken, another comment made was that she is in love, but that she is unloved.
When asking about improvements that could be made to the video, there were several suggestions, some I agreed with and some that I didn't. One of the suggestions that I didn't agree with, although it was something it was something I considered when first coming up with ideas. This was that the artist should at some point be running to further develop the relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, however due to the speed of the song I did not feel that this would of looked right.
One suggestion that was made, now after finishing the video is something I would really of liked to of done, and this was to have a few flash backs to the artist and the boy, showing of memories, these would of been in faded shots. When initially deciding on ideas I decided againgst having a male presence in the video as I felt that the video should be about trying to move on, rather than focusing on the past. However, now having finished the video I agree with the suggestion that there should of been some memory type shots.
After asking about improvement points I asked about what they thought worked particularly well in the video and the response was that people liked the mix of black, white and colour within the vdeo and that the shots are artistic. One shot that was repeatedly mentioned as being a good shot was that of the close-up of Bethany leaning against the tree, from this the feedback said that the use of different locations but keeping an element of similarity between them worked well.
Finally, when asking for any other comments several metioned that the lip synching between the video and the audio track was good.


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When doing my evaluation I used Adobe Premier Elements, Windows Movie Maker, a didital camera, a microphone.
Some aspects of my evaluation have had to be written onto the blog because although I have done audio tracks for them I could not work out how to get them onto the blog as just an audio file.


One other vital piece of media technology what I have used constantly over this entire task has been the blog. This has enabled me to upload my work (most of it anyways) so that it can all be stored in the same place with acces to anyone who wants to view it. Also allowed me to of kept track of what work I had done and what had to be done. As well as storing all my work in the order it was done.

I have enjoyed this media task, the challenges involved have meant that I have learnt alot and had a lot of fun along the way.

:-)

Influences for Website

The websites I looked at were all for female artsits with roughly the same audience as that of 'Bethany'. This was so that I could see what they decided was aprropriate and reach out to their audience.















Alesha Dixon


This website is aimed at a slightly younger audience than I would like mine to be however liked some aspects of this website.
This website has been kept simple using 2 main colours, pink and black. These keep the website looking professional yet feminine.
The image of the artists suggests her looking at the audience, she looks carefree, confident and as if she is having fun. This image looks as if it was a friend's image of her, rather than one that has been properly posed.
This website only has this page. The section in the centre of the page can be used to view 'news' stories such as a new album coming out etc, however does have other pages allowing you to view other information about the artist.
I like the position of the image, however would want the website to have pages in order for fans to find out more about the artist.

















Leona Lewis



This website is all in muted colours, the background and font being in black, white and grey. This means that the image pops out of the page, making the artist the central feature, even though she isnt in the middle of the page, your eye is immediately drawn to her face.
The image suggests that you are seeing into her soul, rather than her looking at us, its all about us looking at her. The use of a faded black and white image in the background, I think shows the artist's softer side as the main image suggest bold and confidence, where as the back ground image is almost as if we are getting a glimpse of the more emotional side of her.
This website does have different pages, I like this and the layout of these (in a table) suits the image and colour sceme well, however for my artist I would not want to set the links up like this as would prefer a softer layout.
















Taylor Swift


This website I feel suits the artist very well and portrays many of the emotions that are in her songs. This website does not have a main colour instead it has a main theme of nature.
The font used for the artist's name is 'twirly' and feminine, I think this is meant to be a reflection of how the artist wants to be perceived. The use of flowers and butterflies and are symbols of femininity. Orchids have the meaning of beauty and love, emotions that are shown in her songs and I think orchids were deliberately used because of this. The butterflies are Morpho butterflies and the meaning changed, is also an epithet of Aphrodite and Venus. Of course Aphrodite is the Greek Godess of love, beauty and sexuality and Venus was the Roman Godess of these qualities aswell. Again I believe this butterfly was used to further show the qualities of the artist.
The image of the artist is as the artist looking at you rather than you looking at her. Her make-up is kept natural, suggesting innocence however she looks seductrive and confident, for many of her audience this will be how they want to be perceived.
I like this website as it has links to other pages, yet they are inobtrusive to the page, yet clear enough for the page to be easiliy navigated. The use of a butterflies and flowers and the way the artist is dressed immediately allows the audience to see who she is... The video used on her home page is a more intimate look into her life, showing things that her audience would not usually get to view as they are not 'big' stories.















Beyonce


As it was one of Beyonce's songs that my artist used, I was particularly interested in the layout of this website.
The font used for the artist and album name are futuristic, however the pose and softness of photo has an air of innocence about it. The pose suggests innocence in the way she is covering herself, but the fact that she appears to me naked suggests confidence.
Again this website has different pages and the links to these seperate the banner at the top of the page from the photos, blog etc at the bottom. I like this layout as it is very clear to read and navigate around. The simplicity of the banner of the top of the page is something that hope to create in some form on my own website.

Feedback Questionnaire

These I asked people for when trying to get feedback from my music video.



1. What audience do you think this music video is for and why?

2. Do the codes and conventions used in this music video reflect the target audience? Why?

3. Do you think the use of colour and black and white work well together?

4. How do you think the artist is portrayed in the video?

5. Are there any parts of this music video that you think could be improved for any reason?

6. Are there any parts of this music video that you think work particularly well?

7. Any other comments

Artists Digipak

Artist's Website

Website Home Page

This is my home page for the artist's website, I wanted to keep it similar to the music video, I decided to do this by making the website black and white.

The image I used I wanted to be simply posed so that the artist is looking at the audience but so that the audience are not only looking at her but also seeing her. The top she is wearing has stripes on this meant that there is detail, but not enough to distract the audience from the artist herself.

The links I put at the top of the page this is because I feel it makes the site easy to navigate around and gives the page a look of professionalism. This also means that the links bar and image can remain in the same place on every page and the links bar will be clear enough to see so that it is accessible to the audience, but also so that any other objects that are put on the page are not obscurred.

As this is the home page of the website I decided to leave this page very simple with just the artist's picture, name and links so that the audience can instantly recognise whose site they are on and they can look at the information they want, in their own time instead of having in pushed upon them. The font I chose to use for Bethany was Lucida Handwriting this was because I wanted the writing to flow and I felt the best way to get this was throught the use of 'joined-up' writing with curves, rather than a harder more rigid font.

I created this page on Macromedia Dreamweaver. I kept the background white and created layers in order to add the image, text, bar and links. The image was the first thing that I added to the website. The image I edited in Adobe Photoshop, I changed the image to black and white and then edited out the background and any stray hairs that didn't look right in the photo. I decided to put the image to the left hand side of the page as she is looking over her right shoulder and so the image wouldnt work on the right hand side of the pagel. I also didn't want it in the centre, as I wanted to carry the layout through to every page so to have the image in the centre would allow very little space for any objects or would mean putting the objects on top of the artist's image and as the website is to promote the artist I felt this would not suit this aim. I had decided to put the links bar at the top of the page in order for the user to have easy navigation around the site. The font I used for the links I wanted to be similar to the font for Bethany, however not the same, so I kept the font 'joined-up' and put the writing white so that it can be seen against the grey and still keep with the blach and white colour scheme.

Photo's Page

Obviously the layout with the artist's image and link bar have remained the same, this is so that there is continuity throughout the website. The image constantly allows promotion through the image and the links bar means that the user can easily navigate around the site.

The photos were all edited using Adobe Photoshop and would be constantly updated depending on events the artist has attened/performed at. The would also change when ever the there was a new album/single release so that there is the referencing between the artist's work and what is on the website. The photos would be randomly put on the page, rather than in straight lines, this is because the target audience wouldn't want to see photos arranged in, what would appear to them as boring.

Other Pages of the Website

The other pages of the website include:

Music - this will have information about the artists up coming music, singles and albums, on this page there will also be the most recent music video.

Biography - on this page there will be information all about the artist's life.

Events - this page will have information about any concerts and festivals the artist will be perfoming at. Also any appearances they will be at.

Lyrics - this page will mean that the audience will be able to access the lyrics to the artist's songs.

All these pages will be updated regularly to keep the audience informed.

Also as artist's often change their look etc, for different albums songs the layout and colour scheme will change depending on the release of new music etc.

If I had the capabilities I would like to have a small media player at the top of each page that plays about 3 of the artist's most recent songs.

Change of Ideas

Due to the weather and access to locations, I decided to change the locations that I would shoot my video in. The locations I plan to use are all within Cobham, Surrey. I really wanted to keep some kind of water in the video as it suggests tranquility, but can also be strong/powerful.

These were all some possibilities of the locations I would use in Cobham.

Cobham Mill:

River:

Streets:

Pond:

Other shots:

Final Music Video

Animatic

Permission Letter

Influences

Film Influences

Calendar Girls (2003)





This is one of my influences because of the photograhy they use for the camera and this was the clip of the film that showed the images they used. As was unable to find the images through search engines such as Google.
The images used for the calendar were taken of women from the WI who posed nude with typical WI type activities, such as gardening, baking, painting etc. Each of these photos had a sunflower in, this was in the memory of one of the women's husbands who had died of cancer. The photo was in black and white apart from the sunflower which was yellow.

Influences

Picture Influences

Influences

Music Video Influences



Alesha Dixon - To Love Again




This video demonstrates several genre characteristic for a typical female artist with an audience of women aged between 16 and 30 this would be through the song being about love and relationships. The video is shot artistcally which appeals to this audience. The artist although being dressed up in heels and a fur coat, still gives the impression of naturalness and this is through her hair and make-up, this means that this particular audience will still be able to not only relate to the emotions in the song but also to the artist herself.

The visuals with in this video relate to the sentiments expressed in the lyrics, this is by the lyrics talking about her being all by her self and she is seen walking through the park on her own. Although there are people who walk past her they further emphasise that she is there on her own. Also in the lyrics she talks about light and as she is walking along the sun is constantly shining behind her and sometimes taking preserdence in the shot, again this strengthens the relationship between lyrics and visuals.

With in this video there are lots of close-ups of the artist, this wll be to appease the record label as it means that the artist is constantly being promoted throughout the video. The expression on the artist face is quite often the same for the close-ups which keeps contanuity through out the video. Although close-ups in music videos are to promote the artist and to keep the record companies happy. I believe that in this video the close-ups allow the emotions to be expressed more clearly and so that the audience really understands and can relate to the feelings expressed in this song.

Through out this video Alesha is constantly looking into the camera as if she is seeing you clearly rather than looking into a camera lens, also some of the shots are shot in a way that the audience feel like they know the artist. The make-up on the artist's eyes make them seem bigger almost seeming as if the audience are looking at her soul and know the real her.

This video gave me the idea of having the artists walking through a park or a similar kind of location. I really like the simplicity of this video, it really works with the song as a bigger video would overpower the song. Although the majority of the video is of the artist, there are shots of the story, that are still in the same location as the artist, this suggests that they are thoughts rather than something that is actually happening. The lighting and colours of this video are kept neutral and seem muted the only feature of this video that really stands out is the light from the sun, this seems to suggest that there is hope and happiness, even if it does not seem so at the time.

Beyonce - Broken Hearted Girl





Again this video demonstrates several genre characteristics of a music video aimed at this age of audience, however in this video it is focused around the sea rather than a park. This to me shows a true realtionship between love and relationships, as water never flows on a straight course and it can have calm days and there can be rough days as in relationships and love.

The relationship between lyrics and visuals differs from that of Alesha's as in this video the links are suble but kind of obvious at the same time. The fact that the video is in black and white when Beyonce is playing in the sea and along the beach suggests that these are just memories, however this does not become apparent until the end of the video after the section when the video is in colour. In the coloured section of the video you see the artist taking a rose to pieces, picking of the leaf and petals, this suggests real life. This is then reversed (still in colour) and you see the petals being stuck back onto the rose until it is perfect again and it is after this that it goes back to black and white, with Beyonce playing in the sea and having fun, confirming that the coloured parts are current and the black and white memories.

Again in this video there are lots of close-ups promoting the artist and for me, especially in the coloured section really showing the artists emotions.


Leona Lewis - I Got You

Ideas continued

Due to the song choice it will reflect a female audience, age range late teens to late twenties. They will probably be able to realte to the video in someway as I want the video to portray emotions many girls feel, although don't show.



I want this video to show the soul, how girls can break down (element of brokeness) but remain composed and in control to everybody around them.

Ideas for the Video

Different locations, however in each location people are all experiencing the same emotions. These would be centred around one of friendship, family or relationships.

The different locations would have contrasts between tranquility, rushing, calm, busyness this would mean show that no matter where you are the same things happen, complete opposites yet all having something in common.



Possible Locations would be



Oxford Street

Regent Street

Tube Stations

These locations would show rushing especially at tube stations and the busyness of the shops.



Beach - Brighton

- Ferring

The beach can suggest trainquility and calm when there is blue skies and clear water, however with dark skies and large waves can also suggest stormy and depth.



Garden/Park - Bushy Park

- Hyde Park

This could be a location for the artist to be singing.



River - River Mole

- Thames

- Cobham Mill

This could also be a location for the artist to sing.



Night Club - Oceana

- McCluskys

Smash Into You Lyrics

Smash Into You Lyrcis

Head down
As I watch my feet take turns hitting the ground
Eyes shut
I find myself in love racing the earth
And I'm soaked in your love
And love was right in my path, in my grasp
And me and you belong

I wanna run (run)
Smash into you
I wanna run (run)
Smash into you

Ears closed
What I hear no one else has to know
Cause I know
That what we have is worth first place in gold
And I'm soaked in your love
And love was right in my path, my grasp
And me and you belong, oh...

I wanna run (run)
Smash into you
I wanna run (run)
Smash into you
Smash into you
Oh...

Head down
As I watch my feet take turns hitting the ground
Eyes shut
I find myself in love racing the earth
And I'm soaked in your love
And love was right in my path, in my grasp
And me and you belong...
Oh.... I wanna run
Smash into you
I'm willing to run (run)
Smash into you
I'm ready to run, run, run, run, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I'm ready to run, run, run, run, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
I wanna run, run
Smash into you
I'm willing to run (run)
Smash into you

Final Choice of Song

I have chosen to create a music video for Beyonce's 'Smash Into You', from the album 'I am...Sasha Fierce', this was never released as a single and so never had a video made for it. This isn't one of Beyonce's well known songs. 'Smash Into You' had 4 writers including Beyonce, the other three were C. 'Tricky' Stewart (who was also the Composer and Co-Producer), he has worked with artists such as Rihanna, Britney Spears and Mary J Blige. Terius 'The Dream' Nash (also Co-Producer), he also worked with Rihanna, Mariah Carey and Christina Milian. Thaddis 'Kuk' Harrell who has also worked with Rihanna, Mariah Carey and Usher. The Executiive Producers on this song were Beyonce hereself and her father Matthew Knowles (founder of Music World Entertainment).

Secondary Brainstorm of Ideas

When brainstorming ideas for a different song, I considered songs that I really liked and then looked at the songs I felt had the right tone, lyrics and rhythm. I want a sad tone to the song, although the song itself is not sad.

The songs I came up with were these:

Kings of Leon - Cold Desert, this song never had a video created for it. I really like the meaning of the lyrics in this song, however felt that creating a video I would be happy with would not be a possibility as my visions for this video would of had a desert featured in it somewhere and this would not be possible to capture in the UK.

Snow Patrol - Run, this is one of my all time favourite songs, the lyrics have such a deep meaning and as there have been two music videos created for this song. I feel that I would not be happy with the video I produced for this song so have decided against it.

Beyonce - Broken Hearted Girl, I love this song, however the video that has already been created for it has a very similar feel to what I would want to create for my music video so as I do not want to be creating a music video similar to the original I don't think this song would be the right choice.

Beyonce - Smash Into You, this song is one that you listen to on the album but never truely take it in. After listening to it several times, I found this song to really beautiful and as it hasn't had a music video made or been released as a single nobody has any preconceived ideas as to what this video could be of.

P!nk - Sober, the video that has already been released for this video is really well known and dramatic, due to the costuming and the settings I think it would be really hard to create a video that everybody wouldn't compare to the original, even if my video for it would be completely different to the original.

Paramore - Use Somebody (Kings of Leon Cover) , this is a great song when performed by both artists however after listening to this song a few times I did not feel inspired for ideas. So I hink that if I can't get some kind of ideas from the beginning I would struggle the entire time trying to work out what to do next.

Media Coursework

For my A2 Media Coursework I have chosen to create a music video. It took me a long time to come up with any ideas as wasn't sure what song I wanted to use and didn't have a concept to base the video around.

Over the summer I decided to work in a partnership with Amanda, we chose the song Funkytown by Lipps Inc. We came up with the concept of teenagers wanting to be individual, but still wanting to be accepted/fit in with the rest of their peers. The video was to be post-modernistic. However, over the summer and at the beginning of the term we discovered that within school our timetables clashed, this meant that we were unable to work on the task in school hours. We tried to find time outside of school to work together, this was very problematic as Amanda and I live about an hour away from each other, because of this we decided that we should work individually.