Evaluation Question 4

Click here to go to question 4 of my evaluation

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Final Magazine Advert

Because I added a yellow gradient to my digipak I wanted to keep intertextuality and add a yellow gradient to my poster as well to keep the house style constant. This again gives the poster a warm happy feel to it, which is the mood I want to portray in my video.

Final digipak- refined from feedback

I took my feedback on board and added a grain to the back picture and I think this has improved it and given it a more rustic vintage film look, which compliments the beach theme of the digipak. I haven't moved my barcode as it is sitting on the bleed lines so I cannot move it down any further or it will be cut off if printed professionally. I have also added a soft yellow gradient to the front and back of my digipak to give it a happy warm summery look.

Music video, Digipak and Magazine advert focus group

Improvements suggested by my focus group for my music video

•  There should of been some longer shots  
• slow down pace and rhythm of the shots
• overall just slow down the speed of the transitions.

Response to the feedback

Overall I was pleased with all of my music video feedback as the focus group seemed to pick up the general theme and look I was going for and commented a few times how it looked quite 'Indie' which is the genre  and target I was trying to aim the video at. Also a few times they commented about how the footage looked like a home video in the way that it was filmed, that has been the first time anyone has said that about my video and I found it interesting to hear other views and perceptions of my music video and the effect it had on my target audience. 

The general area for improvement for my music video was to slow the pace and rhythm of the shots down. I have taken their points into consideration and I am not going to slow the pace of my music video down as the rhythm and pace of the shots match the beat and mood of the song. If the length of the clips were long it would not match the rhythm and the beat of the music and the audience would become uninterested. If they were to look at the same piece of footage for a long time they would become distracted and I want to keep my audience constantly engaged with the video and this is one of the reasons for keeping the quick pace of each of my clips. The only reason I have one longer shot at the end is because the music slows down so I wanted to mirror that visually as well as audibly. 

Digipak and Magazine Advert

What worked well?

• The background of the poster (pebbles, shells etc)
• The insert (lyric sheet)
• The three products are related to each other, clear house style
• The font worked well as it looked 'Beachy' and 'a bit Indie'

Improvements

• Change the writing to white on the back of the digipak
• The barcode looks out of place (digipak)
• Make the back photo on the back look more 'handy cam' and grainy (digipak)

Response to feedback

Again I was really pleased with the overall response I received from my focus group about my digipak and magazine advert. I was really happy that they pointed out the intertextuality (the beach pebble/shell writing) between the three products, and highlighted the obvious house style running throughout. This to me, was the most important feedback I received as I really wanted my target audience to see the intertextuality between the products and recognise the three products as a whole package. I was also really pleased that they picked up on the style of the font and how they saw it as a 'Seaside' font, which is exactly what I thought when I picked it for my digipak and advert.

The only improvements my focus group suggested were for my digipak. I'm going to see what the track-list text looks like white, but I think I will prefer it dark as I feel it will look more in place, where as I think the white text will look out of place against the rest of the digipak. I am also going to try and move the bar code around until it looks more in place, as I do feel that it just looks like it's floating there in mid air. I really liked this last suggestion for improvement and am definitely going to to experiment with it to make it look more grainy and film like to mirror the style of the music video. I think this will make the digipak more 'beachy' as the grain will be somewhat similar to the sand and give it a vintage, aged look.

Magazine Advert first draft

Digipak First Draft

Front and Back Panels

 Inside Panels

Magazine Advert Flat plan

I have gone for a very plain and simple layout for my magazine advert as it reflects the typical conventions of this particular genre of music. the advertisement products should reflect the simplicity of the music as it's less about the visual look of things and more about the quality and style of the music.

Photos for Magazine Advert

I wanted to use the same image that is on the front of my digipak, on my magazine advert as I wanted to create an intertextuality between the auxilary products so they will create and iconic house style which will allow my target audience to instantly recognise them and the whole advertisement package. I think the photo I will probably use out of these three will be the top one with the warm pinky undertones as it reflects the mood of my video which also has warm undertones throughout.

Font chosen for digipak tracklist

I explored the 'KG' (Kimberley Geswein) fonts for my digipak track list as most of her fonts are quite simple and quirky which is what I was looking for to reflect the acoustic genre of my digipak and the mood of the song. I think the majority of these fonts that I explored are aimed at both male and females as none of the fonts hold extremely feminine (thin font with curly ends) or manly (big bold heavy font) qualities. I don't want my whole advertisement product to be aimed at a particular gender and that it the reason why I have chosen these fonts. 

I have chosen the font 'KG Two is Better Than One' for my track list as I feel it has a similar rugged feel to the front cover of the digipak as it reminds me of the materials that I made the title up of (shells, seaweed etc.).

For me the shape of the font and the sharp angles of the 'R' and 'K' bring an aspect of continuity to the front and back cover which make them visually work well together as they look quite similar

Location reflecting the acoustic genre of my music video

Typical acoustic video location features

Acoustic music videos are usually set in a natural location such as woodland areas and the beach, anywhere that suggests the 'organic' and basic style of the music. It allows the artist to mold the mood of their video through their visuals. Often acoustic videos consist of the artist or actors travelling some where and exploring the world they live in, which gives off connotations of freedom and happiness.

Lighting

Most acoustic videos are set outside so the main lighting that is used is natural daylight, for example the use of sunlight leaking into the camera often creates small glares which gives a happy and content feel to the videos, which again relates back to the genre and style of the music. If set inside, the only lighting used tends to just be the natural lighting that surrounds them, for example windows and ceiling lights.

Acoustic Features of my music video

Location

At the beginning of my music video, during the instrumental I have filmed snippets of the location so the audience can easily infer that I'm filming near the beach. The symbols; the beach hut, boat, star fish and shells are a stereotypical schema of things that you would expect to see on a beach. The location of my video follows the conventions of an acoustic video because it is shot in and around the beach which is a natural setting which reflects the simplicity of the music.

Lighting- pastel undertones

Similar to many acoustic videos, I have used a colour corrector to give my video some pastel undertones so it will match the mood of the video. By giving my video a pastel pink undertone it reflects the overall romantic feel to it. I mixed pink and blue undertones together to create this vintage like colour, by doing this I have used the stereotypical colours a boy and girl would be matched with, which again reflects back to the narrative of my video. The undertones generally make the video feel warm and happy which is what I want it to look like, most acoustic videos have a 'happy go lucky' feel to them such as the ones that I have analysed below.

Analysed acoustic music videos

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

Jason Mraz has followed the typical acoustic video conventions in his video 'I'm Yours'. The video is of Jason Mraz travelling and exploring some of the natural beauty's surrounding him. A lot of his video captures the natural world, for example 3 out of the 4 pictures above are of  some natural locations. This matches the style of the music and how it is naturally produced and not created by a computer. Mraz has increased the contrast of the video to make the vibrant colours of each location stand out to show off the beautiful world we live in. The bright colours also give off a positive vibe for the video. By exploring all of these natural locations, Mraz gives his audience a feel of wanderlust and new experiences like he did in his video.

Jason Mraz- 93 Million Miles

Showing the natural world surrounding him in his videos, is a house style for Jason Mraz. His video '93 Million Miles' is one of his most recent videos from his new album and it's amazing the similarities 'I'm yours' and this video share. Both have multiple shots throughout the video of natural locations such as woodland areas and mountains. Again we see the artist in these natural landscapes, but this time playing his guitar, which again reflects the simplicity of the music itself. The lighting used in this video is natural and warm, which gives the video a calming and mellow feel.

Colbie Caillat - Bubbly

Colbie Caillat's video bubbly again follows these convention. The natural location at the beach and at the house where she is surrounded by potted plants, sets the chilled mood of the song. A warming filter has been used in this video as every time we get a close up of the artist, her face has an orange glow, like the sunset is hitting it. Again, this creates a happy mood throughout the video. All of the colours and tones correspond well together. The natural lighting used gives a sense of the artist being laid back and caring more about the music than the quality of the video.

Taylor Swift - Back To December

'Back to December' by Taylor Swift is a song where she is apologising to a boy who she messed around and regrets doing it. Because the song is a sad song the video has a cold tone to it, making the shots look washed out and pale. This video follows the acoustic video conventions as 'Taylor's' ex is walking through the woodlands (top and bottom right pictures) which again reflects the simplicity of her music. At one point in the video it starts snowing inside the house, I think this is an effective way to use the elements to reflect the mood and meaning of the lyrics of the song.

Magazine Advert Analysis

The Kaiser Chiefs album 'Souvenir' is surrounded by connotations of souvenirs. For example the stick of rock in the centre of the poster is an example of a typical souvenir you would find when visiting the beach and similar to the souvenir itself they have put their album name inside the rock so it looks real, as a piece of rock always has a name or a pattern running through it. The outline of the poster is surrounded by postcards which again is a typical souvenir you would find near the sea. The postcards have the band's name on each individual one to reinstate that this album, is full of singles off their previous albums. The album is full of Kaiser Chief's past hit singles which when put onto an album makes up a souvenir of their best pieces of music and their career. 

The colours are all very bright and vibrant, the central image really stands out against the beige background and therefore draws the audience to the title of the album. The text and font is black and clear to read as it is in block capitals. There also isn't too much writing which doesn't make the poster too crowded and distracting, the use of the images is enough for the audience to infer things. The layout is very central and picture orientated. The name of the band and album are at the top, the album cover in the centre and below has information about the album and it's release, and also has a QR code where fans can scan to access the Kaisers soundboard. The soundboard also holds a similar house style and colour scheme which creates a recognisable relationship between the two products.

Paul Weller's album poster 'Sonic Kicks' shows clear relation to sonic thermal imaging which changes the colour of and object or a person depending on their body temperature. The actual image itself is simple and straightforward as it is just of the main artist himself, but the change in colour makes it much more interesting to look at as the bright vibrant blues and greens really stand out against the deep fiery reds and oranges surrounding them. Similar to the Kaiser Chief's, the font and text is big, largely spaced out and in block capitals making it easy and clear to read. Different to the previous poster, Paul Weller has included ratings from magazines and newspapers to promote his album and encourage his fans and the general public to buy it. Right at the bottom of the poster there is his website and record label, which acknowledges the people who have helped create and put a lot of money into this album. One thing that is missing is the release date of the album, which I would of thought would of been a leading feature to include on the poster.

The name of Florence + the machine's album is Lungs which is clearly reinstated with a picture of the artist laying down in flowers with a pair of lungs hung around her neck. The fact that she is laying down in flowers could reflect the indie genre of her music as most indie/folk genres tend to have the natural world surrounding them in their videos, album covers and advertisements to reflect the 'organic' style of their music. The font that Florence and the machine uses is her iconic house style as that particular font is used on all of her products so they become instantly iconic and recognisable. Similar to all the other posters the text is large, spaced out and is in block capitals which makes it clear to read. The actual name of the album is larger than the rest of the text so it promotes the actual album itself. The date and formats you can buy it in are clearly stated at the bottom of the poster, which again gives the fans and general public all they need to know when it's released.

By looking at these three posters, I have found that all of the layouts are relatively simple and straightforward and each poster uses a clear and large font and is written in block capitals. When creating my poster I will definitely take these aspects into consideration when trying to give my product verisimilitude.

First edit of music video and Peer feedback

Peer Feedback

(different colour represents a different person)

Below are some other feedback sheets my peers filled in

The only improvements people said were:

Add lip syncing

Warmer colour correction

Try not to reuse shots

Make sure actors do not look at the camera

Make sure all my shots are in focus

The only improvements I am taking on board is the colour correction and try not to use the slightly out of focus shots. 

The reason I am disregarding the other improvements  is because I purposely didn't from the outset want to do that. Many people suggested adding lip syncing but I wanted the music and the visuals to tell the narrative instead, and because I couldn't get the artist in my video I didn't want someone young lip syncing an older voice because it would of looked unusual and out of place. The reason I have reused some shots is because the location montage at the beginning is to set the scene for the whole video and the different locations so when each specific scene appears it will already be familiar with the audience. The female actor looked at the camera once and the clip is at the most 1 second long so I am just going to leave it in the video.

First Cut of Music video