Alessia Cara ~ Scars to Your Beautiful ~ Final Cut

Evaluation ~ Question 4

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

We used a range of media technologies. A key one we used was the Sony HD Camera (RCX Model). This was the camera that we used to develop and create our music video. The camera allowed us to take the steady shots that we planned to include in our music video with ease as the camera was able to support us.This meant that our music video fitted more with the codes and conventions of a contemporary R&B music video. The still shots that we gathered from the use of this camera allowed us to effectively get the message across to the audience. It was important that the quality of the shots were high as our aim was to get across a serious message which would be less impactful if the user is focusing on poor shots instead of the product having an escapism impact on the audience. The camera allowed us to achieve this which allowed the video to have a more professional feature to it. 

Another piece of media technology that we used was a DSLR Canon Camera. We had the intention to use this media technology to take the photographs for our print artefacts. However, during the photoshoot, the camera died due to a low battery. Since we found ourselves running short for time, we had to improvise. Instead of the DSLR camera, we used an iPhone camera which allowed us to take high quality photos. We underestimated how good the quality was going to be for the photos that were took with the Apple product. We were intending to use the DLSR camera for the photoshoot because it would have ensured that the photos were a high quality which would ensure that the digipak looked proficient. Using a camera meant that we were able to take the equipment to the location we wanted to use as the background for the print artefacts.

If more time was available when making the digipak we would ensure that the DSLR camera would be the one we used to capture images as it would allow the final products to look more professional as the quality would be superior.

YouTube was used to aid us in the research and planning stage of our project. This is due to us looking at existing music videos in order to have in depth research and a better personal understanding. We wanted to know what a successful music video looks like. We chose to analyse Lady Gaga's music video for Bad Romance. We chose this music video because it is a rich text which includes a lot of representation. YouTube is a useful tool to use because a lot of content is available to view for no cost which has allowed us to research into existing products. The benefit of this is that I was able to collect research which improved my understanding of how to make a music video and what content needs to be included, alongside having a greater understanding of the codes & conventions that successful music videos contained.

Once completion of research was achieved and a wide amount of knowledge was established about music videos and their codes and conventions, I presented them onto my online blog. The blog aided me in my organisation of the project and allows a productive place to store all my relevant research, final cut and print artefacts. An advantage to using Blogger to present my process of planning and research is that it is easily accessible. the internet is easily accessible either at home, at college or whilst I use my phone. Therefore, when needed, I was able to access the blog to update the research or to ensure that I was organised.

To create the music video and the magazine advert, we used Adobe Premier and Photoshop. We used Adobe Premier to edit our music video because it meant that we were able to effectively create the music video to the best of our ability. Adobe Premier was easily accessible at the college which meant that we were able to edit in our spare time during the school day. This helped us with our time management. An advantage to using Premier was that it was efficient and it allowed us to make changes to the music video. By being able to make changes after the first cut, this meant that we were able to follow the codes and conventions more. Adobe Photoshop was used because it was effective in aiding us to create the magazine advert. There are a range of effects and tools which meant that we were able to edit the image in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing for the target audience. An example of how we used a tool within Photoshop was to blur the background of the image. From our feedback after the first draft, we found that the image we used previously was not suitable therefore we changed the image and blurred the background. We did this because it meant that the audience was able to read the key information that needed to be included.

Another media technology we used to construct our project was Microsoft Publisher. We used this because Publisher allowed us to create the layout for the digipak easily and efficiently, similarly we used Photoshop in order to edit photos and ensure quality was as high as possible.

We were able to change photographs that we had used after feedback easily which meant that we were able to create digipak quickly. The advantage to using Publisher was that it meant we were able to print prototypes. Printing the prototypes allowed us to understand how the digipak would be folded. It also meant that we were able to see clearly how effective and how suitable the images we used were. This is because we had a physical prototype instead of looking at the format on a screen.

Other media technology we used was

• Emaze. This allowed me to create effective presentations which have been used to present the codes and conventions of magazine adverts as well as our audience feedback.
• Microsoft Excel. We used this because we needed to create a production schedule. Excel allowed us to create a neat table which would ensure we met clear deadlines.

Evaluation ~ Question 3

Evaluation ~ Question 2

Evaluation ~ Question 1

Alessia Cara Magazine Advert

Alessia Cara Know-It-All CD

Creative Journal ~ Digipak Creation

Upon creating the magazine we started out with the original picture, which is shown below. We then edited it in Photoshop to blur the background too allow us to make the design more fluent and work better together.

The next step was editing the images that needed to be presented onto the magazine. This meant using software such as Photoshop and paint to remove backgrounds with ease.

Creative Journal - Digipak Development

When creating the CD cover we made multiple versions and got feedback on each to see which would best suit our target audience. Overall we made a total of three mock ups and then we created the final. We printed each prototype off to get an idea of if the product looked effective and how we planned for it to be.

Prototype One

The first prototype we created is shown above. This was the basic design, main focuses were getting image positioning and appropriate quotes and fonts to fit the style. The main issues with this prototype is the rotation of the top three images (this need to be upside down in order for the print to work correctly). We also decided that the quotes didn’t work as effectively as we hoped so we addressed this in the second prototype. Another main focus with this prototype was the back of the cover, ensuring that it contained the correct and appropriate information in order for it to give a professional feel. The prototype is missing a spine, which we realised after the creation. The middle we decided to be simplistic, this being because with the three photos we took, there was a lot of graffiti and therefore a lot going on which needed balancing. We used the colour pink to reflect the music video (use of the green screen in the zoom) this way the CD cover was reflective of the music video which carried the main message the artist carries.

Prototype Two

The second prototype we created (shown above) started to come together more, this being because we had the correct positioning of the slides, in the first prototype the slides were not placed correctly. We planned and designed the front slide for this prototype and incorporated the spines throughout, however, upon printing we realised the front slide was not rotated appropriately. We also were not too sure about the quotations and their positing on the CD, alongside the spine being the wrong way round which we later corrected. We also decided that the print was too bare, so we decided to add another image in the middle. The feedback that impacted this decision was that there was too much pink so we took this into consideration for prototype three. We looked into how the spine needs to be so we could incorporate the appropriate information, this being the artist’s name, the album name, serial number and the record label logo.

Prototype Three

Prototype Three was created using the feedback from prototype two, as shown we used more photos to decrease the amount of pink in the product. However, upon personal reflection we decided that two quotes weren’t as effective as we intended.  

Final Product

This view allows you to see the product internally.

This view allows you to see the external element of the product.

The final product allowed us to act upon feedback given by our audience, it meant we could ensure the impact that it has and how eye catching the product actually was. The final product was deemed successful because it has strong continuity between the digipak and the final video. This ensured that people was able to make the connection between the two products and were able to successfully identify which genre the artist belonged to.

Audience Feedback

Magazine Advert Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions of  a magazine advert is demonstrated below.

Code/conventions	Reason
Artist Name & Album Title	This is how the reader will identify the artist. The advert’s purpose is to promote the artist & album, so there needs to be recognisable features so the audience knows what they’re looking for and they can identify the product, it also allows the advert to stick in the audience’s head to achieve its purpose. It is also important for the advert to contain information to help the audience purchase the album.
Purchase Information	Key elements of this is the release date of the album, or if it is now available it should be stated in order to inform the audience. The audience should also be informed if the album is only available a physical copy or is available digitally as well. If this is the case, is the album available on the artists website or on ITunes. Likewise knowledge on where to purchase the physical copy will be beneficial.
Reviews	This is a key component as it gives the audience good faith that the album is worth their money. The audience hearing from someone who isn’t a company has a different impact on their likelihood of purchase. The audience may also look on website to see reviews for the artist and their albums. For example, if the artist that was being advertised was in the rock genre then Kerrang! Magazine is the likely place for them to look. It is important that only good reviews are included within the advert. Star ratings are also popular.
Imagery	The imagery that the advert contains will be the difference between the reader stopping on the advert or carrying on. The imagery should reflect the artist and their music effectively and should also follow a aesthetically pleasing design scheme.
‘Featuring’	Artists take advantage of current releases to also advertise their past releases and will be able to use popular songs off of the current album to catch the attention of the audience. The impact this has is an identifying factor which decides whether they purchase the album or not.
Online Links	Addresses for relevant website should be shown on a magazine to allow the audience to read more about the artist and the new or past albums. Links to their social media should also be apparent to engage the audience into the life of the artist, developing a person connecting with them. It is important to create synergy between the online advertisements and the physical advertisements. Using social media and online promotions will allow the artist to target a younger generation which can be greatly effective.

Anotated Magazine digipak

Codes and Conventions of a Digipak Magazine

Storyboard

Survey and Analysis

We conducted a survey with a range of people to help us establish a target audience for our artist and music video. We asked a range of questions in order to get an idea of what the audience is interested in and their general lifestyle.

Question 1.

What age category do you fall into?

We asked the general question about age to the participants. This is because it allows us to see what age range most of the data is coming from. We understood that the information would mainly come from the 15 to 19 age range. This was beneficial to us, this being because we belong to this age range as well we can relate to how the audience understands the media product. From this question alone we can establish that most of the participants will be tech savvy and therefore we know how they would access the music video also the topics that are most popular with this age range. However we took into account that other age ranges are involved and therefore we needed to us this to our advantage when creating the music video we needed to ensure that it is suitable for all age ranges.

Question 2. 

 What social grade do you fall into?

The second question that we asked was involving social grade. We briefly explained each social grade so that the correct social grade was selected.

The most popular social grade was as expected, this being student or/and part –time worker. This is reflective of the age range. This allows us to establish the kind of disposable income, this is important because we need to establish how to have our artist relatable to the audience and therefore helps us create the impact that we want on them.

Question 3.

What is your gender?

The third question that we asked was what gender category they fell into, this allows us to see if our main target audience was female or male. This although is not important as some other questions we asked, it allowed us to establish what aspects should be included in the music video. It is important in society and the same applies to our music video due to the message to not present an unrealistic expectation to young girls about how they should look, similarly, we should include unrealistic expectations as it will impact young men’s expectations.

Question 4.

What artists do you listen to?

The 4^th question we asked applied directly to the genre that the artist falls into. The most popular being the R&B line up we made. This including the artist we are using. This allows us to establish how many people will be attracted to the music video based off of the genre alone. We also established similar artists. This was important to our print artefacts it allowed us to see what artists we should encourage or presents relation to.

Question 5.

What interests/hobbies do you have?

  

We asked about the hobbies that the participants have, this was important due to the first draft we had when attempting to formulate a narrative.  However, after the change we established we still want the artist to be relatable and therefore we decided we may incorporate their hobbies within the music video.

Question 6.

 What phone brands do you use?

We enquired about the type of phone that our participants use, this was in order to effectively incorporate product placement. The most popular, as expected, was Apple. This therefore impacted the phone we used within the video as we know that product placement impacts the sales of the product.

Question 7.

What social media platform do you use the most?

This question was wanted in order to establish where our audience goes on social media the most. From this we can see Facebook and Twitter are the most popular and therefore it means that the video will be shared on these platforms in order to spread the message to as many of the target market as possible.

Question 8.

What issues are most concerning in today's society?

We asked our participants what is the most concerning issue within today’s society.  We varied the answers from things that were currently going viral, this being because today’s audience enjoys to be able to relate to a video as it captures their attention. However, the issue considered the most important is mental health, with the recent increase of awareness this was expected. The second most popular is the issue of body image this is the message within our music video this allows us to know that the message will impact a large amount of people.

Question 9.

 What platform gets messages across best?

This question was asked in order to see how they would normally receive a message, the most popular being social media, which was unexpected, we expected music to be the most popular. However, from this we took that the video should be shared on a variety of social media in order to get people’s attention.

Question 10.

What attracts you to a music video?

This question was asked in order to see what draws an audience to a music video. We discovered that the song is the main thing that attracts people to music videos the next being the artist, this means that within the music video there should be a large appearance of the artist and therefore abstract videos are not going to be effective.

Test Shots

Test shots were taken in order to help understand the lighting and presentation of the subjects within different shots. It was important to create a range of test shots as within the final production lighting will be key when presenting the emotion and helping the development of the narrative. I used the actor that will be used within the final product as this means that the height will remain consistent and therefore the lighting will be presented and similarly to the final product.

When conducting the test shots the main element that we changed was the lighting. This is because the video is going to have a ‘moody’ impact on the audience at some points and a more positive mood towards to end.

The decision to create a moody effect on the shots means that when shooting we have to be careful. The test shots area shown below, where positive and negative elements of the shots are taken into account and expressed.

Originally it was decided that the subject moves around a light in the centre of the shot in order to get an idea of how the light and the camera react with each other and reflects onto the subject. These images are presented below.

We concluded that the most effective based on the emotions we want to implement onto the audience is the first image. This is because the lighting is strong enough to clearly see the subject and their facial expression and body language, however isn't too strong that the lighting reflects a positive atmosphere. We have however, considered using the last image to present the performance elements within the product as these are more neutral mood moments that the artist is sharing with the audience and this means that when the brighter lighted scenes are presented, it creates a sense of utopia. The second image shows a moody lighting, which although is what we want to reflect, the lighting blocks the audience the chance of seeing the subject clearly.

From this we decided to take images by windows, although the day we conducted this it was not a bright day due to the rain, it helped us discover the kind of impact that filming the outside and performance elements will have as we are planning on filming this using natural lighting to create the darker lighting.

We decided to use a close up and a medium shot for these test shots, as these are the shots we are most likely to use when filming. After looking at them once they were displayed on the computer we discovered that the artificial lighting took an impact on the subject and therefore we decided that although not natural lighting that the contrast between the dark background and the artificial lighting reflecting onto the subject that the second image is more effective as the lighting on the subject clearly presents the facial expression to the audience.

 

After this we decided to use a room that had plain wall so that the lighting is reflective across the shot. We took these in order to see the impact on the subject with a strong white light on them. We chose to shoot against a wall with two shades (white & grey) in order to see the impact on the subject in comparison to its surroundings. We then added colour into the shot, in order to see the contrast. We took into account the clothes the subject was wearing, the clothes are neutral and pastel which will be common theme of the outfit throughout the music video.

After this we took to an area with a different colour light. For this we used the canteen at the sixth form. These shots are shown below. We took one image with the subject in the middle in order to get a complete artificial lighting shot, with the colour that was reflected due to the colour of the lighting, we decided against these shots. However, we took into account the angles and the lighting next to the window. The second and third image are mainly reflective of natural lighting, so we took to angle shots.  We concluded we liked the high angel of the subject due to the way the light reflects, we decided using a high angel shot would be beneficial due to the connotations that come along with it, these being that the audience has power and knowledge of that compared to the subject. This is the kind of impact that we want on the audience this being due to the subject and actions that the subject is conducting in within the music video.

After this we decided that we would take pictures under a white light again, these were mainly for the brighter scenes such as scenes towards the end and the performance scenes. We decided to take pictures in a classroom and outside in a coridoor in order to get a feeling of how the light is diributed across a large open area. We concluded that we prefer the whiter light for the scenes were most appropriate as they represent a more happy emotion and therefore allow the audience to distiguse between happy moments within the video, this along with after affects will enable the point is clearly made. We used different shots such as long shots and close ups in order to allow us to see how the light reflects onto the subjects face. This is because in some scenes we plan on having a close up of the artist menaing it is important for the audience to clearly see the subjects facial expression.