Question 3

 

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

For my audience feedback I gave out surveys to my class and other friends. I wanted to make sure I gave the survey to a variety of people with mixed music interests so that the feedback wouldn't be biased. A total of twelve people filled in the surveys.

The questions I asked were:

1. How much did you enjoy the music video? Rate from 1-5
   The majority of the people answered with a 4. this helped me with the general view of my video.
2. Was it easy to understand the narrative? Rate from 1-5
   10 out of the twelve people asked answered either 3 or 4 but one person answered 2. I didn't include much of a story line or narrative because I didn't feel it fitted with the song however it is clear from the audience feedback that it would have worked better if I had included a clearer narrative.
3. How do you rate the camera work and editing? Rate from 1-5
   Half the people rated it 4/5 and the other half rated it a 3. This was good feedback but told me that my camera work and editing was flawed and I could have improved bits.
4. How do you rate the standard of mise-en-scene? Rate from 1-5
   The main number circled for this was 4 with two people circled 5. I chose to include this question because I felt that my outside locations were a main part and wanted to see if the audience understood this and if it appealed to them. The feedback told me that the audience rated the general mise-en-scene fairly high.
5. Would you listen to it again? Yes No Maybe
   Half the males audience members answered no for this question but only one of the female's said no- this shows that my music video and the song is target mainly at a female audience.
6. Can you suggest anything that could improve the appeal?
   The audience answered with suggestions like; 'Variety of shots'. 'A stronger narrative'. 'more close up shots'. These are things that I know needed work and so my own thoughts were backed up through this question.
7. Was there any part of you found confusing or hard to understand?
   Every person who answered this question answered with a 'no' which although simple was helpful.
8. What was the best part of the production?
   Most people felt that the scrabble pieces were the best part of the production. I added these shots late in the editing process and wasn't sure with them so this answer gave me more confidence about using them and i've learnt that putting them in made my video stronger.
9. Rate the music video 1-10
   Three people rated it seven, six people rated it eight and the remaining three people rated it nine. I am happy with this feedback and its helped me to realise the strong and weak points of my music video.

Question 4

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

For my research and planning I used Youtube which helped me find other artists both similar and different it also could look at their conventions which helped me get ideas for my own media products. BlogSpot also helped me during the planning and research stages because it made storing and accessing my work simpler it also meant I could see others work and get feedback from teachers and other students. Having a blog made it easier to use multimedia products such as posting videos and photographs.

During the production of my music video I used digital camera’s I found these were easy to use and easy to transfer the captured video onto a computer. The cameras were also very portable and easy to use they came with tripods which made capturing from different angles and heights easy. I also used Premiere Elements when editing my music video. I found premiere again easy to use. It was also helpful to be able to save at different points of my editing so that if I’d made a mistake I didn’t have to start completely from scratch. Editing the transitions and effects also turned out to be simple as well-meaning I could get more out of premiere and improve my music video. Another type of software I used was Photoshop. I used this mainly for my print productions however I struggled with Photoshop and found it difficult to understand making my print productions less complex.

Question 2

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

The main link between my music video and my print productions is the theme of friendships, because in my video my two actors are portrayed as best friends and for my digipak panel 3 I have these same girls. I chose to have the girls holding hand and sitting close together to show their close friendship this links with my music video because they are holding hands at point in the video and also they sit and stand close together. This panel is also sunny natural lighting and a high angle because in my video one of the shots of the girls is high and my video is outside in the sun. Both media products also have very warm colours because again they are connoting summer. My video is set outside this creates connotations of freedom, my print production images are also taken outside because I wanted to carry on this theme. My panel 2 is of one of my actors jumping of a bench I have then added the lyrics of the song over the top of the image and doubled it and slightly changed each image, this again shows freedom and happiness and because of the lyrics over the top it links directly to my video and song. Another general theme from both my music video and print productions is the theme of happiness; I have created very optimistic and uplifting imagery for both.

Question 1

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

My music video ‘Sweet Possibility’ by Kamilla Lovett follows typical conventions of other media products for example I have cut the images to the beat which is one of Goodwin’s theory’s; there is a relationship between music and visuals. I have also used fast and slow motion which is typical for the genre of my product I have used fast cuts between my scrabble pieces which read the lyrics again this links to Goodwin’s theory because he says that ‘there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.’ . I have used a variety of different shot types and angles. However my music video challenges this by having unconventional locations which are fields and wide open spaces this is an intersexual reference to Colbie Cailat’s music video for Bubbly. These wide open spaces represent connotations of freedom.  My video links with hers also because there is theme of happiness and in both videos the main artist is female showing that female artists are becoming more common. My video is different from Colbie’s because it does not contain any performance which contrasts to Bubbly because it has the artist playing the guitar.

Another typical aspect of music videos that mine follows is the representation of youth, both my main actors are young females, and all the other people that make an appearance in my video are also young. I chose to keep to this convention because the main theme in my track is friendship which is a very important thing to youth and always has been. The theme of friendship is also wide spread across media productions and so by having the same theme in mine I have stuck to more conventions. Jason Mraz’s music video for ‘Im Yours’ also represents friendships and contains wide open spaces similar to mine however his locations are more aspirational.

 My print production also shares the theme of friendships. This appeals to the audience because they feel warmth to the artists and friendships make people happy. Friendships are common of nearly all people so it appeals to the majority.

I have chosen to have my print product DVD shape which contrasts the normal CD shape. I have chosen to do this because the audience of my artist and the buyers of the digi pack would be more interested in imagery and so the DVD would grab their attention and it would mean they’d get more for their money. My front panel is a summery image of the main artists face, this is similar to the front cover of many other artists CD’s for example Adele who is another female solo artist just like Kamilla Lovett. The font on Adele’s front image is very simple which is why I have chosen to keep mine simple as well; it doesn’t draw attention away from the image.

Panel 4

Panel Two

Panel three

 

 Across the atrists that have influenced my artist and my music video there is a running theme of their album covers, which is close ups of the atists faces. I plan on following this pattern with my print production and to have the front cover of my album a close up image.

 

Final Cut of music video

People comments about video;

1) "I enjoyed it, and felt I could empathise with the characters, when they're happy it makes me feel happy."

2) "I liked the scrabble pieces and the connotations of friendship throughout."

3) "The link between lyrics and the visuals was very interesting."

Representation of British youth

Find another text that represents British youth in the same way 'This Is England', 'White Girl' and 'About A Girl' do- in a short paragraph explain the links.

Misfits is about a group of British youths who have committed crimes and are now doing community service. As in the previous three texts we studied in class the Misfits group has no help from adults, no parents are seen to be helping them and their probation worker treats them like scum. The group are also very impressionable just like Shaun from 'This Is England' and Leah from 'White Girl', however the Misfits are misguided by powers, for example in one episode the group is brainwashed by a girl which makes them all act be good, by living by the rules of the bible, forcing identities upon them, this links to 'White Girl' because Leah chooses to change her religion and her parents react as though she's been brainwashed, stopping her from choosing her identity. One of the main links between these texts is that youths are rebellious, each individual from all four texts goes against what their parents/ society wish. Leah and Shaun rebel against their parents to create their own identities and separate lives, whilst the Misfits and girl from 'About A Girl' surpass societies expectations by either breaking the law or shocking the boundaries of what's right and wrong.

Target audience

My Target Audience

My actors and Location

Actors

I chose my actors because they are both doing drama for a level, this means they won’t be camera shy and will be easily able to act a character. They also fit the stereotype of indie as they dress indie normally, because my music track is indie folk this will work well. I wish to show the girls as free spirits, Rosie Wynne and Georgia Steward both have very long hair and this will show their freedom and carelessness. The target audience of my video is young indie girls/women between 16-20 so my actors will appeal  to them because they are young girls and the audience can relate to them.

Location
My music video doesn't have a story line as such instead it includes lots of messages about freedom and discovery, Kamilla sings about finding her peace and the importance of staying free, I use lots of wide open spaces in my video to show the freedom. There is only one moment which is filmed inside, this is an over the shoulder shot of Rosie gazing through a window, this symbolizes her longing for freedom which she later achieves. The song is also about friendship which is why I chose to use two actors because they are best friends. I also have a montage of pairs of people holding hands in my video to show wide spread friendship.

Find Your Tribe

Find your tribe was created by crowd dna for channel 4. The information for find your tribe was found by gathering data from online forums, interviews with marketers, media, event promoters, ect, video and picture diaries and the young people themselves. The purpose of find your tribe was for channel 4 to gather information about the brands, media, lifestyle attitudes and habits that define the different social groups and what separates individuals. 

Indie-pop/ indie-rock

Indie pop is melodic, less noisy, and relatively angst-free, innocent lyrics, The birth of indie pop can be traced back to the post-punk explosion.

Artists;

Kate Nash,

Jason Mraz,

Colbie Cailat,

Lily Allen,

KT Tunstell,

Kamilla Lovett

I have chosen my artist because I think she would be a good artist to promote. Kamilla’s music is easy interpret and gives me imaginative ideas.

Jessie j who’s laughing now- music video analysis

The song who’s laughing now is about all the people who were nasty to Jessie when she was at school, but who now want to be her friend because she is famous and successful. The video exhibits this by being set in a school opening with an establishing shot of the school to show the audience where the video is set. A young Jessie lookalike play’s her as a child. The other school children who bully Jessie are dressed in pink, this links to the 1978 film grease, referencing the pink ladies who are a close group of girls, whom are not very open to new people in their ‘gang’. The young Jessie is dressed in boyish black clothes to symbolise her as a black sheep of the school, all the other children and staff are dressed in bright colours, this makes Jessie stand out as being different.

There is a strong link between lyrics and visuals in the video to ‘who’s laughing now’ this shows that Goodwin’s theory has been followed. They have also followed his theory using the notion of looking, the camera is from Jessie’s class mates point of views. When the music slows the images follow suit, especially when Jessie is surrounded my falling exam papers, this part is in slow motion because the music is at its slowest moment  

When the young Jessie goes on a rampage demolishing the school, she goes into the school theatre and destroys the stage, this indicates that she is breaking boundaries, something that Jessie J is seen to do in her career.  She also sings into a fake camera, this is a foreshadow of her future because we, as an audience. Already know she grows up to be a successful singer performing in front of the camera a lot.  

The lead singer Jessie J also plays all the adult characters in the music video, from her class teacher who falls asleep, to the dinner lady who sits chewing her gum unenthusiastically. Jessie portrays these characters so we see that they didn’t have much time for her when she was young. She also illustrates that they are still stuck being unhappy with their jobs whilst Jessie is very successful and happy.

This music video would be aimed at a target audience of teenagers/students/young bullied children and to a certain extent parents because it sends out and anti-bullying message. The video appeals to its audience because they can relate to the overall themes of it, also most people and teenagers have been bullied so they can sympathise with Jessie making her a more ‘down to earth’ and ‘real’ artist. Jessie’s fans and audience like her because of her wackiness and this video has a lot of weird images which attract and appeal to them, also because the video is representing a child’s dream/vision the bizarre ending fits with this because children often think up strange situations.

Kamilla Lovett- sweet possibility, Lyrics

Sweet possibility- Kamilla Lovett

Today I think I made my peace

It settled in the front row sleeping on seats

Gazing through the window in the smouldering heat

Lazing out in the sun, grass underneath feet

Today bones rested in sleep

Laced around the space it's so damn sweet

Brazen just aint phased to admit defeat

Bitter sweet chase aint the food I eat

(Chorus)

 And oh I say it's all to tide me over

and I’d be such a fool to stay unfree

And oh I say it's all to tide me over

Riding on that sweet possibility

You say you think we've saddled a storm

And rode it all day until the storm turned warm

Well dear sir I think I agree

Under carpet swept dirt won't capture me

Peace sir I can't conceal it

The future's dancing and yes I feel it

Peace sir though shall not hide

Bigger fish to fry then that well posed pride

(Chorus)

And oh I say it's all to tide me over

And I’d be such a fool to stay unfree

And oh I say it's all to tide me over

Riding on that sweet possibility

Shot list

Shot list:

         1. Birds eye view of empty hands forming a flower

         2. Mid, cantered shot of girl looking through window.

         3. Mid/High, zooming angle of girls sleeping

         4. Close up of hand paying wind chime

         5. Mid length/slightly high angled shot of girls wrapped in ribbon.

         6. Long shot of girls standing together.

         7. Close up of girls faces(tape over mouths)

         8. Mid shot/slightly high angle of girls breaking out of ribbon. (Slow motion)

         9. Close up of girls hands(opening hands to reveal writing)

        10. High/cantered angle of girls with poster

        11. Birds eye view of scrabble pieces (lyrics)

        12. All mid shots of people holding hands.

        13. Birds eye view of pride paper being dropped into water.(slowed down)

        14. Birds eye view of 'sweet possibility' written with scrabble pieces.

Fade out.

connotations of lotus flowers

“Lotuses in Hinduism symbolize prosperity, beauty, fertility, eternity and eternal youth.”

“In Buddhism, lotus flowers mean purity of speech, mind and body rising above the waters of desire and attachment.”

I have chosen to use Lotus flowers in the music video because of the connotations with religions. These connotations link to my music video and the lyrics, for example, when she sings “and I'd be such a fool to stay unfree” she is saying that she would be a 'fool' to get attached to someone or something, so this then links with the Buddhism's 'rising above the waters of desire and attachment.'

'Bitter sweet chase ain't the food I eat.' When these lyrics are sung, i'm going to have a shot of my two girls with tape over there mouths reading 'bitter sweet' this again links with Purity of speech, because they are unable to say the bad words.

I have also chosen to use two young girls aged seventeen. The use of young people connotes eternal youth, and beauty which are lotus symbols of Hinduism.

A blue lotus flower means wisdom, knowledge and victory over the senses.

I am using a blue Lotus in my video, this especially links with the lyrics “bigger fish to fry then that well posed pride.” because she is using her wisdom to forget about pride.. she believes there are better things in the world other than pride and status.

 

You are an Emo! Your eye liner bill is huge. It’s important to keep up your cartoon ghoul look, and match it with your other staples – checkerboard Vans, dyed black hair, skinny jeans and a T-shirt declaring your love for The Rocket Summer. Add neon flashes to play the Nu Rave kids at their own game. A tortured soul is optional.