Evaluation Question #4

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

Blogger is a free online publishing platform which I used to document my coursework digitally, allowing me to keep track of my research, planning and production into the products. I found it extremely useful as it is very accessible (available to download on my phone) and it was one clear, clean platform to place all my work into, with the ability for teachers/students/my target audience to leave feedback on any one of my posts which allows me to constantly improve my work to its highest standard. The platform has a very structured layout which aided in keeping my work professional and didn't consume too much of my time in making several separate pages.

YouTube is an online video-based sharing website with which I used to conduct a vast amount of my research, planning and production on as it linked in heavily to the target audience I was aiming to please and owned footage I needed to review to create my main product. YouTube was the place I had initially found my chosen artist - an unsigned singer uploading videos of covers - and it was clearly a significant place to start in relation to that. I have watched her platform grow since finding her and have found that live performances with unique and constructed narratives were a significant part of her style and edge. Additionally, I looked upon the artist's idols and female Soul singers through the ages to gain a better idea of how to structure my music video and gain inspiration for the digipak and magazine ad. Once production and editing had been complete, I used YouTube's platform to upload my work as it has a trustworthy and efficient work base.

Adobe Premiere Elements is a video editing app which I used to compile and edit the video clips I filmed for my music video and the trailer promoting it. I hadn't used this programme prior to this year but forward it fairly straight forward to use and I am content with the end result. Using this professional programme allowed me to achieve professional results and gives the impression of being of a legitimate quality similar to a real media product that I would not have been able to achieve without this editing app i.e. I was able to use the B&W to colour effect that was an important effect for the song's lyrics and meaning.



Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program that I used to edit my photographs and create my digipak and magazine ad, in order to make sure that the presentation and quality of the products were much more professional in appearance. I downloaded a template for my digipak from Discwizards online which I used to envision the digipak's creative design and the placement of the CD(s), the photographs, the symbols, etc. I depended on this most when editing the photographs as I wanted to alter the look of the artist to both appeal to the target audience and illustrate the artist's personality and album's style in the correct way that I am satisfied with.



Nikon 1 was mostly used to capture the photographs used in the digipak and magazine ad. I used this camera in particular because it had excellent quality and allowed me to spend less time on Photoshop editing them which saved me time. Additionally, because it was made fairly recently, it has more choices to change the outcome of the photograph i.e. change to black and white, brighten the room's lighting, shots only used for close-ups, etc. I made sure to use a tripod when photographing the star as it steadied the camera long enough for me to take an immaculate image.

Artificial lighting was used during the filming of my music video as a spotlight to enhance the venue and make out the artist to be this strong individual as she mimics the lyrics. This is evident in the clip and, through the editing process, I was able to enhance that so that the quality of the footage was of a much better standard and created the illusion that the music video was professionally made. Additionally, the footage was of a live performance shots of the narrative so a spotlight really helped highlight that and allowed me to focus upon the convention of the genre's focus on the vocals.

In conclusion, I used the listed technology individually through a process in order to complete the making of the music video and ancillary texts whilst the site Blogger benefited me in portraying that so it was clear how the technology aimed my construction of the products. Overall, I was pleased to know that I was able to enhance the process of production through the use of technology.

Evaluation Question #3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Above is the visual presentation I gave to my class mates explaining the creative decisions I made regarding my products and how they shaped the final pieces. I followed this up with a questionnaire that gave me feedback for how successful my final pieces were:

Q1. This video's main target was to create a music video fit for both older and younger audiences. Do you believe that I have achieved this? Why?

Q2. What specifically did you like and/or dislike about the video?

Q3. Are there any theories you could apply to my video?

Q4. Did the sudden change in colour at the end have the desired effect for the turnout of the song's tone? Why?

Q5. The significance of this video was to encourage a younger audience to listen to Soul music, a genre overlooked by the present day music industry. Has this been accomplished? Why?

Q6. Do you have any advice about what I could do to sharpen up my product?

Question 1

Overall, I received very positive feedback from my audience regarding the representation of the video to my target audience. Most felt that I had obtained the right level between reaching older and younger audiences; that my artist was young enough to strike intrigue in youthful viewers and the tone of the video alongside the vocals was sophisticated enough to appeal to elderly viewers. I was very pleased to hear this and it has assured me that my method of working towards a target audience is an effective one.

Question 2

The majority of the group admitted to liking the change from black and white to colour as it 'allowed for illustrating growth within the artist and actor' and 'helped form a better idea of how the artist feels throughout the song'. However, one thing they felt I could have done better was a few of the props in the actor's scene as the representation of the love within the song isn't truly represented in the visuals. This was very productive feedback and I completely agreed with the criticism, as I now realise there were different things I could have used to effectively portray these emotions strongly such as use a locket with a photograph inside of the actor's family/loved one rather than use old notes written to her.

Question 3

The overwhelming response for this question was the binary opposites theory where the artist was seen to have been representing strength and love whilst the actor was representing weakness and sadness. This contrast was complimentary to my video especially as the song goes on, seeing as the artist is meant to be encouraging the actor to get up on her own two feet again. Interestingly enough, one person did mention that the enigma theory could be applied as the black and white effect gives an air of mystery to the artist and actor whom are not seen as themselves until the flash of colour brings out their happiness (the first shot of colour is of the artist, whose blue hair is striking against the black background). 

Question 4

The group as a whole agreed that the change between black and white to colour gave the desired effect I had been looking for, as they were able to go 'along with the narrative and performance with each the artist and actor and understand the strong emotion within the lyrics'. Additionally, one person particularly liked how this effect managed to link the pair to each other, as though they were the same person and helped lifted each other up. This proved to me that this effect was extremely useful and has encouraged me to confidently play with more visual effects more often in my future work as the outcome may be just as beneficial.

Question 5

I had a mixed response for this question; one half felt that I had been able to securely obtain their attention throughout the video and had peaked their interest of the genre itself through my introduction to the artist whilst the other half weren't too involved with the message behind the lyrics and didn't find the narrative and/or performance engaging enough for a group of their age. This drew me to the conclusion that, although I can encourage the target audience to listen to the genre, I cannot do any more than this. It helps me realise that every generation has a specific musical trend that is typically going to be followed fervently and that introducing a old-fashioned genre would be difficult when the trend is still reigning.

Question 6

A couple of people suggested that I should work on my camera work as there were a few shots (where I had not used a tripod due to flexibility) that were visibly shaky and would have distracted the audience from the overall importance of the clip. Also, some said that my artist had to work on her lip-syncing as there were times where she would fall out of tune and has to play it off. I found this feedback particularly important as it focused more on my skills as an editor, camerawoman and director aside from anything else and I have taken on board what I need to improve on in the future.

Evaluation Question #2

How effective is the combination of you main product and ancillary texts?


I uploaded a presentation onto slideshare.

Evaluation Question #1

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

If the video does not work, the link to the answer is here.

Official Music Video Release!

I have released the official final product of my music video Christina Grimmie's With Love! I am very pleased with the overall finish and I am glad that I have managed to complete the media product to the best of my ability. Below is the video, enjoy!

Digipak (Final)

Here is the final draft of the digipak for With Love.

I had only changed the top left and right images around so that the product's aesthetics flows more fluently. Here are the final images separately.

I had decided upon following a theme within the music video, the switch from black and white to colour, in order to strongly illustrate the message of With Love and how the rest of the album flows alongside it. Additionally, I chose to include quotes taken from the bible, an idol and the song With Love in order for the audience to gain an insight of how the album was constructed and from whom the artist found her influence.

Digipak (First Draft)

This is the first finished product for half of the digipak - I am still undergoing the other half of the 6-sided design. I plan on updating this after gathering feedback and will apply any improvements necessary to create a stronger link between this, the magazine ad and the music video.

Front Cover

Back Cover (Tracklist)

Back Inside (CD placement)

Explanation of how I made decisions regarding the aesthetics is included in the final draft post.

Magazine Advert (Final)

This is the final draft for the magazine advertisement.

How CD sales have changed in the last 5 years

CD sales dropped dramatically in the last five years due to illegal downloading from the Internet and the widespread CD burning.

The use of the internet to buy cheaper (or sometimes free) music with easier access. Whether it's buying a song from iTunes or taking advantage of streaming from sites such as Spotify and SoundCloud; consumers are far more likely to use a computer to buy their music rather than go out and buy it from their local store.

Between the years 2008 and 2013, CD sales - both singles and albums - have had to deal with bad income due to illegal downloading and worldwide CD burning, and now gain most of their money from tours, concerts, festivals and merchandise instead. Physical copies are considerably less important than before since the take over of iTunes and downloading websites, even leading to musical stores such as HMV to shut down some high street stores. But the internet made up for that loss by providing a system such as iTunes to download music onto the consumers gadgets instead.

The recording industry experienced its first success of the century in 2012 when it revealed that they had a 0.3% increase in global sales; in which thanks is for the popularity growth of digital downloads and and streaming subscriptions. However, it is notable that that physical CD copies have become less of a mass-market item and more of a niche product that a select few still continue to follow.

2011 sales saw a slight increase however, according to Times Magazine, but it was only by 1..3% and that was due to the immense success of Adele's 21. Additionally, it has been noted that while the music industry's profits are falling, it is the artist's themselves making the most money now due to the growth of live shows.

Overall, having the ability to digitally download and/or listen to music rather than physically go buy it has far more direct benefits for the consumer and, living in such a technological age, this will always be far more appealing in the long run.

Magazine Ad (First Draft)

This is the first draft of my magazine advert, kept in sync with the music video and digipak in terms of colour, font, style and aesthetics.

I plan to play with the design further, such as the main image that attracts the audience's attention, add more minor details for a touch of realism to the piece and play with the positioning to make it aesthetically pleasing but, overall, I am pleased with the result.

Digipaks vs CD cases

Differences between Digipaks and CD cases:

• A digipak essentially consists of a plastic disc placement that has been placed inside a folded cardboard case with the design digitally imprinted on the card. They are made of paper and were once considered the environmentally friendly version of CD cases, however, they have remained less common due to them not being able to survive wear and tear as well as jewel cases and have a higher manufacturing cost.

• A jewel (CD) case consists of pieces of plastic put together that act as a protective layer for the disc.The plastic pinner is the same as in the digipak but the information about the CD is kept to the front of the case and printed out on separate paper and act as a booklet. The back artwork is kept in place between the CD and plastic.

Why is there more value on a Digipak?

A digipak has 6 sides, 5 that are taken up by the design, that creates more opportunity for artwork, information, promotion, creativity, etc. Through this, the artist is not creatively restricted and can reach out to their target audience through the design. Additionally, the digipak becomes more than just protection for the disc but a collectable item as well. Comparing this to the CD case, the information has easier access and there is more availability to be creatively free with the digipak's design due to the make and layout.

What am I going to include on my Digipak?

Artist's Name

Album Title

Tracklist

Barcode

Album Credits (Producers, Writers, etc)

Copyright Label

Record Company

Album Artwork

Images of Artist (?)

Lyrics (?)

Disc Placement

Usage of Star Image

I have been looking at star image for the digipak in relation to the music video so I can continue having a consistent brand for the artist and provide a link between the video and the ancillary tasks. Below is a list of 'rules' I plan to use when photographing my star:

Quality

Image quality is very important as the star needs to be seen clearly in order for the audience to recognise her and become familiar with her image i.e. her blue hair. Additionally,  I want the artist's surroundings to be included within the frame as it enhances the star's over representation and portrays the genre she is a part of.

-Imperfections such as spots and bruises are expected to be removed via Photoshop unless they are meant to be a part of the theme.

-Lighting is very important as it determines the overall success of the image taken so making sure the lighting is correct when it needs to be is of the essence. Additionally, the correct use of shadow could create a brilliant dramatic effect that would be useful for my artist's shoot, seeing as the video is partially set in a dark studio with only a spotlight to spot the artist.

Due to this being the official album cover, it was Photoshopped to perfection: making sure the lighting was right, she had no spots/blemishes/bruises, keeping her face and signature hairstyle in shot, specific areas of her body have been highlighted, etc.

Star

The artist should be well defined within the image but other factors do contribute towards creating a suitable finish such as a background blur, strong colours, composition, etc. Additionally, the star and ultimately the image must stand out from other real media images. This way, it will be easily recognisable and easy for the target audience to locate within the stores.

The artist follows each of these conventions in creating a strong image that represents her as an artist that makes her appeal to her target audience. Also, she does challenge her typical style in some areas of the video where she has her hair down rather than up, showing her confidence within her success to take a bold move.

Mise En Scene
This is significant in portraying the artist's image and style as they are both linked in with the same genre which can either be conformed to, changed or challenged i.e. bright colours and focus on artist's face within video reflects upon artist's album cover, promotional posters/ads, etc.

This shows a clear link with the theme of a brightly coloured environment and keeping the artist's face in focus within the centre of the frame, which allows the artist's image to continue being portrayed clearly and even allows her to play about with the image also i.e. she typically has her hair up in a ponytail which she challenged within this video.

Continuity
The star's image must stick throughout the brand, from the music video to the digipak and magazine ads, so that the artist's promotion has a sense of familiarity with the audience and slowly introduces them to the artist's work.

Released March 26, 2013

Released July 22, 2013

Released September 3, 2013

The steady build up to the official cover art shows a link between each of the artist's work and shows a steady progression leading up to the album's release and making sure the audience stays familiar with the artist's image. There is a clear relevant link towards the artist's genre as a broadway theme runs through the image, with the star placed beneath a bright spotlight and a background that compliments the theme. Additionally, the colour - or lack of - signifies a dramatic build up that links to the name of the song/album i.e. Baby I is a pop-ish 90's throwback song which connotes dramatic, bright colours whilst Yours Truly has a much more sophisticated illustration with the title only in a twirly pink colour and the lack of colour dramatises the album and its meaning behind the title.

Analysis of Marketing Campaign (Miley Cyrus' Bangerz)

Miley Cyrus had spent well over a year building up her marketing campaign leading up to the release of her "debut" album Bangerz on Oct 7, 2013 (in the UK). She and her management team made sure that it was a slow and drawn out process so that she was kept relevant within the media and amongst her target audience. Below are some key points within the campaign that I have highlighted success:

Star Image

Miley Cyrus has drastically altered her image and behaviour beneath the spotlight, starting with her first few paparazzi appearances in early 2012 where she was spotted leaving gym sessions very often with a leaner, healthier figure; this is something that had signified a turning point in her growth from a child Disney star to an adult artist.

Pictured often working out from Dec 2011 - May 2012

Additionally, she did begin to dress far more maturely following her physical change which, in turn, led towards her future controversial (and sexual) image. Notice the small, subtle changes to her wardrobe as the year goes on: her hair gets shorter, she shows more skin, she begins to dress more sexually, etc.

Cyrus at the People's Choice Awards (Jan 11, 2012)

Cyrus at the Billboard Music Awards (May 20, 2012)

Cyrus at the MTV's Video Music Awards (Sept 6, 2012)

This progression continued into 2013 with far more dramatic outfits and her racy behaviour hits headlines consistently, despite Cyrus describing the development as simply her going through 'puberty'. 

Exploitation

Her new image, which later proves to reflect the theme of Bangerz, runs through the entirety of her marketing campaign:

Performing with outrageous, unique styles

Cyrus' infamous performance at the MTV's Video Music Awards (Aug 25, 2013)

Her attitude/dress code during interviews

Cyrus interviewed on Germany's popular tv show 'Wetten, dass...?' (Nov 9, 2013)

Her visual promotion (mostly involved front cover shots and interview packages)

Cyrus posing on the cover of Cosmopolitan (Mar 2013)

Cyrus posing on the cover of Elle (June 2013)

Cyrus posing on the cover of Rolling Stone (Sept 2013)

The theme for We Can't Stop and Wrecking Ball music videos

Cyrus on set of We Can't Stop (June 2013)

Cyrus on set of Wrecking Ball (Sept 2013)

The album artwork (provided a variety other than the main cover art to emphasise Cyrus' brand & link with singles and the music videos)

Official cover art portrays Cyrus' new good-girl-gone-bad role

Open stance and unique dress links to her new sexual image

Leather jacket, topless, slick back hair suggests an edgier tone

Crop tops and extravagant trousers links to her We Can't Stop music video

Nude image links to her Wrecking Ball music video

Roses and subtle gaze suggests a softer side to the album

Timing

Everything that has happened from the release of her singles to every detail of her performances, Cyrus had made sure to correctly time when to make her next move and this has clearly worked in her favour as she peaked at #1 in eight countries, and peaked in the top 5 in nineteen countries.

A brilliant example is the release of her second single Wrecking Ball on August 25, the very day of her infamous and highly controversial VMA's performance with Robin Thicke. This link built off the hype of her performance and skyrocketed single sales overnight. This then led on to immense success with the music video, garnering 19.3 million views within 24 hours and 100 million in six days; breaking both records of most views in 24 hours and fastest video to attain 100 million views. It helps that the video's content was made to bounce back off the VMA performance with Cyrus seen nude upon a massive ball. Additionally, the video was released around the time of Cyrus' split with her fiance and it is widely speculated that the song was written about him; this strongly aided the single's success and sales.

Social Networking

Prior to officially launching a campaign, Cyrus has a strong influence on her social media platforms and has kept them all branded and in sync with one another in relation to her star image and new album.

Before the release of her album, Cyrus had the listed following:

Facebook: 29 million likes

Twitter: 14 million followers (she had generated over 300,000 tweets per minutes due to her VMA performance)

Youtube: 2.7 million subscribers with 1.5 billion views (more views than the #1 movie of all time Avatar)

Instagram: 4 million followers

Cyrus keeps all of these platforms updated on a regular basis, keeping her audience informed on what she is doing and provides a place for her to communicate freely and openly with the target audience, which is very important for her success.

In response to a rumour but done with humour that is relevant to her image (currently has 25k retweets)

Countdown to the release date on her Instagram account

Change of Artist for Ancillary Research

The artist I used for my main piece hadn't done much promotion work for the album in which the song is from so I decided to research Miley Cyrus, whom had accomplished a grand amount due to her campaign and Ariana Grande, a vocally and musically similar artist to Christina Grimmie and had accomplished a better marketing campaign.

Music Video Draft

I have released the first draft for music video Christina Grimmie's With Love. I am very pleased for the overall finish and I am confident that it follows through with all the research and planning I have done up until this point. I will take into account any criticism I am given and will complete the finished product thereafter. Below is the music video, enjoy!

Release of Teaser Trailer

I have released the official teaser trailer for the first draft of my music video on YouTube that details the people involved, the name of the artist, the title of the song and its release date. Below is the uploaded video.

I thought that having a teaser trailer released in anticipation for the music video would set in stone a realistic build up to the music video's premiere, a tactic modern artist's use often and having that link with popular music helps boost the artist's popularity and reach her target audience.

Final Fonts Choices

I have finalised my decisions of the fonts I will use on the digipak and magazine ad designs:

Orator Std: I chose to use this to represent the artist's name across the board as it is a very simplistic and blunt font but the use of all capitals and the clarity of the font allows the audience to easily recall and relate it back to the artist's name, hopefully making it memorable. Additionally, it contrasts the album title's text very nicely and both together illustrate a 1990's tone that reflects the album and artist's style well.

Rage Italic: I wanted the album title to mean something, as it does to the artist, and the term 'With Love' is typically used to end a love letter or some other. This gave me the idea to make the title appear as a gift to the target audience, choosing a font that gave off an air of personality and sincerity in the products. So the use of this font worked nicely with the album's overall theme of love and portrayed a lovely tone of intimacy between the artist, the album and the consumer.

I am aware that neither of these fonts were original choices but, after further research and testing into the image design of the product, it was clear to me that it was far more beneficial for the products as it properly reflected the underlining meaning and inspiration of the album: the artist's basic but bold image alongside the deep lyrics within the songs that revolve solely around a personal love.

Initial Ideas for Magazine Advertisement

I have decided upon doing a magazine as part of the ancillary tasks to help promote the music video plus the artist and her album. I have done a substantial amount of research into the different kinds of magazine adverts created and how the artists use it to their advantage, which will be shown through the research phase.

I have chosen to focus upon placing the advertisement on the back of the magazine because, although it is at the back; the amount of space available is enough to get an effective, eye-catching ad that appeals to its target audience and I find that the consumer tends to look at the front and back of the magazine before sifting through the inside so it will be extra useful to merge these two together for successful promotion. I will continue to use the colour scheme but may add one or two colours to add more colour to the image (and keep it linked in with the digipak) although the main colours (blue and black) will be made clear throughout the products. Additionally, I will be using the front cover of the digipak to promote the artist's image and continue the flow of the artist's representation and album.