Evaluation Q2

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

The promotional package comprising of a music video, digipack, and a magazine advert for the digipack is successful in producing the intended result as told by my post production audience research. 

Through looking at existing products, I determined that I needed to develop a house style to ensure continutity throughout the promotional package, so that it is recognised as a package by the audience. Hence the choices I have made.

Evaluation Q3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Final promotional package so far

Magazine Advert

Digipack

Evaluation Q4

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

I used a range of technologies in all stages leading to the completion of my final A2 media studies product to successfully fulfill the brief:

"Produce:

A) An advanced Media Portfolio comprising a main and two ancillary texts.

B) A presentation of your research, planning, and evaluation in an electronic format.

1.  A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with:

• a cover for its release as part of a digipak

• a magazine advert for the digipak"

-include advantages and disadvantages eg 

- ease of use (learning the technology)

The following images depict the media technologies collectively used in the research, planning, production, and evaluation stages of the promotional package:

HARDWARE REPRESENTED THIS COLOUR AND SOFTWARE REPRESENTED BY THIS COLOUR

Media technologies used in the research involved with the promotional package

Prior to starting my personal research to fulfill the brief set, I was taught media theory which helped expand my knowledge of the conventions of film; specifically music video, in order to attract the target audience. The information was recorded either into a notebook then re-written as a blog post, or straight onto blogger. This was advantageous because it allowed me to access theory when I needed to apply it. However blogger does crash which has resulted in me losing work, in addition to this I can find no way to remove tags that I have found better ways to word - resulting in the navigation of my blog being less simple. It makes it hard to access specific posts because they are not tagged properly.

THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
Hardware:
Apple mac, windows based laptops, and windows based computers, iphone4s
software - google chrome, and safari, to watch youtube videos to gain inspiration and word to write ideas

THE COVER THE RELEASE AS PART OF A DIGIPACK
hardware- apple mac, windows based laptops, and windows based computers, iphone4s

THE MAGAZINE ADVERT
hardware- apple mac, windows based laptops, and windows based computers, iphone4s

Media technologies used in the planning of the promotional package 

THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
hardware- apple mac, windows based laptops, and windows based computers, iphone4s

THE COVER THE RELEASE AS PART OF A DIGIPACK
hardware- apple mac, windows based laptops, and windows based computers, iphone4s

THE MAGAZINE ADVERT

hardware- apple mac, windows based laptops, and windows based computers, iphone4s

Media technologies used in the construction of the promotional package
THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
After the first day of filming, I took the SD card from the camera, placed it into the slot on the computer, and then copied the files onto my memory stick because this is portable, enabling me to transfer the data it holds to any computer (at home or at college) that I wish - although I had planned to use the Mac editing suite in college to edit my video. 

 After copying the files, I deleted the original ones from the SD card. This became an issue when I realised that the files were in fact incompatible with Mac software. I had assumed that .MTS files would be supported as it is a standard video format, however It would not automatically convert to an imovie - compatible file unless I transferred the files directly from the film camera, into imovie. This was an issue because I couldn't complete my video without it. 

It would seem logical to plug in the camera, and convert the files this way. However, I had already deleted the files. Instead, I used google search to find out the best way to convert files.The website I used giving a free download to an app which has the ability  to convert files.This helped me to overcome any file formatting issues. However, the more a video is processed, the lower the camera quality. This means that the clips that had to be re-formatted are of slightly lower quality, and appear more pixelated than the ones gained from a different days filming.

I was unimpressed my the features that imovie offers, and felt like I needed more from the software I was using in order to make a promotional video at a near professional standard. I then decided to use Sony Vegas pro on my laptop, following my online storyboard created using "storyboardthat.com" (another advantage of blogger- it is accessible from anywhere providing having internet access) but this posed several issues; I experienced lagging inhibiting high production quality because the lag reduced the accuracy of exactly where I cut my clips - meaning the video was not how I wanted it to be through no fault of my own. 

THE COVER FOR THE RELEASE AS PART OF A DIGIPACK
 In the construction of the digipack I used only photoshop to manipulate the images I had gathered in the planning stage of the digipack. Photoshop has the ability to work on layers of a product which is useful as it allows for specific targeted editing on a certain element of the product. It also has a wide range of tools that are useful in production:

THE MAGAZINE ADVERT
As with the digipack , I constructed the magazine advert using only photoshop because it has all of the tools I require Media technologies used in the evaluation of the promotional package 
I used both blogger and google slides in the production of my evaluation; both of which proved easy to use and advantageous because they are so accessable. As google slides is based online, evaluative comments from my audience could be noted down almost instantly whenever I received them.

Evaluation Q1

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

                                      

USE THEORY
REAL MEdia examples - compare conventions

With these themes depicted above in mind, my promotional package adheres to these conventions by including similar, or the same things in the mise-en-scence of the products produced such as guitars, alcohol, low key lighting, urban areas used in location etc.

Product placement in music videos

Within Music Videos, product placement is a key prospect for the video producers to attain sponsorship and promotional deals in order to develop a sense of Synergy for the interests of all parties involved. Producers understand that a key purpose of Music Videos is to visually compliment the audio, in immersing the audience deep into the content. Because of this, they can much more easily get away with a consistent level of product display and promotion, as opposed to a much more analysed medium (as in film), with less subtlety required. This is most predominant within contemporary pop videos, to which usually several distinctly placed items are identified.

Examples of product placement in my music video:

Creating my digipack

 Final product so far:

Aminatic

DONE BUT UNABLE TO UPLOAD BECAUSE THERE IS NO WIFI CONNECTION ON MAC 03 

Aminatic

DONE BUT UNABLE TO UPLOAD BECAUSE THE MAC WITH MY WORK ON HAS NO INTERNET CONNECTION, WILL UPLOAD WHEN THIS ISSUE IS FIXED.

Ancillary text research

insert 'conventions' slideshow from media folder. upload to (slideshare first)

 Ellie Goulding's "Lights"

•  The album cover for Ellie Goulding’s “lights” is similar to the poster  - which looks almost like a stretched image of the album cover, so that it can fit inside a magazine. This also leaves additional space where the details of the album can be seen. 
• Because the image has a dark background, this allows a fading technique to be used so that  the bottom half of the image is completely black meaning the white text over the top can be seen more clearly. 

Colour scheme: Black, Gold, White
Typography: Gold, as her name suggests. letters the same size throughout the text. Capital lettering used to emphasize the name.

•  The album cover and the magazine advert used shared image, promoting continuity in production and marketing, making it more recognisable by an audience. Difference being that the Magazine is a mid-long shot, and the album cover is a close up. This is partially because there is more space to play with given an avert is bigger, but also because there is more text on an advert, this means that the focus of the image is not lost or confused by any typography on the poster. 
• The oasis logo is on both covers, creating an artist motif 
• Unlike many other posters, the main image does not contain any band member. This is because Oasis are so globally recognised; therefore their image is not necessarily needed in order to promote the band.

Colour scheme: Black, blue, white 
Typography: Gold, as her name suggests. letters the same size throughout the text.

Conventions analysis of digipaks

x2

http://www.discfactory.co.uk/packaging/cd-digipaks/

To gain an insight into how different colours are used in a variety of genres I used Google image search to see where the conventions of each genre of music lie. The results from a few of my searches are below.

Indie album covers:

• Predominant colours:  yellow, green, white,, black, purple/blue, orange
• All colours tend to be more pastel rather than bright; contrasting the bright colours use in pop covers, and the heavier use of dark colours on "indie-pop" covers
• Tend not to contain images of people

 Pop album covers:

• Predominant colours: pink, white,,black, purple, red, bright yellow, blue. On the whole the colours tend to be bright in order to guide the audience to the main point of attraction of the cover.
• Most covers will contain an image of the artist themselves, with their name in large block letters so that the audience can see exactly who it is they are buying an album from.
• Direct address of artist
• Medium close ups//close ups
• Backgrounds tens to be plain; drawing focus on the image of the artist.
• Females on the front of album covers tend to be wearing little amounts of clothing 

 Indie-pop alum covers:

• Predominant colours: green, white/cream, black, grey, light pink, pastel yellow, 'golden' type colours, light blue. On the whole the colours tend to be more neutral; pastel perhaps. This is mixed with a heavier use of the shades black and white; adding a dull tone to the covers.
• Females on the front of album covers tend to be wearing more clothing; perhaps because it is a characteristic of 'indie' audiences wearing considerably more 'comfy' clothes than mainstream audiences. This sense of dress is therefore relatable to an audience so they are more likely to consume it.
• less likely to contain people on the cover than on '"pop" albums, but more so than on "indie" alone albums.
• Backgrounds tend to be scenic, containing scenes of the weather. Sometimes these vary and are based around one single colour but using a gradient affect with shades of white so that certain parts of the album cover are highlighted by the contrast of dark against light.

 Alternative rock album covers:

• Predominant colours: black, white, grey, blue. Many of the colours used on Alt. rock album covers follow no particular theme. Conventions vary within the mise-en-scene. For example; 
• It is more unlikely for the cover to contain images of people/artists, although it is not a standard convention as some do.
• Backgrounds tend to be scenic, or focused on one main colour; used to give the desired affect. 

 Metal album covers:

• Predominant colours:  yellow, red, green, black, purple/blue, orange, grey (mainly analogous colours such as yellow, red, and orange.)
• All colours tend to be very bright; contrasting the black that is commonly used in backgrounds.
• more 'artistic' album cover, a lot 'busier'
• Death related, computer generated imagery (cgi)
• Unusual typography

 Punk album covers:

• Predominant colours:  yellow, red, white, black, purple/blue, orange.
• All colours tend to be more  bright rather than pastel, or faded colours reflecting the 'in your face' style of music. This relationship means an audience are more likely to consume these products.
• Chunky, cracked, block typography is most commonly used. Often individual letters are mis-shapen, and not in line with the other letters.

In addition to looking at album covers, I also did some research into colour and how different colours can be used. I also learnt the 'values' of colour which provide tint and shade. This is important to be aware of whilst producing my ancillary texts because,as found in my research, indie-pop album covers tend to include colours with the tint of another to create a more unusual impression; reflecting the music of indie-pop, and the ideologies that it represents. 

Websites I referred to whilst researching into colour, the types of colour, how these colours can be used to portray meaning, and how colours work well together:

http://thevirtualinstructor.com/Color.html

http://www.worqx.com/color/combinations.htm

http://www.worqx.com/color/color_wheel.htm

Summary:

I found that (on the whole) digipacks from bands within the indie genre, and digipacks from bands within the alternative genre tend to relate to the nature of the music, and what they are trying to portray as a band by using image to connote meaning, reinforcing the meaning of their lyrics, and their ideologies as artists. This is done instead of selling the artist; as typically found in the digipacks from pop artists.

There is also a relationship between the images used of the different panels of  a digipack – in terms of colours, and other elements of the mise-en-scene. This relationship provides continuity so that

In addition to this I found that:

•      Most digipacks use a white font
•      Regardless of genre music, many album covers contain the colours black, and or white. This is because they are considered "neutral" colours (or earth colours) therefore do not belong to any specific genre.

Institution profile

Where is the song broadcast?
The song is predominantly broadcast via the internet rather than radio. This is because this type of music is not 'mainstream' therefore does not air on popular radio. This may be done on software such as spotify, deezer, youtube, etc.
The following image shows a screenshot from YouTube presenting the different videos available, showing official uploads from the institution itself, and from fan uploads.

https://www.internet-radio.com/stations/
http://altmusic.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/Top-10-Indie-Record-Labels.htm
Radio stations
what other artists feature on these radio stations
how this links to audience profiling

Applications

Raw Footage

Storyboard for the main body of the video

Storyboard from lilypeterson

File Formatting

When producing a music video, one must remember that not all file formats are supported on all computers. This is especially an issue for me as I am working between Windows and Mac hardware, therefore the software available to both is different. I have to be aware of these different file types in order to produce my work. This awareness means that I can work systematically.

Before I did my first filming shoot, I was not aware that this was such an issue. Avoiding using certain cameras will reduce my work load as I will not have to convert any files into Mp4s. This means I can concentrate on the editing of the video, which needs to be precise in order to be effective as a promotional film.

The following list shows popular cameras that have a tenancy to produce .MTS files. These are the cameras that I will avoid using when filming the other parts to my video.

SONY

•HDR-PJ540/B 2014 new avchd mts camcorder

•HDR-PJ340/B

•HDR-CX240/L

•HDR-PJ275/B

•HDR-PJ810/B

•HDR-CX330/B

•HDR-CX900/B

•HDR-AX2000/H MPEG-4AVC/H.264（AVCHD）SD：MPEG-2PS

• HDR-UX1 (DVD), HDR-UX3/UX5 (DVD), HDR-UX7 (DVD)

• HDR-SR1 (30 GB HDD)

• HDR-SR5 (40 GB HDD), HDR-SR7 (60 GB HDD)

• HDR-SR5C (100 GB HDD), HDR-SR8 (100 GB HDD)

• HDR-CX7 (Memory Stick Duo)

• HDR-SR10 (40GB HDD, Memory Stick), HDR-SR11 (60 GB HDD, Memory Stick), HDR-SR12 (120 GB HDD, Memory Stick)

• HDR-TG1/TG3/TG7 (Memory Stick Duo) • HDR-CX12 (Memory Stick Duo)

• HDR-CX100 (8 GB HDD, Memory Stick Duo)

• HDR-XR520V (240 GB HDD), HDR-XR500V (120 GB HDD Version)

• HDR-XR200V (120 GB HDD)

• HDR-XR200VE (120 GB HDD + GPS)

• HDR-XR100 (80 GB HDD)

• HDR-CX500E, HDR-CX520E

• HDR-CX105 (8GB Memory Stick Duo)

• HXR-NX5, HDR-AX2000.[73] • HDR-XR550 (240 GB HDD)

• Sony NEX-5, NEX-5C (without Eye-Fi support), of both models, variants with AVCHD 1080 50i and AVCHD 1080 60i only exist

• Sony HXR-MC50E.[74]

• Sony NEX-FS100

• NEX-VG20

• Sony SLT-A65, Sony SLT-A77V, Sony NEX-5N, Sony NEX-7

• Sony DSC-HX5V (GPS+COMPASS), HX5V-E (European version, limited to 30 minutes recording due to European specific taxes)

• Sony DSC-HX9V (GPS+COMPASS), HX9V-E (European version, limited to 30 minutes recording due to European specific taxes)

• Sony HX10V, Sony HX20V, Sony DSC-RX100

• Sony DSC-RX100 II

CANNON

•LEGRIA mini X, LEGRIA HFR56/HF R506 2014

•VIXIA R500/R50/R52 2014

•XA25, XA20

• HR10 (DVD) • 2007: HG10 (40 GB HDD)

• HF10 (SDHC, built-in 16 GB flash memory), HF100 (SDHC)

• HF11 (SDHC, built-in 32 GB flash memory), HG20 (60 GB HDD, SDHC), HG21 (120 GB HDD, SDHC)

• HF S10 (SDHC, built-in 32 GB flash memory), HF S100 (SDHC), HF20 (SDHC, built-in 32 GB flash memory), HF200 (SDHC)

• HF S11 (SDHC, built-in 64 GB flash memory, wired LANC remote capability)

• HF S21 (two SDHC slots, 64 GB flash memory, electronic viewfinder), HF S20 (two SDHC slots, 32 GB flash memory),[57] HF S200 (two SDHC slots); HF M31 (SDHC, 32 GB flash memory), HF M30 (SDHC, 8 GB flash memory), HF M300 (SDHC); HF R11 (32 GB flash memory), HF R10 (SDHC, 8 GB flash memory), HF R100 (SDHC)

• HF G10 (with 1⁄3 inch image sensor)

• HF M500 (with 1⁄3 inch image sensor; 24pf, 30pf, and 60i; removable SDHC/SDXC flash memory)

PANASONIC 

 HC-MDH2GK-K AVCHD

• HC-X920MGK ( [AVCHD] AVCHD 3D MTS / Progressive[iFrame] MP4)

• HDC-DX1 (DVD), HDC-SD1 (SDHC)

• HDC-SD3 (SDHC, available in Japan only)

• AG-HSC1U - essentially a rebadged HDC-HC1 (SDHC, comes with portable 40 GB HDD storage)

• HDC-SD5 (SDHC), HDC-SX5 (DVD, SDHC), HDC-SD7 (SDHC)

• HDC-SD9 (SDHC), HDC-HS9 (60 GB HDD, SDHC)

• AG-HMC70 (SDHC)

• HDC-SD100 (SDHC), HDC-HS100 (60 GB HDD, SDHC)

• AG-HMC150 (SDHC)

• HDC-HS300 (120 GB HDD), HDC-HS200 (80 GB HDD), HDC-TM300 (32 GB built-in flash memory, SDHC), HDC-SD300 (SDHC, available in Europe only), HDC-SD200 (SDHC).

• HDC-TM30/HDC-TM10 (32 GB built-in flash memory, SDHC), HDC-SD10 (SDHC)

• HDC-TM350 (64 GB built-in flash memory, SDHC, available in Japan and as of October 2009, from Panasonic Stores across the UK)

• AG-HMC40 (SDHC)

• HDC-TM700/HDC-SD700/HDC-HS700 (introduced 1080p60/1080p50 modes, depending on region)

• HDC-SD60/HDC-TM60/HDC-HS60

• AG-AF100/AG-AF101/AG-AF102 (4/3" large sensor camera)

• AG-AC130/AG-AC160 (SDXC/SDHC/SD)

• DMC-ZS3/TZ7*, DMC-TS1/DMC-FT1* (AVCHD Lite)

• DMC-GH1 (AVCHD) • Lumix DMC-ZS7/TZ10*, DMC-G2 (AVCHD lite)

• Lumix DMC-GH2, DMC-GF2 (AVCHD)

• Lumix DMC-ZS10/TZ20* (AVCHD lite)

• Lumix DMC-FX77/FX78*, DMC-TS3*, DMC-FZ45/47/48*

• Lumix DMC-GF2, DMC-G3/GF3 (AVCHD)

• Lumix DMC-TZ30 (AVCHD, AVCHD Progressive: GPH, PSH)

• Lumix DMC-G5 • Lumix DMC-FZ200

• Lumix DMC-GH3 with a bit rate of 28 Megabit per second (AVCHD 2.0)

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

After completing my second filming shoot, I uploaded the files straight from the camera, directly into imovie. This helps to maintain video crispness; ensuring it is as HD as possible, heightening the overall quality of the video and adding an aspect of professionalism.