EVALUATION: Use of Media Technologies

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

As is expected of modern media distribution, the internet was the main platform I used in all aspects of research, planning and distribution. The internet provides endless outlets for bands/artists, both in terms of marketing and distribution. With piracy on a continuous climb, production companies and record labels are having to cooperate with the internet as a platform for marketing rather than trying to keep music/music videos exclusive to physical distributors such as amazon, or HMV. Therefore, record labels are becoming increasingly more invested in the internet in terms of providing fans with free music videos, via channels such as VEVO on YouTube, with the pretence that should fans enjoy the free merchandise available to them, they will be likely to seek out an artist/band's whole album, and download it legally, from download sites such as iTunes. Consequently the internet has been a hugely useful tool in creating my music video. The use of video streaming sites such as YouTube has allowed me to explore the forms and conventions of other music videos in the same rock-indie genre as Arctic Monkeys. As well as using the internet as a tool for comparing music videos and their successes and failures, I have also used to it explore Arctic Monkeys' catalogue of music videos, to allow me to build a sense of their style, so that I could apply such techniques to my music video, for example the idea that regardless of the subject matter, all their videos contain a hint of playfulness to remind the audience of their rough and ready and somewhat light hearted approach to life and its subsequent ups and downs.

Vevo on YouTube

The use of social networking sites has also been of great significance. Firstly it is a way in which I have been able to get hold of performers in my video, so in terms of practicality it has been hugely successful. In terms of distribution social networking sites seemed like the obvious choice. Unlike Youtube, when I posted my video I knew I was guaranteed responses as a number of people were bound to notice it displayed on their homepage. It is a smaller platform for talking to large audiences than Youtube, and allowed me to spread the word on my video and show the finished video with minimal effort both on my part and the part of the audience, as it is incredibly easy to comment. I treated the use of Facebook as a serious marketing and distribution platform, much the same way as Arctic Monkeys when they first started distributing and streaming music via Myspace.

I used iMovie to edit my music video. Though the programme was not new, I had to use the software in a different way for this piece. For example when it came to editing my music video, it was a different experience editing without the original sound, and cutting in time to the music proved a relatively hard task. Consequently I had to get used to changing my original storyboards where the imagery did not match the music or the cuts needed to be slowed in time with the tempo of the song. By the end of the editing process I had gained a better understanding of the techniques that worked with the music, and as the song was so well known to me, it was easier to envision where each shot would look best.

EVALUATION: Main Task and Ancillary Task

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

In terms of practical distribution, my digipack and music video are very effective. Though I used iMovie as an editing programme, my music video has been converted to standard format, and condensed to medium size to make it quick and easily accessible on media platforms such as YouTube. I have not uploaded my music video to YouTube in HD, as this slows the buffering process, and as the internet is such a widely used and easily accessible media platform, quick and easily viewed videos are vital. From this perspective my music video has been very effective, as it is available online through YouTube, which allows it to be channelled in other formats, such as linked on social networking sites or embedded into blogs, making the format of my video very versatile and accessible by a mainstream audience. This is important, particularly as Arctic Monkeys now have a very large international following, so universal formats and platforms such as YouTube are very important for the success of their videos.

The YouTube statistics above stress the vital need for bands to market themselves on the internet and the huge audiences that are accessible by such media platforms. With regards to my music video, I have placed my video in the public domain as it is freely accessible on YouTube by anyone in any uncensored country. Thus, the effectiveness of my video with regards to its availability and reach of target audience, shows I have been successful.

With regards to the combination of my video and digipack, I feel I have effectively created a strong link between the two products, making them easy to associate with each other to the consumer. I chose to use three images taken on the day of filming for the front and back covers, this provides a level of continuity between merchandise, helping to strengthen the image the band have created either as a whole, or for that specific album (in this case, their Humbug album carries a very different feel to the previous two albums.) I compared my style of album cover to others in the same genre, for example Two Door Cinema club is simple a photograph of a cat, altered using photo editing software, to make the eyes look like jewels. I feel my album cover responded to the typical conventions of an indie album cover, through my use of photography rather than a computer created drawing which I felt I would not get as much a professional look to it. Also I felt it was very important to communicate to the audience the look and feel of the song, on as many media platforms as possible, so that they could link the merchandise together, and it would be clear from which album the music video came from. If the consumer is aware of an album and all the extras available, then the likelihood of purchasing a band's products is much higher. Consequently my reason for keeping a similar look and continuous theme throughout my two products, was so, should it have been produced professionally, the label may have received higher streams of revenue.

EVALUATION: Forms and Conventions

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

Though I feel it is important that music videos conform to an extent to the typical conventions of other videos/bands in the same genre, for the most part I have focused on challenge typical conventions, so as to keep the audience active and involved in my video. Due to my research into audience theories, for example the hypodermic needle model, and the subsequent increase of 'interactive' music videos, I drew the conclusion that for my music video to be successful I needed to challenge Arctic Monkeys' usual style. A good example of a band straying from their usual style of video, is Hurts with their new Sunday video (seen below). Their usual classic monochrome style has been altered successfully, with their video receiving 1414 likes to only 30 dislikes.

It is this idea of constant reinvention that I have found most interesting through my research, and has been a integral idea in the planning of my music video. I wanted to reference Arctic Monkeys earlier style of work, but create a fresh image, considering the song I have used is from their most recent (and most controversial to fans, in terms of style of music) album. Thus, I have challenged the typical conventions of both Arctic Monkeys and the rock-indie genre, by filming a ballet routine, which is typically seen as 'high society', however I did make sure that it fitted with the song and lyrical style, as otherwise I felt it would be straying from their style for the sake of it, and not appear as effective.

I looked very closely at Goodwin's Theory and I utilised the ideas that visuals can be used to compliment and amplify the music. In the case of my music video, I cut in time to the music, to compliment the song, however when the tempo build and the song became louder and more aggressive cut much faster. As the music came to a climax, the longest clips are 0.5 seconds, thus I used the images to amplify the music, and create a much more striking effect. However where I did challenge Goodwin's theory, is in terms of 'notions of looking' with particular reference to the objectification of women. Two females make up the bulk of my music video, however I was very eager to challenge the male gaze theory, and create a strong and powerful feel, with particular reference to the dancer who seems at ease and in control of the situation throughout. The objectification of women is not a particular characteristic of a rock-indie music video and consequently its absence did not seem out of place, whereas in a grime/RnB video it may have.

My music video is concept based, and ultimately I feel I both developed and challenged the conventions of real media products. For example I developed my concept and kept it as a constant feature throughout, which my very early research into conceptual music videos, showed that a concept has to be developed so that it can be made explicit to the audience. However I feel I also challenged audience perceptions of Arctic Monkeys video, but at the same time kept a certain playfulness which is important in maintaining their band identity, after all they have retained a 'by the people, for the people' feel.

EVALUATION: Censorship

The censorship debate is still rife, with some arguing that the media industry needs to censor more, because there is always someone who will be harmed by violent acts or obscene imagery seen in the media, and there is substantial evidence to support this effects theory (for example the Bobo Doll experiment). Yet, those anti-censorship suggest that the media industry cannot move at the pace of the most vulnerable in society, and if the harm to children is the issue, censorship should be in the hands of the parent rather than any media board.

Censorship is not a new issue, and it is applied time and again to risque music videos, which due to internet outlets such as Youtube or TV channels such as MTV can gain wide circulation very quickly. Consequently recent examples include Rihanna's S&M song and music video. Firstly the song title was changed to Come On, as the title itself was seen as too sexually explicit to appear in wide circulation. Similarly the video shows explicit sexual imagery, which given Rihanna's music tends to be most popular with girls in their early teens was considered to racy and lead to mass censorship in the countries that did show the video, and a complete ban in 11 countries.

An older example of a music video censored for its sexual content is Madonna's Erotica video, which due to the outcry at the time of its release has become on of her most famous music videos. Thus, the question arises, is it good to censor with the knowledge that it will only push the uncensored version into the public domain, and increase its popularity anyway? Similarly Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Relax was banned from the radio, for it's seemingly sexually suggestive lyrics, however at the time the band maintained that the song w as about motivation, but have seen agreed that it was about sex.

With regards to my music video, it does not contain any material that would be considered inappropriate. It does contain a dance routine, however it is not suggestive, and most RnB videos contain sexual dance routines but remain uncensored because they are not damaging to the viewer, and adhere to the 'male gaze' theory, thus gain popularity. Therefore I cannot imagine any distribution channel asking for censorship in my video, so it would be widely available for release.

EVALUATION: Audience Feedback

I decided audience feedback should not only be post-editing, rather I treated it as a continuous process, so that I could make constant improvements on my video. After issuing my initial questionnaire which allowed me to first formulate my initial ideas based on what I knew the audience wanted in a music video, I again asked for feedback whilst I was in the editing process. At the time I hadn't considered including another person, rather my video would be solely the dance routine and shadow puppets, however the feedback I received suggested it may become a bit monotonous, and the audience withdrawn.

'I think it would be best to break up the dance routine slightly more, not with shadow puppets, but with shots of something else - another person?' - Hannah Fyfe

'I like the idea of the shadow puppets, but I think it might become a bit same-y if you use them so much throughout. I'd use them more sparingly with clips of something else in between.' - Beth Walton

As a result, I took on their feedback and filmed a sequence of shots (mainly close ups to distinguish between these clips and the dance routine). I felt this looked effective, and prevented me having to reuse footage, which would give my video a completely amateur feel. When I had completed my video I posted it on both YouTube and Facebook to try and gather feedback. Though YouTube spans a hugely wide audience, I felt those most likely to watch my video would be students and within my target market, similarly with Facebook also. I received some very positive feedback via Facebook.

'This is great, you've used lighting really successfully and it makes it look professional.' - Ruby Scott

'I really like this video, you've done well in making the dance seem continuous, but with loads of different camera angles.' - Harry Buckley

As I expected, not all of the comments on Facebook were positive, with some questioning the use of shadow puppets. Though I could have chosen to make my light/dark concept more explicit, I think the majority of conceptually based music videos are not completely clear, and there will always be elements that the audience will question. Therefore I do not regret the use of some abstract imagery, as I think it adds to the fluency of the video, and had everything in my video been easily understandable, it may have become boring for the audience, and I wanted to avoid a passive audience from the very beginning.

FINAL WEBSITE

Here is my finished website. I have extended the monochrome theme to my website, so as to build up a full brand design for this one particular album (as I saw on the Two Door Cinema Club website). To further promote the album, I have created a banner which appears at the top of every page, which contains an image from the album cover. I hope that this repeated imagery will help to promote the album through all forms of merchandise, and thus this form of media convergence will be beneficial when it comes to album sales and attracting new customers.

I have five internally linked pages on my website, which cover the key areas of the band, for example a short biography for each member, as well as external links to interviews, a slideshow gallery and a contact form, so that fans can get in touch with the band.

You can view my website in full here.

FINAL MAGAZINE ADVERT

Here is my final magazine advertisement for the album 'The Jeweller's Hands'. I have kept it simplistic so as to remain in-keeping with the aesthetic of the album cover. I originally designed the advert without the star ratings at the bottom, however after looking at other advertisements for music, they usually contain reviews or ratings from music magazines. Consequently I added in two four star ratings from 'NME' and 'Q' both music magazine, to add to the authenticity. In terms of font, I stuck to only using three different kinds, including the text on the album cover, so as not to overwhelm to advert, and make it look to mismatched which would create a more amateur look.

FINAL DIGIPACK

Below is my finished Digipack. I have decided to stay simple in terms of imagery and fonts, as I feel this reflects the simplicity of my video. Arctic Monkeys do not have a logo, this allows for more creative freedom when it comes to designing and producing their album covers. Consequently there was less risk of my album cover appearing out of place amongst their others, had they had a distinctive logo that was recognisable on all their merchandise.

FINAL MUSIC VIDEO

Here is my final music video for the song 'The Jeweller's Hands' by Arctic Monkeys. I have uploaded it to Youtube which would be the main distribution channel for the video if it was made professionally for Arctic Monkeys. As well as appearing on music television channels for example MTV, it would first be promoted online (usually via their website, which is where most of their music is first released to mainstream audiences. For example they have recently released Brick by Brick on their website without prior marketing or build up, they rely heavily on word of mouth and the internet distributing their music to their core audience). I took the frequently used theme of the divide between right/wrong, light/dark, to create this piece. I wanted to both show it in terms of the human psyche (with the notion that everyone has a dark side), as well as physically show the related imagery via shadow puppets and the use of costume in the dance sequence, as well as the changing light angles in the filler shots of the girl.

EDITING: Use of Photoshop and Editing Software

I used photoshop elements to create my digipack. I needed to use a more advanced photo editing software than iphoto because the front of the album was to be made up of two overlapping images. All the images were taken on the day of filming at various stages in the dance. Apart from the close up of the face on the front they were shot in the light of the spots rather than with flash, which has lent them a softer, warmer quality.

I placed the second image (the full body shot) over the top of the close up. Originally the spotlight was visible in the corner of the close up picture, however I used the dancer to cover that, as it did not look aesthetically pleasing in the corner of the picture.

I used the eraser tool so that I had more control of which areas were erased. Once I had achieved the desired look in terms of juxtaposition, I altered the hue and saturation on the close up of the face, to a slightly more orangey glow. This was so the colours on the face and on the full body looked connected as the use of flash had created a much whiter light cast on the face. I wanted the image to look as if it could have been just one image, with the dividing lines between the two images being undetectable. I felt this would add to the polish of the digipack and create a more professional image.

Finally, I used the crop tool to make sure that the image was square and the dimensions of a digipack. I also added white text for the band name and song title - (for the full image see FINAL DIGIPACK).

EDITING: Filler Shots

I filmed shadow puppets and another sequence of shots of a girl to use as 'fillers' between the dance sequence. I used the shadow puppets to further the light/dark imagery, and also to keep the video playful, as I felt the dance routine alone may bog down the video into a purely serious piece, whereas Arctic Monkeys' videos usually have a tongue in cheek element (for example their Cornerstone video which features solely Alex Turner serenading the camera). I felt that, though the dancer is the protagonist in my video, it needed to contain another person to avoid monotony, therefore I decided to film, mainly still shots of a girl in a white dress. The reason for the simplicity was so I could experiment more freely with the lighting, without the images becoming distracting by too many elements. For example I filmed most of the shots with the light on one side of the face to cast a dark shadow across the other side, and hint at another side to the girl/meaning to the image.

Another interesting element of lighting at this angle was that the shadow that formed looked like a completely different/detached person, and thus hinted to a sinister undertone. Therefore on some of the shots the light is being moved from aimed straight on to cast no shadow, to the side so that the audience can see the shadow forming as though it has taken on a life of its own. In these instances I had to speed up the footage, so that the clip would fit within one second, whilst still allowing for movement of the shadow.

EDITING: Constructing the Dance Routine

I was very sure from the start of my planning process that I didn't want the dance routine in my music video to look continuos, as though it was following a narrative. As I spoke about in an earlier post, I wanted my video to reflect the exclusivity that Lady Gaga portrays in Beautiful, Dirty, Rich, consequently I aimed to show snippets of the routine, as though the audience is being allowed momentarily into an unknown world (I also used to neutrality of the backdrop to amplify this). However, given that Jeweller's Hands is a relatively fast paced song, no clip is longer than 2 seconds, unless being used to compliment a down tempo piece of the music. Therefore with such short clips, I felt that I had to apply a small sense of continuity, such as when the dancer pirouettes, the next clip is of her feet pirouetting. I did this primarily so the piece would look less of a mish-mash of clips and the routine would have some fluidity, thus not distracting from the music.

Below is an example of two clips of the dancer mid pirouette. The first shows a long shot, where the whole dancer is within shot, and the second is a medium close up of her feet as she spins. I chose to put the two clips together for a number of reasons. Firstly, I felt the close up would not work effectively without another shot to illustrate what part of the dance is happening. Secondly, the shots are less than a second long each, and it looked much neater to have the two together rather than an elongated shot from one angle, and the other featuring later in the video. Therefore I have added more fluidity to my video, which will allow the audience to follow the action, where with short non corresponding shots it may become confusing, and too long draw out shots may become monotonous.

Due to the effort I put into lighting the location, I decided my piece would look more authentic, and true to the theatrical location of a stage, if I didn't apply any effects during editing. However the few clips that I did decide to alter where for fluidity reasons, rather than aesthetic. Due to the need for a sense of continuity between the different clips of the dance, there were a couple of shots that I decided to 'flip', so that the audience could keep track of where the dance was taking place and from what angle. For example the two shots below show a before and after of one clip that I decided to apply the 'flipped' effect to. I did this as I felt the clip worked well at that point in the song, yet the dancer had just been shown heading in one direction and consequently it needed to carry on from that particular point on the stage.

As the dance was not the sole body of my piece, as I have shadow puppets and filler shots of light/dark imagery to further the conceptual idea of my video, to edit in, I decided it was best to tackle the large proportion of my piece that was going to be made up of the dance routine first. This was purely from an organisational point of view, as I felt it would be easier to deal with each aspect in isolation. Consequently, where I knew I would interject a shadow puppet or 'filler shot' I placed a blank screen, so that I could continue editing the dance in time to the music, without risking later having to adjust clips that had fallen out of time as a result of the new shots. This is demonstrated below, where the seventh shot is a black screen.

PLANNING: Digipack Design

A lot of digipacks just have one image that corresponds with either the song title or one of the music videos featured on the album. I wanted mine to link to the music video, but at the same time I did not think I had taken a striking enough picture that would look professional and eye catching on its own. Consequently I decided to overlay two images on the front cover, both of the dancer featured in the music video, however one would be a close up and the other a full body shot to prevent it appearing monotonous or like a mirror image.

Above are the three images that I have chosen for my digipack. The close up of the face and the dancer kicking her leg up will both feature on the front and the other on the back. My reason for choosing to put the pirouette image on the back is that I feel it is a striking, and the contrast between light from the spotlights illuminating the dancer and the darkness surrounding is key to expanding on my original concept. Also the large black area to one side of the dancer will be useful for the list of songs, and will make it clear and easy to read if I use white text over the black.

RESEARCH: Digipacks

Historically there have been cases where an album cover has overshadowed the content of the album. For example the Beatles' 'White Album', the tracks on which have not been heralded as their best or most popular, yet the blank cover has become infamous. In complete contrast, the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper, which is frequently named the best album of all time, both in content and cover design, shows the four Beatles surrounded by famous figures or 'heroes', at a point where this feat was only possible through the use of cardboard cut outs, and indeed waxworks of the band themselves in the early grey suit clad sixties (borrowed from Madame Tussauds).

A cover like Sgt. Pepper nowadays, though may be aesthetically pleasing, would not be considered advanced from a technological point of view. With the vast array of photo editing software, there is no end of what can be accomplished. Thus, quite often the best modern album covers are simplistic, or feature just one photograph. Over embellished album covers, that seem to include every effect possible so often look unattractive and undesirable. The simplistic covers are synonymous with indie groups, where an overcrowded album cover would not compliment the 'authenticity' and rough and ready style of music. Quite often indie artists will not appear on the album cover, rather more it'll be a photograph that corresponds to the album's name. For example Biffy Clyro's Mountains, which shows a painted image of two mountain lions fighting, and the white streaks create a mountainous feel. Thus the name is synonymous with the imagery. Similarly Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not shows the image of man smoking. Though this in itself is not a particularly eye catching image, coupled with the album title, and the CD itself which boasts an ashtray, it is effective in making the audience question their initial perceptions of the scruffy man on the cover.

Indie bands often develop an image for themselves that sticks, and consequently becomes a feature of all their marketing campaigns. This is often the case when a band releases an album, and the other merchandise that is produced follows suit. For example Courteener's album Falcon features a falcon (again links between the name and image), similarly their posters boast the same imagery. This is to build up a brand identity, which is particularly important for new bands who are gaining a fan base, and aim to be easily identifiable. Two Door Cinema Club, being a relatively new band similarly promoted their album Tourist History with one image of a cat, which made their posters and tour dates quickly identifiable.

This marketing technique is one that I will use when designing my digipack and poster. They will vary slightly from each other in design but I will use the same photographs and colours so that there is a continuous theme throughout the merchandise.

RESEARCH: Analysis of Websites

Given that Two Door Cinema Club are a relatively new band, having only released one album, I was interested to see how sophisticated their web design would be, as a large amount of bands nowadays rely on their Myspace page to promote tours and gigs. However the design is advanced, both in terms of looks and function. For example their site contains the obligatory band name as the top banner, however rather than keeping top news and information on the home page, all additional info can be found under a heading leading away from the main page. Consequently this keeps each page uncluttered, and sleek, which instantly gives a professional feel. I hope to emulate this minimalistic style on my blog, by keeping to a monochrome colour scheme, which is in-keeping with both my album cover and magazine advertisement.

The Courteeners have a similar style of website as Two Door Cinema Club, however more is displayed on the homepage, so rather it allows the visitor to experience and navigate on the homepage. This is beneficial for those with a slow connection or browser as there is much less time spent loading the pages. However it does mean that each page needs to be very clearly laid out and under clear headings so that the large span of information navigated swiftly. I do not feel this will be a style I can recreate as successfully as the Two Door Cinema Club website, as a lot of information on the page makes it appear more amateur unless done very well. Also I feel within the constraints of web design company 'Weebley', I will not be able to emulate this successfully.

The Strokes website is of a similar style, however there is as much information but few links to other pages of the website. Rather they have favoured the approach of linking fans to external sites which are relevant, for example the band's twitter and presence on Social Networking sites. Due to The Strokes new album, much of the website is geared in the direction of promoting the other related merchandise, for example the advertisement at the side not only promotes the album, but also t-shirts available for sale also. This is important to not only draw the fans into the music but the whole band experience, and thus brining in other streams of revenue.

FILMING: On Location (Day Two)

Day Two

Time: 03.00 pm - 06.00 pm

Here are still images from my second day of filming. I did not use flash in any of these so that I could demonstrate the lighting more clearly (and the shadow puppets would have been invisible had I used flash).