Evaluation Question 1

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The music video that I have created uses conventions of a real media product as it is demonstrating to the audience the band's music. My video advertises the band and the song as it presents the song visually in order to emphasise the lyrics, which is what my video does. However the usual conventions of a rock video would mainly be performance based, with the band performing and having close ups of the instruments and the band members, mine does not. Instead I challenged these conventions by making my video simple, it does not feature any performance in it at all and does not show the band members. Also it does not have a particular narrative yet shows a performance of a different kind, as it relates more to the lyrics of the song than the image of the band, because usually rock music videos can be more style over substance. My video relates to the lyrics in a more metaphorical sense as the lyrics are about freedom and moving on from the past to a better healthier future, the video shows the model moving on as the water represents her washing away her past troubles and feeling good that she has moved on. The use of the slow motion and reverse effects make the video more interesting and emphasise the point the lyrics are making of her becoming free. Also the lyrics adopt a lot of naturally imagery, the video appears quite natural and organic as it is simple and shows the nature of the water and the model herself acting natural with natural movements, yet the reverse effects make the organic simple idea more unique and interesting for the audience to watch.

Furthermore the video links to Andrew Goodwin's Music video theory in many different ways. For example this video promotes the song by Illustrating, Amplifying and Disjuncture as the lyrics are illustrated by the visual and these emphasises the meaning, then this meaning is repeated and with the use of the reverse effect the viewer can see this meaning more. Secondly the video meets the technical aspects Goodwin's theory mentions, as the cuts and edits are in time and go to with the beat of the song. Also as the video is in black and white it makes the video more moody and again more simplistic in order to not to detract from the lyrics meanings. The video can also be linked to Goodwin and Laura Mulvey's theory of Voyeurism. This because the model in the video is being watched as if she does not know this because she makes no direct eye contact with the camera, also there are the occasional close ups of her lips, chest and neck, suggesting voyeurism.

Additionally my magazine advert and digipak all use typical conventions, such as the digipak has the album title on the front, features institutional information and has the song listing on the back of it, this is so the consumer knows what the album consists of. Furthermore my magazine advert contains familiarities to the audience and zeitgeists. For example the advert features reviews from well known magazines on it in order for the consumer to feel more familiar with it and trust it more so they therefore feel more inclined to buy the album. Also the advert features a QR code on it, which intrigues the consumer as they will want to find out what it will lead them too.  Moreover after researching into already existing digipak and adverts I was able to identify the key conventions of them so I could include them into my products. For example on the advert I included the front cover of the digipak and I added on the album information such as the release date, band website and Reviews. These were all common features that I noticed on the two adverts that I had annotated. Also when I was creating my digipak I made sure that the front image was striking in order to attract more buyers, I also wanted it to relate back to the album name therefore I decided to make it all symmetrical and I made it black and white in order for it to stay within my chosen house style.

Evaluation Question 2

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The purpose of my music video was to appeal to the artists audience through a visual style in order for them to use this as a form of escapism and for the audience to identify with the artist through a visual medium. I believe that my music video does this well, as it advertises the artists song and appeals to the audience by presenting their song in a different way and using the video to emphasise the lyrics in order to connect with the audience. I believe that the video portrays the lyrics well and also advertises the band well, as although in the video the band is not present the audience are intrigued and become more interested in the band.  My video takes on natural themes linking to the lyrics as it is a simplistic idea and the video does not allow for any distractions, appealing to the audience and allowing them to escape their lives and connect with the band, also adding to this is that the video is easy to watch due to its simplistic nature. All these factors allowing the audience to be entertained gain enjoyment and to also feel as if their feelings and emotions are being enlightened by watching and listening to the video, this meaning that the artist has gained another supporter.

Furthermore I feel that my other tasks being the Digipak and Magazine Advert all achieve their purpose. The Digipak contains images that represent the album and the band as the images are bold and stand out meaning that they catch the eye of the consumer and interest them. My Digipak contains four sides; Front, Back and the two inside sections. I believe that this Digipak fits its purpose as it is informative to the audience as it features institutional information, gives track listings and includes the album name. As well as this I made sure that the 'Muse' Logo appears on the top left corner of the front as I found that this is a common trait to all of their album covers.

Much like my Digipak my magazine advert is fit for purpose as it is informative and appeals to the consumer as it is advertising the album. It does this by including the front of the album on it also having reviews and including information such as: 'Including Bliss, New Born and Feeling good' this advertises to the consumer songs that they may have heard and that feature on this album. Also the advert informs the consumer of the formats the album can be bought it such as: 'Vinyl, CD and Digital' this allows the album to appeal to a wider market. Additionally my magazine advert is clearly advertising the digipak as it stays within the clear house style of the black and white. As the magazine advert contains no colour and the digipak has no colour on it, as well as this they both use the same font, this is to emphasise that they are advertising the same product, also both of these products are presented in a simplistic and clear way, this emphasising the symmetrical theme running through out all of my products as the digipak is made up of symmetrical images and the magazine advert features this on it as well. Moreover this clear house style is present in my main product as the video has no colour but is all black and white, it also uses the symmetrical theme due to the use of the slow motion and reverse effects, the audience are able to see the footage twice yet the second time being played in reverse, this signifies the symmetry and the clear house style between all of my products, and also how they all serve their purpose well.

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 3 by

Transcript:

The audience that I decided to aim my media products as is mainly females in the social class B-C2 aging between 16-25. I identified that their interests involve attending festivals/gigs and listening to indie/alternative music. Knowing this I wanted to make a music video that was unusual and did not follow the norms for a music video, therefore I made something different and unique in order to appeal to this target audience. I feel that my audience would like this video as the model in it wears simple clothes and does not portray any particular personality or idiosyncrasies, this enabling my audience to identify with them as they fell like they could be that person because they can forget about themselves and relate to the lyrics of being free and feeling good.

After making the products it is important to gain audience feedback and to understand the consumers needs and wants, as if I do not appeal to them then the audience will dislike the products I made and then they will therefore not serve their purpose correctly. It is key that the audience is understood, signifying why the feedback of these products is important, because if there are nay issues with my product such as it does not appeal to my audience or it does not satisfy them I will need to change these, therefore taking this feedback and using it to help me create media products that are suitable.

To generate this feedback I made drafts of my digipak and magazine advert. For example I had created many different versions of my digipak front cover, I was unsure of which one was best therefore after asking my audience they advised me on which ones they preferred, this enabling me to create a digipak that now appeals to my audience, because if I did not do this, then my audience would not want to buy the digipak. Also once I believe I had finished my digipak front I asked some of my audience members if they would write feedback on the Photoshop document of my digipak, I also asked the same for my magazine advert. I received mostly positive comments about them both but one comment that I found useful on the digipak was to change the presentation of the album title, therefore it lead me onto changing the font to a smaller modest font in order to go better with the simplistic theme. After this I also felt that my digipak cover looked a lot better. Furthermore for my magazine advert the feedback that I received was to get rid of the Twitter and Facebook logos as these added colour to the advert which broke from the black and white house style of my products. Feedback like this enabled me to know what things my audience like and dislike as they told me, this helps me to appeal to them more.

Additionally after I had finished my music video and my other ancillary texts I interviewed two members of my audience, they are two females both of ages 18, they too gave back positive feedback, comments such as they liked the unusual idea as they had not seen this done before and that they liked the clear house style. This emphasising that due to the research of my audience I was able to understand them better enabling me to create products that appealed to them and that catered to their needs and wants of a music video. Overall signifying that I was able to learn what my audience wanted also how to gain this feedback and what types of things I should change in order to appeal to them more.