Final Products/Promotional Package

Music Video:

Digipak:

Magazine Ad:

Evaluation - Question 4

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

Throughout the process of constructing, researching, planning and evaluating my products I have used a range of media technologies, from physical technologies to computer programmes and internet sites.

Physical Technologies

I started by creating a mind map of some of the physical technologies I have used to base a short video on:

From creating this mind map I found that I had quite a lot to say about each thing, regarding how and why I used them and what benefit it gave me. I therefore thought that the easiest way to express this would be to do a short video of me showing and talking about each thing. However I could not do this for the video camera and tripod because they belong to college, therefore I have done a written section for these. 

Filming Camera

This is the main camera that I used for filming my music video. It is a Panasonic HC-V160EB-K Full HD Camcorder and is borrowed from college. The camera has many qualities which made it suitable for filming my music video. First of all it is compatible with the editing software that I used which was Final Cut Pro, this meant that didn't have to convert the footage or refilm shots on another camera. The camcorder has full HD which meant the quality of the shots were to a high standard and remained this way when being viewed on numerous programmes. I found that my footage was generally to a very high quality and any shots lacking in clarity were a result of bad lighting, of which I shot again. The 77x zoom on the camera is very useful and easy to use, the button being located on the top of the camera made it easy to adjust. In addition to this the image stabilizer meant that the image was always clear which helped me as I was new to shooting moving image shots. Also a feature on the camera is the ability to take still shots in the middle of filming, which could have been used within my music video. I did not use this however as it did not match my storyboard and I found no way to fit it in. The camera has a playback feature which meant that I could view the shots straight after filming to ensure that what had been captured was suitable for my video and if not there was also a delete button to permanently get rid of the unusable shots. I did not often use this feature however as I wanted to keep the shots to review properly on a computer before deciding whether to use them or not. The buttons to work the camera were all very easy to understand and use, meaning it didn't take long to get the hang of the camera and no time was wasted whilst filming. The LCD screen is also able to move around making different angled shots easy to capture as it was still visible no matter the angle. For example I often shot high angle shots by tilting the screen so that it was visible to me, meaning I could frame the shot properly. The battery on the camera is also very good and lasts for longer than the average filming session which meant that I never ran out of battery whilst filming. This was good as it meant that I never had to go back and finish the filming session another day. The hand strap on the side of the camera also made hand held shots really easy to do as it meant that the stability of the shot was higher and there was also less chance of me dropping the camera and damaging it. Overall I think that this camera was probably one of the best available to me and although the quality could have been better, I think my video quality is quite high for a college production. 

Tripod

This is the tripod I used for the majority of my filming for my music video. The tripod is a Velbon make and has many features which make it suited to the style of filming I took part in. Firstly the tripod is ideal for camcorders (what I used to film), meaning it was compatible with my camera type. The tripod, although not able to fit in a standard sized bag, was fairly lightweight meaning it was fairly easy to transport to locations. The tripod did not have a handle for carrying however which made it slightly more difficult to manage but I chose to just carry it by one of the expandable legs. Plus with most of my locations being fairly nearby or me and cast members getting there via car, there were no real problems. The tripod had 3 quick release legs which made adjusting the tripod to suit each shot quite easy and didn't waste time. This feature also meant that obtaining the right height was achievable as I could set it how I wanted to. The 'geared centre platform' also allowed for quick height adjustments, moving just the top of the tripod upwards. I found this particularly useful as it meant that I could do things very quickly and not waste any time. The tripod also has a 'spirit level' circle towards the top which allowed me to see how stable the tripod was and make sure the shot was level. The 'pan head' made doing camera movements such as tilts and pans really easy and I generally found that they went smoothly. The ability to make the handle as tight or as loose as you wanted by twisting it also meant that I had full control over the movement. The quick release platform which attaches the camera to the tripod was really easy to use and firmly secured the camera to the tripod preventing it from falling off and potentially damaging the equipment. Finally I found that the rubber tipped feet made the tripod remarkably stable even on rougher grounds, meaning the shot was also stable. Overall I think that this tripod was very useful and necessary whilst filming and allowed me to capture professionalism in my filming. 

 Computer Programmes

I also used a range of computer programmes whilst doing my A2 media coursework, which include:

• Final Cut Pro
• Adobe Photoshop
• Google
• Calendar
• Movie Maker
• Powerpoint
• Word
• iTunes

Final Cut Pro

The programme I used to edit my music video was Final Cut Pro. This is a programme specifically based around Mac computers and is possibly the most commonly used editing software. As I don't have a Mac at home however this meant that I was limited to the amount of time I had to edit my video. The programme is non linear which means you do not have to start editing from the beginning and can start from which ever section you would like. I found this particularly useful as the first shots which I filmed where some of the green room shots which are scattered throughout the video and so I was able to edit them all in to the section of the song where they're supposed to be at. The software as a whole was very easy to use, as soon as I inserted my SD card a message came up asking if I wanted to import clips and if so which ones, so straight away I could just download them onto the programme. This saved a lot of time as I didn't have to mess about discovering everything. The software had a range of tools such as 'trim' and 'blade' which I frequently used to cut down shots to their desired length. This was very helpful as often the shots were too long or I wanted them to start further in, etc. The programme also has a number of effects, transitions and text features, as well as other features less suited to my needs. I found these features to all be quite useful however I mainly used transitions, such as 'flash' (flashback section) and 'fade' (performance section), these features helped to aid the entertainment of my video. Another feature I used quite frequently and found to be quite effective was the 'slow/fast' feature, which allowed me to change the speed of my clips. This meant that I could make bits such as the running up the stairs scene faster improving the aesthetics and also matching the pace of the song. The ability to create different projects and folders containing different clips also meant that I was able to organise my shots so I knew which ones were recent (particularly if I'd just done a reshoot). This allowed me to find the clips I wanted to use really easily and saved time re watching them all over again. The play back feature in the top right corner also meant that I could watch back my work as I was creating it so I could spot any mistakes or things that didn't work well in the sequence. This really helped me to keep the shots in time with the music and make sure that the lip sync matched. Also good about this programme is how easy it was to upload onto YouTube, meaning I could share my product almost instantly and obtain feedback from teachers, peers and even random YouTube users. This allowed me to gain feedback and change/tweak my video based on what viewers said. Overall I think that using this programme helped me to create quite a professional video and enabled me to do things that I might not have been able to do if I had of used another programme.

Adobe Photoshop

The programme I used to edit my still images and create my ancillary texts was Adobe Photoshop. This is a photo editing software which is very popular among photographers, graphic designers, etc. I am very familiar with this programme as I studied photography and graphics at GCSE and also used it to construct my AS coursework (a music magazine). I downloaded the 30 day free trial on my laptop at home so that I could focus my college time on creating my music video and my home time on creating my ancillary texts. I made a short video to show the tools and features available on photoshop and also the main ones that I used when making my own products. 

Internet Sites

Whilst creating my coursework I also used a number of internet sites, which include (of which I can remember):

• www.blogger.com
• www.youtube.com
• www.prezi.com
• www.slideshare.net
• www.wevideo.com
• www.powtoon.com
• www.surveymonkey.com
• www.dafont.com
• www.bandnamemaker.com
• www.googlemaps.com
• www.bbc.co.uk/weather/

Blogger

The site I used to store and share all of my work was Blogger, as the name suggests this is a blogging website which is popular among students such as me due to it being fairly easy to use. With the site being online it meant that I could access it at any time (at home or at college). It can also be accessed on my phone, tablet or other electronic device, meaning I could add to my blog whenever I had the opportunity. The site allowed me to add as many posts as I liked of which I could title whatever I wanted. I was able to add text, picture, video, presentations, etc so it allowed me to present my work in numerous formats rather than just blog posts. The site allowed me to choose the size and font of my text and whether I wanted to put the text in 'bold', 'italic' or 'underlined' so I was able to draw attention to certain parts of my work. The site also has a spell checker feature which meant that I could check my work for grammatical errors easily. I was also able to set the date of the blog posts so that I could put them into the order I wanted. Finally the site also allowed me to choose my own layout and blog style so I could express my own personality within my work. Overall I think that using this site helped me to keep organised and allowed me to easily locate work (for example my storyboard) when and if I needed it, therefore it was really useful.

Evaluation - Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

To gain feedback on my final products I decided to ask my peers a variety of questions, obtained from survey, focus groups and social networking.

Music Video

Survey

I started by jotting down some possible questions I could ask and then from there I created a survey in both written and online formats. This meant that I could hand out the written version in class and post the link to the online survey on social networking. Below are examples of both surveys.

Once I had created my online survey I used Facebook chat to share it with some of my more trustworthy friends who I thought might complete it. This allowed me to obtain feedback fairly quickly as they could simply fill out my survey when they had the chance and I would receive their response automatically. I also shared the link on my twitter page so that I could receive feedback from my followers. Below are screenshots of how I've used social networking to obtain feedback.

Could some of you friendly people watch my A2 music video and complete my survey pleaaase :) https://t.co/dkB5fe5FU9
— Emily (@Emily_Rhian18) March 24, 2015

Results

Written Format:

Online Format:

 

GoAnimate example:

Feedback 1 by emilyrhianlawson on GoAnimate

Feedback 2 by emilyrhianlawson on GoAnimate

The majority of the people I asked to complete my survey were peers from my media class meaning that most of my responses were from people aged 17-18. This means that they probably belong to the demographic group E. However I also asked a few family members to fill it out as well, therefore there is a large age range of 17-55. This will allow me to obtain differing opinions to judge how successful my finished product is, however I will particularly be looking at the younger demographic as this is my main target audience. Overall I managed to obtain 16 responses from different people and so feel I have enough feedback to judge the effectiveness of my product.

Q1 - Do you think my video matches its genre (Indie Rock)? Why?
From looking at my responses it is clear that my music video was identifiable as a product from the indie rock genre with 100% of the respondents answering 'yes' to this question. The reasons for this were almost completely down to the costume/style of the cast and the narrative which people thought to be 'unconventional', 'unique' and 'controversial'. This tells me that my careful planning and preparation of costume really paid off. One of the respondents said that 'the unconventional narrative links with the genre which generally breaks conventions' showing that my thought processes when planning and constructing my music video have been understood as breaking the right amount of conventions to match my genre was something that I was constantly considering. I feel that from these matching responses I can infer that my product is effective in portraying the indie rock style.

Q2 - Do you think that it is effective as a media text? Why?
As with the previous question there was a unanimous vote with everyone answering 'yes' to this question. This informs me that everyone thought it was effective and fulfilled its purpose as a music video. The reasons for this decision are quite varied showing that it is consumed differently by everyone. However some of the given reasons were that it is 'engaging', 'entertaining' and has an 'impact'. This tells me that my video was successful in attracting my audience and didn't lose their attention. One person said that 'parts were entertaining using various techniques to link the narrative to the song' suggesting that my planning (through my storyboard, etc) has really paid off as when thinking up my shots I was always seeing how I could link them to the song via the editing, cinematography, etc. From looking at these responses I feel that I can say that my product has achieved its purpose and is an effective and successful media text. 


Q3 - What was your favourite part of the video? Why?
There were differing opinions on what was thought to be the best part of my video which again shows that the way my product is consumed depends on the individual. It also tells me that there isn't particularly a boring section in my video. The most commonly suggested sections were when the shot switches between the two characters faces whilst the females head is turning, the scenes involving blood (due to the realisticness) and the flashback section. All of these sections are towards the end of my video suggesting that the end of my video is possibly more entertaining than the beginning and so if I was to further improve my video I would maybe change some of the shots or add more editing effects, etc to the beginning of my video. Other than that this feedback is very positive and tells me that I have a range of entertaining parts in my video.

Q4 - What would you change/improve? Why?
In general people said that they wouldn't improve anything which is reassuring as it tells me have constructed a good music video however there were a few minor improvements that people suggested. These were things such as the acting, slight continuity errors and bad lighting in some shots. There was a particular suggestion in the feedback saying that I should match the lighting to the mood and so it should be slightly darker. This would have been hard to do however as the shots would have become grainy and unclear without the proper lighting equipment but I had originally planned to film when it was dark cause I also thought that darker lighting would compliment the mood. Looking from an audiences point of view I can see how the acting in some of the shots may have let the video down slightly however the narrative is still understandable and interpreted correctly therefore I don't think this has had that great an impact on the quality of my video. This is also something which I am unable to change therefore for a college production I think this is acceptable. The minor continuity errors are something that I may consider looking at editing. These are mainly a result of changes in lighting having shot shots on different days. To change this I would either have to refilm all of these shots again to make sure the lighting matches or I would have to replace the non fitting shots to the ones previously filmed with the original lighting, however this would make the quality of these shots decrease because I changed them in the first place because of their low quality. These suggested improvements are only minor things which tells me that on a whole my video is to a fairly professional standard as minor improvements are expected at this level. 

Q5 - Do you think the narrative is effective? Why?
On a whole people said that they did think it was an effective narrative (93% of respondents) however one person said that they did not and their reason for this was 'I was a bit confused what was happening so couldn't always follow it'. This allows me to view my product from the eyes of an audience member and see that some things may not have been represented clearly and therefore resulted in confusion. To resolve this I could sit down with the respondent and go through exactly what or which section may have confused them and see how I could change or alter it. Although the majority of responses said that they did think that the narrative was effective and therefore this one odd result may be because of a lack of full attention to the video. The majority of cases completely understood the narrative and that it had a non chronological order therefore I am confident that the correct message is portrayed. The main given reasons for my narrative being effective was that it was 'interesting' or 'unique', it had a 'good/clear message' and it 'fit with the song/lyrics'. From this I can conclude that my narrative is not a direct copy of any other and therefore has its own style and is memorable. This is good because the purpose of my video is to sell the song therefore if the music video is memorable this will make the song more attractive to potential buyers. The fact the people also think that the narrative links with my song/ lyrics is good because I spent time conducting a lyrics analysis and deciding how I could link the video to the lyrics. Having this connection again makes the video and therefore the song memorable. Overall I can see from this feedback that my narrative has been interpreted properly and has had a big impact on the audience, therefore it has done what I had hoped. 

Q6 - Do you think it looks like a real/conventional music video? Why?
Everyone I asked said they did think it looked like a real/conventional video which is reassuring as it tells me that it is of a high quality and looks professional. However on a few occasions people said that the acting in the video made it look considerably less like a real music video. As mentioned previously this is something that I didn't have much control over and was down to my cast members to perform properly. I tried to prompt them and show them exactly what I wanted them to do but with them being quite shy people getting the result I had hoped for from my cast was difficult at times. The main reason for the conventionality of my music video was down to the range of cinematography and the editing (particularly its link with the beat of the music). From this I am able to deduce that the professionalism of my product is mainly down to my creative skills and also my ability to film and edit well. This is good because this is what I spent the most of my time on whilst constructing my music video. Some other respondents also said that it looked similar to a real music video because it followed conventions and the high quality of the shots made it look professional. These are things that I have carefully considered in the planning and making processes and therefore it is clear that my video has been interpreted in the way that I had hoped whilst I was making it. This feedback has allowed me to see that although minor things (such as the acting) have lowered the professionalism of my product is generally of a high quality and mimics an actual real life video, therefore I can deduce that my video has been a success. 

Focus Group 

I decided that as well as written feedback it would be good to also get some verbal feedback in the form of a focus group. I came up with a different set of questions to ask 2 of my friends who also do media studies at A level. These questions were:

-What genre do you think my video belongs to and why?

-What do you think the best part of my video is?

-What do you think the worst part of my video is?

-Do you think my video has continuity?

-Do you think my video and my ancillary texts match?

-Would you watch my video again?

I got my friends Kayleigh and Kate (who are both 18 and media students) to take part in my focus group. This is because they have an awareness of media terminology and could evaluate my work practically, having been through the process themselves. Below is the video.

Once I had recorded and reviewed my focus group I decided that it would probably be helpful to do another video but this time with a male, who doesn't study media. I got my brother who is 21 and a government and politics student to feature in another video but still answering the same questions as before. This is because it would give me feedback from a differing demographic so that I could consider a range of opinions. The fact that he doesn't study media and has no awareness of the subject also meant that I would be receiving feedback from an ordinary audience member. 

The feedback I have received from these videos has been very influential and has helped me to judge whether my final music video has been successful and if it has been interpreted in the manor I had hoped. The answers given from all three subjects are generally very similar which tells me that my video has overall been effective. 
The genre was identified by all three respondents as Indie/Indie Rock which combined with the comments from my surveys tells me that my product is clearly identifiable as from that genre. This is good because it means that the style I was hoping to achieve has been successful and previous planning to create the style has clearly helped with this. The reasons that were suggested for it being an indie style video were that it 'follows the conventions of the genre' and the 'narrative' and 'clothing and music' are indie. The fact that Kate (a media student) could identify my product as following the conventions of this genre is promising as it tells me that I have successfully captured the essence of the indie rock genre. This also tells me that my product has an element of professionalism as it is similar to other indie rock music videos. The comments about the narrative and clothing by Kayleigh and Ben also back this up as they form part of the conventions of the indie genre. I carefully planned these out through storyboarding and outfit preparation posts telling me such planning was necessary in creating a realistic indie rock music video. 
Thoughts on the best part of my video varied with each person but this, as mentioned with the survey responses, is because my product is consumed differently by everyone due to their outside influences. Kate said 'you've got a really wide range of cinematography and editing so it looks really professional' which is really helpful as being a media student she knows what is needed in a music video to make it look effective. The cinematography of my video is something I carefully considered whilst creating my storyboard as this is something I'm particularly interested in. I did lots of prior research by looking at existing videos and what they have used, this helped me to decide on how I could use cinematography in my video. I am glad that this has been successful. I also spent a lot of time listening to and then re listening to my song to see where I could/should place my edits which I think has been effective because they fit well with the music. Kayleigh said she liked the lip sync section in my video which is again conventional, this tells me I have edited it effectively and it looks professional. She specifically said how she liked how they were singing 'next to each other' which tells me that the similarity of the shots has been understood as a purposeful technique. I was worried how the use of a male lip syncing sections with a females voice actually singing the lyrics would be seen and whether people would believe this to lower the professionalism of the video but with the lyric 'the men cry out' matching I thought that it would provide an interesting link with the narrative and this comment tells me that appears to have been understood. Ben said that he liked the section with the female characters head spinning and the heads interchanging between the female and the male. This has been a popular part of my video with the audience and I am glad I involved this performance section. I think that this has been popular due to its simplicity and the editing which links well with the beat of the song. 
There wasn't much negative feedback on my video which is good as it tells me that the vast majority of it is to a high standard. The girls could not think of anything to say on the spot and would maybe have had something to say if they had longer to think about it however my brother thought that the acting was 'wooden' and there were some 'minor continuity errors'. This is really helpful as it allows me to see my video from his eyes and see how minor things may have effected the professionalism of my video. The acting is something that is out of my control and is down to my cast however if I had access to performing arts students or keen actors I could have used these to make my video look more realistic and similar to existing products. This was not something I was able to do however and so I had to ask friends who I could trust to be reliable and not let me down. The continuity errors are only minor things that the majority of the time are only noticable when considerable attention is being paid. For example I shot some of the house scenes on different days which resulted in a change of lighting which can be noticeable. This is not something I was able to correct in the editing process and therefore the only way to correct this would be to refilm the whole section which I and my cast don't really have time to do before the official deadline. On a whole suggestions for improvements were small things which haven't had a major impact on my final product so I am not too worried about these.
The response to whether my video has continuity was mixed, the girls both thought that it did. Kate said that it follows the same style which is what I wanted from my product I didn't want any major changes in costume or setting because with it being narrative based I thought that this may cause confusion, whereas if I had done a video which was more abstract or performance based I may have used different styles. Kayleigh said that although the outfits change (which is conventional) they all match and go with the theme this is good because as I have previously said I spent a lot of time preparing and planning the outfits. Ben however said that he thought that there was a lack of continuity which links with his criticism, this however he pointed out is only a minor thing linking to the changes in lighting etc which can be noticeable at times. As I said previously I am not too bothered about this as its only a minor thing and doesn't have that big an impact. 
In response to whether my subjects thought my ancillary texts and my video matched I found that they all agreed and thought that they did. This is good because this means that my promotional package is thought to be cohesive and linking. This also means that audience members will be able to identify the song by any of my products. Kate and Ben both thought that the use of blood on the digipak and in the video provides an identifiable link which was my intention. The idea of using props from the video on my ancillary texts was an idea I set out on using and had even experimented with using the knife prop but found that this did not work as well. If I wanted to make my products even more cohesive I could possible use the blood on my magazine ad however finding a place for this could be difficult as it is already very crowded. As Ben also pointed out, cohesion is also created through the use of the same characters on all of my products, therefore I believe that this is enough to create a link. Kayleigh also said that you can sort of tell the narrative through the ancillary texts which again tells me that my products are cohesive as if you were to see my digipak or magazine ad you would be able to identify the link with the video. 
My final question was just asking whether they would watch the video again, I put this in as I way of finding out whether they thought my video was entertaining cause if they would voluntarily watch it again they must have liked it. All 3 respondents said that they would watch it again with Kate saying that she 'really liked it' which is reassuring that my hard work and effort has resulted in a successful product that members of the audience would enjoy watching. 

Ancillary Texts

Social Networking

After obtaining the previous feedback on my music video I decided that I wanted to receive some more feedback on my ancillary texts. I thought that the best way to do this would be to post them on the popular social networking site Instagram. I asked for some general feedback, such as likes/dislikes/improvements as at this point I didn't have any specific questions and simply wanted to find out what people thought of my ancillary texts. This allowed me to gain responses fairly quickly instead of having to ask each individual separately. Below are screenshots of the feedback I received.

The majority of responses were fairly positive and they all picked out at least one good thing about my products. Most of the respondents mentioned the main image I used and how well it was edited which is great feedback for me as this is what is supposed to draw you to my products initially. The fact that the majority of my respondents mentioned the main images effectiveness is helpful as I spent of time researching and finding out how to edit the image successfully. One respondent said that it was 'aesthetically pleasing' informing me that my designing skills have been useful throughout the process of constructing both products. The colour scheme was also frequently mentioned with people liking the 'simplicity', 'cohesion' and 'continuity' within it. This is good because I carefully planned out the colour scheme I wished to use as to create a link throughout my products. The colour scheme used on products can often decrease or increase the effectiveness/professionalism of a product, therefore this positive feedback regarding the colour scheme is reassuring as it tells me that my products have been quite effective. I am glad that people think that the colour scheme has continuity as this means that they have an identifiable link which people will be able to recognise. One person did however say 'the colour scheme on the other hand is a bit plain and dull' which tells me that there are varying opinions. This may be because of the lack of brightness in the colour scheme which I can see how it may decrease the attractiveness of my products however if I were to add another bright, eye catching colour it may make my product look over powering and less professional. I also believe that the colour scheme and in particular its simplicity matches the genre of my video and adding more colours may decrease its similarity with other indie rock products. With this being a non recurring opinion I don't believe that the quality of my ancillary texts has been effected greatly by this and with the majority of people liking the colour scheme I do not feel like I need to change it. The only other dislike that was mentioned about my products was that the QR code on the magazine ad was thought to stand out too much against the white background and 'looks a bit daft'. This is quite helpful as I took a risk by putting it on my ad as it is not necessarily conventional to do so. I can now see how the placement may not be aesthetically pleasing and to improve I could possibly move it or alternatively make it smaller. Another suggested improvement was to make the background of the front cover of the digipak black as to make the image stand out more however I have already experimented with the background colour to see the effect it would have and after consideration decided that the plain white looked best. This is because the subjects hair and other features are often confused with the background. In addition to this the actual editing process is a lot harder and minor mistakes are a lot more visible essentially decreasing the professionalism of the product. If I was to change this now I would also have to change the background of the rest of the digipak and possibly the magazine ad to create continuity and cohesion. Therefore I don't believe changing the background colour at this stage would make the product look any better. On a whole the feedback I have maintained on my ancillary texts has been positive and has reassured me that my products have all been very successful. Any dislikes have been minor and generally easily reversible and therefore I am happy with the final outcome of my products. 

In conclusion after gathering feedback via surveys, focus groups/video feedback and social networking, I believe that I have created a successful and professional promotional package. The feedback given will also allow me to develop/improve my work further if I wish to do so. 

Evaluation - Question 2

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

To decide how effective the combination of my products (to form my promotional package) have been I decided to look at the specific things that make them effective, with particular focus being on the continuity between my main product and ancillary texts.

How effective are my media texts?

Individually my music video, digipak and magazine are very effective and when combined to create my completed promotional package they are successful in advertising my band. My media texts all follow conventions to create professional and realistic looking products but also defy enough conventions to link to the indie genre and make my products look unique and stylish. In terms of the music video the narrative alongside other technical elements such as the cinematography create entertainment which makes the audience wish to watch it the whole way through and hopefully at the end purchase the song. My ancillary texts have pleasing aesthetics which differ to other existing product which will hopefully draw attention and encourage people to listen to the song and as a result buy it. The audience feedback that I have obtained generally clarifies that my products are effective which tells me that my music video and ancillary texts have achieved their purpose. All of my finished products also have a clear link creating continuity, for example they all the feature the same cast members which form part of the band 'The Common People'. This means that my media texts are effective as a whole package and not just individually. Continuity is very important in ensuring that my promotional package is successful. 

Why is it important that my media texts have continuity?

Continuity running throughout al of my media texts is very important because not only is it conventional it also allows you to establish a recognisable style for your band. This means that when they see one of my digipak they should be able to link it to my video without much consideration and vice versa. Conforming to this convention also gives my products a professional touch and when something is professional it makes people more likely to purchase it. If my products all link through aesthetics and style, etc this also means that if someone likes one product such as my video they are more likely to like my digipak and magazine ad as well. This means they'll be more willing to buy the song as it clearly relates to their own personal style. As the purpose of my video is not only to entertain but also promote the band/album I can conclude that if my products have continuity then they are effective and successful as media texts. Having slight differences between the products is also necessary however as if they are exactly the same then they lose their uniqueness and possibly purpose as you may as well only have the one text as a form of promotion. The repetition of the exact same style can result in boredom and a lack of attention to the product entirely, therefore the right balance between continuity and replication needs to be found. Differences between the music video and digipak are typical as the style of the digipak should reflect the entire tracklist and not just the one single, although as the album is named after my single I believe the use of blood on parts of the digipak is ok. In addition to this the blood 'prop' usage could act as a motif which links to several of the songs on the tracklist it is possible to say that the digipak reflects the entire album rather than the digipak just reflects the music video I have created. I feel that the combination of my music video, digipak and magazine ad all have continuity which is created through a range of things however there are enough difference to ensure that the audience does not get bored of viewing them. 

Elements of continuity within my promotional package

Colour scheme:

Whilst planning and researching my products I created a colour scheme that I would use in all of my products as a way of establishing continuity. I choose to use red, grey, white and black particularly on my ancillary texts but also as some of the more prominent colours in my main product. This is due to the research I did before hand on websites such as color.adobe.com which provided me with some colour schemes based on colours picked out of my music video and also moodboards I had made previously. I felt that these colours represented the genre of indie rock well which generally tends to be quite dark based but I didn't want the dark colours to be to overpowering and dull so I also included red and white. I think the colour red is often associated with the indie genre in general due to the connotations of danger and 'living by your own rules'. I though that this colour scheme was quite simplistic which helped to create professionalism in my product which the majority of my audience agreed with however it was stated by one person that it was slightly dull. The use of only one or two bright colours is quite conventional of most media texts and I didn't want to break this convention as too many bright and eye catching colours can be overpowering. I also found that by using the one bright colour allowed me to draw attention to specific things on my ancillary texts such as the album name. Therefore it was effective in more ways than just aesthetics. To create continuity I used this colour scheme (via text and image, etc) on both of my ancillary texts, for example I used the same red colour on the album title on my digipak and magazine ad. I also used the red blood from my music video on my digipak so that the brightest colour on my ancillary texts was also the brightest in my video. Within my video I maintained this colour scheme were possible by using red lipstick for Kate's lip sync section of the video and using the red fake blood. I also used costume that mainly featured grey and black on both characters so that anything that I had control over followed the style I was hoping to achieve. In this way I believe that the combination of my products is effective.

Font styles:

I wanted to create continuity through my font use on my ancillary texts so that they are cohesive with the style of my main product. There is no use of text in my music video however the genre, narrative and general style gave me some hints at what fonts I should use to match my video. I chose to use two main fonts on my product which were 'Lucida Sans Demibold Italic' (which I used on the band and album name text) and 'Century Gothic Bold' (which I used on most the other text e.g the ratings on the magazine ad) which both belong to the photoshop software. I had done research into fonts by using online sites such as dafont.com however the fonts that I had picked out and liked the best did not work well on my products and didn't match the style I was hoping to create, therefore I ended up experimenting with the fonts that Photoshop had to offer and found these to have the most impact. I felt that these fonts represented the indie rock genre particularly well due to there boldness. I didn't want to include too many fonts on my ancillary texts as I worried this would take away from the simplicity of my products and possibly reduce effectiveness and professionalism. Only using the two fonts also allowed me to highlight the most important sections of text in the bolder, more attractive font. The reason I used 'Lucida Sans Demibold Italic' is because its quite a loud and attractive font but doesn't distract from the image and other text on the page. I used the 'Century Gothic Bold' font for the other text because its less attractive than the other text and so you aren't drawn to it straight away. It is however quite similar to the other font which helps to create cohesion because if it was a completely different font such as a brush font it would not match the style of the product. I also believe that these font styles represent the style of the band quite well and also link to the narrative of my video due to there 'harshness'. To create continuity I used these fonts on both of my ancillary texts however with some other fonts on some areas of text but these still link to the general style of my products. I couldn't really link the font use to the music video due to no text featuring in the video, I did however capture the style and narrative which is quite aggressive by featuring an impact/bold font. I feel that this has helped to create a consistent style (a house style) which links all of my products effectively. 

Mise-en-scene:

The mise-en-scene I used, including things such as the props, costume and setting, helped to create interesting products and such mise-en-scene is continued throughout all of my products to create continuity. I chose to use props which fit not only with my narrative but also my genre. For example I used a knife and blood which link with the theme of danger. Not only have a used these in my music video to develop the narrative I have also featured the blood prop on my digipak to create continuity throughout the products. I could have also done this on my magazine ad but I felt this would have made my products appear to similar and quite boring. The knife prop was something that I was considering using on the disks of the digipak or on the back cover however when experimenting I found that the images looked unprofessional decreasing the professionalism of the product on a whole. I chose not to feature any of the props from my video on my magazine ad because there wasn't much room and I thought the use of the characters as the main image established a good enough link. The costumes I chose to use in my video and on the main image for both of my ancillary texts were very similar using the grey and black colouring identified in my colour scheme. I feel that this creates continuity and also establishes the bands indie style. The jewellery (necklace and bracelets) Kate wore in some of the beginning narrative sections of the video was also wore in the ancillary text image again creating continuity throughout the products. In addition to this the hair and make up look was replicated with the same lipstick used for the lip sync sections of the video being worn for the ancillary text photos. This helped to give my artists a consistent look making them identifiable by audience members. A differing characteristic between my music video and ancillary texts is the location used. For my music video I mainly used jacks house, the street and the green room for filming however I didn't think that any of these locations provided pleasing aesthetics to use on my ancillary texts so I chose to simply use a plain background. I had contemplated using the black curtain as a background like I had used in some of my shots however this would have altered my colour scheme a lot and maybe make it look to dark so I decided against this. It would have also made editing of the images a lot harder due to the ease of noticing mistakes, therefore lowering the professionalism of my products. I feel that my products still have continuity despite the changing locations as my video features a lot of natural/bright lighting therefore this links with the white background. I do not think that this is unconventional as it is rare to see front covers featuring settings from the one music video due to the range of songs featuring on CD's. Therefore I believe that my promotional package has a cohesive and continuous style which creates an effective set of products. 

Shots:
The shots I used in my products were all of a conventional style. I used varying shot types in my music video with particular focus on close ups, mid shots, long shots and two shots. I used close up shots mainly for the lip sync sections of my video as it is conventional and helps to maintain focus on the characters lips as they are singing the lyrics. I also used close ups on shots were the characters are meant to be conveying strong emotions as this allows the audience to clearly see their faces. As I mainly used close up and medium close up shots in my music video I wanted to create continuity with my ancillary texts by using a close up shot for my main image on both the digipak and magazine ad. I found this to be conventional as it allows the audience to form a connection with the artists and their style. Not only did I aim to create continuity throughout my products but I also thought that a close up shot would look more professional and stylish in relation to the form. Therefore I have used similar shots to create an effective combined promotional package which has continuity and cohesion. 

Effectiveness according to target audience

My target audience would be social group E which is mainly young people and in particular students. This is because the portrayed styles generally appeal to this demographic as they are created by them. In addition to this the cast members are quite young (both 18 years old) meaning my product would be more relatable to this age group. As the feedback I obtained was mainly from this demographic I am able to assess the effectiveness of my products based on what respondents have said. 
One of the questions that I put on my survey (regarding my music video only) was 'Do you think that it is effective as a media text? Why?' I found that there was a unanimous vote with everyone answering 'yes' to this question. This informs me that everyone thought it was effective and fulfilled its purpose as a music video. The reasons for this decision were quite varied showing that it is consumed differently by everyone. However some of the given reasons were that it was 'engaging', 'entertaining' and had an 'impact'. This tells me that my video was successful in attracting my audience and didn't lose their attention. One person said that 'parts were entertaining using various techniques to link the narrative to the song' suggesting that my planning (through my storyboard, etc) has really paid off as when thinking up my shots I was always seeing how I could link them to the song via the editing, cinematography, etc. From looking at these responses I feel that I can say that my product has achieved its purpose and is an effective and successful media text. 
As this question was only addressing my music video, I included the question 'Do you think my video and my ancillary texts match?' in my focus group to get an idea of the overall effectiveness of my promotional package. In response to this question I found that they all agreed and thought that they did match. This is good because this means that my promotional package is thought to be cohesive and linking. This also means that audience members will be able to identify the song by any of my products. Kate and Ben both thought that the use of blood on the digipak and in the video provides an identifiable link which was my intention. The idea of using props from the video on my ancillary texts was an idea I set out on using and had even experimented with using the knife prop but found that this did not work as well. If I wanted to make my products even more cohesive I could possible use the blood on my magazine ad however finding a place for this could be difficult as it is already very crowded. As Ben also pointed out, cohesion is also created through the use of the same characters on all of my products, therefore I believe that this is enough to create a link. Kayleigh also said that you can sort of tell the narrative through the ancillary texts which again tells me that my products are cohesive as if you were to see my digipak or magazine ad you would be able to identify the link with the video. 
Overall I think I can say that my target audience viewed my promotional package as an effective media text which fulfills its purposes of entertainment and promotion. 

Survey question 2 (repost):

Focus groups (repost):

Applying Media Theory

To evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of my main product and ancillary texts properly I needed to see how media theory can be applied to my work. I generally adhered to media theories linking to narrative, representation, audience and genre suggesting that my products have been effective.

Narrative Theory:

Tim O'sullivan (1998) stated that all media texts tell us some kind of story which is done through careful mediation. This story reflects us as a culture and our experiences help us to understand how and why the 'story' has been constructed. My music video links with this theory as the narrative is based around domestic abuse and mental illness reflecting society as this is something which has become a big issue in .recent times. Our experiences of domestic abuse/mental illness will also impact our understanding of my main product as if we have been a subject to it or know people in such situations we will have a greater understanding of the story and the way in which the text is consumed may be different as the audience may be affected emotionally by it. Audience members who have no link to such things may not be impacted in the same way however the media also has the ability to teach us about ourselves and therefore my video will possibly make people more aware of such issues. Kate Domaille (2001) said that every story can fit into 1 of 8 narrative types which I believe my main product loosely relates to. My music video fits with the 'Romeo and Juliet' narrative type due to the inclusion of a relationship however the complication of abuse and mental illness means that my narrative is still fairly original, fitting with the indie rock music genre. The larger variety of narrative types now used may be due to the influence of postmodernism which includes elements of the past and future to create original differing storylines. Sven Carlsson (1999) stated that music videos generally fall into 2 rough groups- performance clip or conceptual clip. My music video is a mix of both, using performance and concept to create entertainment. The performance I used within my video includes lip sync and dance elements but the dance elements continue the costume used in the narrative clip sections however with the inclusion of blood to further our knowledge and understanding of the concept used. Pam Cook (1985) came up with the standard hollywood narrative structure which all media texts should have. This includes having 'cause and effect', meaning something should happen to provoke something else, in my narrative the domestic violence and continual verbal attacking results in the female character having a breakdown and consequently killing her partner. She also said that media texts should have a fictional world (called a diegesis) which contains verisimilitude. I have used this in my own product by using real life setting such as the house setting which contains everything expected to be found in a house. The main prop that I used was a knife which you would expect to find in an ordinary kitchen and so its use as the 'murder weapon' creates verisimilitude as it is an everyday household item that most people would have in their homes. Cook said that generally narratives should have equilibrium to begin with but as the narrative continues this will be disrupted resulting in a quest and then resolution of the problem to regain equilibrium. My narrative does not follow this structure exactly due to the non chronological order of my video which begins with the end (this is a feature of postmodernism). Equilibrium can be seen in the flash back scene were the couple are happy however and this is disturbed by the males aggressive nature and violence resulting in the females quest to escape the continual abuse. The resolution would therefore be when she kills him and has escaped entrapment. The beliefs of Claude Levi Strauss (1958) could be seen as opposing in my main product. He thought that all narratives are operated to certain binary opposites, for example Good vs. Evil however in my music video there isn't a clear protagonist or antagonist (also linking back to Pam Cook). This is because at the beginning Kates character is seen to be the victim (therefore the innocent protagonist) whereas Jacks character is identified as the antagonist however as the story progresses we see Kate turn into the bad, antagonistic character whilst Jack is the victim. However at the end when Jacks character is killed we still don't feel remorse for him and possibly still feel empathy towards Kates character even though she is no longer the 'good' character. This potentially suggests that both characters are antagonists, the protagonist can only be identified by the audience as 'prosumers' as its identification is powered by our own ideologies and experiences. Michael Shore (1984) had a number of ideas about narratives with one of which being that music videos are 'recycled styles'. This is true with my own video with the basic idea of domestic abuse being borrowed from other videos such as Calvin Harris's 'Sweet Nothing' music video and Alt J's 'Breezeblocks' music video which both have a violent/abusive nature. He also stated that music videos are 'surface without substance' which means that it is based about the look rather than the meaning. I don't think that this applies to my own music video which has a deeper meaning behind it and although the aesthetics are important, they do not have as much of an effect as the narrative. However my use of cinematography and editing does adhere to this idea.  Andrew Goodwin (1992) came up with the idea that everyone responds to videos differently depending on our own views and values, therefore we create individual meaning based on our own experiences and understanding of culture. As I mentioned earlier I believe my video adheres to this as depending on your level of understanding of domestic violence you will understand/relate to the concept differently. 

Representation Theory:

In relation to Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory I went against the typical sexualization of women which is expected in a music video. Laura Mulvey suggested that women in media texts are seen in the way that men look at them. It focuses on emphasising the curves of the female body, displaying women as objects, displaying women in the way that men think they should be perceived and viewing women based on sexual desire and appearance. Although I believe that this theory is right in relation to most music videos I wanted to go against this in my own main product as I don't agree with the objectification of women. I chose not to use clothing which could be seen as provocative or sexual mainly using plain, baggy t-shirts and jeans. The shots I used generally didn't display my female character in a sexual way either. The most common shot used to emphasise the curves of the female body is an upwards or downwards tilt. I have used something similar in my video however this shot contained the male character as well making them equal. The shot was not intentionally used in this way either as it was used to provide a link with the lyrics of the song for entertainment purposes rather than voyeuristic pleasure. I did however use close ups of particular sections of the female characters body but not on provocative areas such as the bum or boobs and so I still do not believe that I have adhered to Laura Mulvey's theory. Richard Dyer came up with the 'Star theory' stating that 'stars are commodities that are produced by institutions'. His theory suggests that stars are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and are built to target a specific audience. I have followed Dyers theory in the way that I did create my band and their style etc however I did not do this for financial gain and I created a band based around the love of music due to the typical conventions of the indie music genre. I used indie style clothing and make up in my video to create a star which people of my target audience could relate to and aspire to be like. I looked at existing female indie style band members/artists such as the Haim sisters and the female vocalist from wolf alice which all have quite a unique and intriguing style which has helped with their success. This meant that my artist would also be seen as successful and would have a unique and interesting style which makes her differ to most artists, particularly conventional pop style artists. I used dancing and lip sync etc to represent that my band is in it for the 'performance' aspect of the music business and not the money, which is also a convention of the indie genre. 

Audience Theory:
Bulmer and Katz came up with the Uses and Gratification theory which looks at the effects of the media from the point of view of audiences. One idea is that the audience is active as they have control over what they consume, for example in the past offensive or rude things were not used within media texts and could not be viewed on the TV. However now if we don't like something we just choose not to consume it. This applies to my main product as some people could be offended or disturbed by some of the imagery projected within it however if they feel this way they can just choose to stop watching the video. This theory also suggests that we as an audience are motivated by our desire to gratify certain needs. One of these needs is 'surveillance' which means to be aware of what is going on in the world. I think this links with my video as the main themes of domestic violence and mental illness are real life issues and so by watching my video you learn about these issues and can see the effect they have on people. This raises awareness and understanding of real life issues which many people are unlikely to be very informed on. Another way we as audiences wish to gratify our needs is by 'diversion' which means forgetting about our lives and problems (also referring to escapism). I believe that my music video also provides this as the problems/issues represented in it are potentially more problematic than peoples real life problems therefore putting things into perspective. In addition to this watching the video captures a large amount of your attention allowing you to forget about your own life completely whilst you are viewing it. Stuart Hall came up with the Reception Theory which suggests that media texts are encoded by producers who fill the product with values and messages which are then decoded by spectators. Spectators view the texts in different ways and this may not be the way the producer initially intended. There are 3 readings which are the dominant/preferred reading, the negotiated reading and the oppositional reading. In relation to my music video I am the encoder and the people who have watched my video are the decoders. The dominant reading would be acceptance of the message that domestic violence is a problem which needs to be addressed and the signs need to be looked out for more than they are. The negotiated reading would be that the audience accept my view but do not agree or disagree with my values, for example they may see how some could see domestic violence as a problem but they may also see how people may think that it is provoked or not necessarily that much of an issue. The oppositional reading would be an audience member who doesn't agree with the message I have created at all and thinks that domestic violence is not an issue and does not need to be addressed. This may be due to a lack of understanding of the issue or the extent of the issue which is not really highlighted in my video due to a lack of resources and ability to create realisticness. 

Genre Theory:
There are a number of theories relating to genre, for example Barry Keith Grant (1995) came up with the idea that all genres have sub genres which allow the audience to identify them through familiar or conventional characteristics. My music video adheres to this cause although it would fall under the 'horror/thriller' category it is possibly under the 'psychological thriller' sub genre due to the introduction of mental illness and the females unstable emotional state. Steve Neale (1995) also said that genres are 'processes of systemisation' meaning that they are dynamic and evolve over time. They also have specific features which make them identifiable. For example in my main product and also on the digipak cover I have included blood which is a familiar/conventional characteristic of the horror genre. This allows audiences to identify the video as from this genre straight away. Rick Altman (1999) suggested that genre offers audiences a 'set of pleasures' which can be emotional, visceral, intellectual or possibly a combination of these. I believe that my music video contains all of these traits. The saddened emotions felt by the female character are carried on to the audience and her feeling of entrapment also reach the audience who wish to help her. Visceral (which means leaving a physical impact) could be created for some audience members who are saddened, shocked or feel more informed by the video which has a lasting effect. This may make the audience want to do something about the problem themselves. There is also an intellectual pleasure as after the short beginning section of the narrative were we see the female character holding the knife, we want to know what is going to happen and end up guessing at possible outcomes. We also wonder reasons for the inclusion of the prop in the opening sequence, for example 'what caused this situation?'. 

These are the ways that I have used media theory to create an effective set of products.