evaluation question 4

eval question 3

 http://youtu.be/8-oy2MCjQEI

Evaluation question 2

Final Ancillary Products

Final Digipak

Final Magazine Advert

Evaluation Question 1

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

What was your production brief? What were asked to create?

My production brief required the making of a music video lasting at least 3 minutes with at least one other member of my media class. Prior to this creation, I was first required to research into our chosen genre in order to identify the typical codes and conventions. Following this, we were then required to carry out primary research in which our target audience were questioned according to their preferences on the codes and conventions so that during the planning stages, we can aim to included what was deemed favourable to increase appeal. Furthermore, we were also asked to create ancillary products in coherence with the music video; a magazine advert promoting the artist and a 6 panel digipak.

What is a music video? Explain what a music video is and explain your understanding of one.

A music video is a visual accompaniment to the song in which it was made for. Originally, music videos would consist of various images in addition to the music, however with the development of technology; artists began to use footage which influenced the term music ‘video’. There are many reasons that an artist may decide to release a music video including; use it as a market tool, provides a short narrative/representation of artists, to attract target audience,  to buy into artist lifestyle, encourage audience to remember song, to build a relationship with the artist and to provide an understanding of the song. For example, In Justin Bieber’s ‘Beauty and the Beat’ music video, a relationship between audience and artist is built by the use of hand held camera as it has a much more intimate interaction than simply seeing the artist of screen. This therefore makes the audience feel much more included and important while watching it. This ‘attracts the target audience’ as the use of hand held camera creates the illusion that Justin is almost singing to them individually, again making them feel more important to him personally. Therefore this music video is purposeful in attracting the target audience through a relationship being built between artist and audience, encouraging them to maintain such relationship and interest.

A music video has three main styles; Concept – this style of music video often promotes an idea or movement which may or may not go against the ideals of society. It frequently is used to encourage the audience to become open minded to a situation or idea i.e. homosexuality. This style of music video appeal the audience has they have to engage with the concept; it stimulates their thinking and therefore is more likely to be remembered by the audience. The second style is Narrative – a music video that has a narrative may be used to allow the audience a deeper understanding of a track as the lyrics and narrative often correlate in order to create this. Therefore this style of music video often appeals to the audience as they have a deeper understanding of the song. Also, such understanding comes from the artists’ interpretation of the song and therefore they know more about the artist; encouraging them to build a relationship with them. Finally the last style is performance – this consists of the artist simply performing the song with the music video which is used to show the actual artist within the video in order to appeal to the audience as this allows the audience to engage with the artist’s ‘extraordinary’ side and therefore become interested as this in unconventional to them.

A music video not only has a style in which it follows, but also has conventions according to which genre the song falls under. Conventions are set in each genre so that the audience can easily recognise which genre it is. Also, generic conventions are a result of what the target audience find favourable and therefore, including such conventions within a music video increases the chances that the target audience find the video appealing. Conventions found in a Dance music videos are; a party scene showing lots of people dancing to create the illusion that they are having a good time and that the song is successful in creating this. Other conventions consist of flashing lights, girls and the showing of alcohol to reinforce the party like atmosphere. The party content is an effective convention of the dance genre, as it appeals to the target audience as it indicates that the song itself creates a good time, an ideal atmosphere for a party and therefore continue to listen to it for improve their mood.

 On the other hand, conventions found in a RnB music video are; based around love between a couple, consisting of a depiction of a relationship, whether it be happy, sad or showing the stages of breaking up i.e happy, arguing, breaking up and then individuals conveyed as lost/sad afterwards as a result. This appeals to the target audience as it is a subject that they can relate to as it is a universal issue. Love is a topic in which many can relate and therefore portrays the artist as more appealing as the audience can relate, allowing them to build a relationship and maintain an interest. During the video brands/products are promoted in order for the target audience to buy into the artist's lifestyle. For example, there may be a close up of an item of clothing the artist is wearing in order to promote the brand and also provide a short representation of the artist in terms of their fashion style; an aspect that target audience are interested in in order to copy and therefore feel like the artist. Furthermore, RnB artists are known to try and push the boundaries in order to stay relevant and controversial; consequently a topic of conversation and therefore the public are more aware of the artist and therefore more likely to listen to their music. By pushing boundaries, this provides the audience with an unconventional quality which will provide interest as the audience are unfamiliar with such behaviour.

Also, conventions found within a music video by a girl band are; all members having a similar identity in order to create the illusion of unity and companionship. Each member of the band will be matching with one another in order to create and image in which the target audience can recognise and associate with the band; giving them a certain quality different from other bands to differ themselves. Typically, there is one main group member that videos show more of this person so that the audience have a central member to relate to rather than being unable to relate to any of them as a result of a balanced status. However, the illusion of companionship and equality is still present in order to appear happy, friendly and approachable for the audience to feel as if they were a part of the group.

Finally the conventions found in a Hip Hop music video are; based around 3 main topics; money being one of them, often the artist emphasising their lavish lifestyle through the exposure of expensive cars, houses and clothes. This particular convention of hip hop music videos provides the target audience with a representation of the artists' lifestyle in which they find unfamiliar as they cannot directly relate to it. In turn, this appeals to the target audience as it allows them to engage in a lifestyle in which they cannot in their day to day lives and therefore are encouraged to maintain an interest within the artist in order to engage with their lifestyle. There are 2 further conventions typical of the genre; alcohol and drugs, in order to create the illusion that the artist is rebellious and care free. This representation of the artist portrays them as having little worries and plenty of time to party as a result of the amount of money they have. Again, this engages the target audience as it is dissimilar to their lives. Furthermore, the exposure of the female body is also commonly evident to suggest to the target audience that as a result of their lavish lifestyle, they attract females and therefore, such aspect typically appeals to males as they aspire to be like the artist themselves.

Explain what the codes and conventions are of an Indie music video.  Include detailed examples to support the points that you have made.

Indie as a genre can be defined as an artist or group which does not belong to a major record label. Therefore such artists are considered to be 'alternative' to those appealing to a mass audience. Their fan base is typically niche, as many feel that once such artist has become well known and liked by the majority, this exploits their originality and uniqueness.

Throughout the music video for 'Let Her Go', they are many close ups on the instruments being played, including a guitar and piano. It is conventional for a guitar to be included in an indie video as it connotes the origin of the artist as they probably started busking in order to be better known, in which this is specifically relevant to 'Passenger'. By zooming in on the artist playing an instrument, this emphasises their talent to the audience and the depth of their dedication to music in order to learn how to play such instrument, portraying them as authentic in their ability. Such use of cinematography, appeals to the target audience as this gives a short representation of the artist, allowing them to further their knowledge on the artist and therefore build a relationship with them. This will effectively evoke their interest in the artist and consequently encourage them to continue listening to the artist.

In Mumford and Sons’ music video ‘Little Lion Man’, there is a long shot to show the audience watching the live performance, the context of the video. A live performance is very much conventional as an indie music video, as it portrays the artist's attitudes regarding the importance of the music as this becomes the focus. A live performance conveys an artist's true talent as it hasn't been altered by a recording; therefore conveying a raw talent as well. By including a live performance in the music video, this indicates the intimacy of the performance, suggesting the artist's niche target audience. For example, in comparison to Rihanna's 'Cheers' video, there are short previews of a live performance she has done, however we can assume this was from a concert on her tour as the amount of people in the frame convey that she is an artist appealing to a mass audience.

Female artists in the Indie genre have a recognisable image that could therefore be deemed conventional in terms of the genre; they normally have dark, heavier eye liner, red lipstick, hair typically long and wavy or short and bright coloured and wear unusual vintage clothing. Such image deviates from mainstream convention and therefore target audience find this appealing is it is deemed ‘different’ and ‘quirky’. The target audience typically find these qualities appealing because they can relate to the artist’s image as they can achieve a similar style themselves. This also makes them feel increasingly similar to the artist and therefore maintain an interest through mutual style.

Explain if your finished music video and ancillary texts develops or challenges your chosen music genre

The final music video is an outcome of the feedback we received from our target audience. Overall, the music video does highly conform to indie generic conventions as this is what our target audience claimed they favoured. By conforming that our target audience wanted, this increased the level of appeal and therefore success of the video itself.

Here is a pie chart that shows the findings to the questions asked to our target audience: ‘Do you prefer a music video to be conventional to its genre or diverse?’ 29 out the 40 participants that we asked claimed that they preferred a conventional music video. Jackie Jarvis claimed, ‘Conventional music videos offer visual appeal without taking the focus away from the song and artist. If there is too much going on the audience is unable to connect to the song and artist.'  Because the song we had chosen was highly emotional, we decided to keep the song conventional as an unpredictable visual may take away the emotion from the narrative as the audience will be too concerned with the irregular visual. Therefore, similarly to Nina Nesbitt, our artist image was relatively quirky in that she wore conventional clothing, red lipstick and eye liner; allowing the audience to relate to such image as they are familiar with and are able to interpret it into their own style choices. Furthermore, the final music video also includes close up shots of the artist playing the guitar. By using a close up on the artist playing an instrument, this highlights their ability to the audience and their dedication to music in order to learn how to play such instrument, portraying them as authentic in their ability. This convention appeals to the target audience as this gives a short representation of the artist, allowing them to further their knowledge on the artist and therefore build a relationship with them. Lastly, a live performance is very much conventional as an indie music video, as it portrays the artist's attitudes regarding the importance of the music as this becomes the focus. A live performance conveys an artist's true talent as it hasn't been altered by a recording; therefore conveying a raw talent as well. However, we decided to challenge this convention as we felt this wasn’t suitable to the song. Therefore the style of our music video was a combination of both performance and narrative. The performance was located in front of a white wall so that the intimacy that live performances provide within indie music videos was still created as the audience could only focus on the artist; allowing them to engage with her emotion in order to build a relationship. We also incorporated a narrative so that the audience could have a deeper understanding of the song as well as engage with the artist’s emotion, giving them a holistic understanding of the artist and her story. Overall, our music video is typically conventional to the indie genre, which we chose to do so that this increased the appeal of the music video, as well as our target audience being able to recognise the genre. The artist representation is highly conventional as we constructed an image that was down to earth so that our target audience could relate to the artist and therefore influence an interest in them. However, indie music videos are typically performance based, whereas my music video was a combination of both performance and narrative. My group and I felt this was more suitable to the song as they lyrics were emotional and therefore creating a narrative that illustrates the lyrics allows the audience to understand the narrative more and therefore they can connect to the song, video and artist.

As well as creating a conventional music video, my group and I also created a magazine advert that followed indie conventions. However, prior to making our final group magazine advert, we each conducted research by analysing other indie magazine adverts. Personally, I analysed Nina Nesbitt’s magazine advert that promoted her UK tour. From this, I identified many conventions that I also had noticed were on other magazine adverts for indie artists. One being the artist image being included. This convention allows the target audience to see the artist and therefore their representation according to their style and image. For example, Nina Nesbitt is wearing conventional indie make up and is wearing simplistic clothing; qualities that her target audience will be able to relate to and therefore will deem her more appealing as she seems similar to the audience themselves. Therefore, in order to generate more appeal, we included an image of the artist that represented her as similar to the audience; wearing indie make up and clothing that the audience would typically wear themselves. From this, the audience are encouraged to build a relationship with the artist through mutuality. Furthermore, the location of the magazine advert was typically based around nature or a brick wall, evident in Nina Nesbitt’s and Mumford and Son’s magazine advert. However, we decided to use a brick wall for our background as it creates the illusion that the artist started her life from the basics and still remains there, due to her down to earth nature. The audience are also familiar with this location and therefore creates a further sense of realism rather than false construction. Lastly, the final convention we noticed when analysing was the consistency of font. Typically, the same style of font was used on all of the products associated with the artist so that the audience would recognise it more easily. The font itself was usually very minimalist, hence why we used the font that we did, so that the audience were drawn to who the artist was, but the style of font was not the centre of focus.

Finally, we also created a 6 panel digipak. This ancillary product also conformed to generic conventions as it was based around a nature motif; a common method of symbolism used by indie artists to connote their down to earth and natural image. By doing so, this encourages the audience to build a relationship with the artist as she has qualities that are similar to the audience themselves.Also, in each image of the artist she is either holding or playing the guitar, reinforcing the concept that she is truly talented which appeals to the target audience as they favour such genuine ability. It also provides a representation of the artist that the target audience may be able to relate to through mutual talent/interest in instrument playing.

Further explain if your music video follows, develops or challenges the Indie conventions

In many ways, our music video follows the conventions of the indie genre. One key convention that is evident throughout the music video is the artist playing guitar while performing. This convention is often associated with the indie genre because it portrays the artist as truly talented in their ability to perform, which subverts the mainstream ideals of an artist as they are typically falsely constructed for consumption. The target audience for the indie genre favour an artist who appears down to earth and deserving of their fame and therefore, instrument playing implies this as it conveys the devotion and dedication the artist has to their talent. Therefore by including this convention in our own music video, this follows the indie convention as we are supplying an artist who appears typical of the genre by being down to earth and devoted to music. If we were to challenge this convention by having an artist who did not play an instrument while performing, the target audience may have associated the artist with anther genre such as pop, and therefore not found the artist appealing. They also would not have been able to relate to the artist because of this and therefore are unable to build a relationship with her, hence why we decided to follow the conventional indie artist image. Furthermore, we also followed indie convention through the location we used in the music video. Rural settings are often favoured amongst indie music videos, which I established through research I had done prior to planning. Rural locations that highlighted nature, such as fields, were often used in the indie genre to highlight the purity in the artist much like the use of guitar performance does. By having a location that appears simple, it suggests that the artist is more concern about their music rather than the materialistic and expensive lifestyle often portrayed in the hip hop genre. We decided to conform to the convention of rural location as we thought it was key to create an artist image that the target audience are familiar with, can relate to and that appeals to them. Therefore, overall we decided to also conform to conventions that influenced the image of the artist (such as guitar performance and rural locations) such that this could be achieved.

In our music video, we have also developed the generic conventions. As well as including a rural location to create the desired artist image, we also used a skate park. The skate park was used to highlight the fast paced lifestyle of the artist’s boyfriend, which juxtaposes with the rural location that represents the artist. Therefore this also highlights their conflicting relationship which the narrative is based upon, providing the audience with a deeper understanding. Although skate parks aren't conventionally associated with the indie genre, we felt this was a successful method constructing the boyfriend’s image thus highlighting the differences between them. As the conventional location for the indie genre is rural, we felt this location developed the indie genre because it created an image for the boyfriend that is similar to the conventional indie artist representation. We also developed the indie genre conventions in other aspects of the music video. Through the research I had carried out prior to planning, I had identified that live performances were often focused on. To reiterate a previous point, the target audience favour an artist that is known for being down to earth and easy to relate to; which love performances convey, as they suggest the artist is focused on the music rather than materialistic elements of production. However, because we felt as if the lyrics to our chosen song could create a successful narrative, we decided to do both performance and narrative in the music video. Conventionally, live performances are included to show the interaction between audience and artist, which we conformed to in our music video through the performance based aspects. Therefore the audience were still able to connect with the artist successfully. However we developed this convention by including narrative based aspects along side the performance so that the audience had a deeper understanding of the song, as well as building a relationship with the artist because of this.

However, we also challenged the conventions typically seen in the indie genre, achieving this through. editing. Typically in an indie music video, simplistic and minimal editing is used thus not taking the focus off the music and on the production. This logic reinforces the down to earth nature of the artist which is deemed appealing to the audience and therefore they are able to successfully build a relationship. However, in our music video, we subverted this convention by increasing the complexity of out editing by using a 'directional blur'. This transition blurs one frame into the nest which creates an effect similar to a complete 360 degree shot, which the entire transition looks similar to. The significance of this editing is vital in the representation of the artist's boyfriend, which is central to the narrative. We used a 360 shot to show the distortion of the boyfriend's perception as he is presented as being drunk in the video and therefore the audience are able to recognise this through the shot. It allows them to understand the boyfriends perspective and therefore, his relationship with the artist. We felt that by challenging the indie conventions, we were able to establish the narrative between artist and boyfriend more precisely, therefore the audience understand the narrative in order to relate to it.

Final Music Video

The final music video would not come up when I searched for it via Blogger, so the link to the final version is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq9PAIeqgOI

Comparison of Music Video

After completing our final music video, we have decided to compare it to another existing indie music video to analyse whether or not it was successful in being similar to the indie genre. I have chosen to compare our music video to Passenger's 'The Wrong Direction' as he is a similar indie artist to our intended artist representation.

The artist representation that Passenger depicts in this music video is very typical of the indie genre. The artist is playing the guitar throughout the narrative which conveys to the target audience that he has genuine talent; this is a favourable quality that the audience look for in an artist. Therefore the increases the appeal of the music video as the target audience can relate to the artist and therefore are more likely to maintain an interest in them and their

following songs. This attribute that contributes to the artist representation is also evident in our music video as we felt this convention was effective in creating a relationship between artist and audience. Furthermore the possibility that the audience can also play guitar/have an interest in it makes them feel more similar to the artist an therefore increasing the appeal of them. Conclusively to this point, the convention of a down to earth artist increased the appeal of our music video and therefore conforming to it also increased the success of the product.

The artist representation is constructed through the artist image. Indie artist typically have a style that the audience can relate to rather than the unattainable image that Pop artists often have.

This image is evident in the Passenger's video. The artist wears a simple shirt and jeans in which the audience interested in passenger could achieve themselves. This relates back to the qualities the audience favour by being able to feel similar to the artist and therefore influences them in maintaining an interest.

The image that our artist constructed conformed to the indie conventions as her outfits were different from the mainstream ideologies as well as being attainable by our target audience. her is an example of an outfit worn by the artist; a denim jacket, dress and tights. This would be found appealing by out target audience as they would be able to wear this themselves to feel like the artist.

Furthermore, both the music videos have similarities in terms of the visual. Goodwin's theory proposes that a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics increases the appeal of the music video as the audience can make more sense of the lyrics and therefore have increased chances of connecting to the narrative.

In Passenger's video, the lyrics state he is 'running in the wrong direction' with the visual being illustrative of this as he is running forwards when the background shows a car going the other way. This suggests to the audience to confusion of the artist in that his life may be going in the opposite direction to reality which provides them with a deeper understanding of the song in order to connect to it. This technique is also evident in our music video.

At this point in the music video, the lyrics hear, 'hangs about at the skate park, with his lighter...' and with the visual illustrating this directly, our music video conforms to the proposal of Goodwin's theory in the hope that the audience would understand the narrative more if shown it visually.

However, we also broke this convention.

By conforming to all the generic conventions, the product risks becoming too predictable and therefore uninteresting to the audience as they are too familiar with what they have seen. Therefore we chose to break convention to create a music video that seemed interesting without it not being classed as indie so that the audience weren't bored. For example,the lyrics in this frame hear, 'Another 5am call sitting worried in my hall...' however the couple are together and happy in the skate park. If we were to rely on the visual as an illustration of the lyrics throughout the whole video the audience will know what to expect and therefore the reason to watch the video becomes pointless. Therefore the argument that the artist sings of comes after this so that the audience are unaware of the following consequences.

Another difference in regards to the comparison of the two music videos is the use of special effects.

In Passenger's music video, he uses green screen to create special effects as a visual background to his performance. This is not conventional of the indie genre as the typical content in based on performance in this particular genre and therefore such choice is not reflective on the indie genre. In our own music video, we decided not to use special effects in the music video. This decision was influenced by the primary research we had conducted prior to filming where the majority of our target audience claimed they preferred a simple visual rather than one induced by special effects in the indie genre and therefore we decided not to include them. This would increase the appeal of our final product. Furthermore, special effects are typically found in dance/pop music video and therefore by including them we ran the risk to not conveying a clear genre.

Target Audience Feedback

Explain why audience feedback is important to a production?

Receiving feedback is a vital stage in post production in order to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the final outcome. By receiving feedback, we can recognise whether the products were successful in appealing to the audience which in turn, will show if the research we did prior was valid and accurate. Not only does the feedback assist whether the products were successful but will also help us as media producers in the creation of our further products. If the feedback was negative, an analysis of the entire production process would be taken out so that we could improve this. An example of this is to ask a wider sample of our target audience to provide a increased source of feedback in regards to accuracy.

How did you receive audience feedback from your target audience?
(Screening of production, focus group, questionnaires)

The target audience of a music video plays a significant role in how the video is produced, as the substance of the video must be deemed appealing by the audience in order for it to be a success. A music video that doesn't consider it's target audience will result in being unappealing, as it hasn't focused on how to keep the audience interested. Before producing our music video, it is vital that we first established the target audience we intend to appeal and then, how to make the video appealing in general. To do this, we  decided to ask 40 people to answer a questionnaire we had created, which addresses the main components that make  music video; asking them which they prefer. To establish who our target audience was, we asked a variety of people in terms of their age to collect their opinions as one in terms of age group. Once we had decided this (age 16-25) we then looked at their preferences in order to consider them when planning and making our music video. We then accumulated this information into pie charts to create quantitative data which can be analysed easier and once we had, we incorporated their feedback in the decisions we made regarding each element.

When we had completed the rough cut, we had a screening of the product........


How would this feedback benefit your production and the industry?

Creating products that are intended to be deemed appealing by the target audience can only be successful if it creates such effect. Therefore the feedback we have received would assist us in making the music video more appealing and therefore more successful. If I were to be working in the music industry, the feedback from my target audience would assist me in making the next product more appealing than the last as the industry as forever changing and therefore so are the needs of the audience. For example, in terms of our main product, some of the feedback we received suggested that the argument scene should have taken place earlier in the narrative in order to develop the audience’s sympathy for the artist. Therefore when making another product, I would keep this in mind so that the product was more appealing and therefore successful. As ancillary products are vital in the promotion of the main product, it is also important that feedback is received and considered on these products too. One person suggested that the brick wall on our magazine was unconventional and therefore confusing. Therefore when creating further ancillary products I would be sure in not including a brick wall thus not to confuse the audience.


Include 3 positive comments and reflect on them (You must include
the same comments as your group)

Our first interview was with Bethany Smith aged 16. Bethany stated: “When watching an Indie music video, I expect to see the artist perform with an instrument which is typical for the genre. I think you have created a video that links to the supporting products as they are coherent in regard to the components you have combined together such as the artist Indie style image with her messy hair and red lipstick. I also think the locations you have used throughout your music video link to the song Noserings & Shoestrings because it mentions a skate park in the lyrics. Well done!”

We questioned Penelope Miller aged 21. Penelope stated: “I really enjoyed your music video, mainly because the storyline links to the lyrics the artist is seen singing in the performance shots. I think that young people can relate to this storyline of a broken relationship and can therefore build a relationship with the artist. I also find your digipak effective because it really shows the artist in a positive light so the artist can act as a role model and potentially persuade people to express themselves with the guitar shots you included too”.

We also interviewed Karen Jarvis aged 19 who stated: “I think your framing of shots are good because the artist is central which is important when promoting her.  It allows me to relate to the artist more. Also, I think your digipak follows conventions of the Indie genre as it follows what is expected of the genre. Therefore I was able to recognise the artist's style in order to relate to her once again.'

Include 3 constructive comments and reflect on them (You must

include the same comments as your group)

There was Samantha Hedge aged 25 who we interviewed to receive feedback upon our final music video. Samantha stated: “Although I enjoyed your music video and was introduced to a new artist of my favourite music genre, I wanted to see more of the artist performing because it looked believable and not like the bad lip-syncing videos you often see.

We also received a second criticism from Samantha Hedge; 'I think the narrative was effective because it links to the lyrics, however, I would have liked to see the argument scene at the end earlier on and seen the consequences of her boyfriend’s actions much sooner for dramatic effect to feel sympathy for the artist”

As well as giving us positive feedback, Karen Jarvis gave us criticism to better the video; 'However, I believe that the quality of your camera is not as highly defined as you would expect to see in a professional music video. Also, I believe your magazine advert does not follow conventions. This is because I don't see how the brick wall is relevant as I have seen it used in more grime/hip-hop genres”

Overall explain how you have followed the aims of the brief by creating a music video

The content of the A2 media coursework required both group and individual work. Individually, we each maintained a blog that recorded our research prior to planning our music video and ancillary products in preparation to fulfil the brief in creating a music video and 2 ancillary products that promote the main product. Such research explores artist image, proposed theories and the concept of a music video. Also we conducted primary research in order to ask our target audience their preferences. Secondly, after concluding the findings of the previous research, we then began to plan our music video in order to increase chances of appeal; taking the feedback from our target audience to plan elements such as cinematography, lighting, setting and editing. According to the findings we accumulated from our research, this determined the actual content of our products as the answers we received were what the audience found appealing.

This was the preparation taken out in order to fulfil what the brief required us to do: create a music video lasting at least 3 minutes as well as two ancillary products that promoted the central product. The ancillary products we created we a magazine advert and a digipak.

The research and planning we did prior to the final creation influenced our success in following the brief to a high quality. By evaluating what our target audience find appealing, we included this in our products so that they did in fact find the products appealing and successful. We have achieved the aims of our brief by justifying each decision we have made in the construction of our products, whether it be to conform or subvert the generic conventions in order to increase appeal. For example, we chose to conform to the artist representation consisting of a laid back simple image through the symbolism of nature in both the central and ancillary products. This is often seen in the indie genre and therefore the audience would be able to recognise this in order to relate to the artist and build a relationship. However we also broke convention. By conforming to all the generic conventions, the product risks becoming too predictable and therefore uninteresting to the audience as they are too familiar with what they have seen. Therefore we chose to break convention to create a music video that seemed interesting without it not being classed as indie so that the audience weren't bored. We achieved this by opposing Goodwins theory and not creating a visual link between the narrative and lyrics at certain points in the music video to avoid it becoming predictable and monotonous.

In my opinion, we have been successful in meeting the requirement of the brief as not only have we created what was intended, but we have also considered our target audience in doing so thus increasing appeal and success.

Music Video (Rough Cut)

Why is it important to consider audience feedback?

Creating products that are intended to be deemed appealing by the target audience can only be successful if it creates such effect. Therefore the feedback we have received would assist us in making the music video more appealing and therefore more successful. If I were to be working in the music industry, the feedback from my target audience would assist me in making the next product more appealing than the last as the industry as forever changing and therefore so are the needs of the audience. For example, in terms of our main product, some of the feedback we received suggested that the argument scene should have taken place earlier in the narrative in order to develop the audience’s sympathy for the artist. Therefore when making another product, I would keep this in mind so that the product was more appealing and therefore successful. As ancillary products are vital in the promotion of the main product, it is also important that feedback is received and considered on these products too. One person suggested that the brick wall on our magazine was unconventional and therefore confusing. Therefore when creating further ancillary products I would be sure in not including a brick wall thus not to confuse the audience.

How did you receive your feedback?

After we had created a rough cut version of the music video, we shared it on facebook as the majority of our target audience have a facebook and therefore were more likely to see and comment on it. We received increased feedback once we had done this and therefore got a wider sample of opinions on the rough cut version. Below are some of the comments people had to say.

What feedback did you receive?

After putting the rough cut version of the music video on to YouTube, we received a few comments as to what people thought of it in their own opinion after sharing it on Facebook.

One individual stated that a friend of hers though Daisy reminded her of Ellie Goulding, another female indie artist. This is positive feedback as the artist representation of a female indie artist was evidently portrayed effectively, as someone has associated our artist with another in the same genre. Therefore the aspects of the artist representation were conventional to the genre clearly so that the audience understood what type of artist she was. Personally, I felt this comment was a reflection of the research and planning of the artist image and conventions of the genre. From an evaluative perspective, I can assume that such research and planning was successful as the audience were affected in the way desired.

Furthermore, we also received positive feedback from a male. Our target audience was females between the ages of 16-25 and therefore, by receiving positive feedback from a teenage male, this conveys the music video’s ability to engage a wider audience. In turn, the artist will have a wider fan base who will take interest in her, increasing her success rate. I feel that this is a positive outcome, as the video not only appeals to the planned target audience, but has the capability of appealing to those outside such bracket and therefore, the music video is effective in its purpose of appealing to the target audience and in fact, does more.

We also received some constructive criticism as how to improve the quality of our music video by increasing the contrast so that the visual appeared lighter. We felt that this comment was relevant as our footage was slightly dark. Therefore, when making final changes to the video, we increased the contrast so that it was lighter and therefore more realistic. Here are the changes made to the footage; as you can see the second frame is lighter than the first and therefore more engaging for the audience.

After receiving the feedback on our rough cut, we made the changes suggested to increase the appeal of the music video and then released our final music video. Following it’s release, we interviewed individuals that fell into our target audience to find out how they felt about the video to receive further feedback. Our first interview was with Bethany Smith aged 16. Bethany stated: “When watching an Indie music video, I expect to see the artist perform with an instrument which is typical for the genre. I think you have created a video that links to the supporting products as they are coherent in regard to the components you have combined together such as the artist Indie style image with her messy hair and red lipstick. I also think the locations you have used throughout your music video link to the song Noserings & Shoestrings because it mentions a skate park in the lyrics. Well done!”

We also interviewed Karen Jarvis aged 19 who stated: “I think your framing of shots are good because the artist is central which is important when promoting her. However, I believe that the quality of your camera is not as highly defined as you would expect to see in a professional music video. Also, although I think your digipak follows conventions of the Indie genre, I believe your magazine advert does not. This is because I don't see how the brick wall is relevant as I have seen it used in more grime/hip-hop genres.”

In addition to Karen, we questioned Penelope Miller aged 21. Penelope stated: “I really enjoyed your music video, mainly because the storyline links to the lyrics the artist is seen singing in the performance shots. I think that young people can relate to this storyline of a broken relationship and can therefore build a relationship with the artist. I also find your digipak effective because it really shows the artist in a positive light so the artist can act as a role model and potentially persuade people to express themselves with the guitar shots you included too.”

Lastly, there was Samantha Hedge aged 25 who we interviewed to receive feedback upon our final music video. Samantha stated: “Although I enjoyed your music video and was introduced to a new artist of my favourite music genre, I wanted to see more of the artist performing because it looked believable and not like the bad lip-syncing videos you often see. I think the narrative was effective because it links to the lyrics, however, I would have liked to see the argument scene at the end earlier on and seen the consequences of her boyfriend’s actions much sooner for dramatic effect to feel sympathy for the artist.”

Group Digipak (changes made)

To create our final digipak, we each compared our own individual digipaks to analyse which aspects we thought to be effective and which didn't approve of. To do so, we had a meeting in which such process was carried out; taking it in turns to analyse each digipak so that everyone had a say in the outcome of our final digipak. 

Emma's Front Cover

Here is Emma's original front cover, the front cover we chose to use for the final digipak. We chose this front cover as we thought it was an effective visual for the target audience to initially see as her image is visible for them to relate to; the guitar is also visible to appeal to the target audience as this is a convention of the indie genre and therefore they can easily recognise that it is indie. We also thought the font was effective as it was clear and minimalistic, much like the typical indie artist would use. However, we then edited the picture so that the colours were slightly more subtle and therefore connoted the genre effectively rather than the brightness used in other genres such as Pop (as you can see in the final digipak).

Daisy's CD

Emma's CD

Above is the CD design of both Emma and Daisy; which we decide to make into one design for our final digipak. Emma's design is effective in being coherent with the other pictures from the photoshoot as the background of the 3rd and 6th panel are also a brick wall and therefore, it was relevant to the rest of the digipak and therefore we thought this was effective in creating a consistent image for the artist. However, the middle of Daisy's design was an actual daisy, an aspect that we also though was effective as it was relevant to the artist herself as it reinforced her identity. The outside of her design was intended to be a shoestring, much like the title of the song. However, we concluded that this intention wasn't entirely clear for our target audience to understand, thus deciding to take both better aspects of each of the digipaks and making one. We felt the out come of such idea wasn't too over the top for the design to be too busy, however was effective in portraying the image of the artist as well as being coherent with the other panels.

Daisy's Welcome Note

Our final welcome note was inspired by Daisy's original design as well as Millie's, as she also used the same picture. We decided it was effective as it provided the audience with a picture of the artist as if she were saying it to the audience herself, rather than not having a picture there are appearing distant. It creates the effect that the artist wants to connect with the target audience giving it a much more personal feeling as if she cares; a convention of the indie genre as artists are typically down to earth and easy to relate to people. Furthermore, she decided to separate the message from the image, further emphasising the importance of the message itself, as if it were personal to the target audience. However, there were same changes made too; the brush effect in the bottom right corner was eliminated as we felt it was slightly connoting the Pop genre through it's bright colour and therefore would not appeal to our target audience. Furthermore, the font of the message was changed to coincide with the rest of the digipak and the magazine advert so that each of the products were coherent and clear in terms of the artist's image. Also, the positioning of the message was moved lower down so that the layout was balanced.

One of my picture panels, also featured on Daisy's design too

The final design of our digipak needed two plain images; this one being taken from mine and Daisy's original designs. We decided that this picture was effective as a panel of its own as the shot is quite naturalistic; as if the audience were seeing her themselves. It lacks pose and therefore suggests a more valid representation of the artist for the target audience to relate to; gentle and down to earth. Such representation is conventional to the indie genre and therefore this will appeal with our target audience as they will be able to build an effective relationship with the artist. The photo also highlights the theme of nature in the digipak as it was taken in a field, as well as a horse and trees being identifiable as well. However, as we did with all the other panels too, we edited the picture so that the colours were more subtle and therefore conformed to the indie genre.

The other picture panel, taken from mine and Daisy's designs

Here is the second picture panel taken from the final outcome of our group digipak, originally used my Daisy and myself. As a group we felt like this picture was also effective on its own as it created a similar effect to the previous picture; it lacked a forced pose that may appear fake to the target audience, as the artist is simply playing guitar, looking at it as she does so. Therefore we felt the picture was suitable to be on a panel of its own so that the target audience had another picture of the artist's true being; a quality favourable amongst the target audience and therefore they will find it appealing as it is a convention of the indie genre. However, we edited the colour so that it was more subtle as well as resizing the picture itself; cropping the unnecessary background so that the audience could focus on the audience, also increasing proximity to feel closer in order to build a relationship.

Daisy's original back cover

We chose to use Daisy's back cover as we thought the layout of the design was very effective, with the artist almost looking at the song titles, as if she were looking over her own work and therefore emphasising that they were there. In turn, this encourages the target audience to read to track titles thus going on to listen to them. We also thought the picture itself was suitable for the back cover as the artist is still easily seen, however was not as intense as the front cover as she is looking away. When altering the design to remain coherent with the other panels, the colours were edited and the song titles were slightly moved down so that the positioning of the layout was effective and in balance.

Our Final Digipak:

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Although the digipak appears conventional to the music genre, the feedback that we recieved from fellow peers, which were also members of our target audience, indicated that the digipak was in fact too simple. This caused them to overlook the digipak becuase it was too minimalistic and therefore not engaging. Therefore we made slight altercations to this digipak to enhance its appearance without neglecting its simple and conventional look.

Again, from the feedback we were able to establish the negative aspects of the digipak and found that the  panels below were the ones deemed unsuccessful amongst our target audience. Below is an explanation of the changes we made, why we made them and the effect the changes had on the audience.

This is the CD panel. Although the appearance of the CD is very similar to the original design, we made slight altercations to make the panel more engaging. The font stayed the same to be coherent with the other products, as did the daisy flower, as this is evident in the other products and again, reinforces the coherent image of the artist. However we did include a graffiti effect over the brick wall background in the shape of two hands making a heart image. We included this is enhance the visual appeal of the panel as well as creating the illusion that the artist was quirky and individual as graffiti is associated with locations such as Camden which is deemed quirky and relatable for the audience.

We changed the letter panel of the digipak as it was very plain and simple in regards to the technological knowledge needed to execute it. Therefore it lacked the professional look that is evident in other digipaks we analysed. The biggest problem with this panel was the text, as it was very simple with no added effects to make it more engaging. Therefore we added effects to improve this problem; we changed the font so that the writing was less harsh an more in cohesion with the image of the artist. As well as this, we added a white outline around the text to soften the writing further, also making it stand out to encourage the audience to read the letter, thus further encouraging the relationship between artist and audience.

 This was one of the panels that consisted of only an image of the artist, to provide the audience with an exclusive insight as to what she is like. This image is successful in doing so, however it was slightly disengaging due to its simplicity. To improve this panel, we drew an autograph and using Photoshop, incorporated this autograph over the top of the image. This makes the panel more engaging as the audience, as they are provided with an exclusive signature by the artist, placing an importance on the audience members themselves. This encourages the relationship between the audience and artist which is vital in order for the audience to maintain an interest.

Lastly, we also changed the second artist image panel to make it more visually appealing. To do this, we added another graffiti effect to make the digipak coherent as well as reinforcing the quirky image of the artist. We also made overall changes to the digipak, one being the background of each panel. We changed this from white as it was boring, to a forest location as this is evident in the other products, again enforcing the coherence of the artist's image. Overall, the digipak is more visually appealing which encourages the audience to effectively 'buy' the digipak, influencing the artists success.

Group Magazine Advert

Some: will be able to comment on choices and decisions made by relating to the codes and conventions throughout and by reflecting on group decisions (Grade A)

When creating a group magazine advert, we followed the same process when creating our group digipak, in that each of us analysed each others work by noting the good and bad aspects of their design in order to efficiently create an overall design that we were all happy with. Below are each of our individual designs and the feedback that we each gave in regards to its impact on the final group design.

Daisy's design

What do you like about the magazine and  how is the magazine conventional to your music genre?

The image is effective as it shows the artist playing the guitar which is conventional to the genre and therefore will appeal to the target audience. They will be able to recognise that the artist is truly talented rather than constructed for consumption; a quality most favourable amongst such target audience. It also allows them to relate to the artist as they may share a similar interest/talent of instrument playing and therefore encourages them to relate to the artist thus building a relationship. Furthermore the artist's name is clearly visible for the target audience to recognise who she is and therefore be encouraged to remember her name, creating awareness of the artist. Such effect is important as the potential audience may read the advert, however not remember it through lack of interest and therefore the clear text of the artist's name encourages the audience to remember her and therefore listen to her music. Therefore when creating our final magazine advert, we shall ensure that the artist's name is clearly visible and appealing so that the audience are more likely to pay attention when coming across the advert.

How can the magazine be improved?

There is a lack of colour in regards to the design and therefore runs the risk of appearing boring to the target audience in which case they will not notice the advert, thus limiting awareness of the artist. Therefore colour will be included in the final design however, such input must not connote other genres such as Pop as bright colours are often associated with this genre. Therefore subtle colours such as browns and greens etc will be used as these colours connote nature; a convention often found in the representation of an indie artist. The variety of fonts creates an effect of incoherence; that the artist is not sure on which most effectively represents her and therefore, all of them have been included. The font of a text can be an effective method of representing an artist and genre and therefore the extensive variety of fonts means that the audience is unable to recognise the artist's image. Therefore when creating our group magazine advert, the fonts shall remain in coherence with each other on all of our ancillary products to create a complete artist image that the audience can recognise.

What do you like about the magazine and  how is the magazine conventional to your music genre?

Emma's design in conventional to the genre. The use of a brick wall as the background is commonly used within the indie genre as it portrays their simplistic and relatable qualities; attributes that the target audience look for in order to connect with the artist to further their relationship. By including a generic convention, the target audience will be able to recognise the artist as indie and therefore are more likely to read the advert, thus creating awareness of the artist to encourage the audience to listen to her. Furthermore, the image Emma has chosen is suitable to the genre as it shows the artist playing the guitar which is conventional therefore will appeal to the target audience. They will be able to recognise that the artist is truly talented rather than constructed for consumption; a quality most favourable amongst such target audience. It also allows them to relate to the artist as they may share a similar interest/talent of instrument playing and therefore encourages them to relate to the artist thus building a relationship. Therefore, when creating out final magazine advert, we will also include an image of the artist playing guitar for the reasons explained above.

How can the magazine be improved?

Emma's magazine design consists of a lot of text and therefore runs the risk of becoming too cluttered. This could led to the target audience becoming overwhelmed by too much information, rather than simply informed. Also, Indie conventions favour a simplistic style rather than a complex layout and therefore when creating our final group advert, we have decided to keep the layout minimalistic so that our target audience can both recognise and appreciate the advert as being Indie.

What do you like about the magazine and  how is the magazine conventional to your music genre?

MIllie's design is conventional to the indie genre in many different ways. She has included flowers in her design and therefore this creates a nature motif which is conventional to the indie genre as it represents the artist as down to earth. These qualities are favoured amongst the target audience as they find it easier to relate to the artist. This is because the audience feel more similar to the artist, rather than dissimilar and creates escapism much like Pop artists do. Furthermore, the advert is again conventional in the artist image that is represented. The artist is playing a guitar which is conventional of the genre to promote as this tells the audience that the artist is genuine in her talent rather than falsely constructed for consumption; a quality again favourable amongst the target audience, as they feel she is deserving in her fame due to her talent and uniqueness. Therefore when creating our own magazine advert, we shall include such representation as the audience will be able to relate to the artist thus sparking an interest in the artist for them to build a relationship upon. Once again, the artist representation is conventional of the genre, however this is due to the artist's style. She is wearing simple clothing that the audience could wear themselves. Indie artists often wear clothing that is considered unique or vintage rather than follow the mainstream style. Therefore the audience can relate to this as they can purchase similar clothing to the artist which makes them feel similar to them, thus building a relationship upon common interest/style. In consideration of this point, it is important that the audience can relate to the artist because this encourages them to listen to other songs of theirs. Therefore when creating our magazine advert we will include an image of the artist that shows her wearing simple clothing that the audience could possibly purchase themselves to build the relationship required to build a fan base.

How can the magazine be improved?

Similarly to Daisy's, there is a lack of colour in regards to the background and therefore runs the risk of appearing boring to the target audience in which case they will not notice the advert, thus limiting awareness of the artist. Therefore colour will be included in the final design. However as stated before, such input must not connote other genres such as Pop as bright colours are often associated with this genre. Therefore subtle colours such as browns and greens etc will be used as these colours connote nature; a convention often found in the representation of an indie artist. Also, the title of the song is not clear for the audience to recognise, nor does the advert address that this is a title of a song by the artist and therefore this may confuse the audience. When creating our final magazine advert, we shall include the track title, however make it more clear and state it is a song title so that the audience have an extension on the artist to build upon because by encouraging them to listen to one song, they may then listen to others.

REFLECTION

 Which magazine will you submit and why?

Considering the success of each magazine design in terms of its appeal, we chose as a group to use Emma's design for our final magazine advert. We chose this design because we thought it was the most visually appealing and complex in terms of skill used on photoshop. Th other designs lacked professionalism due to the minimal knowledge on photoshop which in turn effected the quality of the final outcome. Emma's was the most realistic in terms of the capability of using it; however we chose to develop the design so that we could improve it further. For example, on Emma's original design we felt that there was too much text which was risky in confusing the audience. This layout could be deemed unappealing for this reason and therefore the audience may not read to advert at all, leading to lack of awareness for the artist. Therefore we chose to remove the 'OUT NOW' as we felt this was unnecessary as it made the advert look too cluttered.  We also adjusted the contrast of the magazine so that it was coherent with the digipak. The original colours were slightly too bright and therefore could be conventional to the Pop genre and therefore the audience could become confused, unable to identify the artist's genre and therefore disengaged.