Reflection on Progress (Overall Evaluation)

I have found that throughout this course I have progressed from start to finish. I found that I have taken in a lot more considerations this year than I did previously. For example, I have got way more feedback this year from my audience which is good because it has helped me improve all of my products and it has also helped my knowledge develop. Now that I have gained all of my feedback from my audience I have realised I still could change a lot about my final product even though I followed the feedback they gave me previously and this is why I feel as I have developed so much and that is because I have gathered a lot more different opinions this year than I decided to do last year.

I believe that with most of my work I have gone back to it, refined and developed it, and I have also changed my approach to creating my video and my ancillary as the course has progressed.

Reflection on Progress (Ancillary)

I have found that my Digipak and my Magazine Ad was quite successful. I believe this because it followed the same style of the genre and it done this by the conventions in which was used in order to create it. I found that it linked to my music video very well as the same conventions which were used in the video were used in the ancillary task. I found that my Ancillary products will appeal to the audience due to how well it does link to the music video, for example, there are black and white shots throughout the music video and in the ancillary task, I edited the image so the performer was in black and white.

Three improvements:

1.  I did some research into the ancillary tasks but I believe that I could have looked it into a bit more to try and make my product as perfect as possible.                                                                                           
2. I believe that I could have looked at some more digipaks so next time I should look at a wider range of digipaks instead of just a few.                                                                                                               
3. Even though the audience said they liked the magazine ad, I believe more could have been added to it so it looked a bit more professional.

Reflection on Progress (Construction)

I found that now I have completed my video and now that I have edited all of my clips together, it is clear that I have made a massive improvement as time has gone on. I believe this because I managed to change my work to suit the genre more and I did this through the feedback which I was given from my audience. When I Showed them a rough cut of my video they gave me a list telling me what I could have improved and I went away and acted upon this. One example, they told me and my partner that we needed a better opening and closing shots, we then took this on board and managed to get a range of different shots and put them together so it really showed we knew the genre.

Three improvements:

1.  I need to make sure that I now focus on my digipak and my magazine ad and look at a range of different ones so I know what will relate to my genre and what won't.                                                                                                
2. I need to make sure that I continue to gather feedback from my audience because I need to make sure I know what they think of my ideas.                                                                                                                       
3. I need to look at a range of different font types so when It comes to creating my Digipak I know what style is best to go for.

Evaluation: Part 4

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is really important because we got to find out what the audience liked and disliked about our music video.I got multiple feedback from my class from my initial screening and my rough cuts. The feedback which I got from the class mainly consisted of good comments relating to how I and my partner managed to fit many different conventions into our music video. In the feedback video below, it shows how we did stick to the conventions of our genre and it also contains some points on what we could do to improve for next time. I felt as if all of the feedback we were given was very useful from start to finish of this course.

Another way I gained audience feedback is by putting my media product on Youtube, the reason I did this was because millions of people access a range of different videos daily. I also put the youtube link on my facebook page and asked for some feedback on what they thought of it and some of these are shown below.

Feedback from Social media

Calum Buckley (St Brendan's Media student) - Locations were an excellent choice to film in as it followed the genre correctly. I think that the props you used were a really good choice because it gave more of an edgy feel to the whole video and these helped boost the conventions within your music video.

Overall, the audience feedback tells us that there is some room for improvement but most of the music video linked well with the genre and the right conventions were used throughout the music video. There were only a few minor issues with the music video which is things such as the lip-sync was not 100% perfect and we expected this to come back and we know for that next time we should make sure it is completely in sync.I felt we could have added in some narrative, maybe some part of a drugs deal or a stabbing as that reflects on the genre, a lot of the grime artists use graffitied locations which we also used and it fits the genre.

Magazine Advert

We got a range of different feedback comments on what our audience thought of this magazine Ad. The audience thought that this product linked really well with our music video due to the graffiti being used in the background and the performer on the front being in black and white. This links to the music video because in the main chorus and the start and end of the video everything is in black and white so it shows there is some resemblance. However, some feedback has said that there is not really a point to the angel wings and that the words "Phenomenal" should not be written in pink, but if they decided to pay some attention to the graffiti behind in this shot both the blue and pink comes from here so they link together.

Digipak

Our digipak got some relatively good feedback from everyone in which we asked. They said that they liked how both the front and back covers link together which is follows the same style as any other digipak. Our audience thought that in future we should have kept the two photos at the top the same style because the filters don't really go with each other so it makes it look slightly more unprofessional. Although, the top right image would look good as a front cover, but we felt as if the other images had more meaning to them.

Magazine Ad

This is the final design for the magazine advert for the album. I got the ideas from different other magazines Ad's and how they linked with the album cover really well. I did not want to put a lot of text over all of it because I felt as if the image lost a lot of meaning to it. I decided to stick with the same background as I used for the digipak which helps relate to my genre really well.

Evaluation: Part 3

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

Blogger -  I have used Blogger.com a lot throughout this year. Blogger has allowed me to record all of my information which I have obtained. Blogger allows you to embed content onto the posts which you create and through this I have put multi-media platforms onto them such as "Slideshare" and "Prezi" and "youtube". It also allowed me to post images onto my posts and I used this to show potential actors,locations and props.

Photoshop - I have used photoshop to mainly create my digipak and my poster. I found this software useful due to the separation of the layers so we could edit it a lot easier. You could also open more than one project so you can see everything you have done easily. I found this really helped when creating the digipak because I could hide layers to see if there is anything I could change on the layer before it.

Video Editing - We used Final Cut Pro when it came to editing the music video together. We made use of the editing filters and transitions when it came to constructing the video. We used a range of fast-paced editing, and different filters to help fill conventions during our music video.

Camera - The video cameras we used were Pentax K-50 and also Nikon D7000 which allowed us to get high-quality footage and be portable at the same time. These cameras allowed us to attach lighting to them in order for us to get more successful shots. We used the cameras to get many shot types, including close-ups, long shots, and tracking shots. 

The Internet - The internet was used mainly due to it being where we did every task. The internet allowed us to gather resources when it came to planning our projects and it helped us gather information of other artists and media theorists. I mainly used google as my web browser when it came to gathering information.Google maps was a great help when it came to looking at locations of where I could have possibly filmed.

Apps and Social Media - Social media sites were for things such as communication during our project. When myself or my partner gained successful footage or had any rough cuts, we would send them to each other to see what they thought and we did this so we could get feedback from each other.

MacBook Pro - Having to use technological resources such as Photoshop to create my ancillary texts and Final Cut Pro to make the video, I used my own personal MacBook Pro and the use of school facilities to do some research. Both I and my partner had access to Final Cut Pro, so we both could continue editing either alone or together.

Briefly describe how you will incorprate synergy into your three productions

In the three productions, we are producing and developing, we have decided to use things such as graffiti walls and dark clothing which link to synergy in which we are using in all of the productions. We decided to film against numerous walls which were covered in graffiti because this would suit the conventions of our genre. During the music video, the performers wore completely dark clothing and this also helped bring in more conventions of our genre. We saved time by taking a range of different photos of our performer during filming the music video and this not only saved some time but it also got us some photos we could possibly use for either our digipak or our poster. So overall, we decided to use the same colour layout and the same visual ideas for all 3 productions.

Evaluation: Part 2

When it came to planning my products, we had to plan to try and incorporate synergy into our products. Synergy means working together to achieve an objective that couldn't be achieved independently. So when it came to creating my music video and my ancillary texts, I decided to do things to make them link together. For example, I kept things such clothing and colour styles the same. This can be shown in the images below.

The black and white effect is used both in the ancillary text and it is also used within different parts of the music video.
The font which we used for the ancillary text was curved, black and white and also a very urban text. We used this font because it links well with the Grime genre and it also looks like graffiti, so by having it in black and white made it link to shots within our video and the style of it linked to graffiti.
Our music video is quite fast paced, especially in the second part of the video and background also shows this from graffiti going all over the place in multiple directions. 

I believe that our target audience would be very attracted to both our music video and our ancillary text. I believe this because the demographics show that our target audience ranges from the age of 16 to people the age of 24. I believe that they would be interested in both of these due to how realistic we have made the video. We had thought about, location, clothing, the range of props and the performers expressions throughout our video. The locations we chose all had relation to our genre, for example, we filmed in the town centre which contains huge pieces of graffiti everywhere. We also filmed in Easton underpass and this location links to one of the more violent places to be going to in bristol. The performers did a really good job to make it look like they were a part of that genre, they did this by the body language and emotions they were using during filming. Also, the clothing in which they were wearing is important to the genre as it helps to build that idea of mise en scene. In my opinion, I think that the clothing is important as it allows the audience to relate to the artist and it seems a lot more realistic from the clothing that they are wearing. We made sure that our performers wore dark clothing during filming and this gave more of an urban feel to the shoot. Overall I believe that our target audience would appeal to our music video and ancillary text due to how much it links to the genre.

Digipak

1st Screening of the Music Video

This is the first screening of our music video. I believe that there are a few things which could be improved. For example, there were some shots of our music video where the lighting is not the best and we had to add some effects to it to try and make it look better. Nearly all of the performance was perfect, however, at some points, the lip sync was not the best so we used a range of editing techniques to help make it better.

Rough cut of the music Video

This is a rough cut of our music video. We showed this to the class and gained some feedback on what we could put in to make the video have a better structure.
Things we could improve on:

• Beginning and Ending of video - one thing which could be improved is by having an intro which introduces the genre and a performer. The ending could also be improved by having a performer concluding the video.
• We could also have a better editing technique to the video in order for the clips to work better with each other.
• There are also some shots which could be changed due to them either having a slight blur and the lighting is not the best.

Evaluation: Question 1

Ancillary Text 1

Possible photos for the digipak

This is one shot we got which could be used for the digi-pak. There is a lot of things which could be done to this shot to make it a lot different. For example, one thing which could be done to this image is the changing of the colour of the whole image except the graffiti which is shown on the wall behind. 

This is another shot which we could use for the digi-pak. This is a good close up of our performer. In this image, we can see the performers facial expressions and this could be a good image to edit around and use as a front cover.

This image of our performer has a lot of room on the side to maybe have a song list next to him. This image could also be put within the Digi-pak and be edited so that it was a different colour to the front and back cover of the Digi-pak.

This is another image which has our performer with a good location shot which links to our genre. If I wanted to I could use this image just as it is and maybe change a few colours in the background, or I could even cut the performer out of the image and put him on to another location.

Even though this image is not entirely in focus and does not have a good location, there is a lot in which can be done to it to make it a lot better than what it is. In this image, the location could be changed so that it looks a lot more like a grime photo and this can be then used as a front cover for the Digi-pak.

Other possible Photos:

Shot List

Brief account on Costume, Setting and Props

The genre in which my research is based upon is rap and grime. The setting and costume link together through their conventions, for example, the costume which they wear is normally quite street and casual and this links to the setting due to most grime music being filmed on the street. In our music video, we have decided to keep it as street as possible and contained graffiti constantly throughout the music video in order for it to always fit the genre. 



This is an example of one of our locations. As you can see it is a very large size piece of art which we have found a location in order to get it involved in the shot. We have used underpasses which have graffiti plastered down either side of the walls and by having this, we can constantly shoot in front of it and we can get multiple different shots in just one location.The props that are also usual in a grime, rap videos are flashy jewellery and expensive cars.The videos are also not high budget and will be most probably produced by the artist or an independent video producing company.A lot of things that are featured in rap/grime videos are often illegal. In our music video, we have decided to use a bb-gun which will link to our genre and also to our lyrics. For example one verse is "Pulled that pistol back and then burn it, Friday shit, I bap and big worm it." By having these types of props in our video, it can link to our music video really well and it will help the audience to understand it a lot more.

Synergy In The Music Business

Synergy is when the interaction of two or more forces working together creates a greater effect than the sum of their individual errors. Media Synergy is the way in which different elements of a media conglomerate work together to promote linked products across different media platforms. A music video helps to provide synergy for the artist starring in it; a popular music video helps to expand their audience but also serves to increase their power in the industry.

An example is Wiz Khalifa's song 'See you again'. This song exists across different platforms and they advertise each other through it. The song promotes the film 'Fast and Furious 7', and it does this by using clips from the film in their video to give it a bigger advertisement. From the power of the industries it allowed 

Reflection on Progress (Planning)

So far I have managed to get a draft of my music video and show it to the class. From this, I knew what shots I had to change and what shots looked good within the video. I also gained some feedback which said I should add some narrative to my video and this is what my next steps are going to be to make it more successful. I have gone back and added some more detail to the rest of my posts, this way my audience can understand more about the topics in which I have discussed. I also did some research into the Digipacks and I now understand what I have to do to make mine a success.

Three improvements:

1. I think I need to keep track of what I am doing a bit more so when it comes to reviewing what I have done, I can easily know.                                                                                                            
2. I need to make sure that I use all of the feedback I have been given and apply it to my work to make it more successful.                                                                                                                  
3. Finally, I think that I need to not rush anything that I am blogging because I don't want the standard of work dropping as my blog increases

Test Shots and Performers

This is one shot of one of our actors, it shows a rough performance of what the actor can do and it also shows one of our locations which clearly suits the genre. As you can see the actor is wearing all black which is traditionally done by grime artists. Following the actor with the camera was tested in this shot and me and my partner decided that this was a good idea.




This is one shot of our second actor, it shows a rough performance of what the actors skills are. As you can see both videos have not been edited which is why you can see our actors have made some mistakes in which they both have corrected now. From this clip, you can also see that this actor is also wearing black which allows both actors to link together and relate the genre clearly.

Digipak Analysis

This is the front cover for JME's album 'Famous?'. It only  has one strapline which includes the name of the artist and album. Also a simple close up of the artist. This manner of production for the album cover could have easily been produced by anyone who has access to Adobe Photoshop. I think that this close up of JME is very powerful due to him looking like he has some control over his audience, he does this through looking directly at the camera and making no facial expressions. The target audience for this album would be from 15-24-year-olds. Along with this cover, all of the artists are on the covers of their albums and are looking straight at the camera in an intimidating fashion showing no emotion which is common within this genre. Also, the mise-en-scene of most artists is common as they are wearing casual clothes.

The back of the Album cover is a very simple idea which is just the back of his head which has the song list advertised over the top. This would be a really good idea for my Digipack but I think I could do something different from the back cover to make it look more effective.

I think that when it comes to creating my own Digipack, I could include graffiti as the background and I could do a mid shot of the artists which are involved. 

Risk Assessment

The following is a risk assessment that details the possible risks associated with my shoot. The main risks on my music video came from filming outdoors and on a public street. This creates problems when it comes to possible conflicts with the general public. Also due to the weather being cold so the cast needs to be aware of this danger by wearing or bringing some warm clothing just in case.

Hazards	Harm	How likely?	Precautions
Weather  Risk Rating: 8/10	This can harm the camera and can also interrupt the performance and waste a lot of time.	Due to filming in January/February the weather is not the best so it is may have a bit of bad weather.	It may be wise to check the weather before going to film. Could also have a second plan just in case it does rain.
Members of the Public and animals Risk Rating: 7/10	They may accidently interrupt filming by getting in front of the camera. Also, animals may come near the setup and may disturb the performers or even knock over the tripod.	Due to filming in a public area, it is very normal if there are any interruptions. Also, due to filming near the city centre, it will be quite busy.	Search for locations which may not be as crowded and you can get a lot of filming completed.
The surface Risk Rating: 8/10	The surface may be slippery or uneven which may cause the actors or camera to fall when being placed down.	A wet floor surface can be easily missed, same as an uneven one. It is likely that there are a few uneven surfaces.	Suitable footwear should be worn. (should have grip) Everyone which are out should take care.

Lighting Risk Rating: 7/10	Can be difficult to see everything so there is a higher chance of tripping and falling over.	It can be very likely to  trip over due to not having full vision. It can be likely that the filming may come out poor afterwards if the camera and lighting are not set up properly.	To avoid this, there could be a check to see if there is anything in the way of the surface.   Also, make sure all lights work so there  is never total darkness.
Weapon Use Risk Rating: 9/10	For instance in our music video, we are using a BB Gun with no bullets but the public, however, might think we are doing something violent so you have to make sure that everyone is aware that it is a fake gun with no bullets. But they may feel threatened by this so it may be best to film away from the public.	It is very likely the public will see this as a threat and may start to ask some questions about the video. It is probably safest to film when there is no one around and that way there can not be any complaints made about it	could possibly inform the public whilst we are filming the specific scene where the gun is needed and tell them that the gun is not real and they can watch by all means if it reassures them.

Editting Software

The editing software which I chose was Final Cut Pro X. The reason I chose to use this editing software was because I had it available to me on my Macbook Pro and therefore, I could just edit on the go and be able to share it a lot quicker and easier. In my opinion, I believe that Final Cut Pro X is a very good piece of software to use when creating a music video because It has all of the different features which make it unique.It comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters such as keying tools. Clips can be edited together in timelines called sequences. Sequences can be nested inside other sequences so that a filter or transition can be applied to the grouped clips. I found that, by allowing me to have access to many different layers I was able to edit more efficiently.

Within the music video, we used some colour filters which created a darker atmosphere to suit the genre and I also changed the exposure on a few shots due to it being rather too low or too high. I find that using this software is a lot easier to edit on than Adobe Premier Pro due to having past experience using this software to edit other pieces of work together.

In our song, we have 2 performers, in between both of them we use a simple transition as we had to separate them whilst they were performing, we also used transitions at the start of the music video when we were showing our different locations we used. I found that sticking to a theme made the editing easier due to knowing what style I had to follow. For example, at the very start, I stuck to graffiti everywhere in black and white which really fitted the genre.

At the very start of the music video I used slow motion in order for the shots to go with the beats and I also wanted to show the different contrasts between the fast rapping by our actors.

Grime Moodboard

Album Cover Review

This is the album cover for the song I have chosen. The album was made in 2015 and is the third album to be released by the artist JME. The artist barely released any hard copies of albums because he thought that Digital Downloads were more common. The album cover has just a picture of JME and nothing else because he wants to be as centre of attention as possible. Also, the album is called "Integrity" which means he has the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

This album cover is what I am taking inspiration from for my A2 Music Video. The reason I am doing this is because of how well it links to my music video. For example, Grime album covers are normally neutral colours and this links to the opening and closing shots of my video which have been edited so they are black and white. I think that this album cover is effective but also very basic at the same time. So this digipak is something which I will take inspiration from.