Evaluation

In ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
As our chosen genre, indie acoustic, has various rules of how the conventions are represented such as performance of the band/artist, they should subvert to the typical ways of the indie genre. However independence plays a big role in the identification of the indie genre, the main concept to focus on is being different from other artist of the same genre and being unique. In our production, my group and I have portrayed the genre in various ways but hopefully highlighting, for example, the performance scenes through the mise en scene of the guitar being present every time Danny lip syncs. Throughout our music video, there are numerous examples of myself and the group staying with the convention, developing a convention and challenging a convention. These three fields are discussed as follows:

Used

Performance -Guitar

Inspiration

When planning and researching conventions within the Indie genre, we gathered together some Indie features that are significant for our music video. We found that the performance of guitars played a big role in Indie music videos and are seen mostly throughout those videos; therefore we made sure to include performance scenes including a guitar to help emphasise the genre. As our song is based around a singer with a guitar in hand, this was important to enhance this feature in our final products including also the digipack and magazine advert. I found that Indie music artists tend to accentuate the use of guitars throughout their texts perhaps to prove themselves in a way that shows they can actually play giving them a chance to showcase their talents. We tried to include the guitar throughout the video along with Danny singing the words such as through the choruses, some verses and also scenes with the female role included as well. At the beginning you can see Danny taking the guitar off the wall in preparation of singing and strumming which gives an initial view for the audience representing that the genre is acoustic and this is what to expect throughout. We cut in and out of shots showing Danny playing the guitar in various locations however during the chorus and recognisable scenes we made sure to have a master shot in which includes Danny is perhaps sitting on a bench or in his bedroom singing. We also made sure that there was a clear distinction of timings during the video, for example by showing Danny at the beginning singing indoors and then near the end showing him outdoors helps give the viewers the signification of the day from beginning to end.

Our Video

As you can see from the screenshots taken from our video and from Joshua Radin's 'I'd rather be with you', we used different angled shots of the guitar from the neck downwards to the strings giving a different take on the guitar but in a more interesting way which hopefully keeps the audience's attention. Joshua Radin's music video helped give us this idea as it helps to introduce the performance scenes and sometimes the way the guitar can be filmed can be effective especially is the light is bouncing off the gloss.

Mise En Scene -Costume

Inspiration

Another convention that we used throughout our music video was the clothing of the male singer where we tried to provide an Indie feel to the mise en scene. In order to create this constant look we researched and planned what Danny should wear when filming which is shown in previous posts on costume at http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/maleartists-costume-ideas.html and http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/artist-in-test-costumes.html where we eventually chose the right costume to suit our music video. We decided to select a parka coat, black skinny jeans and brogues for our outdoor clothing and indoors, a grey jumper and black jeans. I think

Our Video

this combination of clothes really accentuates the indie genre as this is the typical style and seems casual/laid back that acoustic artists would go for. When researching we looked into the styles that the original artist Mike Dignam would where and it came up with similar clothing of our choice. I selected a screenshot from the band Two Door Cinema Club's 'Sun' as although this shot shows a band performance, it shows the similar clothing as casual/laid back and seeing as this band is known as Indie pop it is a great example to relate to.
Overall I think this is an important aspect of Indie that we all kept throughout during the music video and our other products that our audience can recognise and symbolise as Indie.

Both of these conventions definitely define what we have used throughout our music video as we stayed within them and as you can see the decisions were made early in the planning stages.

Developed

Camera -POV Filming

Inspiration

In our music video we developed the camera use by incorporating the technique of point of view filming which involved Danny holding the camera himself and pointing the lens at the characters and filming representing a home video approach. We first discovered this technique when we watched Calvin Harris's 'I Need Your Love' however he uses this approach nearly throughout the whole video, although I think this works really well as it gives the audience an insight as to how the relationship was really like before. See http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/pov-filming.html During the progression of our narrative of the relationship of the boy and the girl, we developed the POV filming to an extent that the audience will understand the past and present of it all. We made sure to relate the lyrics at parts to the POV filming to present a visual demonstration of the love story and show the memories of the singer. For example we filmed a scene in a coffee shop where the couple are naturally sipping coffee which demonstrates an everyday situation but sometimes out of routine. I think this technique definitely made the video seem more realistic to the audience and also allows them to view the lost love which is a key convention in the genre therefore overall, the POV filming has managed to build up the story without making it seem that predictable. 

Our video

Camera -Lighting

Inspiration

 We developed lighting throughout our video in different ways to ensure the audience keep their satisfaction upon the video. When editing we made sure to adjust the colour by altering the exposure, contrasts, colour correction which then provided a vintage like filter to our video, giving an Indie feel to the video. As I researched into various music videos in the Indie genre, I noticed that portraying the sun as an image was an aspect that was appropriate and common in most of the videos. Such as in the video 'Ayla' by the Maccabees (shown in screenshot), they filmed a majority of the scenes at the beginning of trees with the sun shining from them which then gave me the idea that this would be a great idea for some of our scenes. Lighting is an important feature to focus on when filming and editing a music video, whether it's Indie or not; it helps to provide depth and colour to the artists image.

Our video

We wanted to bring across perhaps a metaphor, especially at the end indicating that the artist has a new life and beginning without the female and that there are happier times ahead. We made the shots of the sun more interesting due to the zooming in and low angles of the sun through the trees, also at the end panning down provided a darker feeling which we then transitioned into a finish.



Challenged -Overlaying

Our video

We challenged the overlay technique as our convention in our music video as we tried but couldn't get completely what we wanted in the end. We first found the idea when researching music videos with this similar effect that we had in mind, we then came across a music video by Olly Murs called 'Dear Darlin' which is a great example of what we originally wanted. In order to see whether the overlay is possible, I organised a day where we could test it out- see http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/overlay-technique.html and http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/overlay-test-run.html which then proved that you couldn't get the most realistic viewings of the shots when editing with the resources we had at School. Although we managed to figure out another way of using this effect by split screening the image and then combining into one which came out more subtle that we initially thought. This worked well but we could still see a feint line where the two parts had been joined together.

Inspiration

Whilst filming our real product, I thought of another way of producing the overlay, inserting transitions when editing, which turned out well as you can see Danny on one side of the tree and then the female role and him walking along through the same image but Danny has disappeared. I think this turned out well although it could have been more smoother and better but we definitely challenged this convention to an extent. 

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





I created this video showing the various technologies that I used and encountered during the construction, planning, research and evaluation stages and uploaded it onto YouTube for people to view it. Technology was used heavily throughout these stages in which we gathered more knowledge as we used some more and more. These technologies were all very helpful as they gave me the ability to research more into our chosen artist and song through the social media platforms, edit and film our video in high quality standards and also search into genres similar to ours.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
In order to gain feedback about our music video, we asked our audience of the ages 16-19 about our product by playing the video to them. Whilst watching our video, they answered a hand out which included 5 questions about our product. 
In our music video below we added in comments about the scenes and responses from our audience about what they particularly liked. I think this has made the responses clearer as the answers can correspond to the scene discussed.

As there was a mixture of answers received, we thought Wordle would be a clear and effective way to present the responses which can highlight the most common ones.
What do you think the storyline is about in our video?


Would you say our video is an 'authentic' indie music video?


What do you think stands out in our music video?


Are there any alternate locations that you would have included in the music video?


How would you improve it?


From this audience feedback we have gathered together, you can see we have gained a positive response and if we were to remake the product, minor changes would be made.
In my opinion I think most of the audience loved the flashbacks we included from past to present, where we showed the relationship of the two and then fast forwarding to how the mystery break up has resulted in the lyrics which Danny is lip syncing to the camera. I felt the video consisted of different features throughout which definitely helped to keep the audience interested by allowing them to relate to the storyline easily. Overall I believe the music video was perceived as an 'authentic' indie video because of the costume, filters, locations, props and the style in which is was filmed in. Another response I noticed came up a lot about the location was that we used a variety of indoor and outdoor locations as well as including some urban and natural areas which I think definitely helped to represent our genre of indie as its known to present a deep and natural feeling to the viewers. To conclude I think the most discussed topic from the audience feedback was about the flashbacks we featured in the video. It was a relief to see that the flashbacks have worked well as we had doubts about whether they would be effective or not, although by inserting cross dissolves and other transitions between those scenes helped the audience to realise the difference between the past and present of the music video.
I found all this audience feedback helpful as it has given us a real insight as to what our targeted audience think of our music video and whether it is an 'authentic' indie video.

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

To answer this question we recorded and discussed the various aspects to do with our three ancillary texts, the music video, digi pack and magazine advert. We first made some individual general notes and then recorded our discussion. Afterwards we edited it on Final Cut Express and inserted images that corresponded to the topics discussed.

Magazine Advert Ideas & Conventions

For our magazine advert to look as professional and authentic as it could be our group decided that we need to incorporate the following into it; the title of the album, the image of the album, reviews, the Artists website, a design similar to the Album, links to purchases places, ratings, an image of the artist, CD logo and a selection of cross media platforms. These are the common features of all magazine adverts.

The common conventions of Indie Adverts are normally that they have the appearance of being designed with a vintage feel and artistically which overall tends to be quite simple but creative. I believe that an image such as a photo of the artist with a vintage tint would really show that it is from this genre, which is used mostly in Indie. There is often a link to the Artists website or their twitter accounts so they can be easily connected with the artist. 

The two types of magazine advert are either artist or album focused adverts; meaning as our artist is still not hugely well known and is still very independently run, our advert will be artist focused. Our advert must link with the Digi pack and relate to each other, at best they can.When choosing the right image, font and content for our magazine advert, it is important we include and take into account the content above.

Props For Music Video

In our music video, I think we should feature some vintage props but also include some modern pieces as well as I think the vintage style will link to the genre of Indie and modern pieces will give the audience something to relate to. I walked around my house looking for any interesting and inspirational props that could link to our song choice or genre which we could use in our final music video and took photos of them.

Props relating to our music video:-
- A bed or something to lie on of some sort 'So I'll lie here'
- Bed sheets? 'I know I've found contentment in these sheets'
- Pillow 'With your eyes closed and me as your pillow'

Other Props:

One of the main props the group and I would definitely like to include in the music video is a guitar. This will feature throughout the music video as a signature piece as it will symbolise the genre of acoustic indie and help to identify the narrator to the audience. It will act as the narrator's master shot which we will include shots of him in various different scenes.

Looking at the females side of the music video, an obvious prop that will be used is a handbag or bag of some sort that the girl will carry around with her. This will feature in most scenes due to the reason that this is an every day item to the woman of that age of the character in our music video. It represents the character as being a stereotypical female.
The male actor will also carry a masculine bag in some scenes, perhaps when walking down the streets after the break up for example. This will help to symbolise that the male artist has to carry his own weight now he's not with her.

Another important prop that will be used is a bed or sofa, where the girl can rest her head upon his chest ('You can rest your head upon my chest'), this will be situated in a bedroom or indoors at least for the audience to picture this. It will be shown when the couple were together and when the male is lying by himself to represent a contrast between when they were together and apart.

We also intend to feature a bench near the end of the video as climax of the storyline when the artist will finally see that his past lover has moved on. So this prop is key to our narrative as it will symbolise the end of the relationship.

Minor Props:-
- Coffees
- Leaves
- Swings
- Jewellery
- Photo Booth/Photos

Other props found around the house that I think might be good to use as fillers or background props -modern/vintage/old:

- modern clocks showing time ticking on

 - retro cd players- character perhaps put a cd in at the beginning to kick off the song?

 -stylish sofas to represent modern feel to the audience -used as bed? lying down?








- table of photos, one could show one of the couple when they were together -reminiscing over good times -goes into motion.

Taking Digi Pack Photos

  

 In order to create our digipak, myself and Danny took a trip to take some photos. I thought it would be best (from research) that we capture the shots in a rural and natural environment as that is a well known element in the Indie genre. See http://nfgsannahigginson.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/outdoors-guitar-urban-natural.html I took these photos with my digital Nikon D3100 which performed very well especially in the weather conditions as the photos didn't look as gloomy.

Indie Digipak Elements

From research and analysing various Indie digipaks, I have gathered together some conclusions of the elements that are used within their album covers.

Results Of Split Screen Test Run

To test whether the split screen idea works well with similar scenes to our music video narrative choice, we conducted a time to use the camera and film four different scenes. These include one showing the couple together, one when apart from each of them alone and one filler split screen which in our music video we intend to possibly show a performance scene such as a close up of a guitar. I think this idea works well especially the filler split screen as the listener's eyes are drawn to the close up although the split screen works effectively as the audience can choose a scene to lay their eyes on as they all tell part of the story. We chose the park to test this idea as it provides us with a playful experience as well as the natural scenery which is what we are aiming for in our music video.

Using this idea at the beginning of our music video would be a good choice to make I believe as it brings to the audience the interest of the video and draws them into the narrative of the music video.

Analysis Of Indie Digipacks 3

Artist: Ben Howard
Album: Every Kingdom
Colours: Blues, greens and whites.
Font: Large, capitals, at top of cover, simplistic. Artist's name takes up a quarter of the cover rather than the album name which looks much smaller.
Editing: It looks as if it has been painted with watercolours, which is significant as the image is of a diver in the water.
Symbolism: By diving underwater it looks like Ben is travelling to another kingdom which relates to the title 'Every Kingdom'.
Composition: Ben is presented at the bottom of the image diving underwater however although he is not in the light, he is still the main focus.
Location: Underwater in the ocean.

Artist: Lucy Rose
Album: Like I Used To
Subject: Lucy lying down on the gravel listening to an old fashioned radio in a rural location.
Colours: Dull, grey back ground but with the focus upon Lucy with the fair hair and blue, chequered shirt with the beige radio.
Font: Artist not in capitals but with the scale of capitals. Typically with the album name beneath but with a different font and capitals. Matched coloured font with the vintage stereo and Lucy's hair.
Editing: Focus has been made more on the subject of the imagery (Lucy and the stereo). Perhaps a filter has been made over the background to provide a more dull image against Lucy.
Props: Old vintage stereo implying she wants to incorporate her old fashioned style of indie into her album.
Location: Looks as though she is lying down in a rural location with hills and peace, also perhaps next to a lake as there is gravel.

Artist in Test Costumes

From previous research of the indie style in clothing, we decided to test the costume designs on the main character/artist in the music video. As Danny (one of the members of my group) had some similar clothing at home, he (as the artist in the video) took some photographs of him in the styled clothing choices for the video.





















I think the all buttoned up shirt and the skinny black jeans works really well as well with the baggy t shirt. However I think the green parker jacket might not be right for the video as it make him look bigger than he is and that's not the intention. Although this style may be right with the cold looking scenes with the girl when shown in the past.

Analysis Of Indie Digipacks 2

Artist: Dog is Dead
Album: All Our Favourite Stories
Subject: This album resembles the story telling of the band's lives, especially as the title includes "our" which shows all the band are included. The cover makes the audience to believe that within the music is the band telling stories, good and bad, about their lives.
Colours: Other than the 'space' hole in the centre of the cover, the colours surrounding seem quite childlike with the grassy green and light blue, perfect sky. The colours look almost fake like it's make believe.
Font: Typically capitals and large font for the band name, and with the album title placed underneath in a smaller font. Black coloured to stand out against the blue sky but to also match the 'space' circle of the cover.
Editing: It appears that they have cut a circle out of the original image and has become a path integrating into space which forms the illusion that all the 'stories' to be told in the album will enlighten the future and perhaps take a while in depth.
Props: The little boy is carrying books along with him implying that there are stories to be told.
Mise En Scene: The clothes the children are wearing imply that the band want to show their vintage side to their album by dressing them in old fashioned clothes.


Artist: Haim
Album: Forever
Colours: Other than the title of the album, the album is presented in a monochrome colour scheme giving it an old and vintage look which I think this band want to represent as something different.
Font: Haim have used big capital letters above the image of themselves to provide attraction to the album. Also with the bold, black font against the pure white background gives a typical contrast of colours emphasising their album even more. The name of the album 'Forever' is unusually in a red colour and they have presented it as though they have signed the album themselves.
Editing: The photo of the band looks as though it has been edited through to provide the faces with more white so they can be identified against the hair and the dark background.
Lighting: Lighting has been used to show a reflection in the windows which show what looks like hills or mountains.

Mise En Scene: The clothing seems vintage and western with the cowboy styled hat and tweed blazer. Also their hair seems chilled and relaxed giving a feel of unique. 

Artist: Kodaline
Album: Love Like This EP
Colours: Graduated fade of blue to orange/pink to green. -Gives a summer feel to the cover as the sea looks as though it is bouncing off the sunlight through the pink filter.
Font: Typically capital letters again for an Indie band, but not in a bold colour but in a darker coloured blue so it shows against the light blue sky. The album name is again beneath the band name and in a slimmer font and what seems a slightly lighter colour which focuses the eyes on the band name.
Editing: Filters have been used to give a loving feel towards the cover, they have incorporated a pink/orange into a green in the right hand corner.
Also with the dark colours of the people on the beach, it gives a bold comparison on the background.
Subject: It appears to be a boy and a girl on the beach demonstrating the meaning of love of having fun, relating to the title of the album "Love Like This".
Lighting: Lighting coming from the right hand side of the cover, or all through the centre above the sea, giving a sunset or dawn feeling.
Mise En Scene: Black coat worn by the girl implying that it isn't necessarily summer but perhaps Autumn/Winter, also a possible scarf being worn as well supporting this.


Artist: Daughter
Album: If You Leave
Colours: The colours used in this album cover are very interesting and effective as what looks like the cream top of the girl has faded into the trees to make the image look as though there is light shining through. The black skirt has also been faded into the background by fading into the dark grass, but there is also a clear representation of the hands on the bottom left against the grass which shows there is a person on the front.
Font: Again the band name is presented in capitals above the album title giving an emphasism on Daughter, but the album title is still clear and highly noticeable as it is in eyeline and centre of the cover.
Editing: Cream shirt made to believe that it is the sunlight through the trees, vintage or golden filter over the top of the image giving a autumn/spring look.
Composition: As the main singer of Daughter is a girl, you can see she has been placed at the centre of attention at the centre, and the other band members can be seen just about in the background beneath the trees on the left. -At first glance I doubt you would notice the two men on the left but only the female singer.

Analysis Of Indie Digipacks 1

Artist: Wolf Gang
Album: Suego Faults
Colours: They have used contrasting colours to emphasise the difference between the ground and the misty foreground. This has made the character more bold with a darker blue against the fog and autumn leaves.
Font: Century Gothic font used, provides a simple but accentuates the name of the album and band. They have made the band name stand out more by using capital letters, perhaps to catch the eye of their audience on a shop shelf.
Editing: Created a darkened and mysterious feel to the image, perhaps by adding a tinted blue filter to give the cover a cold/wintry look. Also the cross fade of the fog at the top of the cover provides a sense of danger.
Mise En Scene: Interesting and eye catching clothing worn by what is presumed as the male singer of the band. Dark clothing to highlight the mysterious effect, especially as the band name is Wolf Gang suggests that they want to represent a hunting/dark feel towards the listeners but intriguing as well. As Indie is known to represent a unique style, with the clothing being different to modern daily life, his costume really brings forward the genre of their music.
Location: The man seems to be standing/walking outdoors, emphasising a natural, rural location. It appears to be in the middle of nowhere.
Composition: The man appears to be in the central shot of the camera, suggesting a long shot of him which shows his clothing and the surroundings clearly and contrasting. Equal amount of negative space around him but used effectively with perhaps a deserted and mysterious forest.

Artist: The Walkmen
Album: Lisbon
Colours: Green filter used over the image with a white background giving a light but effective contrast of colour. Lady shown through the overlay of images but disguised within the green colour to provide an emphasism for the title.
Font: Similar to Wolf Gang's album cover, The Walkmen have presented their band name in bold but in black with big spacing between the letters to accentuate the name even more. In comparison to the name of the album, 'Lisbon' is shown beneath in capitals but in a much smaller font and italic, which I think provides the viewer to also take notice of the name of the album as well as the band name. It looks as though the titles are written in Times New Roman, giving a vintage feel to the cover, representing Indie. The title is also presented in the centre of the cover.
Editing: The Walkmen have used an interesting effect to their cover by overlaying two photographs giving a hidden meaning within the images. It gives the audience an interest into the cover as it makes them search perhaps obliviously for the hidden image and message as their is a girl sitting on a bench with an authentic building in the background. The cover also looks as though a green tinted filter has been used over the top but with a warm, orange feel to the corners of the main image, although there is light shining through.

Artist: Ron Pope
Album: Atlanta
Colours: There is a monochrome colour scheme throughout the album cover, which despite being a dull looking colour it also implies simplicity; which the band possibly want to be known for.
Font: White font with again spaced lettering in capitals, emphasising the name against the grey background. Name of album is slightly smaller and faded into the background, providing a focus on the artist's name.
Editing: Used an overlay of the same photo of the artist but 3 times across the album cover with a gradual fade. This helps to draw the attention to the artist's looks rather than the titles, giving the artist his distinctive own image.
Mise En Scene: Denim shirt showing the Indie side to his music and also with the slick back hair style, in the similar style of Elvis Presley.
Composition: His eyes are posing to his left as though there is something of interest in that corner. Not much facial expression, perhaps a surprised face. Eyeline at height of the viewers eyes, especially with the repeated, faded image of him across the cover, it draws the attention in.

Artist: Noah And The Whale
Album: The First Days Of Spring
Location: Outdoors, in the countryside, stood in long grass which what appears to be a windy day. The location looks as though it is related to the title of the album 'The First Days Of Spring', as it looks quite sunny and as if it was taken in Spring.
Colours: The colours seem to be quite neutral and primary, as the main two colours presented are blues and greens also linking to the Spring season.
Font: Typical Indie use in the font with capital lettering in the band name and the Times New Roman font. Album name in italics and much smaller, helping to focus the audience's eyes upon the name of the artist.
Editing: The photo looks as though it has been edited to give a more vintage feel through changing the saturation levels. Also Focus Shift has been used to emphasise the main member/singer of the band as the other members are in the background more out of focus.
Symbolism: As the 3 men in the background are looking up to the sky in search of something, this could symbolise worshipping.
Props: Camera being held looks as though it is an old film camera providing a vintage look to the album cover.
Mise En Scene: The band members are presented in casual, relaxed and simple clothing, however with the simplistic buttoned down shirt it shows that they are in the season of Spring as they aren't for example, wrapped up warm for winter, neither dressed down too much for summer.