Evaluation Question 3 (Draft)

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I sought feedback on my work frequently throughout the course of the project, so as to gain advice from both my target audience, consisting of peers and classmates, who's opinions were mainly positive, and from teachers who were more constructive in their criticism. I received feedback through word of mouth, social networking sites such as Twitter, comments on blog posts and written pieces. This was vital in both the research and planning and the production stages of the coursework, as it enabled me to build on my ideas early on and improve each of my media products as I developed my ideas further.
To first gain feedback on the initial concept of my video, I pitched my ideas to my classmates via Animoto. I received positive comments regarding surrealism and abstract shots, as well as my idea of shaky camerawork and disorientated framing (as shown below). My song choice also received praised and I was complimented on the links made between the general aesthetic I wanted to create and the context of the lyrics, as well as the use of black and white shots to differentiate from the fish footage.

I was also praised for having "interesting ideas" which were "different from a lot of people's work", which consequently boosted my confidence and encouraged me to push boundaries further. I was asked, also at this stage, whether I would continue the psychedelic element onto my digipak and magazine advert, in which I replied that I would be, as this element had been discussed with great enthusiasm by my peers.
Although I insinuated that I might be including a narrative element within my video, I quickly established that I simply wanted to draw upon the lyrics of the song, and so decided to incorporate both illustration and amplification instead. Having created an "audience profile" using UK Tribes, concerning my target market, I established that "Young Alts", "Indie Scenesters" and "Leading Edge" tribes were most fitting regarding genre, which reinforced the previous feedback I had been given, as my classmates could be placed into at least one, if not all, of these categories. The process of receiving and interpreting audience feedback at this stage helped to cement my ideas and gave me the "go-ahead" to put them into action. I created a moodboard, a band biography and several posts concerning possible camera styles, as well as filming test shots containing the fish element and deciding on my location. Although I did not receive written feedback on these developments, I was complimented orally by my teacher and my peers, and so began work on my storyboard which combined all of this.

Having submitted a draft music video, I received initial feedback from my teacher, who complimented me on the fish shots and suggested that they feature earlier on in the video too, as well as establishing which features of my video worked well. From a more critical perspective, he noted that the performance element was too weak and the mise-en-scene was "awful" but after watching the video several times it became "strangely appealing". Taking this on board, I organised a re-shoot and instructed my actors of the changes that needed to be made. Although the comments regarding setting were not ultimately negative, I felt that it was best to choose a different location when re-filming. I decided to shoot in another of the rehearsal rooms at Stayfree Music, but one which had plain white walls, as the mise-en-scene in the orange room, due to the obscure wallpaper, was distracting and took away from the band's performance. This decision also improved the quality of the lighting and made the shots clearer.
My teacher's comments were important as they discussed the accuracy and professionalism of my work, but the feedback I received from my peers was ultimately more influential in my decisions as they represented my target audience. The black and white shots were heavily praised (see below), as the camcorder effect "tied in" with this element nicely. Several of my classmates commented on the inadequacy of the location and the clarity of the footage in the orange room, which I then took on board during the re-shoot. There were two contrasting points of view regarding the fish shots; the first was that they were sometimes "not easy to make out" and "a bit blurry", whilst the other expressed that "the fish floating around looks really good". I examined this for myself, focusing on the shots which blended both the fish footage and the black and white shots, rather than the fish footage in its entirety. I concluded that the section which marked the chorus ("where is my mind" x3) did in fact make the fish look slightly faint, in contrast to the bold, abstract colours projected in other shots, and altered the state of the black and white effect; I couldn't retain the colourfulness of the fish whilst keeping the shot black and white, as I had to place both shots over one another and turn down the opacity in order to blend the two together, and so I decided to remove the fish from the shot altogether.

Having made several improvements, I posted a second draft video and asked for further feedback. I received positive responses (below), which confirmed that the improvements I made to my first draft were beneficial and consequently that the decisions I made were the right ones. My actors were complimented in their appearance and performance, and the "static" transitions that I added were also  as being "effective". The fish footage was now only talked about in a positive light, and the way the camcorder effect "contrasts" with the abstract shots was once again reinstated as being "interesting" and attention-grabbing. Overall, the  changes I made to my video were appreciated by many of my target audience. 

With regards to my ancillary texts, having created a first draft of both a digipak and a magazine advert, I was presented with more feedback from my teacher. He'd annotated my handouts and suggested just a few tweaks were made, as I was awarded 8/10 for both pieces. I altered the layout of my digipak's back cover and placed the text accordingly, as well as replacing the barcode with one which better suited the style, and added further tracking information to the inside left, also changing the font used on the spine, so as to keep a sense a continuity running throughout. I made a few minor alterations to my magazine advert, mainly regarding the layout and positioning of text. The feedback I then received from my peers on my final products suggested that the changes I had made were constructive, and many commented on the effective "branding" I had created in linking my main product with the ancillary texts. The psychedelic colour palette was also well received and I was told that they "complimented each other" well. My chosen layout and fonts were praised, insinuating that the improvements I made to my first drafts were commendatory.

(Magazine advert)

(Digipak)

Evaluation Question 1 (Draft)

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

Having decided on my song choice, I began researching into existing bands which represented my chosen genre, so as to gain a clear insight into the typical artist style and consequently the style of video I wanted to create. "Where Is My Mind" by the Pixies falls into the category of "alternative rock", and so I looked to bands such as Nirvana, Radiohead and The Flaming Lips when deciding how to style my band. I then focused solely on the Pixies and having studied their music videos, came across a camcorder effect used in 
one of their latest videos "Indie Cindy" which I then incorporated in my own work. 

After studying the lyrics of "Where Is My Mind", I felt that I could use elements of the "trip" scene in Ben Wheatley's A Field In England in my music video, as the loss of control portrayed in the clip amplifies the lyrics of the song perfectly. I kept this in mind whilst filming, and shot some scenes using mirrored effects which I then edited in a similar style to the film, so as to create a sense of disorientation within my video. 

As well as this, the song's constant references to fish directed me to Green Day's "Basket Case" video, which uses the motif of fish to enhance the inner turmoil of someone who is not in their right state of mind; the video demonstrates this as the fish swim around the artists' heads as a look of bewilderment appears on their faces.Upon editing a first draft, however, I decided to scrap the idea of blending the two shots together as the effect looked faded and took away from the abstract colourfulness of the fish footage, and so instead I edited the shots separately. 

  

 The shaky camera effect which I also adapted throughout my work was a decision I made whilst researching other alternative rock videos; The Cure's music video for "The Lovecats", as well as Beck's visual representation of "E-pro", in particular, captured my attention as I felt that the shakiness of the videos reflected the genre's quirkiness and would intensify the disorientating feel of the video should I incorporate this in my own work. 

When creating my storyboard and deciding which shot types I wanted to include in my video, I looked to The Cure's "In Between Days" video, which was very diverse in terms of camera movement and different angles. The shot first featured at 0:18 in my final video (and then repeated throughout), as well as the shot beginning at 2:16, were specifically created with In Between Days in mind, and also had an impact on the development of the shot at 1:55. 

      

I adhered to a typical performance style video, and so made sure my artists were lip syncing and playing instruments, although amplifying the fish effect by repeating these shots throughout, and ignoring the common narrative as suggested by Andrew Goodwin. My video illustrates the meaning and genre of the song, as most tend to do. Similarly, the tempo of the music influenced the way in which I edited the video; this is particularly shown at the start, as the song begins with a glitch in the music - "stop" - which is thus reflected in the visuals, and then resumed with a lengthy shot of the guitar which mirrors the slow tempo.

 

In order to develop ideas regarding digipak designs, I researched into a variety of existing products by a number of different artists within my chosen genre. I quickly recognised that they were all abstract in design and most colour palettes used were very psychedelic and bold. In most cases, the covers did not display images of the band, but instead featured surreal, eye-catching illustrations which did not bear much relevance to the music. With this in mind, I decided to build on the psychedelic element in my video and use stills of the fish to create a colourful digipak with interesting connotations, which would hopefully draw my target audience's attention to the album. I took influences from Nirvana's Incesticide artwork, which used an image of a giant rubber duck on the back cover, replacing this with an image of a fish. I then created a similar layout when adding the text, as well as using a similar font to reflect the genre. I chose which song titles to use based on other albums by bands such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd and The Breeders. The idea of the fish also bears relation to the surf rock genre which adheres to the Pixies' style and therefore Electric Addiction's.

     

     

When creating my magazine advert, I once again researched others of the same genre to get a feel for a typical layout. Most, regardless of genre, featured the front cover of the album artwork in the centre or extended the image to fit the entire page. In keeping with this idea, I placed the front panel of my digipak on a blank page and developed my ideas from there. I looked through several music magazines and newspapers and found one particular advert for the "Coared EP" by Cheetahs, which placed the album cover near the top of the page and added further information below. I adapted this layout in my own work, placing text just below the image on the right hand side and further down on the left hand side with space in between, drawing the eye to both pieces of text. To ensure that the advert did not look cluttered and to hold the audience's attention, I only included the vital information needed; the date of release, the album title, the record label logo and the band's web address, should the consumer wish to find out more. Another option would have been to withhold even more information and simply write a tagline such as "New Album Out Now", as I found on a "Mars Voltra" album advert; my research concluded that the less given away the better, as generally a lot of text would overwhelm the reader.

     

Digipak Draft - Spine Improvements

I have unaltered the text on the spine, as this font matched the tracklistings on the back cover and allow the audience to identify the album, but added the CAD number to further enhance the professionalism of the overall effect, as seen on the Daughter - If You Leave cover.

Digipak Draft - Inside Left Improvements

Firstly, I moved the text "Produced and mixed by Gil Norton" from the previous back cover and placed it on the inside left. However, afterwards I researched into other 4AD CD covers and found that most had further tracking information on the inside cover, and so I decided to recreate this. I added a paragraph of text below the image, as shown above, which included the year the record was produced, who it was produced by, who it was written by, who was in charge of art direction and design, and who photographed the images. This extra detail makes the overall effect seem a lot more professional, as the details added portray real legal information.

Draft Music Video

Digipak Draft - Back Cover Improvements

Firstly, I moved the tracklistings slightly further down and then to the right. The original placing of the text looked off-center and some words were lost in front of the splashes of red in the background. I then removed the barcode because it didn't look like it belonged to 4AD. I removed the text which was below the record label's logo, "Produced and mixed by Gil Norton" and replaced the barcode with another which had been found on a album produced by 4AD. I placed the 4AD logo underneath and added some product legal information above. This made the cover look neater and more professional, and now directs the eye to the important information in the corner which is now in one place.

Magazine Advert - Draft Improvements

I have made a few changes to my draft magazine advert, so as to neaten it up and improve the overall effect. I have changed the date, from the 6th to the 2nd, as release days are usually on Mondays. This tiny detail is not exceptionally important but adds to the overall professionalism of the piece. As well as this, I moved the rest of the text down a little to close up the space at the bottom of the page, and made sure the web address was in line with the 4AD symbol. Overall the advert looks a lot tidier, just by adding a few tweaks.

Magazine Advert

I decided that I wanted to include the album cover on my magazine advert, as I had seen this done previously and thought that this was the best way to promote the album. With this in mind, I pasted the cover onto a plain document in Photoshop.

I then placed a tagline underneath, stating the release date of the album as I felt this was essential information to include.

As the album is untitled on the front cover, I felt that it was necessary to include the band name and the album title below, and so placed them in the bottom left hand corner to draw the eye away from the other text on the page but also to it.

I then added the band's "website" address below this, as I had seen it done on other adverts, and to add an extra professional touch. The "consumer" could then check the website to find out more information about the band's album release.

Finally, I added the "4AD" logo, as this would suggest what kind of music the album was to have on it, and also because the label are responsible for the music itself and so needed recognition. I didn't feel that the advert needed anything else added to it, as the space below the image allows for the few pieces of text to really stand out; also, the audience might be put off by a lot of writing as this would take away from the important information. A fan of the band would automatically know what the advert was promoting, and someone who was unaware of the band but was interested by the cover would seek to find out more information (such as single releases) if necessary.

Digipak / Magazine Advert Draft