Message To Moderator.

Dear Moderator,

My chosen brief was to create a music promo package including a music promo video, digipack, and advert. I made a promo package for the band Imagine Dragons and the genre is indie rock. I worked alone to plan construct and evaluate my coursework for A2 Media Studies.

I used PhotoShop, an image manipulation software, and Final Cut Pro X, a video editing software, to create my products. I really enjoyed editing my footage into my final video and editing the images to create a brand identity.

My blog is best viewed with the browser Google Chrome.

I hope you enjoy my work.

Yours faithfully,
Anthony Alan Teasdale

Question 4 Presentation

Evaluation Wix

https://anthonyteazdale.wixsite.com/1977-records

Question 3:

This could not be played on Wix as it does not support Flash.

Question 4

This also could not be played on Wix as it does not support Flash.

Evaluation Question 4

The main technology I used was a blogging website called Blogger, which I used to organise my work. I used it to create pages which were used to organise links to my blog posts to make them easy to find and navigate. This function was very useful as it will allow people to find their way around my blog in the simplest fashion. Another feature which I liked was the customisation. I created a colour scheme which was easy to read off, but also appropriate for my video (orange and white), and changed the background to a suitable image. Although I like the creative freedom this allowed, I found that many of my images were too large, which, while not a big issue, forced me to choose an image I felt was less appropriate. Another slight issue with Blogger was when I had to upload them to the video sharing site YouTube, which could take over an hour, because Blogger could not handle large videos.

I also used many Web 2.0 technologies, such as Prezi and SlideShare to organise my research and evaluation. Prezi allowed my to create text boxes of different shape (Circle, Bracket, Rectangle) and change the layout and design. I added appropriate images and used appropriate colour schemes, but I still feel as if the creative side of Prezi is lacking. SlideShare is pretty similar, as it has few customisation features. It is essentially a stripped down, online PowerPoint, which means making it unique can be difficult. However, I feel both technologies work well for their purpose and are not too difficult to use.

To construct my video and animatic, I used the video editing software Final Cut Pro X.  I used tools such as cut, speed, effects and transitions to edit my raw footage. I really like the effects and transitions it had to offer as they were all unique and can be used together to create different moods. This really helped when I was creating my video, as it gave a new layer to the narrative. Changing speeds also allowed my to come up with creative ideas, such as having the barrel fly over the camera, which would have been impossible to see it I had not slowed it down. The keyer effect was very useful, I used it on textured surfaces to give a grainy, burned, broken style to images, as well as to layer images up to disorientate the viewer. However, I think that a problem wit the effects  is that they cannot be edited in subtle ways. Changing the direction or colour of some effects cannot be done, and editing the transitions is difficult. Transitions also bind clips together, making it more difficult to edit them individually.

To create a place to organise my evaluation questions, I created a website (based of the 1977 Records label I created for this task) with the online website creator Wix. It allowed a very in depth creation of a website using various templates. I added images, text, links to pages, other media (Popplet, SlideShare and other technologies I used in my evaluation) and animation to make my website feel real. I liked how it gave you website information at the bottom of the page, which helped in heightening the realism of the website. However, once I chose template, I could not add elements from others (such as different animations) which limited my creative ability.

Evaluation Question 3

Before I started my video, I had to decide on my target demographic for my production. My chosen genre was indie rock, so I knew I would have to aim it towards teenagers as the genre is popular in this demographic. I created a questionnaire to find out what my demographic wanted or expected from a music video.

I learned that in order to appeal to my target audience, I had to create an abstract narrative using an enigma code with a unique diegesis to gain their attention. I did experience an issue, however, of useless joke answers which I could not use as they provided no insight. This means that when I created a questionnaire for my evaluation, I sent it to people I knew would give serious answers. Another thing I learned was that star image was important to my video, leading my to include numerous close-ups of my singer in my video. One answer in particular said they expected something unique for a video, which lead me to come to the conclusion that I could subvert many expectations and still attract my target demographic.

During the construction phase, I also received feedback. This was, in a way, more useful as the feedback was instant ad related to what I was currently creating. An example from the creation of my video was a lack of lip-sync. Although I wanted to focus more on the aesthetic and meaning in the world through close-ups, low angle shots of the sky and mise-en-scene, I still needed lip sync. I added a tracking, close-up shot (another idea was to include more moving camera as a lot of the cinematography is static) of the protagonist lip syncing. This actually helped as it showed his emotion, linking to the emotional pleasure I aimed to generate with my video. Other feedback said that the second chorus should have its own footage, as recycling the first chorus’ sequence took away from the idea of a journey. This gave me a large gap to expand and explore the narrative and conflict with.

Feedback on my poster taught me that my original poster was lacking detail. With this feedback, I added more details (URLs, social media, reviews) and had a realistic, suitable poster. Another large bit of feedback involved the band name (Imagine Dragons) and its placement on the poster. Originally, I had it placed on the image normally. I received feedback, however, that it would seem more natural if I wrapped it around the wheel arch. My second ancillary task (the digipack) also received feedback about the number of songs. I increased the number and made it feel more realistic.

After the creation of my video, I created another questionnaire to get feedback on whether or not I managed to do what I intended. I learned that the visuals and effects used were unique and attracted my demographic, while the cinematography highlighted the meaning of the song. I also learned that I achieved an oppositional reading of my video. I had interpretations about finding true power, letting go of a bad experience and escaping society incase of an epidemic. I also had some answers where people could not understand the video upon first viewing, telling me that my enigma code worked and created a need to rewatch the video.I also learned that my demographic found it appropriate for the song, linking to surrealism and darkness, and the target audience as it links to surrealist internet culture which teens are involved in and can be motivational.

Evaluation Question 2

When creating my three texts (Video, Poster and Digipack) I had to create a strong brand identity which would make the texts seem more cohesive and attract my target audience. I did this by carrying themes, props, locations, colours, fonts and styles over into my different texts.

The main theme of my video, decaying and broken things, is hinted at through the image used on my advert and digipack. The images I chose to use were close-ups of the decaying trailer, an important piece of mise-en-scene in my video, which showed  the idea of decay through a still image. I chose to adjust the colours to give the impression that the process was happening quickly, but also to imply the place was being regrown if viewed from another perspective. This links to the theme of renewal, shown at the end of my video.

Like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, the trailer was carried over into all of my texts. Another important object from the video, the water butt, was also shown in my digipack. In the video, it represents heavy negative emotion and how the protagonist fights against it, but eventually gets used to it. I designed my digipack to be a sort of muddled adventure through the protagonist’s mind, starting with images of decaying wood and metal, the song lyrics ‘sun hasn’t died’ (sung in the last verse), and finally, the forest, water butt and rusted rims.

The main body of my work had no distinct colour scheme. Most of the colours came from the natural surroundings or from the effects I used. The only colours I intentionally used were black and white, which are easy to read, but also represent the binary opposites, reflecting the two distinct moods of my video.

The three main fonts I used were Dirty Headline, used for its eroded look, No More Lies, used for its natural look and M Ponderosa, used due to its similarities to the Imagine Dragons logo. These fonts were used in all three of my texts to create an even stronger brand identity.

The look of my texts will be identifiable by my target audience as they follow enough conventions to seem similar to the other works in the indie rock genre, but subvert and develop enough to be unique. The use of props, textures and natural light instead of faces, bands and made-made lighting or drawn covers and graphics will set my texts apart from the rest.

I think I was successful with linking my works together. However, I wish I included more symbols from the video (burning flower, the carved benches and clocks) in my ancillary tasks. I chose not to as I thought the image of the trailer was strong enough on it’s own and told the story of the video in a very simplified way.

Question 3 Presentation

Question 3 Presentation.
https://www.powtoon.com/c/cs1T6nJt3nu/1/m

Evaluation Question 1 Draft

In the three products I have created (Video, digipack and advert) I have both followed and subverted expectations. I have done this to appeal to my target market, but also to create something unique to stand out from the crowd. A strong brand will be instantly recognisable but also have suitable uses of colour and image.

In terms of my music video, I have both subverted and followed conventions. The video for the song I chose has a forest in the opening shots. I decided to keep the location as a forest has many connotations, both negative (entrapment and fear) and positive (freedom and renewal). This links to both halves of my music video. Another video I analysed was the video for ‘Counting Stars’ by OneRepublic. This video included a dark, decaying warehouse area for the setting. I took inspiration from this and included decaying metal and wood in my video. The first verse of my video takes place in an area with rusted materials while other segments have overlays of rust and effects such as Bad TV and Projector.

The video links to the lyrics in numerous places. This is sometimes more literal than others, such as the second line of the song when the lyrics ‘sweat my rust’, a close up of rust is shown. This links to the fact that rust is a recurring motif in the video as it symbolises decay and things falling apart in the protagonist's life. A lot of the lyrics link on a more symbolic level, such as ‘this is it, the apocalypse’ The clips shown during the two times the line is said are the protagonist carrying the water butt and images of fire overlaid with trees. This shows the metaphorical apocalypse (a great change) in the protagonist’s life. One of the most important lyrics (shown briefly at the start, at the end after the fade out and on the digipack), ‘sun hasn’t died’, shows a sunset behind trees. This puts more emphasis on these lyrics, such as the rust example earlier.  Most of the lyrics are ambiguous, however  allowing the audience to come up with their own connections. I chose to follow this convention in some places to increase the importance of some lyrics, but I did not show a literal interpretation of all the lyrics to allow for multiple interpretations and to not make the video have an obvious narrative. This increases the enigma code, making watchers want to continue watching.

My video follows the convention of a relationship between music and visuals.

The start of the video has a slow section with a vocal ‘oooohh’ sound overlaid on a soft acoustic guitar melody. To fit with the slow tempo and soft sound, I had slow establishing shots of the forest with a nostalgic vignette filter. The transition from this section has a rising, high pitched alarm sound. The harsh sound is coupled with a pan revealing the rusted texture of the trailer. The next section has a harsh, dubstep style bass with. To fit with the harsh beat, the inverted, unnatural colours of the x-ray filter are used along with Bad TV and Projector. Thought beats are used throughout the video to keep the flow of the video. These include the clock flashing on the screen, the barrel being dropped and various cuts in the video. The final section, after the second chorus, has the song change rapidly in mood to being more positive and hopeful. Shots of the protagonist looking up and the barrel being kicked away are coupled with the Bloom and Bokeh Random to give a positive, brighter feel. I chose to do this as the song has an ambiguous story to it, so linking the video the the music will allow for even more interpretations.

The video contains no links to the notion of looking. The main reason is because I was trying to make my video unisex, so having a voyeuristic approach could alienate a large part of my audience. The other reason is because the video shows the protagonist’s mental state through his mind’s eye, so having references to looking would put a layer between the audience and the protagonist would push them away. Intertextual were not intentionally included to make the video self contained and to allow it to stand on its own. My video does, however, contain numerous close-ups of the protagonist, however, this is not to promote the album, as the protagonist is not seen on the digipack or advert, but to show the emotion on his face.

I also subverted and followed conventions on my digipack and advert. On my advert, the main image was not of the artist or protagonist, but of the trailer. This is to create an enigma code which will attract the audience. Imagine Dragons are a pretty popular band, so I do not need to show the audience them, but using an abstract image will draw them in. It also follows the ambiguous nature of the video. On my digipack, I subverted the same thing for the same reason. I had no images of the band or protagonist, instead focusing on symbols, locations and textures from the video.

However, I followed the expectation of putting the band name and album title on my digipack and advert and reviews on my advert, which will be used to attract my audience.

Indie rock focuses on nostalgic imagery and dark, earthy colours. I made my images subvert this to stand out more against other indie rock groups. The bright colours initially seen to go against my video. The colours are supposed to show the idea of starting out bright, then becoming dark and broken, before return to bright, just like the narrative of my video.

Final Poster

After some audience feedback, I decided to include the wrapped text. I rasterised the text and used the warp tool for minor adjustments. To remove the dead space, I moved the word 'Radioactive' and the 'The New Album' message down slightly.

Final Digipack

For my final Digipack, I added something I had previously overlooked, the CD hole. I created this with two circles from the Photoshop shape tool, one black for the centre and one grey for the reflective ring around the hole.

Evaluation Comparison

Effects (Explanation, Usage and Review)

In my video, I used many effects to make an impression on the audience. Due to the abstract nature of my videos, I used filters to add another layer to the narrative. In a way, the filters I have used tell a story of their own.

Vignette- This adds a shadowy ring around the image and gives a desaturated look to the picture and  appears in the first segment of the song, during the establishing shots of the woodland. It is used to give the feeling of nostalgia but also hint at darkness and negativity with the shadow around the edge.

Bad TV- This adds lines across the images, greys the picture slightly and makes the screen wobble and glitch, like interference on a TV set. This appears throughout to show the theme of things falling apart, and to heighten the impact of some lines or actions. It is associated with  negativity in my video.

X-Ray- Used at the start of my video, and briefly during the end of the second chorus, this turns the image black, blue and white. This is usually coupled with Bad TV to make the image almost unrecognisable in order to disorientate the viewer.

Projector- This adds multiple lines and vibrations to the video, as well as turning the image sepia and reducing the focus. I used this in some areas to add an idea of decay and damage to the picture. This effect is not as harsh as Bad TV or X-Ray, so I used it on lip-sync segments so the audience can see the protagonist singing.

Flashing- This adds periodic white flashes onto the screen and is only used on the flower burning scene to make the fire seem more intense.

Keyer- This is not a typical filter, as it is used more for special effects scenes. The ides is to have a texture-less surface behind the subject to remove and replace the background. I used it on textured surfaces to give a dirty, broken feeling to some scenes. In some cases, I layered up visuals with multiple effects (such as X-Ray) to disorientate the viewer.

50s TV- Used exclusively on images of  the clocks, this black and white, grainy filter is used to show the theme of time slipping away.

Bloom- This increases the brightness of light when used. I added this to the final verse and chorus (as well as the false hope scene in the second chorus). Due to the bright, open look it has, I used this in conjunction with Bokeh Random to give a positive vibe.

Bokeh Random- Used in conjunction with and for the same reasons as Bloom, Bokeh Random adds randomly placed Bokehs (out of focus shapes in the image).

In conclusion, I am happy with the aesthetic and meaning added to my video through the use of effects. Although I used a large number of them, I think they were all used appropriately and fit in with the narrative and style of my video.

Poster final

Final Video

A small edit ad 50. Shorted the clip and removed the shot f the tree in the water. This keeps the flow of the video.

Animatic

This is my animatic I used as a rough plan. A major difference is the removal of the studio scenes described in my treatment sheet. This was to keep focus on the main woodland location and to avoid removing the audience from the narrative. Some other changes were made to the video, which are described here.

Music Video 6

This iteration has a heavily edited second chorus, with numerous shots rearranged, shortened or added to keep the flow of the video. I also added a title sequence to show the band name, title and introduce the audience to the style. To keep various elements, such as clocks or the flower, I added short clips appearing on beats or specific words in certain sequences. Another edit introduced a flash of text with the lyrics 'Sun Hasn't Died', linking to my digipack.

Digipack 2

My final digipack is similar to the original but it has some small changes, such as the added product code and record logo to the spine, extra songs to make it seem more realistic and a glow round the track listings to make them easier to read.

Panel 1: Cover

For my cover, I decided to have an abstract image. The image itself is of the trailer from the video and poster, but with added effects achieved through colour adjustments on PhotoShop to give the feeling of decay. I used the font Dirty Headline for the title as it is easy to read and fits the aesthetics of the cover, and M Ponderosa for the band name to link to my poster.

Spine: The spine contains the product code and the 1977 records logo to increase realism. It also contains the album name and the band name which are in the Dirty Headline.

Reverse Cover: Using another colour adjusted picture of the trailer texture, I created the reverse cover. I used Dirty Headline for the track listing and added a white glow to make them easier to read.
To add realism, I added copyright information, the record logo, barcode and a website link for 1977 records.

Extra panel: I used the same image from the reverse cover, but added the lyrics 'Sun Hasn't Died'. These lyrics are important as they are used at the turning point of the song and video, and therefore hint at the ending. However, to fit n with the rest of the digipack and connect to the poster, they have been smudged to add a melting/decaying look.

Interior panels: Colour adjusted images of trees to hint at the video.

CD Tray. The top has an image of the forest while the bottom shows rusted wheels, showing the two main locations front he video. Colour adjustment has been used to make them blend in. The top of the water butt has been used as the CD sticker as it is the main symbol of the video.

To create the digipack, I used PhotoShop tools such as: Crop, magic wand, colour adjustment, smudge, text, shape, insert image and blur.

Poster Version 2

 While finishing my poster by changing the font and adding reviews and other important details, such as the website URL, I experimented with trying to curve text around the wheel arch. I could not get this to work using transform or warp, so I decided to put a drop shadow with maximum noise on the text and tilt it to the side. This fits in with the static effects in my video.

Tuesday 17th Jan

Today, I changed the font on my poster from Dirty Headline to a more interesting font, M Ponderosa. Because the original text had been rasterised, I had to delete it and redo the melting text. This time, however, I changed the colour to black to create stronger brand identity as it continued the black motif.

I also edited my video, adding an extra scene before it starts showing the title and band. I made the text and sound glitch at random moments to give a sense of something breaking and to continue he aesthetic of the video. I also added more shots of clocks and the burning flower to make the narrative more continual so motifs do not appear from nowhere.

Music Video 5

Music Video 4