Examples of ancillary tasks

Evaluation 2!

Evaluation

Evaluation

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

This is a link from the website 'voki.com' i created this animation as an example of our target audience to be an example of the feedback we had from our final music video. It explains what people thought of our final in a short sentence and in a more interesting way.

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

Throughout our media project we have had to use many media technologies. Firstly during the planning stage in order to produce an affective media video that involved key conventions that would appeal to the target audience and make the genre clear, we had to research existing music videos and to do this we used the Internet with sites that allowed us to watch videos such as 'youtube'. We also researched information about the band on the search engine 'google'. This was extremely useful as we could see and analyse the clear conventions that are typically found in pop music videos and the image that 'The Saturdays' and other girl bands have wanted to put across.

We have also had to use the editing software and photoshop during the construction stages of the project. Photoshop allowed us to improve the layout of the images we have taken by changing the brightness, colours, size and position etc. We could also add in the text and change the font and style in order for it to follow the conventions of existing CD albums and advertisement posters. The editing software allowed us to add effects to the video such as; slow motion. It also allowed us to improve the continuity and create smooth transitions when cutting from shot to shot.

Social networking sites and also youtube have also been very useful during the evaluation stage as it allowed us to gain audience feedback so that we could ensure that any areas that could be stringer were improved. As this allowed us to share our videos and images with people and they would give us there ideas and opinions of what could be developed in order to make it more appealing.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Throughout our project we have gained a large amount of audience feedback mainly from creating a group on the social networking site Facebook. This allowed people to give us comments and feedback on videos and images of our work that we had posted on there. This was very useful as it ensured that we could improve and develop any areas that weren't as strong as they could of been for example; people commented that they think it could be improved we more shots being filmed outside in our video instead of too many shots of the plain white background to give it more variety. So we could then make sure that we have a wider range of shots and more outside this gave the video more appeal and was more interesting to watch.

We also posted our video on youtube as this allowed a wider range of people to see it and gain more feedback. We learnt that we needed to include more of our narrative shots as people felt that this made the video more exciting and gave it a story where as too many performance shots can become boring, so we took this on bored and developed the video.

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

The combination of my groups main product and our ancillary tasks have been very affective, as firstly with our CD cover we decided to have each of us using a chair in a certain to pose with and have us wearing bright coloured tops with an individual colour each. This is similar to 'The Saturdays' as they have been recognised in their videos and CD albums to each be wearing a certain colour to represent them. We feel this layout looked very effective and fit in with the typical conventions of a pop CD cover as it stood out with bright and feminine colours, and we represented a positive image of a girl band. We also created a booklet for the CD with images of each of our band inside and the lyrics of which part of the song we each sing next to the picture. This looked affective as we had each photo taken in the same location but in very different poses and uses different objects around us which made the images more interesting.

The advertisement poster that we created was also very affective as we decided that because the name of the song is 'Work' we wanted to represent this by dressing up as different well known job occupations, for example; policeman. This made the poster look very appealing as it relates to the name of the song and the range of bright colours and exaggerated poses allowed it to stand out. This also helped to represent the image that we pout across in our music video of 'girl power' as it showed the band in a dominant position and gave them authority.

Finally our main music video was video effective as it included many element of typical conventions seen in existing videos of the pop genre. We also challenged certain conventions to make it more appeal and target a wider audience. We used a variety of locations similar to what you would find in this sort of video, and used an interesting amount of different shots to increase interest. We have also included many special effects when editing the video such as; slow motion. This again made the video look more effective and professional as it is more entertaining for the audience to watch. We have also included narrative shots in our video which is a typical convention of pop videos, this again makes the video more entertaining as you have a story to watch as well as the performance shots.

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

For our media product we decided to produce a music video similar to the girl band 'The Saturdays' using the song 'Work'. So in order to ensure that our video included some of the main conventions of a typical 'pop' genre music video, we had to research these conventions by watching videos of bands such as; Girls Aloud, Spice Girls and The Saturdays on youtube.

From watching these various videos there are certain conventions we have decided to follow, firstly the outfits that we are wearing in our video are very feminine and slightly revealing which is very common for girl bands and they want to have sex appeal in order to attract a wider audience.

We have also followed the typical convention that girl bands try to represent in their videos which is the idea of 'Girl Power'. In order to put this image across we have include narrative shots in our video that make the girls appear more dominant and in control than the boy as they are taunting and teasing him.

Another convention that is found in many girl bands pop videos is a dance routine being performed. We also decided to include this in our video as we felt it makes the video more appealing and entertaining to watch for the audience, and decided to layout out our dance routine in a similar formation to 'The Saturdays' as it looks very effective.

The locations we have used in our video are also very conventional as we have performed the dance routine shots in the dance studio and in an open space both indoors, the single shots are all on a plan white backdrop, we have also used a shot that is on some steps outdoors similarly to in the original 'Work' video.

There are also certain conventions that would typically be found in pop music that we have decided to challenge. For example in 'The Saturdays' video 'Work' they have not included any single shots of someone doing the dance routine on there own, where as we have as we felt it adds more interesting and makes our video different. The outfits are also always very feminine and prerogative and we have usually followed this conventions but also decided to add more of a rock look to our video with some of the outfits we have chosen.

Shooting Schedules

Monday 8th or Tuesday 9th March- Book studio with black backdrop to shoot final image of steph to add to Work advertisement Poster.

Friday 11th March- Film all the final shots in the different locations with all costumes and also narrative shots.

Friday 11th March- Book studio to take photos for 'Exclusive' Cd cover and the images that will be features in the booklet.

Wednesday 16th- Begin the final edit.

Construction

What is working well...

In our project at the moment the things that have been working well include the dance routine being successfully completed and looking professional and sleek with the costumes on the rough cut of our music video.
We have also had a lot of positive feedback about the different shots used and feel that we have been working very well together as a group in order to get the different tasks completed.

What needs to be improved...

We need to include more of a different range of shots on our video as from watching back our footage at the moment the plain white background looks a bit too boring and needs to be more interesting and have more variety.
We also need also need to work on completing work on time for our deadlines instead of rushing at the end.

Magazine Advertisement Image

Audience Feedback

After showing the rough cut of our final music video to other members of our class and uploading the video onto facebook we had lots of positive feedback and comments back.

We were told certain sections and shots of the video that need improvements as well such as; making the lip sinking more in time on certain scenes and the timing of the dance routine in some areas, also cutting back and forth between shots more to make it more interesting. We were also told we when editing our shots together to make sure that we don't walk back on different points as it jumps just as the song begins.The white background is also quite boring so we need to mix up the locations more often, and to add in the narrative shots as this will make it more affective.

Some of the positive feedback we received was that the dance routine was exciting to watch and the transitions between shots were fluid and there is also a lot of variety, also that the shots outside work well as they make the video more interesting.

This is our rough cut of editing and seeing how di...

This is our rough cut of editing and seeing how di...: "This is our rough cut of editing and seeing how different shot types, movement and angles can work together in order to make our final piece..."

Understanding Of Branding

The brand that we have chosen to display throughout our project in all of our ancillary tasks in cluding; the poster and CD cover is 'Rouge Records'. In order to show this throughout our project we will be displaying the brand logo somewhere most likely the bottom corner on the poster and CD cover so that we can advertise our brand and allow it to become more well known and it will also be clear that this is who is asscoiated with our band 'The Sundays'.

Our Facebook Group

We have created a facebook group which allows us to upload any images or rough cuts of our video. It is available for other people to view so that they can comment on the posts and give us feedback on our ideas and what they think should be added to it or could be improved. This allows us to found out what are target audience think is effective and what they think should be added in order to make the video more interesting and appealing to watch.

Costumes

The first image is the costume for our ancillary task which would be an advertisement poster to appear in a magazine. It is a 'builders' costume and everyone else will also be wearing career costumes such as builder, policewoman, receptionist, lifeguard and doctor. We decided to choose this theme as the song for the album is called 'work' so we wanted to relate to this idea by having an image displaying different jobs.

The next image is what is worn during the dance routine and certain shots in our music video. We decided to wear all black as we wanted to look as if we are all part of a group and show unity so we match each other, and it also looks very sleek and effective so fits in with the image of sexy and fashionable that we want to put across.

The final image is another outfit that will be featured in our music video. This outfit is in colour as we wanted to have a contrast to the plain black outfit by wearing more bright coloured clothing to add interest to the video and at the same time relate to the seductive image.

Allocation Of Roles

Daisy Flynn:
- Performing in the music video as one one the band members
-Filming certain shots for the video
- Editing the shots
- Ancillary and genre research

Nicole Williams:
- Performing in the music video as one one the band members
-Filming certain shots for the video
- Editing the shots
-Created facebook page for audience feedback

Isabelle Jordan-Mellersh:
- Performing in the music video as one one the band members
-Filming certain shots for the video
- Editing the shots
- Designing of posters

Stephanie Purvis:
- Performing in the music video as one one the band members
-Filming certain shots for the video
- Editing the shots
- Created storyboard

Ancillary Plan

This is the design for our poster that would be featured in a magazine to advertise 'The Sundays' new album 'Exclusive'. We decided to have a very bright coloured and sweet related theme because it can be associated with the bands name 'Sunday' as if it is an ice-cream sundae just spelt differently.

This theme is very effective as it makes the poster very eye catchy and, the idea of us holding balloons and ice creams, gives the band a very cheerful and bubbly image which we feel would appeal to our target audience successfully.

Ancillary Research

This is an image of the 'Got Milk' campaign where they use many famous and well-known celebrities to advertise their milk product by wearing a milk moustache and drawing your attention to the product. I think that this is a very effect as it is a very successful advertisement and is recognised by everyone so you instantly realise what the company are trying to advertise.
We felt this would be a good idea for when it came to planning our magazine poster to advertise the bands new album 'Exclusive'.
As we thought that because the song we are using is called 'Work' we could try and put across the idea of working jobs so we would each dress up as a different career to relate to them name of the single. For example; a policewoman or a builder, this is similar to how the 'Got milk' campaign has made their images relate to the logo in a humorous way.

Risk Assessment

There are certain risks involved when shooting our music video, firstly when filming the scene on the zebra crossing we have to be aware of cars driving down the road and make sure we keep a look out.
Also if it rains when filming we have to protect the equipment so that it does not get damaged by covering it with an umbrella, it can be slippy as well if it has rains so we have to be careful that we don't slip over and injure ourself.
Other risks are when charging the camera whilst filming we need to make sure then no one trips over it as this can cause an injury, so someone else needs to be holding this wire to ensure n one can trip over.
There is also the risk of tripping over some of the equipment in general such as loose wires/leads, and the lights in the photography studio.
We also filmed in some stairs outside, this involves risks as we could trip up or down these concrete stairs and again cause an injury, so we have to be aware of this and be very careful when on the steps in order to prevent this.

Ancillary Research

This is the image for The Saturdays new album it is very similar to our idea of putting the name of our album on our hands. So this image gave us some inspiration for our cover, and links us more to the band we are basing our project on. However, we are planning to make are cover different by challenge some of the conventions such as; our outfits will not be as bright colourful and feminine. We are going to go for more of a rock look to add interest but at the same time follow some of the typical conventions by still looking feminine, seductive and happy.

Genre

The concept of genre is very useful in understanding my work as in order to create a music video for my project i need to be aware of the codes and conventions of the different genres so that we can include these in are video and also challenge the typical conventions in order to make ours more interesting.
Rick Altman disagrees with this concept as he think that if you stick to the conventions that everything becomes too predictible, and viewers become passive voyeurs so genres and thereore restrictive.
Richard Maltby believes that the the sucess of hollywood is reliant on the combination of predictable elements with variation. For example; if an audience go to watch a thriller film then they will alreading expect what is going to happen in the film because of the typical conventions of this genre, so it can be disappointing.

Our music video fits in with other music videos as it follows some of the typical convetions of a 'pop' video, and involves a lot of the elements that girl bands include in their music videos. Such as a dance routine