Friday 9 December 2011
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Monday 21 November 2011
First Evaluation Post
Question 1: In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Close up: Amy McDonald - This Is The Life
Amelia in our music video - Close ups
The close up is a vital filming method which frequently appears in music videos and this was to try and connect to the viewer and can relate to the audience more than other shots. We used the close up so we could have various different shots as opposed to just long shots throughout. We have used the Amy McDonald video above as a comparison to our video because the shot only shows her eyes and nose and in the shot above from our video, you can see only her nose and mouth, therefore this means that this is an extreme close up.
Narrative: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
This was the narrative but it is also a motif as Amelia was walking through the trees on each chorus. This is so the audience can visualise the chorus with Amelia walking through the trees. Even though this is an Alice in Wonderland themed music video, it still gives us a flavour of what the artists' style is, however, the lyrics relate to the video, as it is about feeling misplaced. We have compared it to The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony from 1997 as there is a clear narrative in the music video and in the chorus for our song, as mentioned above, includes Amelia walking through the trees. Throughout the Verve's music video, the narrative of Richard Ashcroft walking through the streets of Hoxton, North London is continued throughout the whole music video, however we only have a snapshot of a narrative where our character is walking.
Lighting: Miley Cyrus - When I Look At You
Lighting was a key theme in our music video - it is clear that in the Miley Cyrus video above, she has used bright colours, which gives the video a feel that makes it look unrealistic. In our video, we have a similar style. The colours on Amelia's character's clothes are slightly brighter than a normal music video, whereas the background colours are more dull, such as a dark shade of green. The trees are made to look darker than they do in reality, also, Amelia's character is on her own in the music video and the colours and the general feel of the music video give it a feeling of emptiness.
Theme: Payton Rae - Not Your Cinderella
Challenged theme - We managed to find props such as the hat and the "Drink Me" bottle, the latter of which the audience seemed to remember the most when viewing our music video. These props were to link the music video with the Alice in Wonderland theme and it was easy to get hold of these particular props. We also had a miniature pocket watch and the dolls' house, which we did have to reassemble but we felt it was used effectively in the end. It can be linked to the music video above as it focuses on the fairytale theme with Cinderella and the mystical-looking vehicle in the picture above.
Theme: Sara Bareilles - Love Song
The location in these two music videos can be related to the fairytale theme. In the Sara Bareilles video, she is in a music box, which strongly relates to the fairytale theme and the props in our video can be related to the Alice in Wonderland theme as they are all different. The hat and the teapot in particular can be linked to that theme.
Eliza Doolittle - Skinny Genes
Jessie J - Price Tag
This music video generally has the feel of many people's childhoods and the "delights" of being a child! The video includes things like the ballerina, and these connotations strongly relates to our Alice in Wonderland theme, however Jessie J has a more positive outlook on it then our video depicts. Whereas our video has our character alone in the video with the feeling of being misplaced, Jessie J has her in different fairytale connotations and there is a general positive feel throughout the music video.
This is a recurring image - motif - and our scene in the Audrianna Cole music video can clearly be linked to this image above with Jessie J in the dolls' house.
Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Close up: Amy McDonald - This Is The Life
Amelia in our music video - Close ups
The close up is a vital filming method which frequently appears in music videos and this was to try and connect to the viewer and can relate to the audience more than other shots. We used the close up so we could have various different shots as opposed to just long shots throughout. We have used the Amy McDonald video above as a comparison to our video because the shot only shows her eyes and nose and in the shot above from our video, you can see only her nose and mouth, therefore this means that this is an extreme close up.
Narrative: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
This was the narrative but it is also a motif as Amelia was walking through the trees on each chorus. This is so the audience can visualise the chorus with Amelia walking through the trees. Even though this is an Alice in Wonderland themed music video, it still gives us a flavour of what the artists' style is, however, the lyrics relate to the video, as it is about feeling misplaced. We have compared it to The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony from 1997 as there is a clear narrative in the music video and in the chorus for our song, as mentioned above, includes Amelia walking through the trees. Throughout the Verve's music video, the narrative of Richard Ashcroft walking through the streets of Hoxton, North London is continued throughout the whole music video, however we only have a snapshot of a narrative where our character is walking.
Lighting: Miley Cyrus - When I Look At You
Lighting was a key theme in our music video - it is clear that in the Miley Cyrus video above, she has used bright colours, which gives the video a feel that makes it look unrealistic. In our video, we have a similar style. The colours on Amelia's character's clothes are slightly brighter than a normal music video, whereas the background colours are more dull, such as a dark shade of green. The trees are made to look darker than they do in reality, also, Amelia's character is on her own in the music video and the colours and the general feel of the music video give it a feeling of emptiness.
Theme: Payton Rae - Not Your Cinderella
Challenged theme - We managed to find props such as the hat and the "Drink Me" bottle, the latter of which the audience seemed to remember the most when viewing our music video. These props were to link the music video with the Alice in Wonderland theme and it was easy to get hold of these particular props. We also had a miniature pocket watch and the dolls' house, which we did have to reassemble but we felt it was used effectively in the end. It can be linked to the music video above as it focuses on the fairytale theme with Cinderella and the mystical-looking vehicle in the picture above.
Theme: Sara Bareilles - Love Song
The location in these two music videos can be related to the fairytale theme. In the Sara Bareilles video, she is in a music box, which strongly relates to the fairytale theme and the props in our video can be related to the Alice in Wonderland theme as they are all different. The hat and the teapot in particular can be linked to that theme.
Eliza Doolittle - Skinny Genes
Jessie J - Price Tag
This music video generally has the feel of many people's childhoods and the "delights" of being a child! The video includes things like the ballerina, and these connotations strongly relates to our Alice in Wonderland theme, however Jessie J has a more positive outlook on it then our video depicts. Whereas our video has our character alone in the video with the feeling of being misplaced, Jessie J has her in different fairytale connotations and there is a general positive feel throughout the music video.
This is a recurring image - motif - and our scene in the Audrianna Cole music video can clearly be linked to this image above with Jessie J in the dolls' house.
Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Audience Feedback Results
In assembly this morning, the sixth form were handed yellow sheets so we could gather information on what they thought of our videos and there were issues such as the fact we have not used all our footage and there are a few gaps. Other criticism focused on Amelia's lip synching and the video generally could be more interesting.
Positive criticism, however, came in the form of Amelia playing Alice, in fact one person described her as a "cool Alice"! Other positive feedback was that it was professional and authentic. The editing was also appreciated and the location also received good feedback.
Positive criticism, however, came in the form of Amelia playing Alice, in fact one person described her as a "cool Alice"! Other positive feedback was that it was professional and authentic. The editing was also appreciated and the location also received good feedback.
Thursday 17 November 2011
Audience Gratification
An important factor of creating something media-related is the reaction of the audience. We have already researched the connotations of the Indie genre and I have focused on what people who like and dislike Indie music have thought about the idea of the music video and the video itself, so this task focuses on how the audience absorbs this piece of media text.
To do this, I need to find out what it is the audience want and how they gratify the media text:
1. Connection to the artist - this is currently easier than ever as now people can follow a famous person on Twitter or "Like" their Facebook page and get directly in contact with the artist.
2. Synergy with other artists - At the moment, Rap is not the only genre where famous people combine such as Rihanna and Jay-Z or 50 Cent and Eminem: there is also a feel of synergy in indie/pop music. Ed Sheeran and Rupert Grint combine in the music video for Lego House, which is important as Ed Sheeran and the Harry Potter franchise, in which Rupert Grint is most famously recognised, are big at the moment.
3. Iconography/Role Model - This is done by how the artist dresses and goes out. In our audience research back in October, we found out that they did not follow every ounce of dress sense that the famous person had, but they were certainly influenced by it.
To do this, I need to find out what it is the audience want and how they gratify the media text:
1. Connection to the artist - this is currently easier than ever as now people can follow a famous person on Twitter or "Like" their Facebook page and get directly in contact with the artist.
2. Synergy with other artists - At the moment, Rap is not the only genre where famous people combine such as Rihanna and Jay-Z or 50 Cent and Eminem: there is also a feel of synergy in indie/pop music. Ed Sheeran and Rupert Grint combine in the music video for Lego House, which is important as Ed Sheeran and the Harry Potter franchise, in which Rupert Grint is most famously recognised, are big at the moment.
3. Iconography/Role Model - This is done by how the artist dresses and goes out. In our audience research back in October, we found out that they did not follow every ounce of dress sense that the famous person had, but they were certainly influenced by it.
Music Video Progress
As we have most of our footage, I think we have done well and got the shots we needed, however we will know if it is good or not next Monday when the 5 Media groups' videos are shown in assembly to the whole of Sixth Form next Monday!
However, I have seen other people's work and I believe that if we had more time to film then we should have filmed in other locations as we just filmed in the school. The advantages to this were that we didn't need to go very far to film our scenes and they still turned out well, but looking at other groups' work, there is more variation and they filmed in their houses and the surrounding towns and villages. One group even managed to film in the centre of Cambridge!
Overall I think we have made a video which is typical of the genre and challenges conventions, however I can see where we would need to improve if we had to make it again.
However, I have seen other people's work and I believe that if we had more time to film then we should have filmed in other locations as we just filmed in the school. The advantages to this were that we didn't need to go very far to film our scenes and they still turned out well, but looking at other groups' work, there is more variation and they filmed in their houses and the surrounding towns and villages. One group even managed to film in the centre of Cambridge!
Overall I think we have made a video which is typical of the genre and challenges conventions, however I can see where we would need to improve if we had to make it again.
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