Welcome to the official blog of Cult Media. Here you can keep up to date with my progress in my Media Studies A2 Coursework.
Enjoy!
Final Video:
Evaluation Point 4. The way I used technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages.
- Construction and Research.
I used the following technology.
- Laptop.
The laptop I used to edit and do the majority of my work on is a HP Envy with i5 processor. This processor showed its weakness when editing the 4K video files. Rendering took long, and the low amount of storage forced me to delete many clips to make space for new ones.
- Camera
I used a Sony A7S 2 with Canon 35mm F/1.4L lens to shoot the whole video. I set the lens to manual focus, and changed the aperture depending on what effect I was trying to create. I used the SLog3 picture profile to allow for greater creativity in the editing of the video. I filmed in either 4K 30 fps and 1080 120fps depending on if I was planning to have a shot in slomotion to increase the power of the motions.
- Mobile Phone.
I used my HTC One Mini 2 to take some of the location shots, and used it for some behind the scene pictures when filming. I also used it to play the song while filming to help the actor sing the lyrics in time with the beat. I also used it to note down what shots I needed by having my shot list noted down in it.
- Word.
I used Word to write up the shot lists and the other written blog posts.
- Adobe Lightroom.
I used this picture processing program to edit the pictures so that they look better than ever. Contrary to many amateurs beliefs, picture editing is a huge part of photography these days.
2. Evaluation.
- Laptop.
For the evaluation I used my laptop to upload my video to Facebook and YouTube for audience feedback.
- Word.
I used Word to write the blog posts.
- Photoshop.
I used Photoshop to edit the pictures of the people who gave feedback.
- Lightroom.
I used Lightroom to edit the pictures of the people who have feedback.
- Camera
I used my camera to film the peoples reactions to the video and to record their feedback.
- Mobile Phone.
I used my phone to put the adverts on Instagram.
Evaluation Point 3. What did I learn from my audience feedback?
- Facebook feedback.
I posted the rough edit of my music video on my Facebook and received the following feedback. I asked some people directly for ideas on how to make it better, but somehow nobody had anything bad to say.
I then posted the final video over a month later.
From all the comments, messages, and indirect feedback such as the opinions of the actors’ friends, I gathered that pretty much everyone liked it a lot, and that I attained my goal; which was to make the viewer cry as a surprisingly large amount of people said they did so. In the whole everybody loved it.
2. YouTube.
The video has not been online long enough to view any viewing details.
Evaluation Task 2. Effectiveness of my main product and ancillary texts.
The different components all work very well together due to the synergy and mutual theme.
- Digipak.
The photos I used in my digipak all relate to the video. Firstly, the locations of some of the photos are the same as used in the video. The beach is the most important location, and that is why the main image is Alastair standing on some rocks on the beach.
Secondly, I have used black and white and colour. The video is all shot in colour, and despite the external images of the digipak are black and white, the colour interior symbolizes that even though life may seem bad, there’s always something better to come.
2. Advert.
The photos I used for my advert follow the same theme of the my video. The biggest part of the advert is Alastair, and this is the same in the video. The use of the main character in the video shows who is the most important figure in the video.
Evaluation Task 1. In what ways does my media product use, develop or challenge forms of real media conventions of real media productions?
Here are 9 screenshots that I took of my music video and for each one I will explain why.
This is a close-up shot of Alastairs hand holding on to Georgias hand. The idea of this shot came from my head so I was not influenced or inspired by similar media to shoot it this way. I made sure Georgias head is visible to make sure that the viewer can see whose hand Alastair was holding. The idea of having a hosital however came from Ed Sheerans song ‘Small Bump’ where he is sat in a hospital.
This close-up of his alarm clock is also very important, as the picture of Georgia is behind it, as well as a rose. He knows Georgia, and the rose shows love, so the viewer can make the easy link between the two; being that he loves Georgia. Love is a normal and maybe a cliché theme, but the plot has to be made easy to understand, as the majority of the viewers are too lazy to see details if they are to small.
The idea of this mirror shot come from a Roberto Di Nero segment of the film ‘Taxi Driver’. The difference is that here, Alastair is sad, with a twist of anxiety whereas Di Nero was angry/intimidating. The lack of features in the room ads to the empty feeling that he is emitting. It is a media convention to have a man looking at a mirror when they are pensive as seen in ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘La Haine’.
This shot truly shows everything about him. He is lonely, sad, and does not know what to do with his life. This is like the the previous screenshot, where males are often seen as distraught humans after losing a female.
This is quite a conventional shot due to the person standing still while looking at the horizon. He is pensive and pensive males feature in the majority of videos that are about love.
This is another screenshot from the beach. Here, we have the main prop to give the video meaning; a photo of Georgia. Having nostalgia is almost a requirement in any love video these days so it is a convention.
This is a screenshot from the dinner table scene, where the main character is seen to fail to contain his excitement when we see him throw his glass down and even toss the table away. This shows exactly how angry and frustrated he is with life.
These are two screenshots from the last scene from the video. In the first we see the flashback image that flashes in Alastairs head before he tries to exit the world of pain and solitude by going out to sea, right before being swept by a wave and drowning. I chose to shoot at sunset as this would give a sense of time to the video. It also creates a lovely backdrop, which is a characteristic of love films.
Ancillary Task 18. My final advert.
Ancillary Task 17. The creation of my final advert.
I followed the advice I had been given through the feedback, and made the whole image Black and White. I increased the contrast, clarity and pushed the highlights to amplify Alastair.
Ancillary Task 16. Audience feedback on my mock advert.
I posted the rough advert on my Facebook to see what people thought, and I received the following feedback.
Ancillary task 15. Mock up of my advert.
I created the following advert, and will explain how I did.
- Main Image.
f/2 – ISO 640 – 1/100
I imported the image into Photoshop (I will refer to it by PS) and used the lasso tool to line out the outline of Alastairs body. I then copied this into a new layer and deleted the background. Then, I took an image I took with the lens cap on so it was completely black, and copied Alastair onto it so the background was completely black.
2.
F/2 – ISO 640 – 1/100
To get this image, I did a bit more than just the usual colour correction. I will now explain how I got the image from what you can see on the left, to become what it is on the right.
Firstly, I imported the image into Lightroom , and quickly converted it into Black and White. I then squashed the blacks and shadows to get ride of everything apart from the girls hand and both peoples hands. I upped the exposure by a little bit to increase the brightness of the arm and hand without blowing out the highlights or the whites.
I then imported this image into PS and added it as a new layer in the first image. I re-sized this image so it acts as something that gets the people thinking when they see it. I changed the levels so that only certain tones were visible such as the very dark tones to amplify the solitude of the hand holding on to the other hand to symbolize that even if somebody is not in the same place physically, you will still feel it holding you back.
I then added titles and kept the same font in all of them, and only changed their size and placement, which is determined by their importance.I also added logos of various downloading sites in new layers to show where the song is available for purchase.
Ancillary Task 14. Flat Plan for my advert.
For my flat plan I will need to tick the following boxes:
- Original
- Eyecatching
- Simple to understand
- Attractive to anybody but in particular my target audience
- Big font
- Straight to the point
- Straight lines
- Artist has to be the main subject
I will need 1 image which is eye-catching and portrays the artist in a positive and light mood, as this is more appealing than a dark and sad looking image.
Ancillary Task 13. How important are print ads to the promotion of artists and music?
To create the largest audience possible, I will need to make advertisements. Print advertisements are hugely popular as they still help promote artists and their music.
The following information was extracted from Forbes.com
There are 6 reasons why prints are still used.
Tangibility: A print piece is a physical thing. Magazines and newspapers can stay in houses or offices for months or years, while Internet ads can disappear into cyber space instantaneously.
Credibility: There is something about print that gives a sense of legitimacy. The saturation of popups and banner ads on the web can be overwhelming and the fear of spam and viruses is enough make people weary of clicking. There is no imminent danger in a print ad.
Branding: Print ads are excellent for solidifying your brand identity. Your ads should have a consistent aesthetic in terms of fonts, colors and types of images to establish brand recognition.
Target Marketing: Placing ads in publications such as specialty magazines can effectively reach niche audiences that may be more difficult to target online.
More Engaging – Consumers are more engaged when reading printed material, unlike websites, which are often skimmed in as little as a 15 second visit. A study shows that people read digital screen text 20% – 30% slower than printed paper. (Alshaali & Varshney, 2005)
Less Print Ads: With more and more businesses relying solely on the Internet for their advertising needs, the decline of print publication can actually be used as a marketing advantage. The publications are less crowded, allowing more room for your ad to shine, and possibly even cheaper prices for that ad space.
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