Final advert

This is the final advert that we have constructed using a combination of illustrator and photoshop. Using the conventions of the adverts i researched, I layed out the advert in a similar fashion. Placing the band and album name clearly at the top of the page for audiences to notice first. The rest of the poster follows the theme of our album cover. The logo we created for the band is placed central, again clearly visible for audiences. The grey colours of the band contrast well with the background making it stand out. We have also featured the date of release, as well as singles released from the album. 

Other information we featured is the record label and also a QR code which links to the video on youtube. This means of technology making it easier for people to check out the song to see if they like the artist.

 

Evaluation 4

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

I have answered this question through an audio mp3 file which has been uploaded onto SoundCloud.
http://soundcloud.com/adamdodd1/coursework-task-4

Evaluation 3

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

For every part of our coursework we obtained audience feedback which we then deconstructed and used the feedback to improve our media product. This included conducting questionnaires and taking ideas and criticism for each step; the ideas process, first edits, ancillary tasks and final edit. By receiving criticism we were able to enhance our product to try and make it as good as it possibly could be, abiding with conventions and enhancing/illustrating the vibes of the song. The feedback we gained was very helpful as the product is trying to sell the song to an audience, and so if they didn't like it they wouldn't buy the song.

After showing our initial idea powerpoint to the class, we created a questionnaire to obtain feedback on what they thought of our song choice/ video direction. From this questionnaire most feedback was generally positive which was constructive as our creative ideas managed to impress an audience. This positive feedback enabled us to produce a video that we would be happy creating as well as meeting all demands and conventions. We also learned that our video should include more narrative, which we decided then to follow the lyrics for a narrative aspect. Audiences felt that we would easily be able to represent genre, age, gender and more through our video.
    Once we had created our rough cut after our first shoot, we then showed this footage to a select audience and asked for feedback. We decided to obtain feedback here, at the half way stage of finishing the video, to keep us on track and to make sure the video worked as a promotion. We created an online survey and uploaded the video to our youtube page so a wider audience could give us more diverse feedback. The use of lighting received positive feedback as well as the use of camera angles and effects. We took out parts to the video which gained a strong number of negative views to please our target audience. These were the scenes from the live gig, where a tripod was not used and the colours didn't match the colours created from the lighting in the rest of the video. Also the narrative side was lacking, which is a convention of performance based music videos; this information we took on board and began to work on straight away. We were worried about lip syncing as this was difficult to film, but after showing audiences they responded saying that the footage matched the song seamlessly.

We created a questionnaire for the design of a band logo which would feature on the band poster/digipak, this questionnaire featured various designs for the band and audiences could choose their favourite and explain why. The most popular logo was chosen, however using the feedback that it looked a bit messy and unprofessional we refined it using photoshop. This then gave the logo a more photorealistic aspect as well as keeping in the theme of black and white for our ska genre.

We spent time going around the college showing individuals the digipak and album cover once we had created the rough drafts. We interviewed them, asking them questions about what they thought it's target audience/genre was, how professional they looked, meeting conventions and also asked them overall if they would purchase the product. Collecting the information from these interviews, we changed around the design for aesthetic reasons. Most people said that the album cover and poster suited a fast paced, energetic sound which is what he had hoped for.

We changed the typography of the text on the album cover to meet the demands of the feedback, as many people thought it didn't match the ska genre conventions enough. Using the black outline styled like a label branding the bands genre effectively.

After finalising the music video, we showed it to our class and other classes and asked for their thoughts. We received purely positive responses, which left no room for improvements. In conclusion the audience feedback was essential in creating a media product for an audience. It helped us to create a video that was professional, fitting with genre conventions and a video that enhanced the song itself.

Evaluation 2

How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary texts?

I have answered this question in the form of an online presentation: http://prezi.com/72osoqvzs0lp/evaluation-2/?kw=view-72osoqvzs0lp&rc=ref-40675365



My main and ancillary texts use cross media campaign by using the same themes throughout. The advert and digipak will cover print media however whilst the advert will be used in magazines/newspapers, the digipak will be available to be viewed online and physically once purchased. The video being uploaded onto youtube and used on TV music channels. By using 3 different media texts we are able to promote the album/song to a much wider audience. The digipak features the album cover image but in full length, it also features the same font and font colour in both. The album cover itself is a still from the music video, a stagelight flooding into the camera lens. This still was captured during the performance of the band which audiences could relate the video to the ancillary texts. Another still from the video is used inside the digipak, of each member of the band. This links the music video directly to the digipak where audiences will recognise and be able to identify the band. The video contains the same font for "Moon Street" and "Depression Town" at the beginning which promotes the premise of the album digipack. We included a QR Code on the back of our digipak which would sit on the outside of the pack. This code can be scanned which then links to the music video on YouTube, a way of promoting one product through the other. This will also allow audiences to "Try before you buy" when in store.

In our research and planning we researched into the image of a famous artist and how it has been created. Through this research I discovered the image was mainly created through the use of album covers, music videos and posters. I looked at the artist Justin Bieber, a popular solo artist with a very defining image. I noticed how carefully constructed his image was through the use of advertising, album covers and music videos.
The outfits worn by the band are casual and are quite suited to the punk genre of the band. It also represents the target audiences gender and age well. The video itself creates a fun easy going and approachable image for the band, allowing for them to be accessible to a wide audience. The screenshots of the band used in the digipak not only references the music video but also acts as miscellaneous poster for avid fans.

I believe the combination of main and ancillary tasks have become very effective and integrate well to promote a product through different medias. This however could be improved by relating more to conventions of the genre in the digipak.

Evaluation 1

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

In researching for our media product I carried out research into conventions of music videos. It began with music videos in general, denoting the narrative, abstract and performance aspects. We soon realised that abstract suited more emotional pieces of music, whereas performance and narrative fit more heavier and energetic music. After choosing a song we then looked into music videos of a similar genre to obtain and review conventions that would create our video. The Blink-182 video for First Date featured the band performance of the song in the setting of a garage in an american home which was the inspiration for the setting to our music video. At the beginning of our video the name of the band and song appear, often used in contemporary music videos.  

One way that our media product follows/goes against the conventions of our chosen genre is through our album cover and sleeve. Most album covers of ska bands were mainly black and white, this colour scheme we thought although had iconography we decided didn't match the punk side of the genre or meet demands of contemporary audiences. We added a splash of colour to provide vibrance and energy, however the font and logo featured on our poster is black and white; for recognisability of the ska genre. By challenging this convention we were able to appeal to a wider audience and bring this genre into the modern day.
       The advert that we created followed typical conventions of contemporary adverts. We researched into album adverts of bands in with a similar genre that had debut releases, as well as other releases to gain a wider range of conventions so we had a more diverse approach to our advert. The poster features the album cover image and same text, a typical cross media campaign used by music media products. However on the poster we placed a logo for the band, not featured on the digipack. This was to attract an element of mystery as well as mimicking real artists by having a distinct logo for fans to instantly recognise with.
To challenge the forms of videos in the ska genre, we decided to use a wide range of varied camera angles and shots to match the pace of the song. In our research, we noticed that most the videos had mainly static camera shots which didn't match the songs pace at all; this being because popular ska music was around in the 1980's where technology made it difficult for rhythm editing.

final edit questionnaire and feedback

We constructed a questionnaire and a survey to gain feedback for our final edit of our music video. The questionnaire was handed out to a group of 30 students (the age of our target audience) after showing them the video.  We also created an online survey and posted the link with the youtube link on social networking sites to gain a range of feedback from a wider audience. 

Overall we are very happy with these results as they are all very positive and suggest very little room for improvement.  

Here is a screenshot from our online survey where people could leave comments.

final edit

This is the final edit for our music video which we have uploaded the video onto our Youtube account. We are overall very happy with it and will construct audience feedback to make sure it satisfies audiences.