Question 4

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

Question 3.

Our Audience Feedback from digipaks and advert suggested that our hip hop genre was being adhered too and ideas fulfilled in our finished design, this audience was just under 30 people in quantity. This was achieved through our Facebook group. 

Response to Digipak:

As you can see, the comment related to the questions posed, but gave constructive criticism alongside praising comments like "Really like the font".

Response to Advert:

The immedite response too the question of what genre this advert relates too, shows that we progressed onto the right direction for our music video in it's most conventional form. This is a list of those in our focus group, an audience specifically picked out of our audience feedback group. I had a short interview with one, whose responses left us with far more positives then need for admendment.
Us: Out of our two music videos shown, did the two show enough to convince you a 'rags to riches' idea is feasible?
Audience: I think that both would work well together, like directly against one another. It would show the greater difference if both were sharing the same screen.

Us: Would you honestly consider purchasing our digipak, and if so why?
Audience: I probably would, it is similar to other rap albums. It's good idea though because while rich people are shown off all the time, poor people are not usually given the oppoutunity.

Us: In the music video we are using, 'Danger Zone' - Chiddy Bang. After hearing this song, do you think it suits our idea for a music video?

Audience: Unlike other Chiddy Bang stuff, this song is quite aggressive and i think the idea of a rich guy in a skyscraper shows that well. If you'd have picked nearly any other Chiddy Bang song though i would have flat-out refused.

Us: Finally, how realistic do you think a professional execution of our ideas for a music video is?
Audience: You'll be cool, just need to make sure the main actor gets their on the day.

Feedback such as this really helped us when we uploaded our draft. 

This is because our target audience informed us that some of the shots were over-exposed 

Therefore we made them darker like this; concluding into our film being improved.

 Alongside this, we had a text based conversation with our phones with a member of our target audience. Considering the importance of modern technology like mobile texting etc in media production and distribution to record labels, it is perhaps a more relevant form of communicating with my target audience then through more traditional methods.

Me: Looking at the texts as a whole, do you think there is similarities? 

Jack Vaughan: Definitely man, like you can tell you've used the
same buildings and that in your video and advert. And the same
clothes too. Some stuffs different though, and its confusing.

Me: Ok, whats the confusing aspects?

Jack Vaughan: Like the digipak has loads of shots indoors, then
one randomly outside?  And like the music videos a bit confusing
at the start, but you do understand it by the end i guess.

Me: What would you do to change that then?

Jack Vaughan: Probably not change things across the different
texts as much, cause you probably will confuse dumb asses.
Like not the stuff in the music video, cause you can see that in
the advert and cover, but like the colours and layout of stuff.

Me: Fair enough, can you still tell what genre they all are?

Jack Vaughan:   Yeah, it's hip hop, im cheating cause i know
Chiddy Bang but you can definitively tell what your going for.

: Are you reminded of other artists within the genre?

Jack Vaughan: I can see a lil bit of Drake in that lift shot, and
probably some blue scholars in the way you've done the 'rags'
stuff. I like how its a dream though, adds British humor to it haha

Me: Okay, cheers! Anything else you wanna add? Stuff you'd change?

Jack Vaughan: To be fair, if your gonna add some British humor
to it  like ya did, then I would have gone all the way and made
it a bit more comical. Depends what angle to wanted to go for

                                                                   though, and what your audience was i guess. No worries bro 


For the audience research we shown a member  of our target audience our music video and  my print work. Here is a video recording of an example of our target audience, watching the music video and studying print work then answering a number of questions in relation to them. This qualitative research is critical in understanding how we would alter our work as a result of this feedback. I asked him the following questions.

- what happens in the narrative?

- does the performance look convincing?

- does it remind you of any other music videos or other texts?

- would you like to be friends with the people in the video?

- what genre of music do you think the video is appropriate for?

- if you could change one thing, what would it be?

Obviously our target audience has enjoyed our video. David Morley, says that audiences aren't just passive when consuming media forms of text. Instead, an active role is taken, and based upon the individual themselves, readings can vary within the same social group. The Birmingham Center for Contemporary Cultural Studies concluded that audiences adopt different standpoints in relation to the values expressed within a media text. Also I feel that  the overall the audience took the the video well and understood it. Steve Neales theory that audience take pleasure from genre because of 'instances of repetition and difference', as this is video is similar as other videos within the genre , the audience will like it. 

<div style="width:425px" id="__ss_11964512"> <strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/TomMcKee/question-2-164512" title="Question 2" target="_blank">Question 2</a></strong> <iframesrc="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/119642" width="425" height="355" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="padding:5px 0 12px"> View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint" target="_blank">PowerPoint</a> from <a hf="http://www.slideshare.net/TomMcKee" target="_blank">Tom McKee</a> </div> </div>

Question 1

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. - Edwin Land. 

Creativity- 'The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns,relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations.

This enabled us to begin to 'brainstorm' ideas for our music video, beginning to discuss location, costume and props that would suit our preferred song. We  then explored our surrounding area at college taking pictures that we felt reflected the mood of our music video. We were, however, limited by points of interest in the surrounding area. This collage in fact only reflects the mood of half our music video, the rest being inaccessible to us at this moment in time.Choosing our song was rather difficult. When deciding upon the stepping stones of forming our media product - the genre, artist and song choice - we had to combine both tools of research and creativity. 

We were encouraged into making use of such tools by the writings of media theorist David Gauntlett, who holds "The process of making something, and then reflecting upon it, is claimed to give a more nuanced insight into participants' feelings or experiences". This is quite a retrospective theory however, and still required us to be quite inventive ourself when deciding upon our 'stepping stones'. We both mutually decided on the genre of rap. After analysing the situation we were in and the facilities we could access we decided on a 'rags to riches' theme.  

We felt the  song 'Danger Zone' - Chiddy bang expressed the convention fantastically.

When I began my research for creating a music video I started by looking at existing music videos in the same genre as the song that I had chosen. I did this to get a clear understanding of some of the conventions that the videos use so that I could create my own video based around them. I analysed artists such as Drake, 50 cent, Jay Z and of course Chiddy bang.

 After gaining an understanding I made  pitch so the class could watch to watch the videos and for them to comment on the conventions of the videos, such as the music connecting with the images being shown, so that I could gain a wider understanding by hearing the opinions of others and from there developing an idea of my own.

                 

After studying similar conventions within the genre will watched many different music videos, through these we discovered ideas that we were keen to re-enact these scenes and watch them with specific lyrics.We found these idea's from the Artist's Big Sean, Drake and Blue Scholars who are all famous within the genre. Our main goal in our video was to expose the differences between both lifestyles; Rich and Poor. I think this is done very well in these following videos. 


Rich

Poor

"Never take a time out"

These lyrics are in the first verse, and as an example of our technique of Andrew Goodwin's theorys of music videos, we will not be illustrative of the lyrics and instead amplifying. This is shown by how the lyrics do not relate directly with the video. However, their is slight irony in a connection of the artist calling for 'time out', whilst being lazy in the video and clearly taking a break.

"I'm in a major zone"
These lyrics are part of the first verse away from the beginning chorus, and this medium body shot will be used as part of a long take, to then be interjected throughout the rest of the verse by varying shots and locations. This will therefore be a dolly camera, as the artist walks towards the camera before gestures like seen here - in order to gloat his weatlh and success.

"Serious, higher than a nimbus"
Yet another 'riches' shot, the material boasting is highly present in this wide angle shot, and we would use a similar shot in order to show off as many expensive possessions as possible. The lyrics relate to the video here, in that whilst our peformer will smoke a cigar, lyrics will be talking of being high.

"To the penthouse we go"
These lyrics will be illustrated by the video, as a glass lift as seen in this image is available in our filming location straight to the penthouse. This allows us too pull off dramatic mid-range shots and quick cuts to reflect the movement of a rising lift.

"Watch me as I come up from the bottom and ascend the charts"

The first of our 'Rags' examples, this will be a dolly camera where our main peformer walks down the pavement towards the camera. This gesture of pointing towards the sky will be used alongside these lyrics, in reference too the future success of our star's rap.

"Train noise"

At the start of the muisc video, our track contains the noise of public transport in the background. Instead of trying too wait till the perfect shot, we came too the conclusion a close up of our star image will be used as the firstpart of our video's narrative.

It's extensive use of symmetry results in a sense of control and power within the artist, something I wished to impose upon my media products 'Star image' - a term coined by Andrew Goodwin. Whilst this sort of representation only portrayed the one half of my music video, it is a more conventional representation of Hip Hop artists in other media texts and so I felt would be more fitting in such a market.