Final Music video

Music Video Final

Task 11: Create Print Artefacts - CD Digi Pack

Here is my album cover digipack. The above version is the correct version to allow being folded up onto CD-case. However below I flipped the images for the sake of being able to view them with better ease

I made and edited these photos, adding effects etc, in Sony Vegas. I used Sony Vegas because I believe it to be an effective image and video editing tool that I am very comfortable using and understand how to use it effectively to achieve my desired results. Below are some example of the editing process 

As seen above is the use of masking where I had to trace around the entire outline of my body by hand as to remove the background 

I use this technique many times in the editing process, as seen above I trace around the parts of the image I desire to keep, which in this case was everything in the colour red. I can then insert the same image below and turn it black and white, however and as can be seen in the photo, while keeping the above layers red .

I also made slight changes as can be seen with these four images 

Task 11: Create Print Artefacts - Magazine advert/poster

Here is my Magazine advert/ poster. In this I chose to use a simple image that represents the main theme of the music video (the couple). I chose to include the CD cover however I imposed the image of the couple in front of the CD art cover. I elected to do this as I want the viewers first line of sight to be the couple on the poster, having the CD art in the background results in it not becoming too overpowering. I made this in Sony Vegas as can be seen below.

Task 13: Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Task 13: Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 3

Audience feedback has been an asset to me throughout my production. During the early stages where I was drafting ideas, and coming up with ideas on what I could do, I decided it would be beneficial for me to carry out a survey and see what kind of things people like/ prefer the most.
I created my multiple question survey using strawpoll.me and sent each question to the either my participants.
From that data collected I came to the conclusion on which genre was more desirable and what sort of themes that people would want to see, I also was able to find out which type of music video, such as that of narrative, abstract, performance, was the most preferred.

Following this I then drafted an idea for a music video and what genre/song choice in addition to a rough overview on the narrative and then presented it as a pitch to my classmates.
After presenting my pitch and ideas and ideas I took my classmates questions at the end and also asked them for their ideas. From this I found that my initial idea was strong and was worth pursuing, but I also was warned by a few classmates as to the song choice. This was because for them they felt it was too upbeat in comparison to the themes and narrative of the music video. However other classmates felt that the song was a good choice as the lyrics fit the theme and the beat would be easy to edit with.
Ultimately it was an even split so had to take the liberty upon myself to decide whether or not to use the song for my final music video.
During production audience feedback was vital to me. This audience feedback came in the form of my partner/co-actor who was around for all stages of filming. Although with stuck to and adhered to the storyboard as close as possible there was a lot of stuff that we would have to improvise or create to fill the gap in-between our established scenes. The feedback my partner gave was through challenging and bringing forward ideas, an example of this would be debating on what camera angle to shoot a certain scene or how the acting should unfold on camera. Having this extra person and not having to be completely independent meant that I was available to receive constructive feedback and also have constructive conversations and build ideas. This, in my opinion, added to the overall quality of the music video as it meant that different ideas were explored.
However in the editing stages I had no audience feedback at all and had to complete the editing process completely independently.

Upon completion of my music video I showed it to all my classmates for post production feedback. The music video was overall positively received, however an error spotted by my classmates was a lip syncing error in one of my scenes. This error was overlooked by me so having audience feedback meant that I could amend my error and have a polished final piece. Another piece of feedback I received that one of the scene transitions I made looked really tacky, happened too fast and overall did not fit the rest of the music video. I took this feed back and went back into Sony Vegas and chose a more simplistic approach to the transition. So instead of the image squeezing from the right of the screen to the left it instead is just a flat image with fade transition at the end. This change improved the flow of the music video and gave it a more completed feel.

Task 13: Evaluation Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question 2

The combination between my ancillary texts and main product has been very successful. My digipack, magazine advert and final music video show a clear and strong connection to one another.
To begin with my magazine advert and digipack strongly and clearly convey the theme and overall tone of what my main product is.

Firstly in the digipack we can clearly see what the main products narrative is going to centred around. Four out of the six pages of the digipack are that of the characters, each character having two pictures of them. By doing this you can tell or at least confidently assume that the music video will be a story about these two characters.
Furthermore each picture of the characters show a clear emotion which connotes the themes and tone of the music video, therefore making it an effective combination.
To develop this point, in one photo we see the male shirtless naked and exposed from the chest up. This is a striking piece of imagery and is added to the fact that the colour is an emotionless black and white, however the only colour in the scene is the blood dripping from his eyes almost like tears and the snake constricting around his neck. All of this imagery combines to create a flurry of negative emotions which perfectly links to my main product as it is about domestic abuse and the failure of a relationship.

The front cover of my digipack is that of the female character with the words "Tainted" running across the top and "love" along the bottom. This links to my main product as it is the title of the music video/song. Furthermore the back cover features the album song list, bar code + record company and then it has "Alex Dean's Tainted love" written vertically on each of the sides. This is an effective combination to my main product as it shows who the artist/creator of the song is.

Another clear connection to the main product through the magazine advert and digipack is also made. This was done by featuring the song name on both the magazine advert and digipack, not only this but I also included the album cover onto the magazine advert to further strengthen the connection. In addition to this I also made an effort the keep the imagery used on the digipack and magazine advert related, so on the magazine advert I chose an image of both the male and female characters looking away into the sunset. Again this is a good combination as it stays true to the theme I am trying to send, looking out into the sunset creates the feeling of uncertainty and insecurity. Lastly by featuring both characters I am again strengthening the link on what my main product is going to be about.

Using the same font on both my digipack and magazine advert also helped combine the ancillary texts with the main product, this is because it establishes a clear artistic/aesthetic link between the two, which therefore makes it easier to relate them to each other. Not only this but it also meant that my work looked more competent and professional than it otherwise would have with instead using an array of fonts that don't compliment each other.
***real reference

Task 13: Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My music video both develops and challenges forms and conventions of a typical music video. Andrew Goodwin’s theory states that there are five main key components to a music video. Those key components being Genre characteristics, relationship between lyrics and visuals, relationship between music and visuals, inter textual references and the ‘emphasis of looking’.

For genre characteristics I conform to the con ventions of a typical pop music video. This is because my music video is about love and bad breakups/heart break, although I go a step further by including more serious themes the convention of love and heartbreak is still the base foundation on which my music video is built on.
This theme of love and heartbreak can be seen all over the industry, but a couple examples include the music videos “Blank space” by Taylor swift and “We found love” by Rihanna. Both of which I analysed for my research and planning. These music videos, like mine, show the extremes at both ends of a relationship, from really happy and in love to depressed/angry and violent/abusive.
Another conformity is that pop music videos like to use suggestive imagery and connotations in their music videos. Things such as using colours to display emotions such as red lipstick connoting towards lust and love and black/white connoting to depression and a lack of emotion. I utilise both of these connotations in my music video to express its themes.

In regards to the relationship between lyrics and visuals a clear link can be made between the narrative and lyrics of the music video.  This can be seen in a shot where the lyrics of the music video are being translated visually through an over the shoulder shot. The lyrics are translated in the form of a text message via phone screen. This relationship, however, is quite literal in regards to the lyrics. Less obvious relationships between lyrics and visuals are also made. Such as when the lyric “Take my tears and that's not nearly all” is played, on screen this is visualised through self-harm and the flowing of blood.

Relationship between music and visuals are also made in my music video. I use music in a variety of ways in my music video. One example of this would be using the music as timing for cuts. The song tainted love has a very distinct pair of beats that are used rhythmical and periodically throughout the song which gives the song its distinct flare. The two beats are very impactful thuds, I use this impact to integrate/complement a series of Jump cuts that cut at the start of each short beat.
My music also develops the conventions of a typical music video through how it is edited. Towards the end the relation between music video and visual is expressed through how the visuals are editing. As the music video nears the end and the music starts to slow down the visuals that can be seen are scenes previously seen in the music video but now in reverse, this connotes/suggests the desire to undo what has happened and to amend the past.

Furthermore Inter textual references are made through things such as mise en scene. Notably biblical references are made. This can visually be seen through a scene where a snake is wrapped around an apple. This references to Adam and Eve and their corruption to sin, this idea of corruption and sin fits perfectly into the message I wish to deliver in my music video as it is about the deterioration of love and relationships.