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

In the age of new technology, it is important to use digital technology to help research, plan and evaluate my project. Throughout my entire researching, planning and evaluation, I have constantly used the aid of digital technologies to help look my project to make my project appealing, creative and so it connects with the audience visually.

Not only does the aid of digital technologies do that, but also makes researching and planning much more easier and faster to complete.


Most of my research was done looking through websites such as myspace.com, bandcamp.com. unsigned.com and youtube.com

(www.myspace.com/)

On Myspace, there are a range of songs available of an artist. There are videos, pictures. contact details, genre, blogs and tour dates all available.

(www.unsigned.com/amberrubarth)

Unsigned.com is specifically a site to find a very large database of unsigned artists. This made it easier for me to find an artist, and if I had found an artist elsewhere, I could check on here to see if they are unsigned.

When I found an artist I believed I would be suitable for my music video, I collated the artists I found together and justified why I should or shouldn't used them on www.blogger.com

For inspiration, I used a site called Polyvore.com. Here I was able to compose collages of outfits, atmospheres and fonts.

This is an outfit I had experimented around to see if it was suitable for the genre. I decided to use the soft colours and feminine prints.

Here is another collage more specific for the music video. I have decided to go for more casual clothing and a pretty vest top. This has been adapted from the first Polyvore collage. I believe that Polyvore is really useful to visually looking at a set and see if the combination of mise-en-scene goes together.

Again, I have adapted the clothing and props for the music video once last time. I have also included a picture of the setting in the background. I have the blue dress, the similar greenery setting, the tinsel and the fireworks included at the end of the music video.

Here, I have collated a range of different fonts to use for my digipak and magazine advert. I showed this collage to a range of people who had seen the music video and asked them which font was most suitable to the artist. This was an effective way of, again, showing my choices visually.

For the filming process, I used equipment such as a video camera to film the actual music video. I also used the Blogger app and my iPhone to take pictures whilst on set and track my progress and what I have done for filming.

After filming, I used Final Cut Express to edit my music video. I learn a lot of useful techniques that I didn't know before. For example, I used a number of layered videos, to separate the narrative with the performance parts. Then I used a marker to mark certain points of the clip, so the music matches up with Amber "singing".

I think that learning these techniques was very beneficial as it helped my music video look professional and very precise.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After I had finished my music video and the ancillary texts (the digipak and the magazine advertisement), I decided to get some feedback from people that would fit into the "target audience" of the music video.


I attained a range of feedback, by constructing questionnaires and directly asking people to watch my music video and point out the strengths and weaknesses of all of the products. The purpose of getting audience feedback is very helpful, as it allows me to directly talk to the people who are interested in the folk genre and find out what they like and dislike about the music video.


The audience that I have received feedback from consist of people from the ages between 16 and 29, both male and female.


Here are the strengths and weaknesses that were commented on for my music video.


Strengths:

• "The colours composed in the video are very complimentary. I have seen oranges and yellows used often in folk music videos. I think it's because they are very warm and welcoming - just like folk music tends to be." - It is good to hear that point because I had specifically chosen the backdrop for the warm and rich colours.
• "I like the tinsel and the journey she follows through with it. It's very festive and different. Almost like she is following the tinsel into another season because it looks like it's autumn in  the video." - This means that the audience are understanding the symbolism behind the music video. There is the idea of seasons represented in a lot of folk music videos.
• "The lip-syncing the singer displays in the music video is full of emotion." - I am glad the lip-syncing has been effective. It is important for the artist to convey the emotions of the song in order to really connect with the audience. Folk artists usually write their own music, so I felt that it was important to show the artist has a good feel for the music.
• "I like how the performance part of the video and the "narrative journey" join together at some point because they have the same or similar location."  - This must mean the narrative and performance are well intermingled with one another, which gives the music video a decent structure that makes sense.

Weaknesses:

• "Some of the performance clips are quite long." - I think it is important that this has been pointed out, because in the future, I can remember to cut certain clips shorter to fit the music and make the video flow better.
• "The end is a little unclear towards the end.... the change from day to night for the fireworks does not fit in clearly." - If I was to re-edit this video, I would make the ending slightly more clearer in order for the audience to understand.

For my ancillary texts, I cut out printed pictures of my digipak and magazine advert and placed it on a large piece of sugar paper. Then, I asked people to comment on aspects of both texts and see what they thought of it. These are people who have also seen my music video.

I received a lot of positive feedback on my magazine advert and digipak.

"Professional-looking back panel." - digipak

"Eye-catching text" - advert

"Typography connected between all products"- both

However, one comment I received was that the tree on the CD should have been used more throughout the magazine advert and the digipak because it looks very symbolic.

In regards of which channel my music video would be on, I was told the following:

I agreed and felt these were appropriate too because all of these channels feature artists such as Mumford & Sons, Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, Damien Rice and Ben Howard - who all fall under the acoustic/folk genre.

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

A musician tends to have an "image" they represent. Their music videos, adverts and album all have similar themes that relate to each other.

The three products I have created for my artist is; the music video, magazine advert and digipak. In order to make the artist's image thorough, I have involved similar themes in all three products.

There are many recurring themes that I have involved in all three products:

1.     The leaves: they were very obvious in the music video as they played as a backdrop for the performance part of the music video. This gives the music video very “natural” sort of display that helps emphasize the laid-back, humble attitude of the music video. Again, this would refer back to “folk” and acoustic music being “feel-good”. The leaves appear in the music video, album cover and magazine advert.

2.     Trees: Again, re-iterating nature and showing “growth”. If I look closer at the lyrics of “Pilot”, the line “I’m slowly pouring out into the room and I can’t control it…” relates to the musician unable to control her imagination, as it is a natural thing. A tree appears on the CD and in the music video but does not follow through onto the magazine advert.

The music sheets scattered at the bottom left-hand corner of the magazine advert relate back to the beginning of the music video when Amber is trying to create music but is failing. It also emphasizes that she is an “artist” and perhaps not a product of a record label because she is writing her own music.

There are constant links between creativity and nature in the music video. However, in the magazine advert, the background is hardwood flooring. Although this is artificially created by man, it is associated with “wood” and once again, directing the viewer back to nature. The earthy tones (browns, yellows, orange) that I have used on this ancillary text have enabled me to keep a very laid-back representation of the artist. Amber’s make-up is very natural in the picture, which might show female empowerment by being herself.

The colours used in the magazine advert are again, similarly to “Pilot” advert, magazine and digipak, very earthy with colours like brown, beige and hues of orange from the fields in the background.

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

During my extensive research in "genre" of  artists and their music videos, there are a number of things I noticed about the folk/acoustic/alternative genre.

These hybrid genres all have one thing in common; their music videos tend to be either abstract (with hidden symbolic meaning) and/or have a very feel-good vibe to it.

I believe that the music video I created for "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth tends to conform rather than challenge the conventions of a folk/acoustic music video. Although I have added my own little creations, concepts and ideas into it, the music video is not too controversial.

I believe that the reason for this is that the folk genre cherishes the concept of positive-thinking, self-fulfillment  and warm vibes.

I decided to closely analyse the lyrics of "Pilot" by Amber Rubarth to look into the meaning of the song which I concluded as trying to find yourself and be inspired. From here, I began to think of various ways of conveying that message visually.

I looked into music videos by several artists, and here is one that I felt was closely relevant to the mood of my music video.

The music video for Neopolitan Dreams by Australian indie artist, Lisa Mitchell, has a very supernatural yet delicate vibe to her music video. There are a few frames in the music video that are similar to the music video for "Pilot".

These two frames are similar because of the floating butterflies/paper cranes. This imitates a slightly "childish" and innocent theme, which could suggest going back to childhood and experiencing things that were once simple. 

The top screenshot is from Corinne Bailey Rae's music video for "Put Your Records On". The colours are very warm, and it is shot in the summer. Usually, when the music video is set outside, the weather plays a very prominent role of displaying the mood through the weather. Although Rae has used summer in hers, I have used autumn in mine. The colours on both screenshots are significantly warm and welcoming, almost as if welcoming everyone to come and listen to the music. Traditional folk music involved many townsfolk gathering around and playing music together for entertainment; which is what I have tried to achieve with my music video.

You can see what both screenshots have in common... the bed and the acoustic guitar. This may show the dedication these artists put towards creating music for their fans and for their own artistic benefits, as they are working from home, as well as in the studio with producers.

Alternative music, and the folk genre tend to convey a lot of symbolism in their music video. The top screenshot is from Feist's music video for "I Feel It All", where it features fireworks throughout. In my music video, the fireworks at the end act as a metaphor, "I need a spark to ignore my pilot light". Folk, indie and acoustic artists always have a lot of symbolism and metaphor in their music videos.

For example, in MGMT's music video for "Kids", it features a toddler seeing monsters on the street as his unaware mother carries him around, completely oblivious to the fact that he is crying. Obviously, the monsters are not really there and represent today's society and the lack of innocence in the world today. The mother is oblivious to any of this, and the child is being scared or intimated by a society that breeds social expectations.

This has similarly been used in my own music video for "Pilot". Amber following the tinsel represents her creative journey. As she goes outside, sees the world and reacquaints herself with the natural world. This is mixed with a supernatural element (going through the door to end up at another place, the endless tinsel, the random notes), similar to the "Kids" music video with the monsters.

The supernatural elements of the video poses questions for the audience; 

"Who is placing the notes?"

"Where did the tinsel come from?"

This is the director's commentary I created for the music video, describing my choices on aspects such as costume, setting, themes and lighting.

New Edits to the Magazine

I have finally added the finishing touches to the magazine poster. These include:

• A picture of "Amber Rubarth" in the photo frame
• Old music sheets
• Record label logo
• Text with information about the album
• Where the album is available; iTunes, Play.com, etc

Here is a screenshot of what has been created so far...

However, there is one last detail that I need to do add which is the picture of the digipak next to the photo frame so the consumers know what they are looking for when they see it online.

Making the magazine on Photoshop

I have started to create my poster on Adobe Photoshop. The "atmosphere" of Rubarth's album is very homely and about self-satisfaction. The album's sound is less to be compared to "glamour" but more to do with it being "mellow" and "relaxed". This is the type of record that would be listened to at home on warm late-spring and summer days. I have decided to make the background old, wooden flooring. These were some of the choices.

Out of the three types of wooden flooring, I picked the darkest and stretched it to fit the International Paper size.

I have put on an old frame to represent "old memories" and the autumn leaves from the album cover and old lined paper from the album cover also. This makes the poster and album synchronous. It all represents a theme of nostalgia, self-belief and rebirth (the seasons).

To this, I will be adding in:

• A picture of the digipak
• A picture of "Amber Rubarth" in the photo frame
• Old music sheets
• Record label logo
• Text with information about the album
• Where the album is available; iTunes, Play.com, etc.