Evaluation Summary

Lauren Bailey

Question 1. In what ways does your media

product use, develop or challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
Generally we decided to follow forms and conventions of
real media products rather than to challenge or reject
them as we wanted to ensure we created a successful
music video. We also wanted our genre of music to be
obvious through the accommodation of codes and
conventions for the genre, and wanted to fulfill what was
expected of that genre. The main convention we followed
was the utilisation of lip-synching throughout the music
video. We did this as we wanted to include elements of
performance , as well as narrative to give our music video
a dual-themed approach. As our own target audience we
also decided that these were the types of music videos we
liked best, and when conducting audience research, found
that this was the most popular style of video.

We followed conventional use of lip-synching and adopted the dual-themed

narrative and performance based music video as this was most popular
with our core target audience.

We also decided to follow more specific conventions typical of

the genre we were working in. For example, we decided to
adopt low-key lighting and dark settings, as this was in
keeping with the Indie-rock genre. For example, when
conducting research we looked at music videos, such as
Biblical by Biffy Clyro and Bastilles- Of the Night. These both
featured dark locations, and also presented a rather dark
preferred reading. We took inspiration from this, as we
noticed this was a key convention of indie-rock videos,
whereby a deeper/hidden meaning was leading the narrative
storyline. We decided we too wanted to do this in our own
video in order to make the music video more appealing to our
core target audience. The videos also featured conventional
mise-en-scene, for example, costume. The band members in
the Biblical video are wearing black skinny jeans and leather
jackets. We also wanted to emanate this rock-chick look for
our artist- dressing her in leather, velvet and other stylish
materials, which would both appeal to our target audience, as
well as follow indie-rock genre conventions.

We took inspiration for mise-en-scene from Biffy Clyro and The 1975, who
adopted dark locations and conventional indie-rock costume.

We also followed conventions of both our ancillary tasks

(the album digipak and website homepage) in order to
successfully attract our core target audience. For
example, the digipak contained images of our artist, as
well as a barcode and logo. Our website homepage
included a sliding banner of pictures, links to social
media sites and information regarding our artist. By
following conventions of the form we were able to
create a professional, realistic ancillary task.

We followed conventions of album

digipaks and websites.

Question 2. How effective is the combination

of your main product and ancillary texts?
I believe our media package, as a whole, has been very
successful in complimenting each individual product. For
example, by creating a house style we made it obvious to
our audience that all our media products were linked, and
created synergy between products. By using similar
colours, images and fonts on all products it was obvious to
our audience that they were all linked- indicated by the
fact that 16/20 participants stated that it was obvious our
media products were linked in an audience feedback
survey. In our main product we used many of the same
fashions and locations that were seen in our ancillary
tasks. For example, we incorporated images of London
both in our video (clips of London), as well on our album
digipak (the CD cover of city lights in London).

We made sure it was obvious to our target audience that our products
were linked- e.g. the incorporation of photography of London in the
video as well as on the album digipak.

Our ancillary tasks aim to compliment our main media

product, and by adopting a similar house style our
artists brand identity is easily recognisable. On our
website homepage we included links to YouTube and
social networking sites, which would encourage
audiences to listen to our artists music, and therefore,
promote our main product. When researching real media
texts we saw that this was heavily utilised. For example,
The 1975s website had links to social media, as well as
various different platforms on which they could access
their music- reinforcing the aim of such ancillary tasks in
working as a promotional tool for the artist/band. Our
ancillary tasks provide extra information about our artist,
and create interest in her musical styling- they provide
the basis for our artists image, which is reinforced by our
music video. Our ancillary tasks capture the essence of
an indie-rock artist and links with the identity struggles
of the music video.

We made sure links to social media and places to buy the artists
music were clear, following conventions of the website homepage.

For the front cover of our album digipak we took

inspiration from London Grammars album If You Wait.
We liked the use of mixed colours and blurring, and
thought it was interesting that little was revealed about
the music. We thought the logo we had created was
iconic, and was used on all our media products,
creating synergy. When creating the ancillary tasks we
wanted to bring in elements of our music video so that
the audience will be able to remember what they have
seen and recognise who the artist is. Overall I believe
that not only do the music video and ancillary tasks
work together but they compliment one another also.
They clearly show genre, style and selling point with
the use of colour, font and photography.

We took inspiration to create a

blurred effect from London
Grammar.

Question 3. What have you learned from your

audience feedback?
Our audience feedback has been particularly
important this year in making sure that we attract
our core target audience and appeal to their
stylistic preferences. We learned from our audience
feedback what the strengths and weaknesses were
of both our ancillary tasks and main product, and
on how we could improve upon this. Our audience
feedback was generally positive, and taught us that
our main product and ancillary tasks looked
professional and fitted our chosen genre. This was
important to us as we spent a lot of time
researching real media products in order to follow
codes and conventions of the genre.

Our audience feedback indicated that they thought our album digipak
and website homepage were professional and fitted the Indie-Rock
genre.

We found that positive comments varied from the

successful lip-syncing and also the styling of our artist. Our
audience feedback also told us that the narrative of the
music video was clear to our target audience, indicated by
the fact that their responses to an audience feedback
survey highlighted key themes within the video e.g.. Of
happiness and identity. Our audience feedback therefore
told us that we had been successful in conveying our
preferred reading. However, there was one participant
surveyed who didnt know what the video was about, and
felt that they didnt understand anything about our artist.
This concerned us as this was vital to us, however, we
realised that this may be based more on personal
preference and interpretation than based on how successful
our media product had been. Collecting audience feedback
throughout our coursework enabled us to make sure we
improved upon any elements of the music video and
ancillary tasks our target audience thought were not to a
sufficient standard.

One participant surveyed was particularly harsh towards our

media package- however, we decided to appreciate differences in
opinion and personal preference.

Gaining comments from our teachers and peers meant

we were able to improve our media coursework, and by
getting feedback after these improvements we were
able to see if we had been successful in making these
adjustments. For example, on our individual draft album
digipaks, one common comment was that the writing
on the digipak was not clear due to the colour and font
size. When creating our overall album digipak we made
sure the text was easy to read by using striking colours,
clearer fonts and plain backgrounds. We then collected
feedback on this, and the comments highlighted upon
the fact that the text was more legible. This is just one
example of how audience feedback taught us what
worked well and on how to improve on existing media
products.

We made our fonts clear and legible,

as audience feedback indicated the
draft lacked clarity.

Question 4. How did you use media

technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
Media technologies enabled us to create our main
product and ancillary tasks and therefore played a
vital role in our coursework. In the research and
planning stages of our coursework we used Web
2.0 (YouTube) to learn about conventions of the
Indie-rock genre. This enabled us with a better
understanding of the codes we needed to follow,
challenge and develop in order to create a
successful media package. The planning stage of
the coursework meant we had to use sites such as
Wordle and DaFont in order to establish a brand
identity and house style for our artist.

We researched real
media texts using
YouTube and created
our house style through
DaFont and Wordle.

Wordpress was also another blogging website that was of

vital importance to us during the planning stage as we kept
up-to-date blog posts and video diaries in order to track our
progress and to develop our initial ideas. During the
construction stage of our coursework the main media
technology we used was digital cameras and editing
software, e.g. Final Cut Pro and iMovie. We used these not
only for the video but also for the ancillary tasks (album
digipak), which allowed us to edit photographs of our artist
and create the digipak itself. The editing software also
enabled us to make use of a black and white filter and fade
to colour in the music video and allowed us to create
effective lip-synching, by putting the song to our artists lipsynching and editing it in time with the song, in order to
make it look professional and realistic. At the evaluation
stage of our coursework, Apple Macs and Apple computers
were a vital source of technology as we used programs
such as iMovie to film and edit answers to our evaluation
questions.

Some of the media technologies that were

vital to us during the planning and
construction stages of our media
coursework.

For example, recording voice overs required this media

technology, and we were able to insert images and clips
from videos into our answers in order to visually inform
our audience of the process of creating our media
package. We also used more complex media
technologies this year compared to AS. For example, we
had to use Photoshop (an image editing software) and
Wix (a website making site). These were completely
new to us and so we had to learn how to use these
technologies effectively. We decided to turn to the
internet for advice on how to use these technologies,
watching self-help guides. This required us to be more
independent than last year and to have more
confidence in our abilities as media students.

We used complex media technologies

which required self-teaching,
increasing our confidence and
independence.