Evaluation Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback was essential for the development in my project for numerous reasons: 

• In my rough cut I was able to improve and develop further ideas, when it came to changing my music video and planning my narrative. 
• I was able to improve my ancillary tasks and  main task such as the digipak and magazine advert along with the music video itself.
•  Allowed me to know if my ancillary tasks and main task were connected and showed a clear link to the main task.
• Allowed me to discover how my original target audience responded to my main and ancillary tasks

There were two types of feedback that I used, formal and informal. For my formal feedback, this was where I recorded down answers to questionnaires that I submitted to some of my target audience for feedback using survey monkey. With this formal feedback I asked 5 different individuals for some feedback on my ancillary tasks and main tasks. I only gave the 5 people that I wanted the feedback from the link to my survey to complete so that I knew it was my target audience rather than strangers.

My informal feedback was that which I did not record and was more of a constructive criticism which was verbal from my teacher (Mrs Mcluckie)  it was given in the construction process when making my main and ancillary tasks. However, I cannot provide evidence to support this.

The earliest form of feedback that I received was from my rough cut video which consisted of written notes produced by the class which were constructive criticism notes. I did not ask any specific questions on the rough cut they simply supplied me with a list of improvements and things that were effective in the video. 

 From this feedback I found that there were some good points to it however, it pointed out a lot of areas of improvement in my music video, this then meant that my rough cut music video was not effective enough for my target audience.

Problematic areas in the rough cut were that it:

• Was too dark in most shots
• People couldn't understand the point of the mask
• Lots of shots were too long in length
• Narrative was very confusing

Using these obtained qualitative responses I was able to review my rough cut video and decide where to go from there regarding improvements and planning.

I applied the following to my planning of my new music video:

• a clear defined narrative which is not difficult to understand
• a music video which is entertaining and keeps the target audience engaged and interested
• enabling the work to look professional enough as if it were released into the real media world

After this, I decided to take a risky option and change both my idea and my song choice all together so that I could work on a new idea and apply what I have learnt from my rough cut feedback to this new idea. With informal feedback from other students, (however, again informal due to lack of evidence) I asked there opinions on my new idea, which most seemed appealed by and so I began to work on my new music video, focusing on the feedback given to me from my rough cut to help guide me in my new idea for the final cut.

For my Final Cut feedback the usefulness of previous feedback proved to be advantageous to my new music video. I showed my Final Cut video along with both main and ancillary tasks to 5 new different individuals who where classed as my target audience and then had them fill out a survey on the ancillary and music video.

There were clear improvements as my statistics form the questions in the surveyed showed a more positive result than those received before:

This shows a dramatic improvement, where before in my rough cut my audience commented on my video not having a clear enough narrative. Now the results from my target audience for my Final Cut suggest that the narrative was clear and easily understandable, showing a massive change to my previous work in the rough cut.

Overall interest in the music video showed that it was above satisfactory and more towards the higher end of the scale which suggests that my target audience found my final cut to be enjoyable and interesting which is what I had hoped for as I intended for my music video to have this effect on the target audience.

The results here prove that I was able to maintain a consistent house style throughout my main and ancillary tasks.

I found that audience feedback was also effective for my ancillary tasks during the construction process. This feedback which I received during my production of the magazine advert and the digipak again, were all informal and so I have no evidence to support this. However, the advantage of informal feedback is that I am able to have a rapid response during production of my work. This usually came from students, who fitted in with my target audience, who gave me feedback on the work by showing me or telling me improvements. One example is from the digipak where a student suggested to me "Split that photo in half so each character is on a new panel" which I was able to do immediately in modifying my digipak. 

Since producing my ancillary tasks, I was then able to collect formal feedback through qualitative data from which my target audience had given reactions to the print productions of my ancillary task. This can be seen below in Question 5, Question 6 and Question 7. 

Promotion of the band through the digipak was essential and from the comments it suggests that I have made this connection well. 

I used a mix of both qualitative data (written comments and own opinions) and quantitative data (statistics and trends) to give me a more detailed response to my target audiences view on the music video, magazine advert and digipak.

I believe I could have improved my audience feedback by obtaining more formal feedback during the production process of my ancillary tasks, as all I was relying on was simply informal feedback. I would also prefer to ask a larger number of people considered to be within my target audience so I can get more reliable data which is more valid due to the sample size, although five people is still enough to survey my work, realistically I would have preferred ten to obtain more opinions, as not everyone shares the same views.

From looking at my rough cut feedback, and my final cut's feedback, it is evident that audience feedback can be used in the development of effective media products especially when it comes to attracting the suited target audience, this has been shown through my audience feedback through my target audiences responses to my questionnaires.

Evaluation Question 2

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

Prior to creating my main task and my ancillary tasks, I knew that I had to make sure that they were all linked in some way by combining all of the tasks effectively. By doing this, it will help my music video's promotion and the band promotion effectively. I also had to consider the differences involved in the music video, digipak and magazine advert, and through this I wanted to build a distinctive house style which could be easily recognised and associated with each piece of my work. I achieved this by numerous things such as: keeping the colour schemes constant, keeping fonts the same, using the same actors in the music video and for my digipak and magazine advert and the way I portrayed my cast outside of the music video for example on the front cover promotion on the digipak.

For my music video and ancillary tasks to be effective it relied on how my target audience reacted and how attracted they were to the the work. This meant that I would have to have a specific target audience for all of my promotions, or a few different target audiences that would find the work appealing.

I began by looking at many different music videos to help my understanding of conveying a narrative and how to exploit the narrative effectively, I applied this to my own music video. My own style for the music video was to convey a "lost and found" style, which included dependency on lighting as I used low key lighting for areas filled with "lost", and high key lighting for areas where there was the "found" element. Along with editing in the music video which helped to covey the story in the "search". Additionally, the photography I used for my digipak and magazine advert showed the narrative effectively.

Low Key Lighting at the beginning of the music video

Showing High Key lighting when the two found each other at the end of the music video.

My magazine advert for the promotion of the music video shares the same image as that on the digipak. The photo is of the two cast members placed back to back from each other to show a separated effect from each other. By doing this it is reiterating the narrative of the music video and puts the focus entirely on what the music video is about.  By having both characters across the three different promotions tells the audience that these two actors are the main focus. The image also highlights the emotions of the characters in there desperation for one another, therefore, I hope that the emotions and feelings created by the two actors in both the music video and ancillary tasks are noticed and the audience take on some similar emotions for the two cast in the music video.

digipak front cover

magazine advert front cover

To maintain some sort of continuity in my project I kept to just two fronts in the ancillary tasks and to maintain a form of recognition. This also means that I can use iconography effectively so that my music video builds a distinct image.

magazine advert font

This font was used on the Digipak back cover when the track list was added. I kept this font for the magazine advert as I felt it was more decorative. 

This font was different to that on the magazine advert due to the drop shadow I used on the text. The drop shadow was used to help the text stand out. 

I also added into both my magazine advert and the digipak a black fading gradient around the edges for added effect but also to make the image appear darkened as the photo suggests that they both still searching for each other. The gradient was added to every panel in the digipak and around the photo on the magazine advert. This helped me maintain a house style that could keep the continuity and recognition across the ancillary tasks. 

I feel that I managed to create an effective brand image for my music video "Way Back Home" through the use of my music video, magazine advert and digipak. I managed to achieve this through suitable developments and using continuity in my promotions. 

Evaluation Question 4

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

Evaluation Question 1

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

Feedback from video

To get some feedback on my Final Cut of my video the whole of the class got together and we sat and watched everyone's video's where we reviewed and commented good and bad points also where areas could be improved. 

I managed to get some feedback from this activity myself, I ended up with 18 pieces of feedback; some more detailed than others, but helpful none the less.

What was good about my video:

• Good use of "MTV" logo
• the video "flows" 
• Cuts to the beat
• Narrative was clear and consistent
• Shots were complimented by transitions 
• Actor is well presented
• Lyrics are linked with actions, especially at "If I close my eyes"
• Good voyeurism 
• Transitions are used appropriately 
• Narrative works well with the lyrics
• Complimentary mise en scene with the location
• Range of different shots used
• Effective camera angles
• Lighting was good due to contrast of the dark.
• Good camera movement
• Actor/ actress showed enthusiasm
• Ending pieced the video together well

Areas of improvement:

• Some areas were dark in places- this was mentioned on more than one occasion
• Some camera movement was a bit unsteady at times
• More eye contact was needed
• Narrative was slightly confusing until the end 
• A bit too much walking
• The actor could maybe sing some lyrics
• Some shots slightly long

From looking at the reviews of the feedback I had been given, overall, I was very pleased! The feedback I received was constructive and showed me areas which I could improve on and what worked well in the video. I think the good outweighs the bad here so I am not too worried about making any drastic changes to the video. 

Changing my idea appeared to be a good move, as compared to my Rough Cut the reviews have improved and shown that with a bit of more time, planning and effort the outcome is greater. 

ADD PHOTOS OF FEEDBACK AND CLASS PHOTO.

slideshow?

Before and After Photos

These are the before and after photos from my Digipak and Magazine Advert

 FRONT COVER

Before

After

Here I used the same image to present the magazine advert and the digipak front cover, this was for recognition of the band and for the band Bag Raiders to have a remembered and recognisable promotion package. 

INSIDE PANELS

Before

After

I split the photo in two for each different inside panel of my digipak, for the "separated" feel, and kept the house style consistent by adding the gradient around the edges. 

BACK COVER

Before

Please note: This is not the exact photo as below, (as i cannot find it) but it is similar

After

 I edited the background and made the image smaller, so the focus was more direct on both of the characters rather than having the background as distarction

Construction in my Magazine

I first began by making a paper template of what I had planned for my magazine to look like. I did this so it would mean I would spend less time playing around in Photoshop and wasting time on what I think would look good. So by looking at other Magazine Adverts I constructed my own "non-digitally".

For the construction of my magazine I started by choosing the image that I thought would be best for my magazine advert. Therefore I decided the best way it could be recognised by fans and the target audience would be to use the same image as that on the album cover. So I used the original image that had no effects on it to give me some versatility and to make the poster more manageable to edit to my desire. 

Firstly I put the photo onto a transparent new document that was sized A4 as that would be the conventional size in a magazine. Then I added the title and the name of the album, to keep the house style constant and again for recognition. I kept the font "Port Credit", and even added a small thin dividing line between the title and the album name. I put this in place to make the band stand out more. I feel this quality boosts the bands promotion and for the promotion of the album as well.

Next I added the "rating stars" which I used to show people what was "thought" of the album by recognised music companies; again to help promote the album and to show audiences that it was a highly rated album, and to show that it must be a good and worthy album to buy. This star rating is also repeated lower down, where music companies are mentioned and there is even quotes from certain music companies which are highly recognised. Although these are in a smaller print they still have a purpose, as once the viewers attention is caught they'll read the whole of the poster and the questioning of whether the album is a good one or not, is answered through these reviews.

Following this is the release date was added and I changed the font to "Opifico" and kept the writing in capital letters to highlight the release date and so it would be the next thing that catches the viewers attention when looking at this poster. I used the smaller, thin lines again to give a waterfall effect to the poster in that when the audience look at it, their eyes are guided down the page and they read all of the relevant information; title, album name, rating, dates and what media its available on. I next added underneath the date, the medium that the song is available on, for example, CD, in special edition and on download, this present the audience with a range of ways which they can choose to download the song. Some prefer download, some still prefer buying an actual CD. This gives the audience the ability to have a choice and also allows the promotion of the band to go further as on some download sites, there are the "Viewers also bought" and "Recommended for You" section which some people may discover the album, if only by chance.

Following this, I added in another "dividing line" to separate the the dates of release from the tracks that are included in the album, these are usually, more well known songs that audiences and viewers recognise.  Underneath this I have added reviews and comments of other music magazine and recognised reviewers. This shows the viewers a range of opinions through different opinions and thoughts, so there is a range of reviews instead of the one, to rely on. 

Finally, I added in some little extras. In the bottom left corner I added the HMV symbol, as its the only record shop available today and is a worldwide organisation that people know of. This advertises not only the HMV stores but also the album as people will know where to find the album. In the centre I added the record label so people knew who were supporting the band in their recordings, although not a very well known record label it can still be googled, and people will come across it in one way or another. In the bottom left I added the band's official website, for promotion not only of the album, but for social feeds, news, updates and tour dates.

Putting all of these components together I wanted to see what the magazine would look like if also displayed out of a magazine, therefore, I decided to place the poster on a bus stop advert to see what it looked like. Using Photoshop and the distort tool I was able to produce this below. I think the advert looks professional and goes well on both a larger and smaller print scale.