Evaluation Question Two Written

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

When I was designing each of the elements for my ancillary products, I was careful to consider correlation between each of them, consistency to my theme, and features which would appeal to my target audience. 

I asked people who fell into my target demographic, what they would expect to see on the front of an album cover or on a poster, and the main responses that I got were; “something alternative, arty, something that would stand out to me but not necessarily because it’s covered in colour or shocking cartoons”; “keep it simple and chilled out”; “something different, something that reflects the ideas in the video”. 

My original plan was to use Maria as the ‘poster girl’ for all of my texts, as she was my performer in the video- this was a clear idea to jump to, however, I was unable to collaborate with her for a photoshoot due to locations and timings, and so I had to use a completely new model. This is something that I would change were I to do it again, but none the less I am more than happy with the results I got. When it comes to the two posters there is a clear difference in tone. The tour poster is very different to the album release poster, and yet both of them relate back to my digipack, which in turn, relates back to my video. The overall theme of my music video was very clinical, whitewashed almost, and so I replicated the mise-en-scene in my photoshoot by having my model wear very casual clothes, and by using very bright, white, directional lighting just as I did in the main product. The style of photography used reflects the mood of a lot of the songs on the album, there is a running theme of emotional detachment if you read between the lines, and this was something which I endeavoured to use as a base for my products. 

Additionally, a concept which I planned on exploring right at the beginning of my video was the idea of ‘old school’ 3D image layering. Using red and blue toned layers in order to create a quirky, alternative effect. The idea was that it would not only reflect the nature of the genre codes I am conforming to- I have mentioned in an earlier evaluation question the use of light and effects used to create a warped or distorted ambience, but would also tie in to the idea of the character in the video and her two sides of emotions. Two personalities almost. Equally, it would play into the underlying theme of emotional detachedness. I chose to use this effect on my album release poster, as it gave opportunity to really catch onlookers’ eyes and advertise the band as a whole, not just for the single album. 

I think that all of my final products work together well due to the consistency in theme and how it ties in with the mood of many of the songs on the album, songs such as Lisbon and Turn too Dust have very similar codes within them to the song I made the video for, and just as the album tracks tie in together, the ancillary products do as well. Saying this, there are a few bouncier, more pop-rock based songs such as You’re A Germ, Freazy and Bros, thus, I felt that a slight variation in aesthetic would be a good idea- hence the differing posters. The idea of the blue band running across the album design is a way of creating a house style almost, I used a semi opaque blue due to it’s calming and serene nature, in order for it to play into the hands of indie fans.

Evaluation Question One Written

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

During my research for the project, I watched a lot of music videos within the indie-pop genre, including Palma Violets, Nirvana and The Wombats, alongside Wolf Alice, the band I am using for my video. The main points highlighted by the videos which I watched were that indie rock videos often; included elements of distortion in terms of light and editing; used techniques in order to create an alternative atmosphere; and that only fifty percent of the time included live band performance, while most of them did include fragmented pieces. E.g. just the singer, or single members of the band in random/remote locations.     Firstly, lighting came across as very important in the majority of the videos I watched, as it allowed for undertones to be set within the atmosphere. Often, lighting alone was used in order to create a slightly “off-looking” ambience, where there was a sense of something being not quite right. Equally, such techniques were used as a nod towards being under the influence, for example, in the video for 1996 by the Wombats, where a mixture of low key, house-party-style lighting and strobe or disco effects were used alongside blue and green hues to back up the hints of being under the influence shown by the mise-en-scene. As a result of this research, I chose to light my video in a very high-key manner, with bright, white lights that gave off an almost clinical feel. A way in which my video subverts the genre conventions is that it was, as previously mentioned, very high key. This is often not the case with videos of this nature, because of the darker themes that run through the music and the videos, but I wanted to produce a more cinematic piece, one that would effectively get across the concept of struggling with issues such as bipolar disease or multiple personality disorder. I wanted to use a much brighter lit set so that the contrast between her happiness and her distress was clearer to see. One theorist in particular, whose theories were reflected clearly within this idea, is Claude Levi-Strauss, who talks about the use of binary opposites within media texts. For example, in film, the juxtaposition of good vs evil, and in the case of my own music video, the happiness vs sadness, shown through the use of lighting, hue, and contrast altering effects post-filming.     Secondly, something that I noticed was that often, depending on band preference, there wasn’t a heavy influence on live performances in front of crowds or on stage, often, there were simply shots of the singer, sometimes there was no reference to the band performing at all, as in The Wombats’ video for Just give Me  try. The video only includes three shots of the band themselves, they are not in a musical or studio setting at all, but just sat casually as a group while the lead singer lip synchs a line in the chorus. There is one shot near the beginning of a character within the video actually lip synching a line. This was where the original concept for the clip in my video where the actress lip synchs the lyric “slowly I could die” came from. I chose a line that related well to the point I was trying to make with what she was feeling, and had her sing it into the camera instead of my performer. 

Album Release Poster

Final Tour Poster

Poster feedback

Feedback notes:

- "Some text is difficult to read where it blends into the shadowed side of her face." - lighten the ends of words?

- The text may look better were it lined up and justified

- "Use the negative space" - keep blank the area above her, where she is looking to imply space

- "Keep the text in two chunks so that it doesn't come across scrapbook-y"

- "The font is all the same, and all the same size, some variation would make it more interesting to look at"

First Draft Of Tour Poster

This was the first draft of my poster. Initially, I was pleased with the general design concept; the image and the presence of tour dates, but there was clear feedback on certain aspects.

Problems Encountered

It took three filming sessions in order to get all of the shots I needed. One problem that I faced was the availability of my performance actress, in that I had only one evening in which to capture all of the lip synching. This situation was helped by the fact that I was only filming in one location, however it meant that both myself and the model had to be well organised. Another problem which lead on from this was the facts that Maria kept tripping up on the lyrics, in order to deal with this and ensure that we did not waste too much time, I got the lyrics up on a laptop screen and made sure they were easily readable and only during the shots where she wasn't looking at the camera. 

Final Digipack

Album Cover Feedback

Album Cover Drafts

Final Cut Of Video

This is the final cut of my video. Some last minute changes that I made were to switch out the opening shot of the actress lying on the bed for two of her laughing which I reduced the speed on. I prefer these to the original because it leads the audience to expect a happy theme through the video, whilst the colour balance could be interpreted to suggest something darker. The effect I chose to use in differentiation of the two emotions was very high-key and partially desaturated.

From the first rough cut, I acted on some audience feedback. Suggestions were made to slightly alter the timing of the shots at the beginning, as they were not quite in time. I also evened out the desaturation on the laughing shots and made the effect slightly more prominent.

This effect never made it to a final cut, as audience feedback showed that is wasn't particularly effective. The idea was that in the three shots where the performer isn't looking into the camera, this add-on could make it look as though she's being seen through the eyes of the producer. This was just an idea that I thought could make a link between the audience and the star, as it removes her from the artificial scenario and puts her back in the same world as the audience. It was intended to make her feel more real, however, "as there aren't many shots of this nature, it just looked a bit cliche." - spoken feedback.

Rough Cut - Fixed Audio

Fixed audio.

Issues With Filming

In my initial storyboard, the idea for the long introduction was to have a long, wide angle shot looking down on a couple sleeping in bed. The idea behind the shot was that it would show a distance between the main character and the rest of her life, were she to be lying awkwardly and with great distance between herself and her partner. However, there were several problems with capturing this shot.

First of all, it was very difficult to get the camera at the correct angle due to the fact that I had to hold it at arms length and so I couldn't see the shot as I took it. This added a lot to the filming time of our first filming session. The second problem I encountered was an issue with camera stability. It was practically impossible to keep the camera steady for long enough, and when I did manage, my actors struggled to stay still long enough themselves. The way I chose to get around this was to take a still from the shot and stitch it together multiple times.

First Rough Cut

After uploading my first completed rough cut of my video to YouTube, I noticed that the audio was very poor quality. Although it took some time to work out what the issue was, I lowered the levels of the audio to remove the crackling. 

Revised filming schedule

My revised production schedule is as follows. These are the designated filming dates, within which I must try and get all of my filming done. I only have one evening with my performer so we must be very productive.

1st December - rough cut

11th December - final cut and ancillary / poster / CD package

14th December - screenings

25th January - final deadline

Dolly Zoom Test

Although it wasn't in my original plan, I thought that a dolly zoom may be very effective within the context as it would present ideas of distortion, and heavily suggests a spinning head or dizziness which could fit in very effectively with the concept of her struggling to keep on top of what's inside her head.

I didn't use a tripod for the test shots which was clearly a mistake, as there is a strong camera shake throughout. I feel as though the deep green background worked well in contrasting my actress' pale complexion and the washed out nature of the shot, all in all I felt as though the shot could have been very effective. 

Test Footage - Outside Concept

Here is some test footage I put very roughly to the music. During the filming of these shots, I decided that it would be more effective to have the entire video filmed in the same location, in order to hint at the concept of her being trapped within her own mind, however I was curious to see if the shots I had taken were effective regardless. 

Filming Dates

Main dates for filming. These are the dates I have set aside to film the bulk of my video, on top of this  there will be two or three evenings of shooting extra clips for the lip sync parts.

Lighting plan

-Two continuous white lights

-One reflector

Light directly in front of actress / model to illuminate face

Light slightly from above or below - depending on mood of shot - in order to illuminate surroundings - creates clinical feel.

Reflector to cast subtle illumination from behind model, provides 'halo' and increases definition, makes subject stand out from background and prevents everything blending into one.

Shot List

After planning my video in a storyboard, it has become clear that due to the fact that I'm keeping the entire video, a lot of the shots are very similar. In order to avoid a sense of repetition and stop it from becoming boring, I have planned a list of shots in order to increase the variety and simultaneously conform to music video conventions.

-Variation of close ups and mid shots of performer.

-All shots follow general rule of getting closer in as the video progresses.

-Film from different perspectives depending on room space.

-Variation of angles, especially with the actress

     -Low angle shot of her throwing pillow over the camera

     -Extreme close up of performer to create a synthetic relationship between the star and the audience, direct eye contact with camera is important

     -Some shots of performer not looking into the lens- makes it feel as though the audience have been let in on their life, creates a synthetic relationship

     -When the actress is swallowing the tablets and drinking, the shots should be at a consistent distance, however angles can alter

     -Equal amount of close up aggressive shots to close up laughing shots