Question 1

Question 1; in what ways does your media project use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

For my advanced media project I have been given the task to work as a part of a group to create a unique range of promotional materials for an unsigned band. This includes making; a Music video, Poster and Website for the band. Each of these promotional products serves a different role in the success or failure of the band; the music video illustrates the bands song and advertises the band visually as well as audibly. The magazine advert will reach a wide audience by being placed in a public magazine aimed at people with an interest in music and the target audience we are aiming for. The design will be important in order to stand out and be eye catching to attract people’s attention so that it is not just a page people will overlook. The magazine advert will include information such as; the band name, key release or tour dates, tour or album names, reviews and any information regarding a link to the bands web page or social media pages. People will also expect to see key details that will make them associate the band with the promotional products; for example a logo, image or text type. The website and social media sites will have a huge impact on the success of the band as it will be a main site for fans and new followers to gather new and important information involving the band. Websites are a great way to advertise bands as many people use the internet and it will be available to a very wide audience and easily accessible.

Our chosen band is a band called Albion, from Lincolnshire, who makes original indie rock style music. We chose to use this band as their genre and music is very current and will appeal and relate to a lot of people. As a group we researched a range of bands similar to the style and genre of Albion. We also looked at key conventions for the Indie Rock genre. From our research we found out that Indie bands all aim for an independent image and like to make it known that their music and image is completely their own and not influenced by the mainstream styles and popular

culture. 

The video;

We spent a lot of time thinking about ways in which we could use, develop and challenge the conventions and forms of a music video.  We decided that we wanted our music video to fit certain conventions but to develop in other areas. For example we used a band of the Indie genre so our video had to have an independent feel to it we also aimed to appeal to an audience between the ages of 16-21. To achieve this we spent a lot of time talking to the band about ideas they wanted to incorporate and collaborate with ideas of our own. This would help our music video have a personal connection to the musicians and their tastes. As well as collaborating with the band we independently researched and analysed the song we had chosen to promote, “Home”. As part of the research I have analysed the potential meaning behind the lyrics. As a group we concluded that the song was about a break up which results in the writer (the lead singer) returning to his home town, which he has a lot of admiration for, to start a band. This would then become the story line for our music video. We wanted to have a direct and lyrical connection to the song as much as possible. We decided that we wanted our Narrative and performance to be illustrative, We did this by linking the lyrics with particular angles  and imagery when “Home” was mentioned in the song we showed images of the town sign and point of view shots of driving through the town.  We also used an extreme high angled shot was followed by the lyric “…watching over me”.

As for the target audience we aimed to appeal to mid-teens to early twenties because at this age most people are moving from secondary to university and will be able to relate to the topics brought up in the bands songs.  Particularly in the song we have chosen to look at “home”. I think that this song will relate to our target audience in particular as they will be moving away and looking for something to remind them of their own home towns.

·         Relate to songs

·         Afford to buy music/tickets/merchandise (have jobs)

·         Old enough to attend gigs etc.

The main requirements and conventions of an Indie music video include; lyrical links, an independent image (portrayed through the costume and actions) and live performance within the video. After much research we discovered these are key elements of Indie music videos. As for camera work; close ups and focus on the vocalist and relevant musicians is used often. Some common shots used are; pans and Long shots: to show the whole band, Close ups; on the vocalist to focus the attention to the frontman or the lyrics, Or on the instruments to draw the attention to the live performance within the video and to focus on the fact that the band play their own instruments.

To fit in with the conventions used by bands we have studied, in the indie genre, we have too used live performance within our music video. We noted that this was a common aspect of all the Indie genre music videos we had studied. I think that live performance in the music video is particularly important because it shows the band playing their own music and creates a clear visual link between the music and the band, it also helps keep the focus on the music. This is a very important aspect of being in the indie genre.

As far as following or breaking conventions goes we decided to generally follow the conventions of a typical Indie music video. Although while our original plan was a storyline of a break up, during the editing process we decided that the storyline worked better when it was inter cut with out-takes.  Although adding out cuts seemed slightly amateur in the rough cut, once refined the out-takes helped add to the independent and personal image of the band. I think that it also made the band seem a lot friendlier and approachable as well as helping to emphasise the bands Indie image. 

We filmed our music video around the bands home town, Bourne in Lincolnshire, to really tie in with the theme and inspiration of the video, Home. This worked really well because it had a personal connection to the band as well as most people in the target audience being able to relate to particular parts of the mise-en-scene. We have seen other artists such as The Arctic Monkeys and Jake Bugg use their home towns as music video locations and as they are of a similar genre we thought this would work well as a Indie convention for our own video.

As well as a music video we made two other products to help assist in promoting the band and new song/ video release. We made a website to keep the bands followers and fans up to date with their latest information. Such as; tour dates, new releases, information regarding gigs, merch etc. it is important for a band to have a website that is easily accessible to a wide range of people with working and relevant links. This is so that no one will miss out on any key news the band has to share. On the website pages have been included regarding; News; what the band is currently or has been up to,  Gigs; any relevant information regarding location and prices, photos; albums of key and successful events the band have been a part of as well as promotional photo shoots to introduce the band. A home page has also been made, here a biography properly introducing the band. We looked at websites of bands such as The Arctic Monkeys and The Catfish and the Bottlemen. we were most inspired by the bold monochrome colourschemes and themes within the website. We used a similar layout with the bold black and white text and colour scheme and the focus on the band logo, top center on the home page alongside the navigation tabs. Similarly to our magazine advert all key information, such as tour dates or contact information, is written in a bold or larger text. 

Throughout the Website a monochrome and red colour scheme has been used. Along with the bands official logo, outline bold text and stylised ravens. The iconic imagery and band logo were essential to include so that people can easily associate the band with the website and not get confused or mixed up with a band with a similar name. We kept the same colour scheme and text and logo theme running throughout the website and poster. This meant that there was a clear visual link between the two products. During our research we found that many bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and the Catfish and the Bottlemen used iconic imagery related to their band, such as a logo, as a main visual point on their promotional texts. Including the same image on a new release such as an album cover as well as using the same image on a poster and web site also lets the band followers know that everything has recently been updated or that the band is moving onto a new phase in their career.

 Our poster links clearly to the video and website through; the text/font and the use of the band members in the photos and the video footage. The poster has been designed to stand out but still look subtle. The use of the highlighted red draws attention towards the photograph of the band members and the band logo/ name. The alignment of the crows in the logo also aligns with the image of the band, showing a connection between the band and the logo. The text used for the title of the new release “HOME” is used in the beginning of the music video and on the website. We chose to use a different text to the one used in the logo, instead we chose a simple hand written style to emphasise the indie side of the band.

Question 2

                       

Question 2; How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

One of the main reasons a band will make a music video, poster or website will be to advertise their band. Each of these products works as a whole package to help to promote the band, a tour or new song release.  In our case we have aimed to promote the release of the bands new song and music video for “Home”.

Starting with the music video; we filmed and made our own music video, with the storyline of a break up and a band being formed. We decided this would me most fitting for an indie music video as a lot of the indie bands we have researched

 *add visuals and examples*

Used relatable topics, such as breakups.  This helps the band to connect with their audience more. As well as the subject of our music video being relatable we also planned the mise-en-scene so that it could connect with a wide range of people. For example we dressed the band members in casual clothes of; denim, leather and casual t-shirts/ jumpers. We did this so that the band didn’t seem too elite and above their target audience. 

We also made a website for the band, Albion. The website introduces the band and has links to relevant live ages such as their Facebook and Twitter. The main aim of the website is to keep the bands fans informed on current, past and future events the band is/ has been involved in. We have included separate pages for; news: this page will have any relevant information regarding the bands current events e.g. gigs, new releases or tours it will also include any posts the band make informing their audience on current activities such as their location (when on tour etc.) and things they are planning; such as recordings, gigs or new releases. Another page is the gigs page. This page will have a list of gigs and tours with relevant links and information regarding; tickets, prices, location etc.  One other page is for Photos. This page will have a range of photos of the band at past events as well as promotional photos from organised shoots, the main purpose of this page will be to visually promote the band by showing reliable positive feedback so that people can either reminisce, about having been there, or plan to be a part of the next event.

 *screen shots from website* and comparisons with websites; arctic monkeys and similar*

               

The final product we made to help promote our bad was a poster. We linked imagery, text and colour schemes on the poster with the same themes we had used for our website. The bold colours of; black, white and red worked effectively to draw attention to the poster and key parts of the website. The highlighted red on the poster draws the eye to the key part, being the band and the title. The ravens are also subtly aligned with the band members making a link between the logo imagery and the band.

 *images of examples, comparison*

 

Question 3

Question 3; what have you learned from your audience feedback?

From conducting a range of audience surveys we were able to find out what comments our target audience had regarding what they expected to see and where. This feedback was incredibly helpful as it assisted us in making promotional products that would appeal to our target audience; male and females between 16 and 21.it was vital for us to work with the responses, especially any criticism, so that our promotional products definitely appealed to our target audience.

During the planning and research stages of making our music video we undertook several different methods of audience research. We put together some questions, such as; what would you expect to see in a typical indie music video? What aspects of music videos do you enjoy most? what genre of music video do you watch most? and Where do you usually watch music videos? We then asked a range of students, within our target audience, about these questions.   From this survey we found out that; most people watch music videos on YouTube, people would expect to see casual attire and live performance in indie music videos most people also prefer music videos to have a set narrative, for exaple a relateable storyline.  Audience feedback was a very important part of our planning process because it allowed us to gain an insight into what would appeal most to our target audience. This is especially important as the main purpose of this music video is designed to promote the band, so it must appeal to a wide audience. We used and applied what we had found from our audience research to make our music video as widely appealing as possible.

As well as asking members of the public we also met with the band members and asked for their ideas and opinions. This allowed us to make a music video that had a public appeal as well as a personal link to the band. Overall we agreed that the music video would be best recorded in and around the bands hometown, Bourne Lincolnshire, and that the band should be the main feature in the music video in order to really introduce them to a new audience and their existing followers.

Overall we received positive feedback for all of our promotional texts. We used Poll everywhere and social network sites to gain feedback after posting our video on to YouTube. We uploaded our video to YouTube because it was recommended by our audience research and it is an easily accessible site designed for watching videos.

To get feedback from our audience once we had posted our music video we set up a questionnaire on “Poll everywhere” .  We showed a range of people our video and asked them to take part in the questionnaire. These results showed us that people agreed that our music video did fit in with the expectations of an Indie genre music video.

People also left comments such as; the mise-en-scene was coherent to the genre and was generally what they would expect to see in an Indie music video. We also received feedback saying that 100% of people who took part in our survey agreed that our music video suited the target audience. This shows that we have met our target of appealing to an age range of 16-21.

To complete our research and feedback we also asked the band for their opinion. Overall the band said that they liked our video and the themes and links we had included, to the band and the home town. One piece of criticism we received was about the mes-en-scene that the drummer’s choice of clothing didn’t fit in with the denim and casual t-shirts theme worn by the other band members.

Although our audience feedback showed that they thought our video did fit the expectations of an indie music video.

Question 4

 Question 4; How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

To construct the research for our music video we used a range of media technologies. To research similar bands, to the one we chose to use, we used band websites and YouTube. Watching known band’s music videos on YouTube   helped us gain some inspiration of themes and ideas to use in our own music video. One key video we kept referring back to was “One for the Road” by the Arctic Monkeys. This music video gave us a lot of inspiration because the Arctic Monkeys are a very influential, typical indie band. We observed a lot of the Arctic Monkeys music videos to inspire our own. Some key themes that ran through the majority of the Arctic Monkeys videos were; the representation of women (Laura Mulvey theory), the masculinity of the band members, and the indie aspect of the band; the use of live performance, denim and leather, everyday locations e.g. farms, houses. 

As the Arctic Monkeys have had a large influence on the themes and ideas in our music video we also used them as a main inspiration for our other promotional texts for example; our website has a similar monochrome theme with a bold logo running through all of the pages and links.

We used a range of different technologies to construct our promotional texts. This developed our planning and research skills as well as our video shooting and editing skills. For example while shooting our Final music video we took a much wider range of shots to edit than we had for our preliminary task. We also used a wider range of filming techniques. One example would be when we achieved a smooth pan, following the car moving along the road towards and away from the camera. To achieve the smooth pan, with no jolts or stutters in the movement, we used a rubber band by attaching it to the handle of the tripod and slowly pulling it. As seen on a YouTube tutorial we watched before filming. We watched quite a few tutorials and “tips” videos on how to achieve smooth pans and movement shots for example one video showed us how to hold the tripod and camera together and how to balance the camera end with the rest of the tripod in order to reduce up and down movement when walking with the camera we used this technique when filming Harry walking through the house, it was essential to keep the camera work still so that the image did not become unclear when we later sped up the footage. We also set up and used a professional lighting set so that our image would be evenly lit and professional it also meant we could work anywhere indoors in a house that didn’t have particularly bright lighting. Planning to use this lighting set saved us time in finding alternative ways to control the lighting on set.

To edit our video together we used Final Cut Pro X. This software allowed us to edit together everything we had filmed with the soundtrack in a professional way, by precisely being able to zoom in and edit clips and synchronise audio to video.  We also used after Effects CC to add in details such as the title sequence. On final cut we also had to sync the audio to the actions within the video. This was an effective way to match the sound to our footage instead of recording the sound at the same time as the video as the music would not be as clear and the quality would not have been as professional sounding/looking.

To make our poster we used Photoshop and Samsung drawing software (on my tablet) using this software helped us create a professional looking poster with the correct format. We were also able to create a use an individual text type, which has been used throughout our promotional texts.  On Photoshop we used an image of the band walking through the memorial gardens, taken from a recent photo shoot, on this image we highlighted the red from the Poppy wreaths and put the rest of the image into a monochrome effect. To do this we simply highlighted the red sections of the poppy wreaths, using the magic wand tool, and deleted the red sections, we then created an identical layer beneath the first with the deleted sections. We made the first layer black and white by altering the colour and saturation, the layer below then showed the red poppy wreathes through the deleted sections in the layer above thus creating the highlighted red in the overall image. The red highlights helped attract the viewer’s attention and draw their eyes to the main focus, the band. The red highlights and use of black and white also linked in with the colour scheme of the overall poster for example the ratings at the bottom stood out more and caught the attention of the viewer as the logos from the magazines who rated also used black, white and red in their logos. We decided to keep the background, text and logos on the Poster black and white to have a bold eye catching look to our poster.

Our website follows a similar theme to our poster, using the same logo imagery and colour scheme.  Richard used a technical website called “Brackets” to build a website for our band “Albion” making a website using this software meant that once it was live it would be easily accessible to the public and we could easily alter the site as needed to update the audience and fans on the band’s latest activity.

Throughout the planning and research we kept in touch with our target audience to find out their views and opinions about our ideas and plans. To do this we set up focus groups and recorded vox Pops. To do this we used the cameras on our phones to record the question and answer sessions with groups and individuals. Next we edited together the videos and uploaded them to youtube, this allowed other members of the public to add any additional opinions or views we also discussed and analysed as a group what we had found out. This process was very helpful as we were able to getter a better idea of what would appeal most to our target audience and the best way to reach them.

Once we had finished the editing of our video we sent the link to a group of people within our target audience, we also set up a screening presentation in which we asked people to watch our video then send an anonymous free text to “Poll Everywhere” we also asked them to complete a survey we set up on poll everywhere. From this we found that the audience had enjoyed our music video and they agreed that it did fit and meet the conventions of an indie music video. Poll Everywhere was a great way to discover what people really thought because it was anonymous and people didn’t feel pressured to say what they thought we wanted to hear, the survey is also public so people from outside of our screening group could join in too if they had an opinion to share as well.  

 

One last form of media we used throughout the process of our music video was Blogger. We used Blogger to document everything we did, used, planned and researched throughout the entire project. It was helpful to document everything as we went along because we could easily refer back to information as and when we needed it particularly during the filming and editing processes.

Albion Poster

Albion Website

 

Click here to view our website

 

 

 

 

 

Albion - Home Music Video