Evaluation| Max Buch

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

When constructing our music video, we felt we needed to give it a quirky and professional appeal to a folk indie genre. When researching for our genre we noted a number of key conventions in which felt would make our video stand out and impress our target audience.

One of a very significant conventions of folk indie is natural, cheap and ‘out of the box’ representation. Through research we discovered that our bands ideas were very similar to that of Bombay bicycle club. For example we wanted to do our performance shots in front of a pavilion as this would create that of a quirky vibe in which I liked. This shot is very effective in displaying the band in an exciting and colourful way, and by doing this I feel it gives the video something extra, this being idiosyncratic unlike that of mainstream pop bands like ‘Take That’. http://www.takethat.com/

You can see that these two shots are very similar to each other and contain the same conventions, this is because we felt that sticking to this ‘far out’ convention would be necessary as folk indie is relatively new and we wouldn’t want to alienate our target audience. However it can be said that we challenged these conventions slightly due to the mise en scene of our video, as you can see we are wearing smart yet casual clothes. By doing this it gives our band a sense of professionalism and vigor. We also added to the low budget appearance by only having a snare drum in use, because I feel this does create a sense of quirkiness in which we strived for as a band, as it is simplistic.  

In the planning stages of our video we felt we wanted to have a dramatic narrative which creates a story for our audience to understand. Obviously this story would have to link to the lyrics and I feel it does successfully, as we linked the words ‘I don’t believe you’ to a ‘crumbling relationship’. Through research we looked at a Laura Marling clip and we wanted to develop her forms of conventions.

You can see that this clip does display a negative colour tone and generally looks dull. We felt that this would be perfect in suiting our narrative as we are talking about a break up, and obviously this is supposed to display sad connotations. Overall we planned to follow her use of low key lighting and developed it by using black and white. By developing this convention it meant we could separate the narrative to the band performance, as you can see that all the relationship issues are in black and white and will give a negative ambience to the audience. 

For example on the clip on the right you can see that we used black and white. Through mise en scene you can see that both clips are similar styled sitting rooms however we have developed that convention and planted two characters on one seat but far apart. Both characters look negative and are separated from one another. This creates a simplistic image which symbolises tensions and trouble with in this relationship. We chose to have them arguing on this sofa because that is ‘common ground’ for people to relax, and by situating this narrative here it really helps to make the tension greater, making it more effective.

We used the conventions of basing our band in front of garages in the same way that the Bombay Bicycle club did, by following this convention it gives our video an urban feel because it is based in front of these and is on a road.

By having the contrast of urban with lots of colourful garages is really creative as it is a huge contrast to a stereotypical garage in a street. By doing this it does create an unorthodox and wacky atmosphere effect; it’s almost as if it makes it humorous. It also gives each member of the band an identity as they are each situated in front of a different colour which I feel gives this shot a unique edge.   This is what I feel indie is all about.

As you can see we have used the same convention but to a toned down and less colourful degree, however I feel it is really effective because it does create that urban feel which is demonstrated among numerous indie videos. By doing this it gives the band a more ‘hard edged’ and ‘street wise’ approach, by doing this it gives the video a more current effect. By having this urban effect it should appeal to all of our audience who have that of an urban background.

When making this band, we did want to have a female influence as it challenged the whole ‘boy band’ approach. And by having a girl in the band it does help create a more friendly and less man orientated group. We challenged the convention of the typical boy indie band and I feel it really worked.

You can see that this stereotypical boy band creates a very masculine image, and I feel with all this masculinity the sense of quirkiness would not appeal as much. As by having the one feminine member seems to challenge the stereotypical boy band, therefore making it different and fresh. Not only this it helps to appeal to a wider audience, as girls could aspire to Fiona the pianist.

 
You can see on the image on the right that fie is playing the piano and does sing along to our song. By having fie in the band it helps appeal to a feminine audience, and girls will aspire to be Fiona.

Relationships and the feeling of love play a big part in thousands of songs around the world, however I feel is massive amongst the indie genre. Our song and video uses the conventions of relationships effectively as it follows the convention perfectly. By having this song about a relationship and love it enables us to create a narrative in which would interest our audience, as this is a huge branch of music. I find it really effective in how our song is relatively upbeat and happy however it completely contrasts the feeling that the song creates. And I believe our vdeo has created that very same thing, as in parts its black and white which creates the negative tone needed. All the parts of the band shots seem happy and upbeat this is the effect that the song creates, and this is how I feel we wanted to make the video.

This is from a clip of a song on YouTube which displays that relationships are amongst songs in mainstream music today, and they do play a big part in creating emotion for the fans as they can relate to these songs. This means that overall the song would become more popular and have a greater affect in sales and overall success.

As you can see from this clip we have conformed to this convention and in this one shot we use natural lighting and the colour creats a real beautiful image of love. They also look so happy together which makes people think about themselves and would give them a good vibe. However our song is about splitting up and this one nice shot is outweighed by a whole host of angry and moody shots, so in effect it does challenge numerous conventions, but I feel as a whole does conform to the whole relationship genre. Without having conformed to this convention I feel that our video would be less successful than it is. I feel the narrative is what sets it apart in certain ways, and it brings the whole feeling of the song together.

Our video needed something extra, a scene in which would define the video and set it apart from the others. During research we found this clip of a TV in which displayed the artist playing on the TV, this gives it an added dimension. We chose to follow this technological convention and develop it to our video.

As you can see this is the artist performing on a screen, in the music video. This use of convergence within this video is really effective and creates a technological feel. You can see the futuristic style of this screen and how simplistic the shot looks; we found this looked really good. So we decided we would use a similar idea.

We conformed to the conventions of the video through their se of editing by having this TV. Of course it is a similar style but we decided to make it more vintage to suit our genre as vintage and it gives off an indie vibe, as numerous indie videos contain a vintage mise en scene. We also found it would give another dimension to our video, because it links the narrative to the story through convergence. By doing this I feel it is really clever and does give a sense of originality to our video. It also gives a  sense timescale to the whole video.

In conclusion I feel that our video does link to a lot of conventions seen in indie videos today, and I feel we had to follow certain conventions as these have been previously popular with other indie songs therefore it wouldn’t alienate out audience. I believe we have been successful in developing certain conventions o, because we have made them link to our narrative and our song. And by developing them it does give us that extra sense of originality. 

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








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

What did you learn from your audience feedback?




After looking at our audience feedback i noted that we did need to make certain changes. After long contemplation we decided to cut certain parts of the video out. For example we originally wanted to have images projected onto a wall using a projector, i used at my house. But the footage we got was just not adequate enough because i feel it was too cliche and made the production look cheap. Due to audience feedback it meant we had time to make the changes necessary to make our video look and feel professional. It also meant we may have subverted from genre so we took the necessary steps to take it out.

When getting the audience feedback, we did encounter some unsolvable problems, for example people commented on my drumming not looking real. This is because i cant play drums and struggled to, therefore in numerous shots we had to sort the footage out through editing. However i still believe we made it look good despite minor hiccups like the drumming.

Overall I do feel that the audience feedback did aid us with our video because it meant we could re-evaluate what we had produced and cut our footage that was not needed. This meant we could improve our video to a higher degree.

Final Ancillary Texts

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

Inlay proposition

Idea for 3 of the inlay faces

This could be used as one of the inlays, as it displays a member of the band. I feel it looks quite artisitc as i desaurated it and the picture quality is good. in terms of position i used the rule of thirds I feel this creates a picture of more quality.

 I have used an effect to brighten up  image as you can see on the garage, her hair and her coat, to create a more angelic appearance. I feel this looks really effective with the blue as it creates a great contrast.

 On this image i have done the same with the lighting, and i have made sure that the the image looks crisp and professional and i feel it does. I like how the garage colour is different to contrast with the other two inlays. Therefore meaning it would be to similar. I think it looks really effective how you can see the shadows of his fingers on the guitar.

digipack

we have decided to fit close up images of band members faces fitted together, in a collage type manner. We are trying to fit images together which have a simliar colour scheme. We have also planned to fit some of the images of the birds seen on the front with the band member images to keep the theme running through and show the metaphorical link between the birds from the front and the band members.

audience feedback

what do you like about the video?
-good content
-good narrative and the way they portrayed it
-funny drumming
-effects used
-good camera technique
-good links between shots
-good use of setting and characters
-like the stop motion
-fits with lyrics
-good variety of shots
-like the use of black and white
-humour/quirky
-puts a story to the song
-good editing
-look like they are playing instruments
-shows black and white is in past
-like the imposed on tv shot
-good setting and plot line
-people in the video play a suitable role

does the video look authentic?:
9 out of 10 said yes

do you think the video suits the song?:
9 out 10 said yes

Digipak designs.

I have now finished the inlays and cover designs for our digipak.

Front cover

Left inlay

Under CD inlay

Right inlay

Far right (folding) inlay

Rear cover

digipak layout

This is our plan of the digipack layout, by doing this it helps us to get organised and think about where we want our images on the case. It also gives us a vague idea of how we want the case to look, like the amount of pictures shown, how well represented the band is through the Album cover. I (max) feel we had to lay it out in this way to get the best results in terms of displaying our band, and at the same time giving the artisitc feel in which is necessary in the indie genre.

This is where our Bantry Bay front cover with the birds would be.

Inside you would maybe see some lyrics or more pictures of the band behind the scenes maybe some close ups of faces, or even just clips from the video.

In this you would be able to see the cd and hopefully as planned see all of our faces in the band on each side. Therefore i feel this would be effective in creating a friendly approach almost comical.

On the back would be a track list, all the official jargon e.g barcode and record label.

Evaluation - Oliver Cracknell

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

For our Music video we felt that we had to keep to cetain conventions in order to make our product as successful as possible within the genre of folk/indie. We researched many of these when planning our video.
One of these was the necessity of including live shots of a band performance, this was in order to give the band an image and also to let the audience gain an insight into what the band look like so that they can relate to them.

We tried to incorporate a simplistic and improptu image into the live band shots by using basic instruments that were featured in the song, without focusing on the specifics such as guitar leads and cables. This was something which was featured in many indie music videos that we watched. I think that this is because traditional music instrument playing needs to be shown in the video however it needs to subvert from the stereotypical rock genre live playing in order to fit in the indie genre. It also adds a low budget feel to the video and makes the band seem fun without taking themselves too seriously, allowing the target audience to better relate to them.

Both of these shots are very similar, we felt that this strengthened the fact that the conventions we used were correct as an already successful indie band (bombay bicylcle club) have used the same conventions at a similar location as us and seem to be aiming for the same image that we were attempting.

Another common feature of indie bands is to try and play up and glamorize their roots, by adding a significantly urban quality to their locations and mise en scene. We tried to use this convention by filming some of our video outside a row of garages in the local village. We felt that this both complemented the simplistic live band shots whilst also making us look more local as opposed to genres such as pop, which would often take place in a lavish, expensive and very  over the top location. I feel that the indie genre will typically try to entertain an audience by focusing largely on the music and making their image a more subtle feature of the video.

As can be seen in this image, Bombay bicycle club also use a garage. This is a convention we tried to use as it can be used as an interesting background without looking typical and also making the urban image of the band seem apparent to an audience easily. However in our video, we could of perhaps used a wider range of garage colours that were available, and perhaps had one band member in front of each to make the image as eye-catching as possible.

Indie Music is often centered around a relationship, with the video trying to portray it. We tried to develop this genre by also focusing on a relationship, however in most music videos we researched the relationship is portrayed by actors rather than band  members in order to keep the narrative and band shots separate.

This is perhaps so that the audience will feel that the band does not have the common problems and will not associate drama and problems with them but will rather just listen to their music, without losing any sense of familiarity with them. However we tried to develop this convention by featuring a relationship between two band members in our video, This is because the meaning of our song is that a relationship within the band goes wrong, resulting in the female leaving and thus rejoining the band later.

This is not a common feature of relationships in music videos and would certainly never be seen in an established artist, which we were told before we included it. However we chose to develop this convention as our music video would be a first time video from a new band, meaning we have the liberty of portraying a unique image that is not constrained by previous audience expectations. This also means that we can be different from what is expected by typical genre conventions whilst still including them. This could result in increased publicity and attention from our audience and thus add to the success of the band.

The use of colour is yet another convention we tried to develop in our music video. As can be seen in some of laura marling's videos (a successful indie/folk artist) The use of colour is being used to represent a time flashback in the video's narrative. In her video some of the saturation has been decreased in order to produce an apparent Polaroid effect which adds a feeling of vintage to her videos whilst also making them seem sophisticated. We chose to develop this and reduce the saturation of all of our narrative shots within our music video so that they were black and white. Which, due to the plot of our narrative, was to make the shots seem sad in reference to an unhappy time. I feel that this was done well as it made the video more visually interesting and added a new dimension to how the final product looked, whilst separating the narrative from the shots of the band performing. However it could have been improved if we had chosen to leave some of the saturation present, which would of maintained a slight degree of colour, which would have alluded to a happy mood whilst still being symbolized in an unhappy way. However we did not want to completely subvert from this convention and chose to simply keep the narrative in black and white.

I feel that we challenged conventions of the indie genre immediately as we have a girl in a major role within the band. This is not a common feature of many indie bands. I feel that this sets our band apart from the stereotypical indie band and allows us to be diverse with our image. We tried to focus on the female member (Fiona) by utilising close ups as angles and including her on her own in certain situations throughout the narrative, such as when she is playing piano on her own. This could also give us a larger fan base, as typically a female is not common in a genre dominated by males and thus could make us seem different and more interesting to a prospective audience. Successful indie bands such as foals typically have a male lead singer and are comprised of all males, I feel that by focusing on what sets us apart from the rest, we were wise to subvert from this convention as it will gain us a larger amount of attention from our audience when combined with the relationship convention mentioned earlier.

Another convention we tried to challenge was the inclusion of a superimposing of the band onto a television screen. This is not typically found in the indie genre as it implies the the band have become famous and is being featured on a show. This can imply that the band thinks highly of themselves. However we tried to subvert from this convention of the genre and challenge it by using it in appropriate context

This is when the girl has left the band and is perhaps feeling bitter, after seeing the band on Television she turns it off and leaves the room. This helps to make the video more interesting to the viewer as it is a relatively complex technique to include in what had since looked like a simplistic low budget indie music video. The effect would usually be expected to be seen in a hip-hop or pop music video, however we felt that it worked for our genre so long as it was included in the right context and not just included thoughtlessly. We also found another example within our own genre (right) which supported our view that challenging the conventions of our genre was an appropriate choice in this instance.

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
























3. What did you learn from your audience feedback?

To begin with, we experimented with using projected images of hearts onto white blank canvasses in order to connote the relationship in the narrative. However We were told by people who viewed this as slightly stereotypical and far too cliche considering we were aiming to be quirky and subvert from what was expected of the indie/folk genre.

Having shown select members of our target audience the Video it was underlined to me that there were a few issues with how realistic the instrument playing looked, however this was a problem we had known existed from the start as on my part (guitar) I am left handed but only had access to a right handed guitar, so In order to strum in time with the song convincingly I had to hold the guitar the wrong way for which it was meant. We felt that this would be a compromise to maximise how convincing the video would be.

The drums were the second issue raised. For the most part they are in time however as Max is not a musician in real life, he struggled to stay in time with the song. Simply because he has never had to do it before. We did not believe this would be a major issue when filming as we filmed him doing in-time specific drum hits as and when we saw necessary, we also tried to crop certain shots that he was out of time in in order to make the video as convincing as possible. If done again we would possibly consider using actors rather than ourselves as this allows us to focus more on the filming and shot composition.

4. How Did you use Media Technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Evaluation- Fiona Ward

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

The location of our band performance was in front of a pavilion, this location was simplistic and a pavilion similar is seen commonly. We chose this as it shows many indie conventions. The pavilion has aspects that are similar to a stage, if we had used a raised, indoor stage with spotlights, this would have looked professional, and that we were putting a performance on for lots of people, using a flat stage outside is simplistic and conveys a 'casually' put together performance. The fact that the audience may have seen something similar before creates a relationship, it shows that the band are just 'normal people,' this reflects Horton and Wohl's theory of a parasocial relationship. This is the image that most indie bands will attempt to portray, the idea is that they do not focus on having a big ego, for example like a rap artist might do by filming in expensive houses or in expensive cars. Our location shows we are focusing on the music not an egotistic image. Also as we are using acoustic instruments at an outside location this shows that we are on a low budget, another thing typical of indie artists. Also being outside with just our instruments is simplistic, it conveys elements of folk bands, which is seen in our music, it gives the impression that the performance is natural, and that there has been no technical alterations to the track, you get what you see with the band.

As you can see Bombay Bicycle Club use a similar location in their video, being one of our similar artists we have researched they also wish to portray the low budget, individual, 'out there' style. This shows we have used similar conventions to this indie band with our location and formation.

 Indie bands our typically urban and quirky, it is common to use aspects of mise en scene that do not make complete sense within the context of the video, it makes the audience look back at it and watch it again. To coincide with our location of the pavilion we also filmed in front of a row of garages, this shows the things i just mentioned, the band looks urban, quirky and low budget, and also the colours of the garages stand out, and placing band members in front of them therefore makes them stand out even if only showed for a few seconds. This is also a shot that proved popular within our audience feedback because of its individuality. Also lining the band members in front of the garage in height order adds a comical/quirky effect, high lighting the fact of how small the female singer is.

Bombay Bicycle Club have also used a similar location in one of their videos, our image is toned down more to suit the colour scheme.

A lot of indie songs have been written about relationships, it is common to see a video that shows a couple, who have problems in their relationship. Andrew Goodwin's theory involves that the visuals either illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics of the song, our video illustrates the lyrics of the song, as it is about a break-up. Also we incorporate aspects of Steve Archer's theory that video's should cut between a narrative and a performance to show a real connection with the song.  Sometimes the lead singer/member of the band will be one person in the relationship seen through the videos narrative, and the other person will be played by a model/actor with no relation to the band, as seen in this song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivnj5J6KCYc . It is rare that two members of the band will play the relationship roles. 

However we developed this convention by having the relationship talked about in the lyrics played by two members of the band. So the video portrays that two of the band members are in a relationship but having problems. This is in the narrative side of the video, however they are also seen playing along side one another as a band for the performance footage. Developing this convention makes the bands image stand out, the relationship may be discussed in 'gossip' magazines bringing the band publicity. It also makes the band seem real, the audience sees what they believe to be the real them, this insight in to the real life of stars is what fascinates people, society thrives on seeing in to peoples lives by watching reality tv and reading magazines, so we know that making part of our stars life public would be shocking yet gripping to our audience. It also again conveys that the band is down to earth, creating a relation between the band and its fans. So although this is not typically seen in indie music exactly, it keeps our band in genre yet interesting.

Another convention we have developed is the use of colour to portray past tense in the narrative of times in the relationship where things seem not to be going well. At first after watching a Laura Marling video (as seen here) we decided that desaturating footage would drain colour and give a vintage effect to show past tense as not to confuse the audience, also the dull image helps portray sadness and negative connotations. Dull lighting and bland colouring are often used in indie videos to give a vintage look, however we did not feel like this contrasted enough with the other images. We wanted parts to be instantly recognizable as in the past.

 So to develop the convention we decided to use black and white for parts of the video conveying narrative flashbacks. The contrast from the bright colourful images to the black and white shows the different emotions portrayed in the song. It shows separation and a void from happiness environment. Black and white also shows vintage connotations as this is what tv would have been like in the past. Black and white footage saves any confusion over why the relationship would have one minute seemed fine, then tense to the audience as the effect is immediately recognizable as past tense.

 Conventions we challenged could be that we had a female band member. A large proportion of indie bands are all male like the foals as seen here. It could be said that indie bands often have a reputation of having an attitude and a party lifestyle. Some often portray the image that they are rude and don't care what people say. Having a female band member takes away this edge.

Our female singer brings individuality, it brings opportunities for things such as our relationship seen in the video. It brings a softer more appealing sound to the track also, and sexual attraction can be conveyed by both sexes appealing to a wider audience. It shows folk aspects also as they often have female band members, conveying hybridding of genres. Sigmund Freud's theory of subverted voyeurism states that female artists can appear sexually provocative with a sexual gaze, however we do not use sex appeal in an obvious way as it is not fitting with our genre. 

Another convention we challenged was the imposing of the band on to the tv, this image is not as simplistic as the other footage previously seen. It is more commonly seen in higher budget, R'n'B/ pop videos as it is a more complicated technique. Also the fact that the band is being played on tv shows connotations of fame, taking the ego of the band up a bit. This uses digital effect to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. 

This is an example of this shown in this pop video, imposing his image on to what was then modern technology gives a modern feel, contrasting to why we used this technique.

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

To elaborate we have put together an image that is conveyed through our clothes that is seen throughout the video, we have not portrayed our female singer according with Laura Mulvey's theory of obvious sex appeal, we maintain an indie style that we are serious about our music. We have a pastel colour scheme throughout all three products, and also have a hand drawn front cover to make the band seem artistic and individual.  

What did you learn from your audience feedback?

Our audience feedback showed us what locations were most effective, such as the garages, so these were used for a bigger proportion of the filming. Feedback for our first version of the video raised timing issues, we realised that our instruments were slightly slower than they should be to make the playing of the instruments look realistic, so using final cut we sped up the time a little to help resolve this issue. We found that people liked the idea of a narrative that reflects the lyrics of the song, so we continued the narrative throughout the song, bringing it to a close with a band shot to show unity once again. People found the stop motion part impressive and effective, so we used the technique again in another part of the video.

How Did you use Media Technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Just to clarify what is talked about in this video media technologies we used include youtube for screen grabs to post on to the blog to show examples of conventions simialr artists have used. we can also use youtube for audience feedback to gain pro's and cons of footage that we have filmed, and change things to better it. The HD cameras give a professional finish to our video. The convergence of being able to takr photos and film on teh cameras is also helpful. Final cut express enables us to cut and edit our footage, to make it fit more in to the genre. Blogger, our hub for work, keeps all our work organsied and our ideas clearly represented with the oppurtunity to comment and give feedback. Youtube clips can be embedded in to html to show visually examples we are talking about. Facebook helped to us to organise meetings and filming times, we also had our own facebook page for our band, we uploaded our video to this which helped to get audience feedback also. Photoshop was helpful as it meant we could work in layers, we could desaturate colour from the pictures to help them to fit in to the colour scheme for our digipack, and can impose text on to the pictures.