Evaluation For Media Project

Music Video/CD Cover/Magazine Advert

By Daniel Acheampong

Introduction• My media project involved making a music video, creating a CD digipak design and magazine advert. The

media products were developed to create a promotional package for the artist. I produced a portfolio comprising a main music video with related ancillary texts which are the CD digipak design and magazine advert as mentioned above. I kept a blog to record events, information and presentation of my research during the process of this media project. The blog will show evidence of research into similar products and potential target audience. It will also show organisation of actors, locations, costumes and props. It will also show production paperwork and time management during the process of this media project.

This research presentation for my music video, magazine advert and CD digipak design can be found on these links:

http://wwwmusicvideo-daniel.blogspot.com/ http://musicvideo-daniel.blogspot.com/

• These are my 2 blogs where I have recorded all my information for my media project.

Introduction Continued• For this media project, I will also produce an evaluation in PowerPoint and upload it on my blog in

different sections from Slideshare. • The evaluation will consist of 4 questions which will show how I research and planned my information.

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

• To answer this question, I analysed different indicative rap music videos to know how our music video would look like. This would allow us as a group to use codes and conventions from real media products in making the addressee feel satisfied with the product as I wanted to emphasize an archetype which is very important as this represents things that should be in the product. By using codes and conventions, the audience would understand the context and themes of the media texts being displayed where the product would be easily recognisable for ideal viewers which creates preferred reading.

• How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? • This question focuses mainly on the synergy of the 3 products which are the music video, CD/digipak

design and magazine advert. There is a selection and construction of my main product and ancillary texts which has shown an effective combination.

Introduction Continued• What have you learned from your audience feedback? • In this question, I will talk about my audience feedback of my main product and ancillary texts and show

what I have learnt from my feedback in making these essential products for the potential for it to be a marketing vehicle. Audience feedback is very important as it gave me an idea of what the potential consumers wanted in the product. I set up questionnaires and informal interviews for the ideal viewers so that I could receive critical audience feedback.

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

• This question focused on how we used digital technology and new media technology in constructing, researching, planning and evaluation stages for example such as Final Cut Pro where we used an Apple Mac to edit our music video to bring a collection of shots together to make a finished product. I will also talk about how I used Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop in creating my magazine advert and CD cover and where I had a few implications/difficulties in making the ancillary texts.

Q1. In what ways does your media use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products.• There are a number of ways that my main product and the ancillary texts use, develop and challenge

forms and conventions of real media products. This question relates to the concept of the genre of our music video which is rap/grime where genre refers to the category of media products that audiences can easily recognise because of the repetition over time of key elements such as narrative, characters and setting. With the rap/grime genre, the artist is seen to have a stereotypical image/look about himself as most people would assume the artist is associated with gang culture due to what the artist is wearing, location/setting, and his facial expressions and body language will play a part in this where this portrays the artist in an aggressive way which creates a stereotype of the rap genre which leads to generalising. As a group we considered that it was suitable for the artist to have an aggressive look. From my research in real media products, I recognised that most magazine advert pictures had a dark and rough flavour. I have made my magazine advert to still be aggressive but not over the top which would make it unauthentic and exaggerated. As from my music video, this is an independent artist. I have followed codes and conventions from other independent music videos. To move the artist from being independent to move into the mainstream music industry, I would have to be make the music video very over the top, use a number of special effects, soften harsh elements and make the artist seem to be overly optimistic so that he is more noticeable to the addressee. From research on rap music videos, I developed playing around with colours rather than using so many special effects as I wanted to keep my music video simple and direct rather than using unnecessary fancy effects and going over the top which may make it hard to market the products and create a synergy.

Magazine Advert Analysis

This is my magazine advert picture and it relates to other rap magazine adverts I have seen in rap. Most rap magazine adverts have closed body language and a laid back facial expression where the artist is either looking directly at the camera or looking away from the camera which can be conventional and unconventional. I took this picture to relate to my music video as the music video was situated around dead end roads, secluded pathways, long stretch of roads and near garages.

America vs. Britain

From my magazine advert picture, I have made a cultural element link between America and Britain as my magazine advert has got a British flavour look as it is dark, rough and brutal. My magazine advert is not over the top, as from other American magazine pictures I have researched lack authenticity and are seen as dangerous where language and text may seem too explicit for it to be marketed to the potential audience where this can lead the product in becoming banned. This is where I wanted to make sure I kept my product to be authentic and not over the top so that the potential viewers would find it easier to engage with the artist and purchase his product for consumption.

Q1. Continued• The music video includes a lot of cuts and includes lip syncing just to initially focus on the

artist. I have formed and developed codes and conventions of real media products as there is really no based narrative about the music video ‘Let Me Flow,’ as it is just about a guy walking down a road just rapping his lyrics. This aspect here uses codes and conventions as this is how most grime/rap music videos are like and is what the audience expect in this genre of music. This is the typical London based music video where the artist is flamboyant as he wants to be known in the rap game. Here are some examples of rap music videos that have formed conventions of my music video:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0n1eXVHpTk Dot Rotten- Show Me Respect• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdQilfSbUT0p- J Mike Renegade Remix• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6PyB9Feu_k J Cole- Simba• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6suO7L6BPEc Chris Brown ft Tyga- Holla At Me

• I am going to get print screens from each video to show the type of camera shots and camera angles that was integrated in the music video which developed, challenged and formed codes and conventions of real media products relating to my music video.

• This is our music video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhs7c-dnmgs

Print Screens-codes and conventions integrated in my media product

From the J-Mike video, I used this tracking shot and also changed the image to be in black and white as from both videos it is located in a secluded/quiet area [at a pathway]. This incorporated codes and conventions from the rap video.

From our first original copy of the music video, as a group we didn’t use split screens. I developed this idea of split screens from the Chris Brown music video as split screens create different meanings within different frames. The split screen in both of these shots are shot at different camera angles and shots.

Print Screens-codes and conventions integrated in my media product

The shot to the right captures the artist from another perspective. This is a medium shot of the artist from head to waist which is shot at a side angle tracking along the tracks. This allowed the audience to see 2 shots in 1 screen to represent 2 different perspectives which creates a meaning through performance, facial expressions and body language. The artist here looks rough, hard, angry and serious. This is maintained throughout the video as I make this link from other real media products.

The shot to the left is shot at a low angle with an earthquake effect which makes the artist look dominant, powerful and superior. This shot also just captures the artist from the head to the mid chest which is a medium close up.

Print Screens Continued

This is another screen shot I have used from real media products. I have incorporated location and setting for the music video from the J Cole video. My main product to the right, has a different camera angle, shot and framing to the real media products. I have shot a low angle shot which represents the artist as being predominant, superior and powerful. Both artists from the music video have the same type of facial expression and body language. They both have closed body language which represent them as being extroverted, optimistic and flamboyant as I just wanted the music video to just focus on the artist.

Print Screens Continued

I used the same camera shot from the Dot Rotten video in my media product as this shot was very interesting. It was a tracking shot but with the camera slightly tilted where I thought this was a good convention to use in my music video. When filming this shot I also wanted to capture an establishing shot to introduce the audience to location and setting.

CD cover front- exploring codes and conventions of real media products

Before making my front cover of my CD, I explored other CD covers of the rap genre which would develop codes and conventions of real media products. I have looked at many rap CD covers and have made sure that I have followed codes and conventions to meet audience expectations to generate a high consumption unit. From other real media products, I have followed the colour scheme in my ancillary texts to make a combination between the CD cover and magazine advert. From the rap CD covers that you can see, red is a dominant colour so I decided to put the writing in bold red to make the cover stand out and I put the background in black as I felt it went well with the black and white image for my CD cover. I took a medium shot from head to waist making sure that framing and angles were correct as this focuses on the facial expressions and body language of the artist which I thought was very important as the artist has an open body language which makes it easier for him to engage with the audience where this can be through eye contact or the expressive use of hands/arms.

Parental Advisory Logo [Explicit Content]

• I have also used the parental advisory logo to show the audience that the music video has a few scenes with explicit words/gestures used which represents classification of a product. The parental advisory logo makes the CD cover look presentable and professional for it to be a marketing vehicle for the potential audience. I feel that all of this is important as it is part of the advertising and promotion process which sells the product to the consumers. By developing the codes and conventions of real media products which are explored here from the other CD covers, this allows me to target my potential audience and it makes the CD/digipak design to become a profitable product in meeting what the consumers want on the cover as the audience are the ones that will consume the product in making it have a high consumption unit.

This is the parental advisory logo I used for my CD cover. I used this logo as it had a graffiti look which relates to my music video and it also relates to the inside cover of my CD. I used a graffiti type of writing for the lyrics to Let Me Flow and graffiti writing for the biography of the artist. I decided to put the graffiti writing in RED as red is a dominant colour in rap music and red also attracts the audience to read the product. I have researched this parental advisory logo and I haven’t seen anybody use it. This may cause an affect on the content on the music video and may cause the product to get banned which would actually generate a higher publicity for the product. This is where I have challenged codes and conventions and have gone against the rules.

CD Cover back – exploring codes and conventions of real media products

Before making the back of my CD cover, I researched over rap/grime artists CD covers and use different codes and conventions in making the product. I first explored the type of camera angle and shot that I would use for the back cover. From most other real media products I have explored, there has been side/straight angle shot where the artist is looking away from the camera which actually challenges codes and conventions. There was also other camera shots such as low angle shots, medium close-ups and various long shots but all of them were either the artist turning his back on the camera or either just seeing one part of the artist face. In my CD cover, I used a straight eye level shot with the artist looking away from the camera with the tracklist on the right hand side. Yet again I wanted to put the image of the artist in black and white to keep a continuity for the whole CD cover. I developed this convention from the CD cover to the right of my actual product. This created a nice effect and blend in with the red writing of the tracklist. Another convention used is the barcode issue number and the YouTube and MySpace links which allows the audience receive easy access to the music video which markets the product very well. As I said for the parental advisory logo, the barcode makes the CD cover look presentable and professional for it to be a marketing vehicle. This has created a synergy from the music video to the CD design from the website links and the tracklist. Grime Daily is a youth music site for upcoming music artists and I have promoted the artist to this label as this is where his music can also be consumed at.

Inside cover 1- exploring codes and conventions of real media products

For my inside cover, I decided to make a link to my music video through mise en scene. I used the same font and colour which is red throughout my ancillary texts to create a continuous/consistent flow in the product. I took this picture at a similar location to the music video as this shows synergy within the product. This picture is taken at an estate which relates to my music video. I have maintained the black and white colour overall for my media products as this goes well with the red and black colour. I have also wrote a mini biography of the artist of his current career as in who he has collaborated with and also I have added links to show where the potential consumers can find the ancillary texts and music video.

Inside cover 2 [lyrics]- exploring codes an conventions of real media products

For the other part of the inside cover of my CD digipak design, I decided to put the lyrics of the main music video that I produced in the CD. This allows the audience to engage with the artist by rapping the song along as they would know what he is saying. Also I have kept the same colour theme as well throughout the CD digipak design to create a consistent flow within the product. Also the lyrics have been written in a graffiti look which relates to my music video as the music video was based around graffiti areas. I put the lyrics in the CD cover as the potential consumers mentioned that they would like to see the lyrics inside so they can rap along with the artist as they enjoyed the beat and the whole idea with the video. This is a convention I developed from the potential audience.

Magazine Advert- exploring codes and conventions of real media products

My magazine advert has been related to my CD digipak design as I have now decided to put my picture in black and white. The reason why I have made this decision to change the magazine advert from colour to black and white is because I conducted a focus group and also a questionnaire and asked the potential audience what colour theme for the photo would  suit better for the magazine advert. The majority of the audience said that black and white would be a good colour theme for the advert so this is why I changed the colour theme as I am promoting the artist to the potential audience and it is important to give the audience what they want to see in the media product. This is a convention I explored and developed for my magazine advert as initially I was going to put the photo in colour. The colour theme was a very important factor as the colour in the advert is what makes the product stand out and can generate a higher consumption unit to make it a marketing vehicle. This is where I followed codes and conventions in making this a consumable product. Also the artist is looking directly into the camera with a scornful look which is presented in many grime/rap magazine advert. This is where I incorporated this code and convention in giving the audience what they expect to see in a rap magazine advert.

Magazine Advert- exploring codes and conventions of real media products [Continued]

• The layout, framing of the picture and the colour theme red, black and white was seen to be very good in making the advert become a marketing vehicle. These elements were very significant in meeting the codes and conventions for the advert. E.g. Presenting the MASTHEAD JUST AN IDEA CONCEPT in bold red makes the writing stand out and it is a very dominant colour where consumers would see this colour first than any other colour in the advert. The audience also related my magazine advert to my CD digipak design as they thought that everything in my media products kept a consistent flow such as the colour theme, the mise en scene and they like how there was a variety of camera shots with different angles. They also said that the photo relates to my music video as this is the type of location the video was shot at which has developed codes and conventions by relating my magazine advert to other related ancillary texts.

• The typography was also known to be a clever idea as the way I wrote JUST AN IDEA relates to the graffiti look we used in our music video. This typography is also used in the other ancillary texts such as the CD digipak design. This is where I have made a link between my magazine advert and music video. Also the use of leaving the background in the magazine advert was known to be clever as potential consumers said most rap magazines leave a location background to show where they have come from/just to relate the advert to the music video locations. This was said to be innovative as it represents the artist's identity, job and status within the magazine advert and it also uses codes and conventions of real media products.