Enyinna Ezebuiro

Evaluation Q3:

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The features of the video that were stated to have worked best was the numerous amount of camera angles that had been taken for the video. This shot variety was said to have ensured that many scenes did not seem stale or plain, because the mix up of camera views created a more immerse and innovative experience on the viewer.

The two main performers, Clayton and Kalise, were also stated to not only have succeeded in looking the part and remaining conventional to the genre, but also of playing their crucial roles in the narrative well. The pastiche of rapper Common’s ‘Come Close’ was also identified and said to have fit in exceedingly well upon our narrative. Therefore audiences stated that the two were able to portray a very realistic couple who have a very positive relationship, which not only made our narrative more believable and understandable, but more likeable as well. The However although our video was said to have a very solid narrative, our performance shots within the green screen and tricaster were said to be good but need some improvement. More conceptual effects were also noted to be considered in adding towards the video, to make sure it could become more distinctive, unique and adventurous. Therefore further black and white was implemented on footage, and other features such as the split screen of the two main characters within the choruses, and the effect of ‘Colour Isolation’ on certain parts were also added to further build upon our creativity.

Through samples of audience feedback, the main negative criticisms derived from the old scenes within the choruses. One of the issues would have had us being tasked with using Colour correction upon the performance scenes within the choruses, because of an issue of lighting which had our singer performer in one angle with clothes that had a grey tone to it, and another angle with clothes of a yellowish tone instead. This is disorientating towards the viewer and visually distractive, as instead of the audience paying attention and appreciation over the footage of the performance, they are put off by the dual shades of colour that the singer appears to have possessed upon his attire.

From peer assessments, audience and focus group feedback, our group had discovered that our performer who is lip-syncing the singer’s, Haydon’s, part of the song was not as believable and convincing enough as we had desired and initially imagined. This was for multiple reasons consisting mainly from visual factors, as he didn’t have a completely and absolute conventional look to an R&B artist, and instead his appearance happened to seem more suited towards the actual grime artist’s look for Wretch 32. Also because of the quality in his performance, this showed in some cases of the footage with off lip-syncing and the performer not singing along efficiently on time to the lyrics. The movements and motions made by the performer were also a tad bit flamboyant and ostentatious, in substitution of being more smooth, slick and sleek which we felt would be much more appropriate for the R&B artist; therefore this again brought further drawbacks to not only his performance, but the video on a whole.

Therefore because of the amount of problems and limitations created through the chorus sections over the rest of the video, our group had come to a conclusion and made a bold decision to actually scrap the existent chorus scenes, and start from scratch to create footage for a new one. We decided to end up using the same performer, Clayton, who is acting the role of the Wretch 32 to also be the singer. Noted from the feedback given and our own personal opinions, he can contain a high level of quality within his performance that will make him very convincing of being various types of an artist, and not just limited to rap and grime. So due to some further and careful consideration we concluded that this would be an acceptable move to make as it also isn’t completely unseen from many artists to be both the rapper and the singer within their music, as this is seen from the likes of Pharrell, Drake, Plan B etc

More problems also came from issues with brightness within certain shots. Because of the poor weather and certain lighting conditions, the camera could not film certain scenes effectively as they would end up appearing considerably dark when re-viewing it, and therefore proving it unworthy of being used towards the video. This was mostly noticeable during the earlier sections of the video, and therefore with the use of the editing technology that Adobe Premiere Pro provides we were able to brighten up the footage and make it easier to see for audience viewing.

We also learnt that certain features and techniques incorporated into our within our music video were perhaps too subtle to be recognisable. This was specifically highlighted within a section of the black and white montage scene, which had both main performers walking towards retail shops together and hand in hand, however the multiple pieces of clips were cut up (via the razor tool within Adobe Premiere Pro), and put together to create a seamless transition which gave the impression that they had been moving along normally. This was done for uniqueness and visual indulging upon the viewer, but because of how seamless it appeared, some viewers did not understand the concept and therefore just believed they were watching exceptionally long footage of the couple walking towards one store; which didn’t seem necessary or astonishing at all. The black and white effects upon this only made it even harder to tell the difference and distinguish between the various clips that had been moulded into one, however we did not wish to remove this feature because it would go against the consistency and meaning of the actual montage, which represents flashbacks of all the great, sentimental times that the pair have shared with one another together. Therefore we decided to add actual transitional effects which would highlight the fact that there have actually been multiple clips of footage that have been combined with one another to give the desirable effect of making them flow seamlessly together which would make it appear like ultimately one whole clip.

With the help and advice provided from feedback our group was also able to identify further lip-syncing issues. Therefore we had to re-edit this footage, and make sure that the performer’s lips flawlessly matched the audio.

With the ancillary productions, feedback was given from the Media lecturers and some fellow peers and this was crucial in making it as efficient and presentable as possible for whether it was the poster, or even when concerning the appearance of the CD covers and the inlay cards. With the poster work, the original happened to look really clustered and busy, which was helpfully pointed out by our media tutor, and this was caused by the disorderly composition of the design. The original had too much text, and text that was hard to read, therefore it appeared to bombard the overall image and the more minor information disorientated the actual important information that was shown on the poster. To act upon this we had to shorten and remove some of the text, and completely change some fonts so that the poster becomes easier to read and more effective.There was also a silhouette of the artist present, however this was too big and made the poster appear even busier. Therefore I decided to make it smaller, but it still appeared to make the poster look busy and bombarded, therefore we made the decision to strip it entirely.

Newer version

Older version

This was agreed in being the most effective variation of the design, as everything seemed bold and blunt and therefore lacking the overwhelming amount of features that the previous designs had. This made it the most ideal version to become a poster, as they need to be clear and straightforward, instead of being too cluttered and overcomplicated.

With the CD cover I learnt that the typography actually wasn’t consistent enough with the poster. The original font I used on it was also, although attractive and conventional towards the Grime and ‘underground’ theme, still very hard to read and not as bold and masculine as the poster’s font. Therefore the stereotypically ‘macho’ feel that is usually provided with Grime artists was somewhat lacking within the CD cover. With these issues we decided it would be best to instead just go with the same font used on the poster, as this was free from the issues that were limiting the original font due to being clear, bold, and conveying masculinity to a high extent as well.

The size of the album title ‘Goin Wretchro’ was also increased in order for it to stand out more, and the parental advisory sign was made smaller, to make it less significant and therefore less disorientating upon the design on a whole.

Older version

Newer version

With further audience feedback and our own personal views upon the album cover, we decided to have a mixture of the two fonts as we believed the consistency would not suffer much from this. The main font we are using for the album cover is still bold enough to stand out significantly, whilst adjustments have also been made upon the font of ‘Wretch 32’ in order to reduce the blur and increase the contrast in order to make it more visible to the eye.

We believe that the font of the album cover is good enough to reflect upon the general masculinity and boldness often seen in Grime performers. Where as the graffiti-like font of the ‘Wretch 32’ can be easily associated and identified within the Grime an also Hip-Hop genre, and the general‘underground’ theme.

Changes therefore also had to be made towards the back cover of the CD, in order to make sure it is consistent along with the rest of the work from the ancillary productions. Other alterations were also advised to be made, in order to make sure it looked as official as possible.

Older version Newer version

The inlay cards also received criticisms as they were inconsistent with the main parts of the digipak productions. They originally had text written on it, and the typography was grossly varied throughout it all therefore lacking a strong and clear thematic identification upon the artist’s merchandise and promotional works.

Older Versions

Newer versions

With the newer versions of the inlay cards, we decided to remove the text permanently from them, as due to feedback from our tutor we were able to understand that it was unnecessary and not needed upon these designs. However, we were reassured that it was still a good idea to leave typography on one of the inlays, therefore we kept the one with the main text intact, as this was the most informing and insightful.