EVALUATIONBY CAROLINE GRIFFIN

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

products?We have chosen to create a music video for Party Rock Anthem by

LMFAO, which is within the pop/hip-hop genre. We have renamed the song ‘Party Shuffle’ as the song lyrics are about partying and the lyrics, ‘Everyday I’m shuffling’ are the most well known part of the song, and also our video focuses on the dance aspect of the song. This is similar

to other music videos within the pop/hip-hop genre, such as Yeah 3X by Chris Brown, as this music video also focuses mainly on the dance

scenes.

Party Shuffle video

Yeah 3x video

Our video is narrative and performance based. We have used lots of dance scenes, which is a typical convention of an upbeat pop video, and our video also has a storyline. This is similar to other comedy

themed videos within the pop genre, for example, Last Friday Night by Katy Perry.Brief storyboard from my Party Shuffle

video

Brief storyboard from Last Friday Night by Katy Perry

The opening sequence from ‘Party Shuffle.’

The opening of the video suggest that:- The video will be comical – one of the first shots used is a close up of

Paul looking extraordinarily happy. - Performance based – he jumps straight out of bed and begins dancing.- Narrative based – the camera follows Paul as he carries out his ‘morning

routine’ whilst dancing.

However, we have also challenged the conventions of a pop video:- Set in a house/college – everyday setting. - Costume is quite plain – Paul is an ordinary kind of character.- This would appeal to the audience as it is more relatable.- It makes the situation seem more bizarre and comical.

Screenshots of the main settings from Party Shuffle

Paul’s outfit for the video

A close up shot from ‘Party

Shuffle.’

A close up shot from ‘Last Friday Night’ by Katy

Perry.

A close up shot from ‘So What’ by Pink.

Close ups of Pauly-K, the main artist, are used frequently. This is so the audience can see his facial expressions clearly, which adds to

the comical value of the video. Close-ups are a convention of pop/hip-hop music videos and comedy videos as it is important that

the audience can see the artist’s facial expressions.

I have used some video transitions within my music video in the form of cross dissolves. Video transitions are a convention used frequently in pop/hip-hop music videos.

Use of a cross dissolve within ‘Party Shuffle.’

Use of a cross dissolve within ‘All About Tonight’ by Pixie Lott.

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

I think that my ancillary project suits the pop genre well as I have used lots of bright, vibrant colours and have included photos of my artist as a

main part of the text, which is a main convention of a pop album cover/poster as they always feature the artist as a main part of the

piece.

I have used photos of Paul dancing on my album cover as this connotes the lyrics of the song and also the storyline of the music video,

therefore both my main product and my ancillary products match each other.My album cover

My posterMy CD label

I have used the same ‘Pauly-K’ logo, font style and colour scheme for each of my ancillary projects. This means that the design for my ancillary projects are consistent which result in them looking like a more professional text.

On my CD cover I have used pictures of Paul dancing as this connotes the theme of the music video and the song lyrics. Paul looks happy in these pictures which reflects the upbeat and cheerful theme of the song.

The chunky fonts used connote the pop genre and this song in particular as they are very eye-catching and in-your-face.

The bright colours connote the bizarreness of the video and the song lyrics.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I conducted this questionnaire and handed it out to twenty people who have viewed my music video.

These are the results:

9/10 – 10%8/10 – 30%7/10 – 50%6/10 – 10%

Yes – 80%Somewhat – 20%

Yes – 90%No – 10%

Yes – 80%No – 10%Parts of it – 10%

50%50%

Do you think there is something we could improve on?

Yes No

80%

10%10%

If yes, what do you think could have been improved?

The camerawork

The dance scenes

Could have used a wider range of shots

Yes – 50%No – 50%

Camerawork – 80%Dance scenes – 10%Range of shots – 10%

Whilst creating my video we used an SD card video camera to capture the footage and tripod. I had never used this equipment

before so I learnt how to capture footage on this type of camera, set up the tripod and to upload the footage onto a computer.

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

stages?

While editing my music video I used Adobe Premiere, which I have never used before. I learned how to import video/audio clips, cut the clips, use video transitions, use audio transitions and how to export

the finished video.

Importing a video clip

Using the ‘razor’ tool to cut a video clip

Video transitions using a cross dissolve

Audio transitions – using constant power to fade the music

Exporting a video clip

I used Youtube.com to upload my finished project.

After I uploaded my finished video to Youtube.com I noticed that there were a few ‘broken frames.’ This occurs when an

SD card camera is used to capture video footage and it makes one frame of the video flash red. In order to fix this I had to go back onto premiere, find the broken frames within the

project and use the razor tool to cut them out.

During the process of making my ancillary project I have used Adobe Photoshop to change the appearance of photos/text to create a professional looking album cover and poster.

Cutting round part of a picture on Photoshop

Using a gradient effect on text on Photoshop

Using the ‘plastic wrap’ effect on text on Photoshop

I have also downloaded fonts from Dafont.com to include varying styles of text on my ancillary project.

I used Slideshare.net to upload my research presentations onto my blog.