Question 4 put on slideshare

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

Blogger: This is an online platform which helped us to publish all of our coursework on to an online presence. By doing this, it allowed us to keep a back log of all our research and planning in the run up to creating our music video. This was useful because we could edit any planning as well as information about our band that we had writ previously. Using blogger as well as other students using it allows them to make comments on what i post meaning i will get peer feedback as well as teacher feedback. 

Video camera: We used a video camera to film footage for our Music video. Before using this, we learnt how to operate it and someone else in our group had better knowledge on the camera so I took turns with her. I took many shots when it came to recording because we wanted loads to choose from when it came down to editing and we could take different sections of the clips. This helped us hugely because some shots did not work that great but there was parts in them which we could save and make use of. Along with using the camera, we used a tripod to hold our camera still and to get perfect footage. 

Youtube videos: I watched many video clips of music videos on Youtube as it's full of them. I found this very useful because you can pause and replay whenever you want to break it down. I watched it on my ipad as i could screen shot parts quickly to use as examples when it came to creating our music video but also watched videos on the apple MAC computer because it's got a wider screen and louder sound allowing us to understand how we wanted our music video similar to. I also watched the music channels on tele because these were the most recent music videos out now and it gave us an idea of costumes, lighting, the different angles used and the colours used.

Editing our images: Imovie

When it came to editing our music clip, we used the programme Imovie. it was a simple programme to use because once you uploaded parts of your music clips, you could edit them together and it was layout in a timeline baased way so it was up to you to move the filming clips around and put them in order. We also uploaded our music sound note onto this programme also. All we had to do was drag the movie note under the clips and it would play throughout all of the filming. 

Here is an example of what the Imovie programme looks like. In the box at the bottom half of the screen are all the shots you have taken. You are able to crop each part and drag it to the top left hand corner of the screen. The top left hand corner is the real things, the music video. Then once you have inserted the sound clip of the song, this is the green bar under the images at the top left hand corner. This shows that the song is playing all the way through the music video. 

This is not the clearest image but I took the shot in action when things were being edited. The programme we used was I-movie. I have never edited any clips on this programme before or even on the computer but found that this was a very simple programme to use when it came to our music video. Every time we went out and shot for the video, we would upload it to this programme and then edit it on here. We added things such as transitions which was how one clip would run into the next clip whether it would be running into it etc. There was many different things to choose from such as part of the clip spinning out and then it fading into the next one. 

This is one of the tools used when we were editing on IMovie. This tool allowed us to adjust how long the clip was which we inserted and how fast we wanted it to be. We could change this by using the slider and by doing this, it allowed us to speed up a slowly recorded clip to fit in with the speed of the music 'Latch'

Photoshop:

Photoshop is a programme which I am very fond with using and came in very handy when creating my Digipak. This toolbar is the key thing used within this programme. It allows me to easily access different tools and there are many to choose from. When I wanted to insert a back ground colour, I would go down to the twelfth icon down which is a pain bucket. I also inserted text by Using the big 'T' icon. Once on this you can then change the size, font an colour of the text to suit your Digipak style.

 

My mobile phone: Throughout the planning stage of the music video, I used my phone to keep in touch with my team members so we knew what we needed to do next. Although we made a time table of when we were free, it was easier to remind each other via phones and text. This meant texting or irnging them was the best form of communication with them due to me having unlimited texts and phone calls which was low in cost for me. This piece of technology helped when organising dates to shoot and where to shoot for the music video.

Twitter and Facebook:

Both of these websites are popular within teenagers today meaning I could post my Digipak on here for audience feedback. I could also do the same with my final product of the music video. The audience feedback would include things such as the strengths and weaknesses of my work to look to improve on in the future.



comparing my digipak to professionals based on conventions

back page digipak unfinished

I have until next Monday to complete my whole digipak and here I have started my back page. I am still to edit rhyce's face and I need to add Lucys face who is our second actor to the other side of the Digipak.

Conventions of a digipak

After researching many digipaks, I have recognised the conventions in which many of them follow and have. A digipak is a patented style of a CD packaging.

• They normally have a gatefold like a book so below is the template I used in order to create mine with a front cover, an inside page and a back page.
• The front and back pages are the main promoters of the CD and are used to draw in the customers where as the inside pages are more subtle compared to outside packaging.

The front page usually tends to have a large eye catching picture on them and this picture usually has some relation to the song or artist which is true because Lucy and Rhyce are the main actors in my music video and are front page of my digipak! The shot used is usually a mid shot and a some what close up. Then the artists name in large font is included with smaller or larger titles for the name of the album sometimes in different fonts and colours too.

The back page usually includes the track list in clear font, the record label, the artist or albums name, a barcode and then some extra information which I have pretty much covered them all on mine.

DigiPak research

DIGIPAK conventions:

I researched the conventions an found that DigiPak includes:

Images

The artists name

details of tracks

track listings

song producers

song writers

lyrics of the song.

This was a DigiPak of Carly Rae Jepsen and she has used much colour but suitable for the genre which is pop. I decided to research pop digipaks obviously with my music video being the same genre. Pop music videos are usually mostly watched by girls and these colours give of a girly vibes.

The colourful combination of the clothing worn by Carly is a very generic convention of pop artists as they like to be portrayed as fun to be with and quite fashionable. 

She has also used her signature as her name on the cover, it gives it a personal touch and will appeal to her target audience a lot more. An example is, someone may of heard her voice and name over a radio station but not actually seen what her face looks like so if she did not have her signature on there as recognition then people may not know it's her. The design and layout is also very simple but effective and looks lively and fun when you look at it which is what her music reflects.  

I continued to research the front back and insides of different DigiPak. I came across Lady Gaga who is also well known in the pop industry. I found that the back of her DigiPak was good and quite simple even though there looks like a lot of writing. Theres a simple image of her surrounded by the price tag which is on either the front or back usually. The writing next to her face are usually the track listings or details of the tracks. 

The bottom left text is when the song producers and writers are mentioned and recognised. I feel that when i create my DigiPak, i will not be using this feature but will be using some things of this image to influence me for mine. 

All of this page includes DigiPaks which I am moved towards when it comes to creating mine but Taylor Swifts album cover is something which I will be planning to do. It uses simple neutral colours which work for the type of person she is which is country girl. She uses a portrait of her, the artist and her back page has very minimal text to keep it simple and not too busy. 

All three of these digipaks really focus on the artists being on the front cover with their name written across them somewhere followed by the albums name. The albums name is never in a place where it cannot be seen as is placed in a position that you will see when you look at the artist. The way we can catch our audiences eye with out Digipak is that by following the conventions and keeping things simple, the main thing is that the choice of colours must be correct for young teenagers to recognise its a pop music video but it is based on love so the use of red may be used in there. 

Digipak design

 







Here is a basic drawing to what I would like my front page of the Digipak to look like. I would like an image of either Lucy, Rhyce or even them both in the centre of the cover. I will then have written just slightly through the picture 'Rhyce Galer and Lucy Skeggs' in fancy writing to show the main actors names and I am following Taylor Swifts Digipak album cover. I will then have the Album name which is undecided as of yet just under the fancy writing but in a much bolder text and bigger. The back ground for the front cover will also be basic allowing the main focus to be on the image of the actors. I am thinking colours such as greys, whites blacks and maybe some red as its a love music video.

Here's a basic drawing of my back page of the Digipak. I will again have a plain background to follow the theme of the colours. I will have a list of all the songs involved in a straight line down the centre of the page and then at the bottom will include the barcode as this is mainly on the back of most Digipaks which I have ever bought. Lastly, Our music video includes Lucy and Rhyce constantly looking for eachother, I feel that I will include a side view standing picture of Rhyce looking to the right direction and Lucy to the left.

Costume choosing and props

I decided that for our music video, the actors would just wear casual clothing as that's what's worn in love songs a lot of the time to this day. There was no outfit changes throughout our music video either because we got all our recording done in around 3 days. Below is an example of what Rhyce (our boy actor) would be wearing. Just a basic white t-shirt with some basic skinny jeans. This type of clothing is in fashion for the casual day to day look for most boys so they can then feel they relate to this video a lot more with this being the clothing worn by Rhyce. Another thing added to Rhyce's costume was his coat with a fur hood. Most times in which we recorded, the weather wasn't the nicest and also feel that this coat resembles a lot of male teenagers now a days. Our audience was young teenagers so feel that with this clothing's, we attracted them well. These clothes were bought from well known shops such as Topman and River Island.

This outfit on the left is the type of costume I picked out for our female actor (Lucy). This again is casual, day to day stuff and very basic. These pieces of clothing are what girls feel very comfortable in. Most pop music videos these days include these type of outfits or really girly dresses. These type of clothing pieces can be bought from the likes of Primark, Topshop and River island.