Our final video

Linked below is the final version of our music video:

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of our music video. As a group, we faced many different issues throughout the filing and editing processes and I believe that we overcame these in the best possible ways that we could, allowing us to end with the final piece that we have created.

We decided to place an establishing shot before the beginning of the song. This shot displays my character looking out to the sea, obviously deep in thought. Including this shot in the beginning of our video helps to set the scene for the rest of the video. We decided to place the titles of the video on this shot as the partial silence behind the shot allow the viewer to truly take them in as the shot behind is very plain and simple. We included the very faint sound of the waves crashing in the background of this shot. We did this to help to establish the atmosphere of the piece. To do this, we used the sound from a different clip that we filmed for the video and placed it beneath the video shown.

One of my favourite elements of the video is the change between black and white to colour used throughout. This change in colour is very symbolic and helps to support much of the narrative of our video. We decided to use black and white throughout the shots of mine and Josh's characters together. We did this as we wanted to display the lack of connection between the two and my character's feelings towards him and towards their relationship. The use of black and white continues through the introduction of Jade's character as during this section of the video, the relationship between the pair is purely platonic. When mine and Josh's characters experience their breakup and Jade's character becomes the main focus, the shots begin to change to colour. This represents my characters change in emotion and mindset, displaying her feelings towards Jade. This change in emotion is also shown through the mise-en-scene within the shots,  showing my character smiling and being far happier when she is spending time with Jade in comparison to the shots from the beginning of the video where she was unhappy in her relationship with Josh.

Another aspect of our video that I like is the use of slow motion throughout. This broad use of slow motion was inspired by the video ‘if they only knew’ by Alfie Arcuri. In this video, the use of slow motion added during the editing process allowed for the shots to appear almost dreamlike, adding to the atmosphere of the piece. Using this in our video had the same effect, displaying the confusion that my character faces in her mind throughout.

Draft edit

Above is the first draft of our music video. I am very happy with the first edit of the video and we will use it as a foundation to create our final draft 

Final storyboard

Pictured below is the final version of our storyboard. 

Evaluation- Question 4

Media evaluation - question 4 from Hannah Martin

Evaluation- Question 3

We gathered audience feedback at many different points throughout the production of our music video. We decided to do this as a group as meeting the needs of our target audience was very important to the final outcome of our music video.

We decided to collect feedback from both our teachers and our peers after creating the first draft of our storyboard for our music video. The feedback that we obtained and the elements of the video that we changed due to this feedback is displayed in the table below.

After the final version of our video had been finalised, we held a media presentation evening in the school. The purpose of this evening was to showcase all of the work that both the gcse and a level pupils had been working on all year and it provided us with the opportunity to gain feedback from viewers who had not seen the piece at all during the planning stages.

After our music video had been shown, we asked for some volunteers to provide their feedback on the piece that we had created. We collected this feedback by asking all of the volunteers the same three questions in order to sum up their opinions. These questions were:

1. Do you feel that our music video was suitable for the song?
2. What was your favourite part of the piece?
3. If you cold change one part of the piece, what would it be?
3. Who do you think was the target audience for the piece was?

Asking these questions allowed for us to gather the same information from each audience member in order to gain a fair comparison between all of the responses given.

After much reflection of the responses that were gathered during this session, there were a few comparisons that can be drawn from the audience’s responses. The main point that was mentioned was the lack of understanding over the relationship formed between mine and Jade’s characters at the end of the video. It was suggested on a few occasions that the audience were not entirely aware of the final outcome of the video. It was told that it was unclear as to wether our characters were purely close friends or wether their friendship had been taken further. In order to correct this, it was suggested that the final scenes should have been more intimate in order for this to be made more clear to the audience.

It was clear that the target audience for our music video was recognised. The audience that our piece was aimed towards was very broad, but was closely targeted towards those of the younger generations and also members of the lgbtq+ community. This was highly recognised as displayed in the feedback that we were given. We were told that our target audience was made obvious as the video seemed intended to normalise the idea of same sex relationships. The audience members featured in the video above explained that they believed that this message is mostly important to younger people.

During this showcase, we also gathered feedback concerning our digipaks and magazine adverts that we created for our ancillary tasks. Overall, the feedback that I collected was very positive. Those who saw the projects told me that they looked professional and that my use of photoshop had been very effective. They said that they really liked the way that the advert, digipak and music video all linked together as it gave them a sleek and professional finish.

Evaluation- question 2

How effective is the combination of your main task and ancillary tasks?

All of the media products that I have created within this project all follow very similar themes in terms of both design and colour scheme. I decided to do this as I gained inspiration from pieces of professional work as in noticed that the continuity that they held make them look very appealing to the customer.

The main source of inspiration for this was the continuity of some of Adele's promotional work. The continuity comes from similar imagery used throughout the music video for the song, 'someone like you', the album's digipak and also the poster that she used to promote the new album. I noticed that in all three of the pieces, she uses a black and white colour scheme. When studying these products, I noticed that this created a very sleek and professional look to the products. I decided to take inspiration from this in my own work as I wanted the overall affect of my products to be very similar to this.


As I wished to create a sense of continuity throughout al three of my products, I decided to use the same image across all of them. I chose to use the establishing shot f the music video as both the main image for my digipak and also for the image on the poster. This image features my character standing o her own looking out to the sea. The image is simple yet holds a lot of meaning behind it and is very symbolic of the overall narrative of the music video. It symbolises my characters inner thoughts and feelings throughout the music video and is very symbolic of the theme of the narrative. The colours are bold and I believed that this allowed for the white text placed over the top to stand out and be an eye catching feature of all of the products that I created.

On my digipak, this reoccurring image features as the cover. I chose to do this as its simplicity allowed me to be very creative with the piece. It allowed me to create eye catching titles that would allow it to stand out from the background image in which it is sat on. I chose to use this image as the only image featured on my magazine advert. I chose to use this image with very similar intentions to my digipak. On the magazine poster however, I decided to place the image off centre to the right. Doing this allowed for me to free up space to the left of the image in order to include text and information about the album. I took advantage of the layers option on photoshop in order to help me to do this, as it allowed me to place different items on top of each other to allow me to create my final product.

On the inside of my digipak, I also chose to follow the theme of multicoloured lights that is used broadly throughout my music video. I chose to do this to create a dramatic contrast between the outer and inner panels to create a unique dynamic. The outside panels of the digipak features my character's relationship with Josh whereas the inside places more focus on the character's relationship with Jade that can be seen at the end of the music video.

Evaluation- Question 1

functionality of magazine advert

Similarly to my digipak, i decided to use the program photoshop in order to place my magazine advert for the album in an actual magazine. Doing this allowed me to truly see what the final product would look like and I am very happy with its outcome. 

Functionality of Digipak

In order to see the final result of my product, I decided to use photoshop to place my digipak designs on a pre-existing 3D image of a digipak. Doing this allowed me to properly be able to visualise what the final product would look like and I am very happy with the final result.

Magazine advert- Final

Pictured below is the final draft of my magazine advert

Changes to original plans

Casting

The casting of my character's boyfriend changed just before we began filming our video. Rhys from our media class was originally going to play the role however, due to availability, we asked Josh to be in it. As we are very good friends with Josh, it was far easier to coordinate times where we were all available to film at similar times. 

Song choice

When editing our video, we found that we were not happy with the syncronisation between the song and the visuals. After much discussion, it was decided that we would use our secondary song, 'Sorry' by the band Nothing But Thieves. We decided that the song fit the feel of our video far better than the previous song and the lyrics work perfectly for the narrative that we are trying to portray through the video.

Narrative

Due to the change of song for our music video came a slight change to the narrative of the piece. Our original plan for the music video was for my character to fall in love with her best friend but for the pair to remain as friends. This would allow for us to focus more around the individual torment of my character rather than the relationship that she finds herself in. As the new song that we had chosen was far more upbeat than the previous song choice, this focus on mental health no longer seemed fitting. We decided to edit the conclusion of our piece ever so slightly so that the two friends become romantically involved instead. As a group, we felt that this narrative was far more fitting to the song and to the piece as a whole.

Props 

Due to this change of narrative in the piece, it was no longer necessary for us to use some of the props that we had listed during the planning process. As we were no longer portraying the emotional breakdown of the protagonist so strongly throughout the video, we no longer needed to use fake drugs and cigarettes as listed. We were going to use these props to demonstrate the true impact that the hidden feelings of our protagonists were having on her mental wellbeing, showing that she had decided to turn to drugs to cope with how she was feeling.

Filming

There were a few issues when we tried to stick to the filming schedule that we had produced in the early planning stages of our video. Due to a change in schedule in me moving house, it became difficult for me to attend all of the filming days that we had arranged. As I play the protagonist in the video, it was very difficult for the rest of my group to continue filming as planned without me. This meant that we became delayed in our filming and had to make other arrangements in order to combat the delays that we were facing on order to meet all of the deadlines that were given to us.

Editing software

At the very beginning of the editing stage of production, we traveled down to the local college in order to use their editing software as they had better facilities than the ones we had in school. Due to health and safety concerns, we were soon told that we were no longer able to do this so we were forced to find another method of editing. We decided to change the software that we were using from premier pro to iMovie as it was easily accessible for us in school. Both Jasmine and I also had access to this software at home so this made it even more accessible for use as a group.

Magazine advert- Draft

This is the first draft of my magazine advert. I really like this draft as it is simple but includes all of the information necessary on a magazine poster. On my final draft, I will add an effect onto some of the text. I will do this in order for important information to stand out more from the other text on the advert. I will also add a review onto the advert as including this would entice consumers and would attract their interest.

Digipak- Final

Pictured below is the final draft of my digipak:

Whilst developing the ideas for my digipak, I decided that I wanted to demonstrate the two different sides that are included in my video. The outer cover of the album symbolises the relationship between mine and Josh's characters and the inside shows the relationship between my character and Jade's. I really like the effect that doing this had on the look of my digipak. The outside of the case follows a beach theme, creating a sleek overall look. The inside focuses on the multicoloured lights, allowing the inside to be just as eye catching as the outer packaging.

I really like the positioning of the front cover of my album. I positioned the main image of the shot directly in the centre of the cover, allowing it to become the main focus of the album cover as a whole. I decided to choose this image as the light colouring of the image allowed for me to include text over the top of it without it getting lost in the image behind. I decided to use this colour scheme across the whole outer packaging of my piece as it allowed for me to create smooth and sleek overall look.

I chose to change the typography featured on the front cover of my digipak. On the first draft of my digipak, I did not include the actual title of the album. I want to do this as I wanted to keep it simple however, I decided to feature it on the final draft of my digipak as I decided that it would make the album more recognisable for fans and for its consumers. When I placed the additional text on the image, I realised that it didn't have the effect that I wanted it to. I decided that I wanted to make it bolder to allow the text to stand out from the image more. I decided to place two solid black lines above and below the text and doing this gave the text the look that I was after. It allowed for the text to become more bold and to stand out, allowing it to stand out more whilst on the shelf amongst others.

I decided to keep the images the same as featured on the first draft of my digipak. I really like the way that the outer packaging of the digipak entirely contrasts with the inner design as it provides an aspect of variety to my digipak as a whole. It also serves to follow the ongoing theme displayed throughout my music video, linking the two pieces of media together.

Digipak- Draft

Pictured below is the draft of my digipak:

I am very happy with this draft as I really like the colouring and the overall layout of it. I chose to follow a very similar theme to that of my music video as I really liked the contrast in shots that we used throughout and believed that they would be very fitting for my digipak.

I wanted to keep the front cover of the album plain and simple, displaying just one main focus in the frame with the titles placed above. I really like how it turned out, however on my final draft I wish to include the title of the album as doing this will attract the consumer as it will make the album identifiable amongst others.

I chose to use the beach shots for the outer packaging as the colours blend very nicely and allow for text to be placed over them. I chose to use the darker yet more colourful shots inside of the digipak as it will provide an eye-catching contrast to the design of the outer packaging.

Magazine adverts

Magazine adverts are a very popular method of promotion used by many artists, both large and upcoming. 

Whilst carrying out my research into the design of different album magazine adverts, I noticed that there were two main different layouts used. In the first style, I noted that the main focus of the advert is often a picture of the artist. This allows people to be drawn in as it may feature a large artist or an artist that they like. In these examples, the artist is positioned towards one side of the frame. This allows for all information and text to be written towards the other side of the frame.

It is also very popular for artists to become the main centre of focus by placing their picture directly in the centre of the shot. This creates a clean and sleek design, with the text often being placed above and below the central image of the artist. Including an image of the artistr on the advert is likely to draw people in as they may recognise the artists face and wish to continue looking at the advert because of it.





Another popular design is the main image of the magazine advert being the album art used. This encourages people to relate the advert with the album, making them more likely to be interested in looking further or seeing out the album to buy it.

It is a very important feature of magazine adverts to include certain details about the upcoming album and its release. All adverts that I have looked at have included the name of the album and the release date. Some adverts also include some additional information such as a website link for the artist and also some well known songs that are featured on the album. Including these extra details would further help to encourage people to go out and purchase the album.

Filming- Day 4

We decided to use today to film some of the key shots between mine and Josh's characters. 

Date: 26th of January

Locations: 

Ogmore beach
Heronstonlane

These shots represent the end of the relationship between mine and Josh's characters.  We chose to go on a windy day, as it created the dark atmosphere that we wanted. The bad weather conditions and the waves mirror the feelings of the characters in the shot. We decided to film some establishing shots of the sea itself, as we felt that it was very fitting to the mood and atmosphere of the piece as a whole. 

In these shots, I chose to wear all black as these are the final moments of our relationship. The dark colours represent the attitudes of my character towards her relationship with Josh. She feels trapped and unhappy, outwardly shown by her dark appearence.

We chose to include an argument scene in our music video. We believe that including this scene would allow the audience to truly gain an understanding of the breakdown of the relationship between the pair. We chose to film in from a high angle in order to display my character feeling trapped and lost in her relationship. It makes me look small and the relationship insignificant, showing her true lack of interest in the relationship as a whole.

After filming at the beach, we went to film the argument scene between mine and Josh's characters. We decided to film the main body of this scene using a down angle shot. We did this as it allowed for all aspects of the argument to be clearly displayed within the shot. The use of this shot also symbolises the lack of connection that the couple truly shares. We chose to

The use of this medium shot symbolises my character finally breaking away from the relationship she has felt trapped in. The idea of Josh's character standing small in the background is symbolic for her feelings for him and their relationship. My character physically walking away from Josh is symbolic of her walking away from her past and what makes her unhappy. 

Applying Goodwin's theory to our music video

Album inspiration

When I first began researching album covers, this one really stood out to me due to its positioning and the colours used. The central position of Bowie in the forefront of the cover isolates him and makes him appear lonely. This is a look I wish to achieve in my album cover as it follows the narrative of our video. In this cover, I also really like the use of colour.  As much of our music video follows the idea of my character working out her sexuality, I like the idea of using colour on my album cover to signify this.

 Similarly to the first cover, I really like the positioning and use of colour in this cover. The positioning of the character isolates her against the plain background, allowing her to stand out. The presentation of her from the back creates mystery in the cover, a feature that I would like to include in my own album cover. In contrast to the first cover, I like the use of black and white here as it adds to the mystery behind the cover. As much of my music video is in black and white, this is feature that I would like to include in my album cover.

This album cover is very eyecatching due to the use of bright, bold colours. I really want to incorporate colour in my album cover as it would resemble my character finally accepting herself for who she is. Similarly to the other covers, I really like the positioning of the main feature in the frame as it once again allows them to stand out from the background that they are on.

This is my favourite album cover out of the ones featured. I really like the simplicity of the cover due to the positioning of the main feature. I wish to incorporate this same idea of isolation of the main featuire on the cover in my design as I believe the simplicity of the design would help to draw people in.






Similarly to the previous album cover, I really like the positioning of this album art. The position of the main focus in the centre of the frame but placed in the distance creates a mystery around the cover. I also really like the contrast between the colours in the sky compared to those at the bottom of the frame and I will take inspiration from this in my own album cover.

Digipaks

What is a digipak?

A Digipak is a style of packaging used for CD's. They are typically made from card stock with a plastic insert to hold the disco in place. The most common style is the 4 panel digipak that is designed to open up in the same way you would open a book. Digipak's with higher numbers of panels are also available as they provide more room for artwork to be included in the product. Digipak's give the CD an expensive and professioal look in order to entice the consumer. Digipak's will include well designed album artwork and will be protected with specialist printing finishing options including matte, lamination and embossing.

Digipaks used to be a viewed as a limited edition of an album as they were sold in far lower quantaties and at far higher prices. Due to developments in use and ease of technology, digipak's are now more widely available than ever.

Features

• They usually have a gatefold like a book, allowing for more room for graphic art to be displayed
• They can have multiple panels, ranging from a simple 4 panel to an 8 panel set

Examples of Digipaks

The advantages of digipaks

There are many different advantages of selling albums in the form of digipaks

For the industry..

• Companies are able to charge more for selling digipaks than for the standard CD
• More creative freedom
• Being economically friendly encourages a good view of the company

For the consumer...

• Can be a collectors item
• Often include bonus features such as videos, pictures and bonus tracks
• Less likely for damage of the disk to occur

Changing our song...

Once we began to edit our music video together, we noticed that the footage that we had put together didn't seem as though it belonged to the song we had chosen. The sound and visual did not seem to match up very well and we really weren't happy about the outcome of our initial attempt of editing.

Whilst choosing our initial song, we struggled choosing between our top two choices. Our second choice was a song called 'Sorry' by the band Nothing but thieves. The song talks about an individual battling their inner deamons and eventually finding it within themselves to ovecome them. We felt that this was very fitting for our storyline as the song does not specify exactly what the individual is facing, leaving the song open to interpretation. The lyrics to the song are pictured below.

Sorry- Nothing But Thieves lyrics

You might kill me with desire
Wind me tighter than a wire
It's something that you do to me
I run away like mercury

And I know you think it's rough
When you're try'na patch us up
And I say honey what is love?
You just say I drink too much

Maybe I'm defective
Or maybe I'm dumb
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done
Maybe I'm bad natured
Or maybe I'm young
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done

And I'm the t-shirt that I wear
Pick the thorns out of my hair
I broke your heart so carelessly
But made the pieces part of me

And now it hurts what we've become
'Cause you taught me how to love
It's me who taught you how to stop
And you just say I drink too much

Maybe I'm defective
Or maybe I'm dumb
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done
Maybe I'm bad natured
Or maybe I'm young
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done

I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I been waiting so long

I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I been waiting so long

Maybe I'm defective
Or maybe I'm dumb
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done
Maybe I'm bad natured
Or maybe I'm young
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done

.