A2 Evaluation - Question 1

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

The brief that my media group and I were given to complete constituted a production of a music genre of any genre, with the exception of "grime", "hip-hop/rap" or "R&B", with the addition of two ancillary texts: an advert to be featured in a magazine, as well as a digipak. The group I was with decided to pick the indie genre for our production brief, as we felt this would be the most effective one to make a more unique and exciting video. As a group we settled to use Gabrielle Aplin's song "Salvation" for our music video, and base our ancillary products on her music, as we felt both the artist and the song had real deep meaning we could use to be as creative as possible with.

Before beginning to plan out our indie music video, my group and I first began to research what a music video actually is, i.e. what elements make it up, such as the style of the video or the codes and conventions a specific genre may uphold. In our research we found that the original use of it was simply a financial or promotional tool for the artist to establish the artist. However, as times have progressed, as has technology, artists are now able to create more dynamic videos to appeal to a specific audience; perhaps even to express themselves personally. Music videos are now an effective way for an artist to establish their audience, whether they are new to the industry or as they feel like re-inventing their image (and therefore would like a new audience). Many artists use music videos to reach new audience, as depending on the style of their music video, whether it be performance, concept or narrative, the artist can connect to a set audience. For example, artists, such as Ellie Goulding, may change their genre over time as they would like to explore other avenues of the industry and creatively develop themselves. Ellie Goulding's music has changed from the indie genre to the pop to a slightly more electro-pop style of music. Indie music videos feature narrative styles to express a deep story, whereas pop will use concept-based videos, and moving more into the EDM genre, performance videos are used.

From doing extensive research into indie music videos to aid in my own production, I found a similar trend in the indie codes and conventions. One music video that I looked at in depth was "Panic Cord" by Gabrielle Aplin, which made perpetual use of these generic conventions all throughout her video. The first convention I picked up on was the use of both performance and narrative styles in the video, which I personally appealed to as it gave the video an overall more effective look. From researching media theories such as Dyer's Paradoxes, I found that the artist playing a musical instrument (a guitar) was useful in illustrating her as extraordinary, as Dyer claims. The use of this representation allows for a formation of a bridge between the audience and the artist so that the former can aspire to be more like the latter. Therefore the audience will actually be able to become active within the music video, taking something useful from it. The performance scenes were intriguing to watch as they contrasted well against the narrative aspect of the video, which showed different part of the artist's life; one where she is alone with her thoughts; therefore more intimate, and the other where you see the artist trying to express her feelings into a story. The use of watching other music videos as well as this particular one, I found that although I desired to employ both a performance and narrative style to my own video, the latter would be better served to dominate as it allows an arise of deeper meanings and connotations; particularly as indie lyrics are full of emotions and are more interesting when expressed in a story-like manner. I also found that having this narrative in "Panic Cord" allowed myself to understand the lyrics the artist was singing in the performance side of the video a lot more coherently; therefore I wanted to emulate the same effect in my own music video. Another convention that I picked up on was the use of natural lighting, mixed with high-key lighting. Throughout the music video of "Panic Cord", there is a lot of bright light, almost eerie, which helps with Gabrielle Aplin's narrative, as whilst she looks through her box of memories, the intensity of the light creates a dream-like effect. These almost transcendent connotations allow for the audience to actually feel as if they are genuinely watching a real-life memory. I found this style of lighting to be quite conventional of the indie genre as, a lot of the time, the artist reflects on happier moments in their life. It also helps to link in with the convention of using natural images, rather than artificiality; the natural light which streams in through the windows, illustrates how peaceful and natural the video is; this allows for a reflection upon the authenticity of the artist themselves. Through my research into other indie music videos, I discovered that many indie artists wear rustic/comfortable style of clothing, rather than clothes that would be deemed as "mainstream fashion". One example of a music video that quintessentially demonstrates such convention is Gabrielle Aplin's "Please Don't Say You Love Me". Not only does the artist adopt a indie style of clothing, with her casual dress, but as do the characters in the video; the clothing of baggy jumpers and jeans reflect the characteristics of the genre. Furthermore, the colors of the costume have been given considerate thought; the use of blues and whites for the artist help to connote a sense of innocence as well as there being something more about the artist, beyond the surface. Moreover, the neutral colors which the two protagonists adopt ties in with generic conventions as the indie genre disregards bright and bold colors, as they do not connote naturalness of the outside. In my own music video I really appealed to using this costume style; however, I developed the inspiration by actually changing the colors of the costume throughout, making them darker as the narrative progressed, as the mood changed. For example, at the start of my music video, the artist wore white to illustrate the innocence of the relationship and her happiness; however this juxtaposed with the later colors of greys and black the artist wore as the narrative developed and her feelings became a lot more negative.

For my own music video, my group and I actually decided to both conform and subvert to the indie genre conventions. We decided to start off by following the convention of using both a performance and narrative style in the music video as this way we would be able to firstly, show our artist as an authentic indie artist whom the audience could relate to; and secondly, we would be able to incorporate a deep and meaningful story which the audience can enjoy and use if they are confused about any of the lyrics. Despite it being evidently appealing for the audience to have performance aspects in the shots, as if they cannot see the artist live, it makes them feel like they have actually had the chance to do so, I still think it is more interesting to include a narrative. A narrative would actually appeal to a wider audience, which is a key reason my group and I decided to incorporate it, as even if the audience does not particularly like indie music, they can still appreciate a good storyline. In addition, members of the audience watching an indie music video will expect to be emotionally moved by it and therefore having a lot of performance will not do this as easily. However, my group and I also decided to challenge the indie conventions as we integrated settings of both the countryside and the city. Despite the fact we found that using the city was not particularly conventional, in a questionnaire we completed as part of our primary research, a substantial amount of people said they do prefer the city; therefore to make the video as unique and appealing to as many people, we decided to incorporate both types of locations. To do so, we used time-lapsed shots of the London city life. The purpose of using London as opposed to simply using a slightly busy town area, was that the city has a particular hustle-bustle and chaotic feel to it; in relation to the music video, using this setting would reflect the artist's busy and extraordinary lifestyle, as she is a celebrity. In addition, it would also add meaning to the video as the crowded city connotes a sense of suffocation and claustrophobia, which the audience can interpret stemming from the intensity of the narrative. Using both types of setting is useful in perhaps taking the audience by surprise, as it is quite an unexpected feature; they will consequently be more likely to enjoy the video as it is something fresh and unique, set apart form other indie videos. My group and I also developed conventions of the indie genre through the use of having both a happy and a sad narrative. As "Salvation" is a love song, my group and I wanted to make the video as emotionally intense as possible, to keep the audience absorbed in the tumultuous narrative. For example, the video starts off extremely happy, with their being cute and romantic scenes of the couple enjoying their relationship. However, through both the music and the visuals, the audience can see that the narrative takes a rather intense shift and the male protagonist goes off to war. Although nothing terrible has occurred to him yet, the audience can see through the visuals that something may occur; therefore they will feel a lot more engaged in the video as they feel genuine concern for the characters. When the male protagonist does die, the audience will emotionally feel it as they feel as if they have actually known the character and been a part of their life. This is actually a beneficial way of making the music video more realistic as if you can emotionally connect to the character, you feel as if the narrative is genuinely true. The audience would therefore be able to relate it to their own lives and therefore feel a closer connection the artist for portraying such real-life narratives.  

A2 Evaluation - Question 4

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

Throughout the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages of my production, new media technologies were extremely crucial in the role they played in aiding the quality of the three products. Without such advanced technologies, my group and I would not have been able to create such diverse and professional looking products.

For the research part of the process, I used a lot of technologies, including Google (and Images), Youtube and Blogger. These three websites helped me to gain insight into pre-existing music videos, magazine adverts and digipaks. Google helped me to find inspiration of ancillary texts and Blogger subsequently gave me a platform to compile all my research onto to talk about and refer back to later on. Youtube was also helpful in discovering music videos I could use to gain inspiration from. Having Blogger always open in a separate webpage allowed me to put any research I found from Google and Youtube in it straight away. It was also useful in allowing me to compare between what I had found and choose what I most liked. For example, I created a blog post titled "Music Video Inspirations", where I talked about five different music videos I gained ideas I could develop in my own unique way. One music video, "All I Want" by the indie band, Kodaline, made use of drained saturation in their editing. I therefore analyzed the use of this in Blogger after watching it in Youtube and employed it into my own music video. I went further than this, researching whether the elements that I chose to inspire me are conventional of the indie genre; some actually were not and therefore it was helpful as a producer to see if it would be useful to subvert these conventions. 

I found that this method of research was a beneficial way of producing a more successful piece of work as I was extremely organized in knowing exactly what elements I wanted to include in my own production; furthermore, the use of new technologies strongly aided as the information was so readily available. Blogger proved to be the most helpful of the technologies in my research stage as it allowed me to embed images or documents so I have as much guidance in my production as possible.

In the planning of my production, I used Blogger again as I noted down any ideas and analyzed my own work. Blogger allowed me to talk in depth about my own ideas, which meant I could constructively criticize my own work and see what could be changed and made better. I used the research I made into indie artists' work to aid in planning my own production; I used Blogger to make in-depth analysis of why certain conventions and micro-elements would be appealing to conform to or even subvert. As well as using Youtube to research and then plan for my music video, I also used Google Images to help plan my ancillary texts. For example, I made two separate blog posts called "magazine analysis" and "digipak analysis" where I looked into Gabrielle Aplin's magazine advert and digipak, as well as two other indie artists. I then used this research to draw out my own magazine advert and digipak, which I then took a picture of and uploaded into new blog posts: "planning individual magazine advert" and "planning individual digipak" and analyzed the elements I chose to include. Using these new technologies was extremely useful as otherwise I would not have been able to gain research from various locations, e.g. Youtube and Google Images, to then plan my own products.

For the actual construction of my products, I had to use more advanced technologies; I used software such as Final Cut Pro X to edit my music video and Photoshop CS6 to create my ancillary texts. However, I also used hardware, such as an SLR camera and a tripod, to professionally capture various shot types at different angles to make my music video more successful. Furthermore, using such a proficient camera means I could acquire a high resolution of shots, as well as allowing for larger frames. Therefore as I was using an SLR, it was beneficial to use Final Cut Pro X to edit the footage as the software supports 4K style of filming; my work would effectively work far more professional this way.


Overall all of the technologies did have more benefits as they allowed me to go through a piecemeal process that meant I was on track with my production and I knew exactly what I was doing. This also meant that I had a note of everything I had done, am doing and have planned to do in my production so I would have the desired outcome. As I had never previously created a production based upon the indie genre, technologies such as Youtube and Google allowed me to research the conventions; however as I did extensive research into various indie artists I was able to see how they used these conventions. For example, some artists manipulated conventions, even subverting them to make their video more unique and dynamic. The most important of all the technologies involved was the use of the Macs, as without this hardware, I would not have been able to have access to the professional software such as Final Cut Pro X or Photoshop CS6, which unlike other software, do not have as advanced tools one can work with. Furthermore, using technology such as Youtube was an extremely helpful way to quickly gain public feedback, as it is accessible to all, and I could share it on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to get a wide range of opinions. Conclusively, without digital technologies I would not have been able to create an as appealing video as otherwise.

A2 Evaluation - Question 2

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

From reviewing all three of the products I made, I can see that they really work well together. I had to plan out the ancillary texts after my music video, and was therefore able to use elements of the video to aid in their production. All three texts combined are extremely useful in showing the audience more about the artist, how she views herself and how she would like to be viewed; this allows the audience to form a strong relationship with the artist as she is being quite personal. 

The first ancillary text I produced was my magazine advert. I gained inspiration for this by doing extensive research into other magazine adverts of the indie genre. Doing this allowed me to see how an indie artist links themselves to their products when being advertized, so I had a substantial idea of how to make my own ancillary products as effective as possible. One indie artist I appealed to was Bastille; I looked at his magazine advert for "Bad Blood", as well as considering the elements the artist I chose to base my entire advanced portfolio on, Gabrielle Aplin, used in her advert for "English Rain". From Bastille's advert, I was inspired by the use of the artist on the road at night, running in the opposite direction of the camera. However, using Photoshop, I developed this inspiration by changing the image from being set during the day to during the night. I chose a countryside location to reflect the indie genre and keep the target audience appealed as the audience hold certain expectations of what to see. Furthermore, the location helps to create a more rustic feel to the magazine advert and allows the audience to automatically see the genre it belongs to. In addition, as opposed to the artist in the "Bad Blood" advert running away with a scared facial expression, I shot my artist with one of confidence. The reason for doing so is as I wanted to advocate the representation of the artist being independent and strong, as in the narrative of the music video, this is how she is shown after going through such an ordeal of losing her partner. 

Gabrielle Aplin's magazine advert also helped me as I appealed to how the artist was captured in a long shot, rather than a close up. I incorporated this into my own advert as it is conventional of the genre to focus on an idea, rather than the artist themselves. The use of dark colors in my advert was inspired by both Bastille and Gabrielle Aplin, as the former uses an image at night, which I appealed to as it connotes enigma and suspense; as if there is more to known. I thought this would work well in my own video as the audience may have started watching it presuming it would be your typical love story; therefore they would not expect the distraught plot twist. Gabrielle Aplin's magazine advert was effective to look at as I liked how she had a juxtaposition between greyscale and color; I wanted to create a similar sombre mood in my own advert, to illustrate that the indie genre has deeper meanings and connotations, that reflect real life events. Therefore this is more appealing for the target audience as they can relate to the artist and their life.

The digipak I created, alongside the magazine advert was also effective in combination with my music video as I took on board the components of the latter to provide continuity in my ancillary product. I kept with the theme of there being many conflicting emotions, as seen in my music video, by making half of my digipak have a light color scheme, whilst the other half adopts a darker, stronger contrasting one. This way, it shows how the artist does not work on the basis artificiality in their music, but rather shows the workings of real life and demonstrates how "celebrities" go through such hardships as well.

Another concept I think works well with my digipak is the use of simple editing. Other genres, such as pop or EDM, rely heavily on synthetic visuals in their music videos. However, with the indie genre, minimal editing is key. Therefore, as with my music video where the editing was quite low-key, consisting primarily of trimming and chopping, as well as adding transitions such as fades in between performance and narrative shots, to separate them, my digipak remained simplistic. I never went beyond using editing tools such as blurring/sharpening images, adding filters or perhaps cutting out an image. This helps to both maintain regularity in the visuals of both productions and show the audience consistently that this is an indie genre product; but also to reflect on the genre conventions that disregard overly complex editing, as this would wrongfully illustrate the artist to be artificial. The editing must appear natural throughout, as both the music and the visuals reflect nature; this would appeal to the target audience as they like the simplicity of the indie genre. 

With all three texts combined, I do think they work together effectively. All throughout the production of each product I have questioned each aspect I chose, asking whether it would really work and how it shows a particular ideology I have used elsewhere in my work. I also considered the role of the audience and how elements appeal to them, as they are the ones who watch music videos or buy the products, and therefore they are the ones who promote the artist, and generate more sales. Overall, I do think that my digipak and music video work the most effectively as all the sides of the digipak help to say something about what is shown in the music video. They represent the artist as being natural and relatable, through the mix of colors which help to reflect the artist's emotional complexity.

A2 Evaluation - Question 3

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Having audience feedback is exceedingly beneficial in the production of a music video as it gives the creators the chance to make improvements. As it is the target audience who would most likely be making comments, it allows my my group and I to make changes based on their preferences. And at the end of the day, it is not really about what the director wants that is most important, but rather what the audience wants, as they are the ones who watch the video. Another reason why audience feedback is so crucial is because it means that if a lot of people make similar comments, a changeable aspect is immediately made known of, which my group and I may not have even thought about.

For our own music video, my group and I received feedback from the audience through various methods. One way was through the use of uploading a rough cut of our music video to Youtube where we asked our peers to watch it, writing reviews in the comment section. We received a variety of both positive and negative comments; one positive comment was about the editing my group and I had used. The audience mentioned how we used "good transitions between shots, making the narrative flow better"; this was useful as it showed how although we used minimal effects or transitions, what we used worked well and the audience appealed to this simple use.

However, we also received critical comments; one girl mentioned how she thought the video "needs more performance", as the narrative dominated the video. However, despite our appreciation of the constructive criticism, my group and I did not think it was a particularly major issue to regard as we purposefully constructed our video so that the narrative side of it would be more prominent. We did ensure to review our music video again after reading this comment and we included a few more shots of the artist in the performance aspect of the video, in between some narrative shots we thought they paralleled well with. However, my group and I did find that this was not the most helpful of comments as evidently it did not relate to the planning process of our video. In addition, only one person made this negative comment, as everyone else mentioned how the narrative was really good and worked extremely well.

Another critical comment my group and I received was concerning the verisimilitude of the shots of the male protagonist going to war. The audience member mentioned how the setting was not actually realistic enough. However, although we acknowledged the reasoning behind such a comment, we could not actually do much about the issue as we evidently could not have filmed in a real-life war-zone. Therefore, the best that we could do was have shots of the male character running across a big field wearing army gear and show close ups of him picking up a gun, holding it and "shooting" it. After seeing this comment, my group and I attempted to see if we could make any changed to the video. After watching it again, the only thing we could do is crop out as much of the background, where we shot the male character pointing the gun, as we could, as the location was in a garden. However, I think considering out limitations, my group and I filmed these shots well.

Another method of gaining feedback was through a rapper of "Boy Better Know" coming into our class and reviewing out work. This method was called "screening the production", and after doing so, we gained substantial feedback. Comments regarding the credibility of the emotion intensity were made and we were advised to consider including more meaningful, love-related scenes as possible, such as the couple on a walk or sitting in a café together. Therefore, we ensured that when we actually filmed the scenes remaining in the video of the couple on their first date, or the scene where they fight, or the male protagonist dying, we tried to mediate as much emotion in it as possible. This was a useful comment to us as it showed us that the video was lacking in the convention of being emotionally moving for the audience; if this was so, it would not mean the artist was presented as relatable to the audience as otherwise. 

Both these methods of gaining feedback were extremely helpful to my group and I as they allowed us to boost the quality of the video as much as possible. We found some of the comments were actually quite similar and therefore it was useful that we gained feedback, otherwise we would not have been aware of people's issues with it. Audience feedback has been a good process as it shows how a music video, or any production in general, is only finished when at least the majority of the audience approve of the elements chosen. It also shows how in a production you cannot be thinking about whether an aspect is appealing to you personally but whether it will engage the audience and focus on their likes. This is essential in the music industry as having a rough cut where the audience can give feedback would be a beneficial way for the production group to see where the weaknesses in their work are; if they can change these elements, the artist will be able to be promoted more successfully and therefore more sales will be generated. There are often specific demands of the record label to represent the artist in a certain way as the audience have particular expectations of how they would like the image of the artist to be like. Overall, I have learnt a lot from receiving audience feedback and it has been a very helpful process.