Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For our A2 media project, we produced a music video for the song “Stay Too Long” by artist Plan B. Throughout this production, we have consciously both developed and challenged certain conventions typical of other popular music videos in order to create an innovative and original final product.
In order to understand what would be considered ‘conventional’ of modern music videos, we researched other musicians of a similar genre to Plan B. As Plan B’s discography and musical style spans the ‘hip-hop’ genre as well as blues and soul, we analysed a range of artists from Smokey Robinson to more modern British artists like Professor Green and Example. We focused on the presentations of artist image, finding that the conventional appearance of older blues artists like Robinson included designer clothing (often suits) and also other symbols of wealth like expensive jewellery. Such artists were also presented in the media as conventionally being charming, suave and sophisticated in order to sexually appeal to a female audience and act as aspirational figures for a male audience. In contrast to this image, stereotypical hip-hop artists are alternatively often represented as aggressive and surly, wearing casual clothing such as hoodies/tracksuits that are often somewhat reminiscent of ‘yob culture’.
In our A2 music video, we used the typical conventional ‘blues’ image for our main protagonist in order to reflect his lavish lifestyle. This meant that his attire included a smart suit with a red tie and designer shoes to signify the wealth and sophistication typically associated with classic blues artists, in this way, we immediately present the protagonist using visual conventions of the blues image. However, the protagonist’s attitude and his actions within the music video are more inclined towards the conventional hip hop image. Examples include the fight scene in which he is injured as well as the hedonistic party scene, albeit we also feel we have challenged the conventions of ‘hip-hop’ in the form of the protagonists fiancée. This is because such rappers are normally shown as sexually active and single to fit in with the established theme of sexual objectification in hip-hop songs, and in depicting our protagonist as engaged we feel we are challenging this theme. Although, his later infidelity is certainly more typical of the idea of sexual freedom conveyed in certain hip hop material.
Our research also included the analysis of similar music videos, particularly the conventional style of editing, the variety and implementation of different camera shots, and also visual post-production effects. We noticed that in music videos such as Professor Green’s and Example’s, a lot of screen time is dedicated to the musicians in the form of close-up shots and medium shots. We found this boring and aimed to develop this conventional filming style with a wider range of shots, for example, the master shot thorough the pint glass and the employment of point-of-view shots are representative of the way we developed upon the status-quo of other modern music videos.
The conventional editing style also involved cross-cutting between the narrative of the music video and the musical performance of the star, a style we felt appropriate for our own production due to its standing as such a deeply ingrained convention of the music video format, and one we felt still appeared stylish due to our fast editing and cross cutting pace. Post-production effects are also used heavily in such music videos, and we both used and developed the stereotypical style of such effects, employing common effects such as slow-motion but also adding more original, innovative effects such as the ‘stop-motion’ effect of the beer draining.
In order to understand what would be considered ‘conventional’ of modern music videos, we researched other musicians of a similar genre to Plan B. As Plan B’s discography and musical style spans the ‘hip-hop’ genre as well as blues and soul, we analysed a range of artists from Smokey Robinson to more modern British artists like Professor Green and Example. We focused on the presentations of artist image, finding that the conventional appearance of older blues artists like Robinson included designer clothing (often suits) and also other symbols of wealth like expensive jewellery. Such artists were also presented in the media as conventionally being charming, suave and sophisticated in order to sexually appeal to a female audience and act as aspirational figures for a male audience. In contrast to this image, stereotypical hip-hop artists are alternatively often represented as aggressive and surly, wearing casual clothing such as hoodies/tracksuits that are often somewhat reminiscent of ‘yob culture’.
In our A2 music video, we used the typical conventional ‘blues’ image for our main protagonist in order to reflect his lavish lifestyle. This meant that his attire included a smart suit with a red tie and designer shoes to signify the wealth and sophistication typically associated with classic blues artists, in this way, we immediately present the protagonist using visual conventions of the blues image. However, the protagonist’s attitude and his actions within the music video are more inclined towards the conventional hip hop image. Examples include the fight scene in which he is injured as well as the hedonistic party scene, albeit we also feel we have challenged the conventions of ‘hip-hop’ in the form of the protagonists fiancée. This is because such rappers are normally shown as sexually active and single to fit in with the established theme of sexual objectification in hip-hop songs, and in depicting our protagonist as engaged we feel we are challenging this theme. Although, his later infidelity is certainly more typical of the idea of sexual freedom conveyed in certain hip hop material.
Our research also included the analysis of similar music videos, particularly the conventional style of editing, the variety and implementation of different camera shots, and also visual post-production effects. We noticed that in music videos such as Professor Green’s and Example’s, a lot of screen time is dedicated to the musicians in the form of close-up shots and medium shots. We found this boring and aimed to develop this conventional filming style with a wider range of shots, for example, the master shot thorough the pint glass and the employment of point-of-view shots are representative of the way we developed upon the status-quo of other modern music videos.
The conventional editing style also involved cross-cutting between the narrative of the music video and the musical performance of the star, a style we felt appropriate for our own production due to its standing as such a deeply ingrained convention of the music video format, and one we felt still appeared stylish due to our fast editing and cross cutting pace. Post-production effects are also used heavily in such music videos, and we both used and developed the stereotypical style of such effects, employing common effects such as slow-motion but also adding more original, innovative effects such as the ‘stop-motion’ effect of the beer draining.
Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
We believe we effectively combined our main media product and our ancillary texts with a similar artistic style and sub textual references presented in both productions through mise-en-scene.
In relation to the music video, we wanted our ancillary texts to promote the theme of hedonism that is reflected in the protagonist’s lifestyle. A symbolisation of this theme can be shown in his clothing, with the expensive suit representing his position as a commercialised, but wealthy individual. In both the ancillary texts and our music video, his suave appearance is constantly maintained to also reflect the popular media’s focus and glorification of brand image which is also rigorously maintained. The reflection in his sunglasses is a key part of our album cover, with excessive substances such as alcohol and narcotics being shown to literally reflect the hedonistic lifestyle of many celebrity figures, and also the reflection of dollar bills to show his commercial value in the eyes of media producers as well as his extreme financial income.
We used green screen technolgies to create a fictional television dog food advert with a surreal sound track created on garage band and a comical background, the effect of which represents the protagonists subsequent loss of dignity in favour of wealth, a trait typical of modern commercialisation.
The album artwork depicting his presence on a red carpet with flashing photography surrounding him reinforces this sense of voyeurism that surrounds the lifestyle of modern celebrities, with much contemporary media now solely reporting on celebrity lifestyles as can be shown by magazines such as Closer and Gossip. We wanted to reflect this aspect of media popularity, with ‘paparazzi’ figures also having an influential role in our music video in how they photographed the protagonist’s infidelity. However, the back cover of our album artwork is intended to represent the true identity of our celebrity protagonist, with a bar code on his neck representing his own de-humanisation and eventual transformation into a commercial product for a mass-consuming audience.
In relation to the music video, we wanted our ancillary texts to promote the theme of hedonism that is reflected in the protagonist’s lifestyle. A symbolisation of this theme can be shown in his clothing, with the expensive suit representing his position as a commercialised, but wealthy individual. In both the ancillary texts and our music video, his suave appearance is constantly maintained to also reflect the popular media’s focus and glorification of brand image which is also rigorously maintained. The reflection in his sunglasses is a key part of our album cover, with excessive substances such as alcohol and narcotics being shown to literally reflect the hedonistic lifestyle of many celebrity figures, and also the reflection of dollar bills to show his commercial value in the eyes of media producers as well as his extreme financial income.
We used green screen technolgies to create a fictional television dog food advert with a surreal sound track created on garage band and a comical background, the effect of which represents the protagonists subsequent loss of dignity in favour of wealth, a trait typical of modern commercialisation.
The album artwork depicting his presence on a red carpet with flashing photography surrounding him reinforces this sense of voyeurism that surrounds the lifestyle of modern celebrities, with much contemporary media now solely reporting on celebrity lifestyles as can be shown by magazines such as Closer and Gossip. We wanted to reflect this aspect of media popularity, with ‘paparazzi’ figures also having an influential role in our music video in how they photographed the protagonist’s infidelity. However, the back cover of our album artwork is intended to represent the true identity of our celebrity protagonist, with a bar code on his neck representing his own de-humanisation and eventual transformation into a commercial product for a mass-consuming audience.
Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?
In the development of our media product, we aimed to gain constructive feedback on any creative concepts proposed by a team member from a specific audience that would typically listen to our chosen genre in an attempt to create an authentic final product. Due to Plan B’s position as a ‘cross-over artist’, his change in genre from hip-hop to soul also resulted in a change in his fanbase and this meant we had to accurately target an audience that still listened to both his new and old material. We believe we effectively targeted a specific audience in age and musical tastes, through the use of focus groups.
Focus groups were used as our main means of improving our final media product with feedback as well as creating discussion amongst an audience with mutual appreciation of Plan B’s genre and music. Our audience were selected based on age and musical preference, and we presented them with several different story ideas for the music video. The focus group members would continue to describe what they liked about different narratives as well as what could be improved, and because we also filmed our focus groups we could record all feedback to be watched and discussed amongst the group.
We performed these focus groups twice in order to refine the creative stream of ideas using different participating group members each time. From these groups, we learnt which ideas were stronger and accepted by specific audiences such as these and which ideas were not considered worthy for our music video. An example of this is the newspaper used depicting Plan B’s infamous activities, an idea many members considered original for an amateur film production. Several shots such as the stop-motion draining of the pint glasses were also encouraged by group members and made their way into the final film.
We also researched audience feedback in relation to our ancillary texts, with many participants reacting positively to our concept of portraying hedonism through the reflection Plan B’s sunglasses as well as the idea of a bar code representing commercialism.
Focus groups were used as our main means of improving our final media product with feedback as well as creating discussion amongst an audience with mutual appreciation of Plan B’s genre and music. Our audience were selected based on age and musical preference, and we presented them with several different story ideas for the music video. The focus group members would continue to describe what they liked about different narratives as well as what could be improved, and because we also filmed our focus groups we could record all feedback to be watched and discussed amongst the group.
We performed these focus groups twice in order to refine the creative stream of ideas using different participating group members each time. From these groups, we learnt which ideas were stronger and accepted by specific audiences such as these and which ideas were not considered worthy for our music video. An example of this is the newspaper used depicting Plan B’s infamous activities, an idea many members considered original for an amateur film production. Several shots such as the stop-motion draining of the pint glasses were also encouraged by group members and made their way into the final film.
We also researched audience feedback in relation to our ancillary texts, with many participants reacting positively to our concept of portraying hedonism through the reflection Plan B’s sunglasses as well as the idea of a bar code representing commercialism.
Question 4 - How do you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
Throughout the coursework of our A2 Media Studies, we used media technologies to help out continuously.
In the research stages we used a video camera to film our focus groups when discussing the pitches. This helped us as we could view it back and gain valuable feedback about what our target audience did and didn’t like. Furthermore, we used YouTube to host the focus group videos so that we could put them onto our coursework website. We had to make a website to host all our coursework and act as an online portfolio. To do this we used a website creator and host called Weebly. Here we put all of our research, planning and ancillary texts on different pages with all the information we gathered to achieve the tasks. We also put a blog on the site, which we updated regularly on the progress of our coursework.
In the construction of our music video we used a Panasonic HD video camera to capture the raw footage we used. Utilizing it in various ways we were able to create interesting and dynamic shots which helped to contribute to the over all style of our film. We then used Apple iMacs for the postproduction stage due to their high processing power, great graphics capabilities and ease of use. Utilising Final Cut Express which, we used last year in our AS course, we were a able to edit the footage. Because we had already used this programme it wasn’t as much of a challenge using it. As a result we were able to develop and enhance our editing skills. We were able to discover new features of the software programme, learning the cuts for tools and more, all of which mad the postproduction process more efficient and easy compared to last year.
We used colour correction to change the style and make the footage look more moody and dynamic. This was especially important, as we needed to change the colour of numerous shots where we filmed during the daytime and wanted it to look more like evening or dusk. By adding transitions and other filters we were able to create a better over all product.
A new feature we learnt to employ this year was chrome key, which we used to create the dog food advert to symbolise the commercial world of modern music artists by using a green screen.
We also experimented with stop motion to create the beer glass emptying and refilling. To do this we used a Nikon D3000 DSLR camera. By then stitching the still images together in Final Cut we were able to create the shot and make it look like a piece of film.
Another crucial programme we used was Photoshop, we used this to edit the images and create the digipack and magazine advert. Developing and building on our skills from last year we were able to use filters and different effects to create the artwork. Some of the tools we used were: opacity, cropping, stylised filters, masks, gradients and more. We then created a promotional website which is used to hose the video and promote it. For this we used a different website host called Wix. We also used this to build the mobile version of the site, which can be accessed on a smart phone by scanning the quick response (QR) code we generated and put onto the magazine advert.
So we have used a variety of media technologies both hardware and software throughout the entirety of our coursework, cumulating in an over all good product.
In the research stages we used a video camera to film our focus groups when discussing the pitches. This helped us as we could view it back and gain valuable feedback about what our target audience did and didn’t like. Furthermore, we used YouTube to host the focus group videos so that we could put them onto our coursework website. We had to make a website to host all our coursework and act as an online portfolio. To do this we used a website creator and host called Weebly. Here we put all of our research, planning and ancillary texts on different pages with all the information we gathered to achieve the tasks. We also put a blog on the site, which we updated regularly on the progress of our coursework.
In the construction of our music video we used a Panasonic HD video camera to capture the raw footage we used. Utilizing it in various ways we were able to create interesting and dynamic shots which helped to contribute to the over all style of our film. We then used Apple iMacs for the postproduction stage due to their high processing power, great graphics capabilities and ease of use. Utilising Final Cut Express which, we used last year in our AS course, we were a able to edit the footage. Because we had already used this programme it wasn’t as much of a challenge using it. As a result we were able to develop and enhance our editing skills. We were able to discover new features of the software programme, learning the cuts for tools and more, all of which mad the postproduction process more efficient and easy compared to last year.
We used colour correction to change the style and make the footage look more moody and dynamic. This was especially important, as we needed to change the colour of numerous shots where we filmed during the daytime and wanted it to look more like evening or dusk. By adding transitions and other filters we were able to create a better over all product.
A new feature we learnt to employ this year was chrome key, which we used to create the dog food advert to symbolise the commercial world of modern music artists by using a green screen.
We also experimented with stop motion to create the beer glass emptying and refilling. To do this we used a Nikon D3000 DSLR camera. By then stitching the still images together in Final Cut we were able to create the shot and make it look like a piece of film.
Another crucial programme we used was Photoshop, we used this to edit the images and create the digipack and magazine advert. Developing and building on our skills from last year we were able to use filters and different effects to create the artwork. Some of the tools we used were: opacity, cropping, stylised filters, masks, gradients and more. We then created a promotional website which is used to hose the video and promote it. For this we used a different website host called Wix. We also used this to build the mobile version of the site, which can be accessed on a smart phone by scanning the quick response (QR) code we generated and put onto the magazine advert.
So we have used a variety of media technologies both hardware and software throughout the entirety of our coursework, cumulating in an over all good product.