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

Above, myself and my partner have recorded an explanation for this question in which we have talked about our use of new media technologies used throughout different stages of our project both in the research, construction, planning and evaluation. We used a vast range of new media technology which were essential in creating out product; such as final cut express, Photoshop and the internet. 

Firstly, we were able to use social networking sites to our advantage. Social media sites have impacted people's everyday lives in recent years, people are now more interconnected with not only friends but celebrities and those who share the same likes and interests as them. Bands and artists are able to have a closer relationship with fans thanks to this. An example of one of these sites is Facebook. We were able to use Facebook to directly message people details of our ideas and plans for our video and give them information instantly on the location and costumes. We were also able able to directly inbox message the artists of out chosen song for permission and have a quick response.

In the construction of our work we used new media technologies including a range of computer programmes. An example of this was Final Cut Express. Through trial and error and experimenting, we gained a better understanding and higher skills in editing our music video such as changing the colour and saturation of video clips, speeding up and incorporating slow motion on certain clips and altering the sound. The gain of knowledge when working with computer programmes such as Photoshop and Final cut express allowed us to produce and construct our music video to a high quality. 

Finally we have found new media technologies useful in presenting and sharing our work and findings. When using the Internet we have been able to present, research and evaluate our work exclusively online. This has made the process more simplistic and easier. Websites such as Youtube, Slideshare and Blogger have enabled us to share our work more easily and in a more exiting way. It has also made creating our coursework more interactive as we have been able to gain feedback from classmates and friends online which has come as an advantage when evaluating our final digipack, music video and advertisement. 

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

EVALUATION: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We asked 15 people within the age range of 16-18 to answer the following questions after having watched our music video, as well as seen our magazine ad and digipack;

Music Video;

- What are your initial thoughts after watching our music video?

- What are your favourite features about the video?

- What are your least favourite?

- What music genre would you place it under?

- Do you think that the coloured smoke pellets created an atmosphere? And if so, what kind of atmosphere? 

- Do you think that a forest location is the typical norm setting for an electronic music video?

- Do you think that this video challenges the typical conventions of already existing electronic music videos and if so why?

- Do you prefer the abstract/ artistic style of video, as opposed to a staged or narrative?

- What are your opinions on the masked characters? 

- Do you think that they create a disorientating and mysterious impact in the video?

- What do you think of the idea of not physically featuring the artists themselves? 

- Do you think that the style of editing fits in with this style of music?

- Which scenes did you prefer, day or night? 

- What improvements would you make? 

Magazine Advertisement;

- What most draws your attention about this magazine ad?

- What are your favourite features about the ad?

- What are your least favourite?

- Do you think the poster links to the genre of electronic/ dance?

- Does the drained colour scheme still attract your attention? 

- Does the masked character intrigue you? 

- Do you think that it links to both the album name and the theme of hidden identity? 

- Is it clear which is the album name and which is the artist name?

- What improvements would you make? 

Digipack;

- What feature most attracts you towards this digipack? 

- What music genre would you place this under?

- And why? 

- What are you opinions on the front cover image?  

- What do you most like about the digipack as a whole?

- What do you dislike? 

- What do you think about the simplicity of the CD disk?

- Do you think that the artist name typography 'Unhinged' is unique enough to stand out against other artists and become their signature style? 

- Do you like the contrast of having a busy front cover and a simple back cover? 

- Do you think that the overall design is professional enough and of high quality? 

- Would you purchase this album?

- What improvements would you make?

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

For the main task of this coursework my partner and I decided to create a music video within the electronic/dance music genre. Throughout the planning and initial research we analysed and referred to existing music videos by bands and artists within the electronic and dance genre. From doing this we understood the clear codes and conventions of music videos within the genre and made sure we incorporated it within our own video. 

One of the main conventions we discovered through our research was that often bands and artists within this music genre did not feature themselves in their own videos, this included the artists Daft Punk who hide their identity through the use of masks. We therefore incorporated this through using masks to follow this convention and the idea of a hidden and mysterious identity which appeals and keeps the audience and fans intrigued. This convention was also clear in the artists advertisements and digipacks such as those of Nero and Deadmau5, the artists within the electronic and dance music genre care ore for the popularity of their work than themselves. We therefore continued with this theme with the design of our digipack and advertisement using the same masked character on both, and incorporating the theme of hidden identity by calling the album 'Anonymous'. 

We also wanted to push the boundaries and challenge typical forms and conventions of electronic/ dance front cover digipack designs. To do this we looked at existing cds; typical artists such as Nero, Basshunter followed typical forms and conventions by using bright neon colours and bold text. We then looked at electronic bands and artists with a more alternative approach to their digipack designs such as Flume, Teed and Deadmau5. We mostly took inspiration from Flume's debut album digipack front cover and developed its form into our own design, this is where we gained the idea of using a kaleidoscope design technique which clearly challenges the typical conventions and ideologies of a traditional electronic or dance digipack front cover. 

Final Music Video

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Final Digipack