This is my A Level Media Studies blog.
Please uses the labels to direct you around my blog
Anna Dunford 7053
Wednesday, 4 January 2017
Tuesday, 3 January 2017
Monday, 2 January 2017
Sunday, 1 January 2017
Friday, 16 December 2016
Monday, 12 December 2016
Evaluation Question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?
By using a focus group throughout my planning, filming and editing process I have been able to get feedback on my products. This way I have been able to tailor my music promo and ancillary products to my target audience.
I asked my focus group to watch my final music video and give me feedback on what they thought went well, what could have been improved, general comments and anything they found that made it tailor to the target audience.
Audience Feedback Questions:
I asked my focus group to watch my final music video and give me feedback on what they thought went well, what could have been improved, general comments and anything they found that made it tailor to the target audience.
Audience Feedback Questions:
Music Promo:
- "some shots weren't necessary and could have been changed like the pen rolling shot, it was nice but it felt like it stuck out a bit." // "there are parts of the video which feel too repetitive "
I could have used a few more different shots to not make some parts of the video feel so repetitive. It is good to have some repetitive shots as it means there is not to many different shots been shown to an audience as it could become confusing as to what is happening. But at the same time having to many receptions can cause the audience to lose interest as there is less enigma due the audience having some idea of what may be happening. This could also lead to audiences not watching the video again, this means the album would lose some promotion.
So next time I will need to create a more equal balance in my shots. I could do this by researching and planning more, making sure I would not need to repeat some shots as much as I did.
- "bigger location change it could have made it a bit more interesting, or having the 'band' play in different locations."
A change in location could have added another dimension to my music promo. This change creates a more exciting video as the audience are kept engaged as they don't know the current significance of the location.
It can also lead audiences to view the video again, creating a more successful promotional video for the album.
I have learnt that having a change in location keeps the video fresh and exciting, but there does need to be a balance. The video can't constantly switch from location to location as it would become confusing and people would lose interest, but it is also hard to keep enigma when only one location is used.
Digipak:
- "I think if the was a change in scenery it could have improved the overall product." // "use another location or change the shot types"
Like with my music promo, a different location could have added another dimension to my digipak and created more enigma. This could then lead to more people looking up the album and either purchasing it or looking up the band. That would have helped to me to create a more successful digipak.
- "The distorted colours used on all sides of the digipak give the album an alternative feel before even listening to it" // "It's a different looking digipak, the change in colours attract you to look at it as it is plain."
From this piece of feedback I have learnt that by conforming to one of the conventions of digipaks from the alternative genre, I have created a successful digipak. By distorting the colours I have made it clear what the genre of the album is before it is listened. This will attract people to my product and help it become more successful.
By conforming to conventions, I have been able to make my product more accessible and attract a wider audience.
Website:
- "I think if the website homepage had a few more links at the bottom of the page as well as the top to make getting to the links easier." // "I think the website could maybe have more links within the posts to make it more interactive"
Links are key to making a successful website homepage as they allow the person to interact with the website and find more information about the band. So if I were to add links to the bottom and in more of the posts I could make the page more interactive and user friendly.
This would have made the website more successful as people would have easier usability and would not get frustrated with the homepage. This can cause people to not want to come back to the webpage and therefore lose promotion on the new album and the band.
- "A change in the background could make the website more interesting to look at, that would keep the audience interested for longer." // "To improve the homepage maybe lighter colours could have been used, like grey instead of black, because the website feels a bit dark."
An improvement that has been suggested is that if I were to change the background the website would be more captivating. By having an interesting design or brighter the audience viewing the website may be attracted to the look more and spend longer on the site.
Always conforming to conventions can cause people to become disinterested in products such as a website. So I could have challenged the conventions of my website more and maybe used brighter and less simplistic colours. That way the website could have attracted more people which would have promoted the album more.
From the overall feedback I have received from my focus group I have learnt a lot and the feedback has been positive with a few improvements for each of the products I have created; music promo, digipak and website.
- "some shots weren't necessary and could have been changed like the pen rolling shot, it was nice but it felt like it stuck out a bit." // "there are parts of the video which feel too repetitive "
I could have used a few more different shots to not make some parts of the video feel so repetitive. It is good to have some repetitive shots as it means there is not to many different shots been shown to an audience as it could become confusing as to what is happening. But at the same time having to many receptions can cause the audience to lose interest as there is less enigma due the audience having some idea of what may be happening. This could also lead to audiences not watching the video again, this means the album would lose some promotion.
So next time I will need to create a more equal balance in my shots. I could do this by researching and planning more, making sure I would not need to repeat some shots as much as I did.
- "bigger location change it could have made it a bit more interesting, or having the 'band' play in different locations."
A change in location could have added another dimension to my music promo. This change creates a more exciting video as the audience are kept engaged as they don't know the current significance of the location.
It can also lead audiences to view the video again, creating a more successful promotional video for the album.
I have learnt that having a change in location keeps the video fresh and exciting, but there does need to be a balance. The video can't constantly switch from location to location as it would become confusing and people would lose interest, but it is also hard to keep enigma when only one location is used.
Digipak:
- "I think if the was a change in scenery it could have improved the overall product." // "use another location or change the shot types"
Like with my music promo, a different location could have added another dimension to my digipak and created more enigma. This could then lead to more people looking up the album and either purchasing it or looking up the band. That would have helped to me to create a more successful digipak.
- "The distorted colours used on all sides of the digipak give the album an alternative feel before even listening to it" // "It's a different looking digipak, the change in colours attract you to look at it as it is plain."
From this piece of feedback I have learnt that by conforming to one of the conventions of digipaks from the alternative genre, I have created a successful digipak. By distorting the colours I have made it clear what the genre of the album is before it is listened. This will attract people to my product and help it become more successful.
By conforming to conventions, I have been able to make my product more accessible and attract a wider audience.
Website:
- "I think if the website homepage had a few more links at the bottom of the page as well as the top to make getting to the links easier." // "I think the website could maybe have more links within the posts to make it more interactive"
Links are key to making a successful website homepage as they allow the person to interact with the website and find more information about the band. So if I were to add links to the bottom and in more of the posts I could make the page more interactive and user friendly.
This would have made the website more successful as people would have easier usability and would not get frustrated with the homepage. This can cause people to not want to come back to the webpage and therefore lose promotion on the new album and the band.
- "A change in the background could make the website more interesting to look at, that would keep the audience interested for longer." // "To improve the homepage maybe lighter colours could have been used, like grey instead of black, because the website feels a bit dark."
An improvement that has been suggested is that if I were to change the background the website would be more captivating. By having an interesting design or brighter the audience viewing the website may be attracted to the look more and spend longer on the site.
Always conforming to conventions can cause people to become disinterested in products such as a website. So I could have challenged the conventions of my website more and maybe used brighter and less simplistic colours. That way the website could have attracted more people which would have promoted the album more.
From the overall feedback I have received from my focus group I have learnt a lot and the feedback has been positive with a few improvements for each of the products I have created; music promo, digipak and website.
Thursday, 8 December 2016
Podcast Script - Evaluation Question 2
Script:
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Our brief was to create a promotional package for the release of an album. To make a successful promotional package synergy should be consistent throughout each product. This is because synergy ties the music promo, digipak and website together and sells it as one product.
The main task was to create a music promo which would work together with the ancillary tasks to promote the upcoming album. I created star image within my music promo by focusing the concept video on the lead singer whilst also adding performance elements but without showing band members faces. This draws audiences’ focus to the lead singer and associate her most with the band. This links together with my digipak and website. On my digipak the lead singer features on the front, inside and back panel helping to create star image but also create synergy. On the website there are pictures of the lead on the filming day, but also videos of her promoting the album.
Including her in each of my products has helped to combine them together as one promotional package.
I kept themes within my concept video and digipak, such as nature as the song is called 'Pure' as well as the album being titled 'Pure'. This helped to sell the album. I used the white font colour in the digipak and music promo too. At the end of the video the word 'Pure' comes up in white, this links with the text on the digipak which is all in white whilst also linking to a theme of the video; purity.
The main purpose of the ancillary tasks I produced was to sell the album through the digipak and website. The artist I chose, Hey Violet is a smaller band who have only recently been picked up by a label. This means that I had more freedom in what I could create for the image of the band, but at the same time I was able to draw some inspiration from EPs that they have previously released. Their music style has also changed in the last year from pop-punk to alternative meaning that how they are presented has changed.
The alternative genre is not as well known as genres such as Pop and Rock, but it is also a wider genre, so I was able to look at a range of real media artefacts and cross codes and conventions from each of them.
With the digipak the main thing I noticed was that texts were generally bold and the typeface used for the band logo stays the same, as the logo is like a face for the band. Another key thing is that images that are used either have drawings over them or are distorted through colour. I took inspiration from this when creating my digipak. For each panel I distorted the colour of the image whilst keeping the artist in the picture the original colour. By keeping her the original colour it creates synergy between the digipak and music promo. I also used a bold typeface which could be associated with the band and used on future products.
On many of the websites I looked at for my research, I noticed that they were all very simplistic and had easy usability. I took inspiration from my research to create a website, I used the header to display the band's name in same typeface as on the digipak, this synergy combines the different products together. I also used a variety of hyperlinks which could direct people to social media sites and YouTube. I placed the links at the top of the page on the header as it is easy to see and and makes the usability more enjoyable.
The colours I decided to use on the website were violet, a bright green and black, these colours stand out well and the violet can be associated with the band name and the digipak. This is because one of the panels on my digipak has been distorted to a more violet colour.
The posts on the website are a combination of text, photos and videos. This gives the audience a more interactive experience and connects them more with the band. This aids in promotion of the album as they can be told through videos where they can purchase the new album and where they can find new music videos.
In conclusion I feel that the combination of my main product and the ancillary products I created worked well together to sell the album. I incorporated synergy and links between the music promo, digipak and website which meant they worked better together as one promotional package, whilst also being able to promote the album as single products.
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Our brief was to create a promotional package for the release of an album. To make a successful promotional package synergy should be consistent throughout each product. This is because synergy ties the music promo, digipak and website together and sells it as one product.
The main task was to create a music promo which would work together with the ancillary tasks to promote the upcoming album. I created star image within my music promo by focusing the concept video on the lead singer whilst also adding performance elements but without showing band members faces. This draws audiences’ focus to the lead singer and associate her most with the band. This links together with my digipak and website. On my digipak the lead singer features on the front, inside and back panel helping to create star image but also create synergy. On the website there are pictures of the lead on the filming day, but also videos of her promoting the album.
Including her in each of my products has helped to combine them together as one promotional package.
I kept themes within my concept video and digipak, such as nature as the song is called 'Pure' as well as the album being titled 'Pure'. This helped to sell the album. I used the white font colour in the digipak and music promo too. At the end of the video the word 'Pure' comes up in white, this links with the text on the digipak which is all in white whilst also linking to a theme of the video; purity.
The main purpose of the ancillary tasks I produced was to sell the album through the digipak and website. The artist I chose, Hey Violet is a smaller band who have only recently been picked up by a label. This means that I had more freedom in what I could create for the image of the band, but at the same time I was able to draw some inspiration from EPs that they have previously released. Their music style has also changed in the last year from pop-punk to alternative meaning that how they are presented has changed.
The alternative genre is not as well known as genres such as Pop and Rock, but it is also a wider genre, so I was able to look at a range of real media artefacts and cross codes and conventions from each of them.
With the digipak the main thing I noticed was that texts were generally bold and the typeface used for the band logo stays the same, as the logo is like a face for the band. Another key thing is that images that are used either have drawings over them or are distorted through colour. I took inspiration from this when creating my digipak. For each panel I distorted the colour of the image whilst keeping the artist in the picture the original colour. By keeping her the original colour it creates synergy between the digipak and music promo. I also used a bold typeface which could be associated with the band and used on future products.
On many of the websites I looked at for my research, I noticed that they were all very simplistic and had easy usability. I took inspiration from my research to create a website, I used the header to display the band's name in same typeface as on the digipak, this synergy combines the different products together. I also used a variety of hyperlinks which could direct people to social media sites and YouTube. I placed the links at the top of the page on the header as it is easy to see and and makes the usability more enjoyable.
The colours I decided to use on the website were violet, a bright green and black, these colours stand out well and the violet can be associated with the band name and the digipak. This is because one of the panels on my digipak has been distorted to a more violet colour.
The posts on the website are a combination of text, photos and videos. This gives the audience a more interactive experience and connects them more with the band. This aids in promotion of the album as they can be told through videos where they can purchase the new album and where they can find new music videos.
In conclusion I feel that the combination of my main product and the ancillary products I created worked well together to sell the album. I incorporated synergy and links between the music promo, digipak and website which meant they worked better together as one promotional package, whilst also being able to promote the album as single products.
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
Evaluation Question 1 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Challenged
 |
| The digipak and website I have created also challenge some of the conventions for these products. For my digipak I used my actor on the majority of the panels, this creates star image and challenges real media products as many digipaks only use the band on artist on the front and back and have other album artwork on the inside panels. |
Developed
 |
| Whilst researching real media products for websites I notice that many of the bands I was researching used Tumblr as a homepage. For this reason I also created my homepage on Tumblr. I developed this technique by designing the website homepage to cater more towards my target audience and to create synergy with other products I have created. |
Conformed
 |
| I have conformed to many of the codes and conventions for creating a promotional album package. For example many bands heavily edit their digipaks, whether it is by drawing over the existing image or distorting the colour. The different look of the albums suggests that they are from the alternative genre before listening to the music, selling the album to people who enjoy that genre of music. |
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Music promos have become their own product instead just another promotional feature to sell an album, money is also made from advertisement. Bands have to have different ways of promoting their album in order to sell it.
However, physical albums are in decline as digital downloading and streaming becomes more popular. This means that changes need to be made to the way real media products are marketed, this will be done through challenging and developing existing forms and conventions.
Increasing Vinyl Sales
"Around £2.4m was spent on vinyl from 25 November to 1 December, while digital downloads took in £2.1m for the record industry, says the Entertainment Retailers Association.
It's a big change from last year when vinyl album sales accounted for £1.2m, compared to £4.4m for digital."
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Friday, 2 December 2016
Website - Final
I created a website homepage along with some links to a gallery and tour dates, for one of my ancillary tasks.
Hey Violet - Homepage
Hey Violet - Homepage
Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Website Editing - 30/11/16
 |
| Editing Website Homepage |
The posts are gray scaled until the viewer hovers over the image/video when it changes to colour. This makes the viewers experience more enjoyable, whilst also being different from a plain webpage. This may help to keep the bands webpage in their mind, for the viewer to further look up and take interest in the band. Successfully selling the band.
 |
| Top of the Website Homepage |
I have added links which sit over the header, the black background contrasts well with the bright green and purple making the links and text stand out.
 |
| Further down the Homepage |
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Website Editing - 29/11/16
In addition to making a homepage for the band Hey Violet, I have also created two linked pages, one to a gallery and another to tour dates.
 |
| Web page and editing of the gallery. |
I added a few images taken from the filming day and some that were used in my digipak. This creates synergy between the website and the digipak.
I created both of the additional pages, using a standard layout on tumblr, this allowed me to created new links for the pages. I added some tour dates to the linked page.
 |
| Web page and editing of tour dates. |
Monday, 28 November 2016
Typeface for Digipak
When creating my digipak I knew that I would need to find a typeface which I could use on the different panels and also for the bands name. I needed a typeface that suited the alternative genre.
I looked online for fonts I could use and downloaded a few before testing each one out on my digipak before deciding on a few I liked the most.
I have decided to use a font called Cyclope on my digipak because it is bold and gives the feel of rebellion which fits together well with the alternative genre.
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