Robbie french's evaluation

Media evaluation

1)
Representing music in a video is a relatively new phenomenon that has developed and grown over the last 40 years. As technology advances and improves so does our access to music and videos, with channels dedicated to showing music videos. In a sense our media product recognises and celebrates these advances in technology by creating the video within a video being shown on a mobile phone.

The recognition is that in order to survive the ever increasing advance in the technological environment, the music video industry must also keep moving forward. Our media product tries to capture this concept in its creation and its delivery.

The technological advances in video production have also meant that artists can quickly and easily reach a worldwide audience. However, specifically within this vast potential audience, it can target a subculture that identities and supports a particular brand or style of music and video. It is this image and brand, as much as the music, which promotes itself. Our media product creates a clear brand with the perceived culture that “Mia”, together with her ideologies, represents. However, in many ways our product uses conventional forms through the location used and the artwork design to reach the intended audience.

The success of the media products, poster and DVD, is ultimately dependent upon how the audience demonstrates their association with this genre.

I believe that our commitment to the artwork, the style and the presentation contribute to following the ‘Mia’ conventions which coincide and develop her image as an urban musical artist. We used a number of conventions that help to identify the genre: the location of a graffiti-covered wall as well as the constant energetic beat and non-stop movement of Will, the close-up and bold angled shots of Charlotte; these are some examples of how the techniques and conventions we used to help create an urban music genre.

Artists in recent times that have used a similar approach to performance include artists such as ‘the black eyed peas’ and ‘technotronic’. In their videos the conventions are very similar in the way that they focus on a person performing within a recognisable genre-setting to achieve an urban effect, image and style. Our approach in the video was to adopt similar techniques, for example the use of green screen was a process that the ‘technotronics’ chose in their video ‘pump the jam’.

The poster, DVD cover and video create a clear brand and the target audience will consume this music and its associated culture through the medium in which we present it – through a mobile phone.

As a consequence, the media product we have created is a very neat, compact, targeted and modern product.

Despite using relatively conventional techniques, I believe that the products are sufficiently close to the edge of technology and presentation. It is at the edge where the maximum potential return is possible, which is the aim of the production company and us as a media group.


2)
Popular music is increasingly surrounded by the genre associated with the type of music. Genre is now fundamental to the presentation of the music. It is not only limited to the actual track but the selling of the product is now packaged as a total concept in relation to the music.

In our presentation of the combination of products we have tried to maintain a consistent and common set of values in line with the genre associated with ‘Mia’. The main product, our music video, in my opinion fits very well with the ancillary texts of the poster and DVD cover. The location is consistent and the artwork and theme is the same giving the audience a modern day, urban life feel. The street life theme flowing throughout the product gives the audience an easily recognizable product range almost like a logo. An example of this is the presentation of Charlotte as bold and confident in her attitude and approach. She forms part of a changing and often vibrant colour scheme that at times seems abrupt and stark in its appearance. This as well as the distressed logo, which has been deliberately vandalised, do suggest and emphasize the street theme. It works because the conventions of urban life are not soft and gentle but can be hard and brutal.

We have kept within well defined boundaries of the genre conventions and expectations of the target audience. This application of a consistent theme we believe will be very useful in selling the package as a whole. The audience will have no problem in recognising the genre and identifying with their chosen genre. In this way the artist ‘Mia’ has been used to create a carefully constructed ideology that will mean clear identification of a brand. The marketing people will present this brand of the ‘Mia’ image. Once a brand is accepted and recognised, the selling becomes much easier.

Our ancillary texts do reflect the main product in style, content and particular brand. Using a photo from the music video for the poster meant that it gave us a honesty to the audience and a real feel of what to expect. This commitment to truth without deception is a principle that the ‘Mia’ genre sticks to and so we felt that its importance should be reflected in the whole presentation of the package as a whole. We also felt it was important to keep the same artist and song name as it gave us a good simple basis to work from and create a successful poster and DVD cover.

3)
Audience feedback is a critical part in the process of improving and refining our media product. Feedback shows us how the product has been received by the audience. It is vital that we access this feedback to see if we should make any changes in the content or presentation. In a sense it is similar to market research used in many different types of disciplines.

The official feedback has been posted on our blog. We have had 3 comments on our main music video and 3 comments on the DVD magazine advert.

In general the feedback has been very positive both from these comments and the informal feedback that has come from people who have seen the product and I have spoken to.

“Great music video9, good lip syncing and the style, background, clothes and characters all work really well with the music”. It is really encouraging that all the effort gone into presenting a convincing picture of the product seems to have been received very well. The consistency of presenting the genre throughout the video has been acknowledged by this feedback.

The second comment on the video describes how the techniques and “style of the late eighties, through technotonic, inner city, s.express which also used basic green screen effects and abstract patterns behind is back in vogue”. This confirms our belief that the video, we felt, was of the moment and in no way felt ‘dated’. Although it does have, as the feedback comment suggests a retro-feel to its presentation and look. The comment about the iphone providing a bookend start and finish is exactly what we wanted to achieve and therefore was very pleased with this feedback.

The fact that an extra performance would have made the cut “snappier” is perhaps also true. An extra location would have helped, but we wanted to be absolutely sure that the performance was in the right style. Finding such a location was hard, so we stuck with what we had and decided not to risk introducing another element which may have unbalanced the product.

The feedback on the DVD was also positive. The “it looks painted” and “surreal” was a look that we were trying to achieve along with the unusual title presentation. However I do agree that the extra information i.e. the written content could have probably been a bit more “interesting”. Perhaps we could have included further references to the urban life – with maybe a neon light effect or perhaps “a public information notice/street sign” title. This would personally be something I would do differently if we were to do it again. However we certainly wanted to make this very easy to read, as any uncertainty or lack of clarity my effect the sales. The existing presentation does look clean and uncluttered and doesn’t distract from the artist image and the title.

Again the focus on the artist was central to the theme as was the bold colours and the “garish” feel to the product, which help well with the retro feel of the product. The intended bold, confident and ‘in your face’ approach to the products seems to have been very well received which gives us confidence as to its likely success.


4)
Media is all about presentation and representation of ideas. The presentation of our product involved using new media technologies to present the product. However we also used these new types of technology in the research, planning and evaluation stages of our final work.

In the construction of the product, new technologies such as ‘Final Cut’ were used throughout the making of our video. Final Cut allowed us to use green screen as it has a programme in which it recognizes all the green, then takes it out which enabled us to put our moving background behind will. It provided an efficient way to edit and refine the production to give it a visual appeal that makes it stand out. This technology also enabled us to create simple but clear effects throughout the product. The number of options available from this technology meant that we could get the exact image that we were looking for.

‘Photoshop’ was a program used throughout the design stage of the product for the DVD and poster. It again allowed us to make the adjustments to the original picture in order to maximise its appeal to the target audience. We made the photo of Charlotte brighter and more vibrant through the use of Photoshop.

The internet was used very much in the research stage initially. Ideas for graphics, animation and basic layouts came from the significant research from browsing the web. The internet also helped to provide the background and information on ‘Mia’ culture and music. It also provided many examples and techniques used by other products. It was with all this that images and ideas formed for our own work. It is difficult to measure how things influence you but all input is always helpful even when searching for and making original work. I believe it’s a big help when trying to think of original ideas.

Blogger.com also helped to provide a way of receiving feedback, which was very useful in assessing what things worked and how things could be improved. This evaluation stage was an important part of the product release.

There is no doubt that nowadays it is essential that new media technology are an important tool in all stages of production when producing a media product such as our music video, DVD cover and poster.

We were able to do huge amounts of research and gather lots of information. It enabled us to construct the product with up to date software. The new media will be used to evaluate and distribute the product to the specific audience within the world-wide market. It is the increased speed of communication and alterations that is so useful. The technology is changing so rapidly that when making a media product you must use it quickly and effectively to make your product work and be successful.