http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK87opYGDZ8&feature=player_embedded

How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product[1]

‘In What ways do your media products use Develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products’?

Task 3 ‘What have you leant from audience feedback’.

In order to research into audience feedback our group decided to hold a focus group with a number of media students in the As course. In this we played the video to them and asked for there reaction through a number of questions such as ‘What do you think of the editing; and ‘How does our video relate to the genre of music’ Through this we were able to gain a good knowledge of  how the audience viewed our product and we were able to take the feedback and learn from it.

When gaining a greater understanding of how the audience viewed our product we looked at the Effects model which is a theory popular when media was first introduced, this implies that audiences are passive recipients of the meanings and values of a text. Also known as the hypodermic model. Media effects are long term and can influenced peoples views and attitudes. This means everyone is effected in the same why by a particular text. However when conducting our research we found that this view was contradicted as many of the class had different views and interpreted the video in different ways such as when we suggested that our cast members Holly and Abbi were meant to resemble each others opposites only half the class raised there hands when we suggested this view which shows us how there was a divide in class views. There were also other views which split the class such as the appeal Holly gave off and what our Band were meant to represent.

 

A better view of understanding how our audience viewed our product would be Stuart Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding which came from his work at the BCCCS. This view is based on how the audience do not act as a ‘mass’, but rather as a collection of smaller groups defined by social and ideological elements. This applies that media texts are encoded both consciously and unconsciously with the values of their producers. This suggest that the producers do put a set of values into the media but however the audience decoded it and interpret in different ways based on social factors. This appeared in our research task as when we asked if the audience would want to see the band live only the two boys put there hand up suggesting they are a band which appeals to a mainly male audience. However these differences are not just based on gender they were many other points which our audience had different views on when asked if the animals in the video gave a good wild feel to it only some agreed with this other suggested that they were confused by this and didn’t go with the narrative within our video. This was another way which split our audience and produced different views. The differences still occurred even though we had a very similar audience all the same age and from middle class backgrounds this cut out the social factors other than gender however there were still issues which provided different views.

The audience research also highlighted a number of other points which they felt were good or not so good. A major concern for us was that a number of the audience felt that the lip synching was out and therefore attracted attention away from our video and therefore add an unprofessional feel to our video which if we had more time on the product we would go back and change to make it more sharp and realistic. However they did praise the editing stating how it was quick and interesting with a different number of jump cuts which made it a more unique experiance for the audience to watch which was something we wanted to create in the making of our video. However Another constructive point which was raised was the that a number of the group did not believe there was a real narrative to it and therefore had no story to it which made us think of ideas in which we could of gave it an extra element to it to cut out the confusing element to it. This would help us improve the video and perhaps we could of added an extra scene which would help the audience develop a better understanding of the product. What I was really pleased in finding from the research was the fact that we capsulated the image of the band due to the costume and the way we styled them so this was really pleasing and also the themes we wanted to create such as a star image and a young wild rebellious feel to the band were highlighted from the task. Also the audience felt that the image we portrayed on our digipak did relate to the band stating how they thought that the sign on the front was a strong simple and could be used as a strong symbol for the band.

Another useful theory which we could relate to our feedback to gain a greater understanding into how each of our audience members perceived our media product was the uses and gratification model this theory comes from research done in the 1950s and states how unlike the effects model audience are far from passive in their observation of media the prefer to choose and consume the media to satisfy particular needs and gratifications which they exhibit. At the forefront of this research where theorist Lazarfeld, Blumler abd Katz. Their was particularly evident when we asked the class what they thought of the video and they all shared the same believe that it was a vibrant and young video which was a sign of rebellion in this may seemed to be trending throughout the teenage audience as they would use it as a form of diversion to escape from the dominant values of society and release themselves of,Also as they where able to connect with the personal identity as the cast where young the target audience were able to relate to certain elements to the casts performance and they may have similar fashion senses and many of our audience were able to understand the rave culture which is a dominant theme in our video. Some of the audience may be able to relate to the music side of the video looking at the instruments how there played and the live experiance which is given in our video, However by adding different layers such as narrative like the young girl who is on a bad trip this adds extra texture to our music video and the audience gain a boarder experiance which facliltates to a larger element of our target audience.So I felt from the feedback we received there was defiantly elements which conformed to this theory.

task 4

79897941-Mikey-Pearce-Task-4[1]

Mikey Pearce

Research of Digipaks

Account of shoot day

On Thursday the 3rd November it was our turn to film our music video which we had been working on for the last couple of months. To prepare we created a shooting schedule to give to our cast and production team this would enable no time wasting searching around for cast and we could just get into the shoot. We also had created a storyboard which mapped out our shots we were going to use on the day, Having this was a huge advantage on the day as it enable us to be prepared and know what shots to use at which time of the day, Obviously these weren’t set in stone but they gave us a good indication of which ones we would. Once we had all met we gave the cast a quick briefing before beginning on our performance aspect of the scene.

Unfourantly one of our band members was unable to attend during the day so our group had a quick discussion and we decided to go on with only 3 members of the band holly, Will and Otto. When I first saw the lights and the set I was really pleased and thought we could do a lot with this so when filming started we went with wide shots of the band before creating good and interesting close ups and mid shots to show of the musician skills and to make the audience griped. We decided to have holly on a swing, Swinging back and forth with her face getting in the camera this is to add a real hard hitting feel and to pump the audience up like the music suggest we should do. We also played high emphasis on the DJ will Bodner because it was a piece which the dj was very influential and will was giving a good performance so he gains good camera time. Also we can keep flashing back to him and holly. The lights were adding to the effect and I was very pleased.

The morning went really well and we gain all our shots Unfourantly our plans to film in the woods were dashed as the weather was awful therefore we had to improvise and decided to create the same effect of a girl tripping in a club in the studio which I feel work out well as all our extras who performance well dressed up as strange creatures. This added a surreal feel to the video and we decided to use a combo of close up and mid shots to grab the true essences of this so overall I was pleased with this. For the duration of the shoot I was in charge of sound, I enjoyed this task as it was important that the cast knew when the music would come in and it was vital they understood it so I was pleased with this. I also took the camera for a little while and believe I produced a good few shots which can be used in our final edit. We warped at 4 pm and I feel we all had a good productive day. Now for the editing.

codes and connvetions of Genre

Different types and styles of music are divided into genres - or categories - to show what style of music they are. The genre is reflected in their music videos via the editing, camerawork and mis-en-scene.

Our band, the Prodigy, belonging to various genres including electronica, synthpunk, rave, dance-rock and alternative rock.


In order to show this, we have chosen to represent/use the following things in our music video:
- a dark, sinister setting (shows it is not a sugary sweet pop video)
- the performers will be mainly in black/edgy clothes
- the props are going to contribute the hedonistic/pyschadelic atmosphere (unrealisitic and trippy like their from a dream)



Our camerawork will consist mainly of a lot of low angle and close up shots of our performers to show they have dominance. We will also use the camera hand held for a lot fo the video in order to create that grungy, dark, organic look.

The editing will be very fast cuts, slow and sped up motion.

storyboard

We decided to film our stroyboard and then edit it so we would get a rough idea of how our video would look and how each scene will fit in with each other and give us a guidline of shot to do during the shoot.

Digipaks

When researching digipaks for our product, We firtst realised how important the band name was as this would give them an identity which would be marketable and recongiseable throughout the coutnry. I decided to look at dance music album covers to see what other bands use to front there product.

In this cover there is only three colours which doesnt confuse or isnt to much for the audience, The name prodigy is written with a border and a different font to make the public recongnise them as a band. They have gone for a bright colour as there musics upbeat and loud. Using the fish on the front give it an a unique feel to it and gives it an edge to help appeal to the audience, Making the sea red is maybe a sign for danger and it gives them a dangerous edge to there music. This will also help them sell more records as on the self in the shop it will stand out and get peoples attention.

Another example i looked at is

On this cover it has Loud Noises in a big font and a bright colour to advertiste the name of the band which as soon as they pick up the digi pak stright away they are hit by the name of the band . Also on the back theres the name of the tracks, which gives the audience infomation about which songs are out. There is also a picture of the main band memeber but it is pink and slightly disjointed which may reflect there music and there gives the audiences a little taste of what to come.

Shooting schedule

Time	Plan
8:40- 9:00	Group meeting in front of media class Final checklist of props, costume, etc. Ready to go! Mikey, Daisy, Jo, Amiee
9:00- 10:30	Go into the studio and set up ready to film the band we will also have a run through of the song and give the band an idea of what the day will be like. Also the band will be put into there costume holly will be in her rock outfit and the boys will be put into there designated costumes and the make up artist will apply the appropriate make up  for the band Cast: Holly Finley, Otto West, hector McAllister and will Bodner
10:30- 10:45	Break
10:45- 11:15	We will commence with filming the band starting with long and wide shots of the whole band. This will give us a view of the whole performance and we will watch it back to see if it works. Cast: Holly Finley, Otto West, hector McAllister and will Bodner
11:15- 13:00	We will then commence with close ups of the band making our product unique and creating different shot types. Using close ups, mid shots and a collaboration of different tyoes including shots of intsurments, lips and sex appeal for the girl and establishing the band as a marketable group. Cast: Holly Finley, Otto West, hector McAllister and will Bodner
13:00- 13: 50	LUNCH BREAK
13:50-16:30	We will finish up filming the band polishing it and making sure we haven’t missed anything. Cast: Holly Finley, Otto West, hector McAllister and will Bodner
16:30- 17:00	We will start our preparation to film our outdoor scenes making sure everything’s in place. Making sure all our props are placed where they should be and making the scene look like how we pictured in our heads. Mikey, Jo, Daisy, Aimee
17.00- Late	We will begin filming the wood scene. With close ups and mid shots of the main girl Abbi Douetil. We will then film her reactions to the various things she’s seeing. We will do close ups of the extras doing different things plus we will get shots of the mise en scene Cast: Abbi Douetil Andrew Irving Ellie Wilson Sadie Middleton Amy Rumble Jess Wilson Peter Bergin Will Barlow Bella Spaeight Ella Robinson Tilly Goodridge Talisa Vergsen Nat Holley Ian Heritier Jana Page Freddie McGaw Paula Riemann Tom Barnett Emily Rhodes Laura Bowman Marina Hambro Merlin Talard

Story Board

For our music video we decided to do a storyboard which would give us an indication of what shots we would you so we made a storyboard to help us with this and give us a guideline of what shots to use when we actrully come to film the video.

Costumes

Deciding our costumes was a difficult task as we had to style a vast number of people in two completely different scenes with different people. Also as our cast where young, we wanted them to be in style with the current teenage fashion which would make our video more up to date and appeal to a wider audience and make our video more beilevable

Performers for the band. for our main girl Holly we wanted to give her a rock chick edge but also give her sex appeal to memebers of the opposite sex to attract males to watch the video. This is the type of image we are aiming at as it describes

This is the sort of look we are going for. She is sexy and has a dark side to her which will fit in the track. Also we beileve our performer Holly will suit this image perfectly.

Thes 3 images show what we want to create a sexy and dark lead singer with dark eye make up to give her even more sexual attaction.

For the boys in the band we want to give an indie look to them but aslo quite a dark feel to them. We want them to be alternative aswell but cool looking to add a sexual attraction to the females who watch the video. This is the type of image we are going for is an indie/rock feel with an edge to make the band have an appeal to them. This is the sort of look were going for.

 

casting Process/Image

When we were given the task of casting for our thriller we wanted to find 6 main cast memebers and the have about 25 extras for our background in the party scene to make it look authentic and realistic like a proper rave.

Firstly we wanted to find a girl who could be the lead singer of the band, as the song is quite dark and the theme of the video is dark we chose Holly Finlay to be our lead singer, She has dark hair and we beileve we can make her up as a rock chic to good effect.

This is the type of image where going for holly as it is edgy and call and llinks into the genre of the music as it would appeal to the audience who are a fan of dance/ rock music. Also there is a bit of flesh of showing therefore this would add a sex attraction so we needed someone who could pull it off and we beileved holly would fit the role perfectly.


For our band we wanted a group of boys to support holly as the main girl as this give us a unqiue element to the band and therefore appeals to the audience. For our group of boys we wanted them to have an edge and we can dress them in rock outfits for them to look cool and young and virbant like our target audience, in the end we choose Hector, Walter, Otto and will bodner who we beileve have the right look and attitude for the role. This will appeal to the audience as they will fit into the type of music that that genreation listens to.

This is the sort of image were going for they look threatening and edgy and arent the typical boys in a band as offer a lot darker feel to the video and a rebelious streak which is inside many teenages and our target audience who tend to listen to this kind of music are useally reblious teens are therefore if the band look like they conform to this ideology then the audience will buy there music as they feel they relate to it. So the guys will pick we beileve can pull this as they all have a bad boy attitude so therefore they are apportaite to play the role.

After spending some time looking at different costumes and images i decide to create a image around the headshot of my band therefore i could get a good indication of how they would look on the shoot, After seeing this i decided to make the image of the band alot darker as therefore they would look more edgy and rebilious. So doing gave me a good example of how i could style my group.

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