VIDEO + FEEDBACK.

I have now finished my music video :)


Here is a link to get to the video via: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kuNj9mJuPk

I have also taken the time to get feedback from my target audience on the finished product.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rANGcXSV_Vo


QUESTIONNAIRE

Did you think that the video met your expectations as a target audience member?

Yes I did, I thought it was very appealing and it was what I expected from this genre.

I thought it was good, it had a really good storyline and used a lot of great effects in it.

Yes, it was what I like to see from a video, lots of dancing! I liked the romance between the main character and I thought her costume was cool.

Did it fit the Indie genre?

I think it did as it was quite fast paced and it had a quirky story to it.

It wasn't very obvious what genre it was just looking at the video but I think because of the music you could tell.

I thought it looked quite Indie or maybe techno? But mainly because of the use of the robot made it look kind of techno.


What did the video tell you about the band?

I think they are probably quite humourous guys when you see the sped up parts and the use of animation, from their music I can tell their lyrics have real meaning because of the use of the narrative.

I think they are very lively onstage from all the use of sped up sections and jumpy changes of shots. I would also say they are quite unique as everything in the video was quite unexpected.

They are probably quite funny and outrageous, the way the girl is just stood there with all the people walking past not even caring what she looks like.


What could have been improved in the video?

Maybe some of the editing was a bit funny in places, especially the end. The song ended but the video carried on. I couldn't tell if this was supposed to happen.

I thought some of the sped up bits were unneccessary but I understood why they were used. I also didn't completely understand the neccessity of the dancer.

I thought it was all good really, maybe from the very beginning she could have worn her box head? Because she didn't have it on at the beginning which was a bit weird.

Wordle.net

I have compiled an image of the important words highlighted in my blog.

4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research planning and evaluation stages?


Within the research planning that I did for this project, I initially researched into the indie genre using Wikipedia and Youtube to find out more about the genre I was working with. I also used Myspace to reasearch Robot Disaster and to look at the sort of music videos they had used for past songs. Using Youtube was helpful for my research as I was able to use it to analyse music videos from Indie and other genres of music which I used to inspire my final product.
For my magazine advert and CD cover, the research I did was very similar, I used Google search engine to help me find existing adverts and covers to analyse, I also looked in Q magazine and through my own collection of CDs for inspiration.
 In the construction stages of creating my music video I used a still camera to get photos of me filming Ali as evidence of the work I have done. I used a digital camera with a movie setting to film my videos as I found this easy to work with on a tri-pod and when hand-held . I then edited the music video using iMovie and Windows Movie Maker to give certain effects I wanted to acheive that were accessible through both programmes.
Within creating my magazine advert and CD cover, I used a still SLR camera to take the images of the sparklers and I used print screen shots from the video to interlink the video and CD together. I then used Photoshop to edit my work, to add text and develop the images into the products I have created.
Within the evaluation stages I used a video camera to interview my target audience to get their final feedback on my finished video, I also used Youtube to upload all of my videos (feedback and final product) to enable them to be accessed on my blog. I used my blog to answer the evaluation questions and to evaluate the success of my finished products.

3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?                                                           


Getting feedback from your target audience is essential; for me it gave me a chance to explore the generic conventions of the Indie genre I chose for my project. From asking my target audience about the representation of the genre and assessing whether the video and ancillary texts fit their purpose and appeal to my target audience I have found that they felt it did appeal to them and they liked its unconventional nature and enjoyed watching it.
Throughout the process I tried to gain feedback as it gave me a chance to look at my product from someone else's perspective and ensure it was still fitting to their expectations of the video.
Preliminary feedback I gained was in the form of a questionnaire, which I used to gain initial ideas of what I should be aiming to create during the storyboarding process.

I showed the feedback I gained in the form of pie charts and using a graphics website called Wordle. These visuals gave me the chance to see a range of answers and analyse the information given in order to create something appealing.
I also filmed interviews with members of my target audience during the editing process to see what their expectations were having seen a glimpse of it, and if there was anything that needed fixing to make it suitable for the genre and audience. 
When I had finished editing the music video and creating the ancillary texts I filmed interviews with my target audience again, wanting to find out if I had created what they had expected and to know if it fit with the indie genre.

2

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

 Genre:I have maintained focus on the Indie genre I have chosen. Within the music video, CD cover and advert I have used iconography  in the form of props and mise en scene (sparklers that represent electric shocks and a robot box head) that represents the name of the band and semantically links with the lyrics of the song.

I have tried to use quite dark, edgy and exciting colours on the CD cover and the magazine advert as these stand out to the audience as they instantly grab their attention. I think the images of the sparklers also denote danger and risk, which can be linked with the excitement of being a teenager - getting into trouble and trying to be as daring as possible. This use of adhered conventions is intended to link with my target audience and make them impulsed to buy the CD with the knowledge it is intended for them.

Institution:

Robot Disaster fit into the Indie genre and therefore an independant company such as Domino Records would be appropriate for the band. I chose this specific recording company as this particular label signed up the Artctic Monkeys in 2005.

The Arctic Monkeys are one of the band's main inspirations and their recording label suits Robot Disaster perfectly as they are of the same genre of music. This particular label is also a London based company and as Robot Disaster are based in the UK this also makes the company appropriate to them.

Representation:


In the music video I have tried to represent  both genders, as the band is all male I felt it would be quite controverse to focus solely on a female character but I have given her a dominant role, and we see her with a metal chain necklace - semantically linking with the stereotype of a "knight in shining armour" and also the metal of a robot - and mainly in leggings and black boots which show her style as very masculine orientated.
My male character is shown only at the very end of the music video but his significance is that he is the one who accepts my robot character for who she is - compared to her female classmates who mock her (stereotyping the popular gossips represented in most high school/college based films/music videos).
I chose these actors also for their ages, 17 years old as this is within my target audience age band. I have chosen a plotline which features a heterosexual relationship as this is something which can be identified and empathised with by my target audience.
The main person I have tried to represent is someone who feels lonely and unaccepted and I have challenged this role by giving them someone who does accept them - the boy from my music video.
Within my ancillary texts I have tried to display the same representation especially with the image of the robot girl which I used on my magazine advert, in which I aimed to link the advert with the music video. The image I chose of her looking up shows her not in a voyeuristic manner, but as quite innocent and as if she is daydreaming.

I think altogether the products I have created work well together as I have maintained synergy between the main product and ancillary texts and I have made obvious connections and connotations that can be read by my target audience easily.

1

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


From researching into music videos of different genres I found aspects of the videos similar to the style I wanted to create. I have used inspiration from the music videos I analysed - such as Telephone by Lady Gaga for the editing techniques, transitions and jumps.
 Within my music video I used a lot of jump cuts to create the effect that my main character is almost supernatual fitting with her character.

The screenshots shown to the left display one particular jump cut I used at the beginning of my music video. I chose to make her sit up quite unnaturally fast, not only to fit with the pace of the music but, to give this impression that being a robot she is superhuman. As this is the introduction to the video I wanted to give the audience the initial impression that she is not just a girl, even though we cannot see anything visually different or unusual about her.

I also took ideas of referencing to superhero style films as The Hoosiers did in their video Goodbye Mr A; but I chose to reference to a recent comic book-based film - Scott Pilgrim Vs The World - as I thought it connected more with my target audience; teenagers, who have probably seen this film. 

 

I do think, however, that I have challenged the format of a music video by choosing NOT to include the band and to have a solely narrative based music video. I also feel that in doing this I have developed the idea of how a music video is perceived, as the messages portrayed in the video and the narrative I have chosen are just one way the lyrics can be interpreted. I have chosen this particular plot line for my music video as I think it is one of the most accessible to my target audience.

It is important that when creating a media product, you ensure that the social groups used are represented accurately - as these usually link to the target audience the product is aimed at. Within my music video I have tried to make my main character the sort of girl who is seen as different to everyone else. I wanted her to represent the 'outcast' amongst social groups who doesn't care what people think of the way she dresses. She challenges dominant ideology, part of the Implied Behavioural Normalcy within Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - people naturally feel a need to belong in a social group and my robot character challenges this by being her own person and not seeming to need to fit in.
The music video I made fits into the Indie genre - stereotypically the people who are associated with listening to Indie music, dress in a certain way and have certain characteristics to that set genre - this goes for all genres of music, that there is a stereotypical audience to each genre. They are seen as people that go out of their way to listen to obscure bands, dressing in skinny jeans and plaid shirts (Very similar to that of the band who's music video I am creating).

The image below shows a stereotypical representation of the dress sense of Indie music audience members.

The boys are very feminine in their looks and the girls have a very "retro" style reminiscent of the sixties style shown in the image below.

The costume I put my character in, mainly related to her character (grey with a silver necklace which are metallic colours alongside the robot head prop) to show to the audience what she represents - how they read the meaning of her character is up to them as these messages conveyed in music videos can be interpreted in different ways.
I have however tried to keep her look quite rough, and the use of the Doctor Marten style boots that are very "trendy" lately, really fit with the idea that the Indie audience have a very retro/"niche" style.

Editing Stages

 Here is the target audience feedback, I have interviewed members of my target audience during these editing stages to get ideas on what they think is working well and what expectations they have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7TXjKb7AUg