Final Products

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

Textual analysis of my own work

The video opens with no moving image and a dialogue between the two main characters, the audience hears a heated confrontation between a couple, which is evident by the line 'What ever happened to us? We used to be so good, but now you seem to make it your ultimate goal to make me miserable'. This immediately tells the audience that the couple have issues and suggests that it is the male in the relationship who is causing the problems. The lack of moving image adds mystery to the context and encourages the audience to carry on watching the music video since they would want to see the action happen. This opening dialogue within the diegetic sound challenges the conventions of a pop punk or metalcore music video as it is rare for there to be a spoken dialogue between the characters in a music video of this genre. This perhaps develops the conventions of the genre since it has rarely been done, but the unusual spoken element is perhaps something which wouldn't be found in mainstream videos.  However, Green Day's 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' (a punk rock band) opens with a spoken dialogue but with moving image to accompany it. The song also pauses halfway through this music video to show another dialogue between a couple which helps reinforce and advance the narrative, a couple who is torn apart by the male being called away to war in Afghanistan.
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The fast paced editing in the opening sequence conforms to the conventions of the pop punk/metalcore genre, it builds up to the drop in the music and shows that the tempo of the song is going to be quick throughout. When the music finally drops, the reduction of speed of the two shot of the couple arguing suggests that something shocking might happen, she slaps him which shows that she is trying to stick up for herself in an intimidating situation. The mise-en-scene in the medium shot of the hospital suggests that something is wrong since the colour of the sign matches the colours of the NHS, in particular the word 'Oncology' tells the audience that she might have a serious illness. The close up on the letter that she is holding reinforces this idea since it shows that she is receiving some bad news, especially by the use of the ghosting blur on this shot which has connotations of the ill feeling which an individual might experience when receiving some bad news.

Throughout there are some elements of performance just like in Green Day's video for Wake Me Up When September Ends. The video uses jump cuts from the story-line to the performance at important moments which reinforces the narrative whilst also conforming to the conventions of the alternative rock genre. However, the video challenges the conventions owing to the reduction in opacity of the mid shots of Jordan performing the song. This unique editing shows that it belongs to an alternative genre and isn't seen in mainstream music videos, for example in Rihanna or Lady Gaga's music videos. The aggressive performance of the song by Jordan also conforms to the conventions of the genre, since in many pop punk and metalcore videos this is how the songs are performed by the entire band or single lead singer. For example, in A Day To Remember's video 'I'm Made of Wax Larry What Are You Made Of?' (0.11).

The use of the cross dissolve between the colour and grayscale shots safely shows the difference between the past and the present. The use of the grayscale in the flashback shots conforms to the conventions of the genre as the black and white effect is often seen in pop punk or metalcore videos. For example, Trivium's,'Strife' (1.37), which I previously included in my genre research.

This black and white effect also has connotations of sadness since the colour is dull and represents the past, the colour perhaps links to old photographs and could suggest how the memories are precious to the male character.

The actual track is quite heavy throughout, especially at 2.43 where the guitar beats become much stronger and the drum beats become much heavier. This fast tempo and heavy aggressive beat is a common convention of songs within the pop punk and metalcore genre, however, as A Day To Remember uses both pop punk and metalcore features in their songs this perhaps suggests that they are developing a new genre - a mix of the existing pop punk and metalcore genre. Furthermore, as I have developed and challenged conventions of the genre by adding features which are not often used (for example, the opening dialogue) it could be argued that it conforms to the conventions of this new genre.

The performance at 2.44 within the narrative reinforces the aggression since the action of punching the punch bag is quite aggressive and shows that he is angry and frustrated. The frequent match on action cuts between the mid close up of Jordan punching and close ups of the hand punching the bag shows the force of his punch and reinforces the emotion that he might be feeling at this point. The jump cuts between the boxing scene and the bedroom scene where Jordan is seen to be holding Leah's hand suggests that he is perhaps thinking about how helpless he was when she was physically slipping away and how he didn't want to lose her.

The narrative is quite a sensitive topic, it shows how a young couple were quickly torn apart by a common illness which affects many people. However, it seems more tragic since they obviously had a bad relationship in the beginning which is evident by the opening dialogue and scenes where the couple are having an argument. The Uses and Gratifications theory could explain why the members of my target audience might want to watch this video as we have different needs. For example, surveillance, the audience may be curious as to how terminal illnesses affect people and the destruction that it might bring, to relationships and to individual people. The audience may also watch the video in order to use the particular media within their personal relationships. For example, they may share the same like of the pseudonym band 'The Arrows' with their friends, therefore by viewing a music video for their new single they can share their opinion about the single and the music video amongst themselves. The audience may also watch this video as they can relate to the personal experiences of the characters since they may have experienced the issues themselves which is portrayed with the story line.

Conventions analysis of ancillary texts

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

To find out whether all three of my products were effective as a combination I carried out a focus group with another three members of my target audience. After showing each of them my music video and both of my ancillary texts, I asked them three questions.

Do you think that the three products are effective as a promotional package?

It was agreed that they worked together as a promotional package. This was due to the use of the colour scheme which is consistent throughout my ancillary texts, as well as the use of the stills from my video which show the link between the ancillary texts and the main products.

Do you think that they work well together? Can you see the links?

It was agreed that the links between each of the products were very strong, it was also stated that if for example, they looked at the magazine advertisement alone that they would be able to tell that it was part of my promotional package and that they work well together as a whole.

What would you improve in order to increase the cohesion of the three products?

One member of the focus group commented that they didn't think that anything needed to be improve to show the cohesion between the three products since they all compliment each other. One member of the focus group suggested that I could have added a title sequence at the beginning of my video to show the link more clearly, this could consist of the the name of the band and the song being shown as part of the introduction to the music video.

Furthermore, this focus group was part of my audience feedback. Overall, it was agreed that the three products were successful as a promotional packagae. This is due to the fact the links between each product were clearly shown which allowed them to be easily recognisable as part of a package. Apart from the improvement which was suggested as a response to the third question, the comments were all positive and showed that the package fulfilled its purpose.

My product as part of Kerrang magazine.

 My product placed in Spotify music player

My product in Itunes

The use of the mise-en-scene helps all three products work as a combination. For example, the use of the stills from the music video which show important points in the video, these stills also help connote the mood and atmosphere of the music video. The main image on the front cover of the Digipak is quite romantic as it shows the couple looking at each other and embracing each other. However, the ambiguity of what is going to happen in the music video is also shown as I have erased their facial expression. Stills are also taken from other points in the video, such as the boxing scene, the close up shot of the female character when she is showing her anger and the final close up of the flowers placed at her grave. The black,white and red colour scheme which is used consistently throughout all three products helps create cohesion between all three of the products. Especially since the grayscale scenes are a dominant feature of the music video since they are used to represent the couple's past memories. Therefore, by using a black, white and red colour scheme in the ancillary texts this establishes a strong link.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Interviews - audience feedback

I carried out interviews with three members of my target audience in order to find out if the music video was successful. They are all students, either 17 or 18 years and all have an interest in the pop punk or metalcore genre of music.

Do you think that the video conforms to the conventions of the pop punk metalcore genre and why?

Mainly the overall response to this question was that the aggressive scenes in the video such as, the boxing scene and the opening argument scene helped reflect the genre. However, it was pointed out that I had chosen to portray quite a different story than the majority of pop punk narratives, therefore it could be argued that I am developing the conventions of this mixed genre as I have focused on a 'domestic' issue rather than something that is humorous or boosts the audience's self esteem. It was also commented that I have 'made it my own' and 'different' whilst still reflecting the genre. Perhaps, if I was to shoot another music video of this genre, I could focus more on an aggressive story or a narrative which focuses on revenge to successfully reflect this genre.

What parts of the video do you like in particular and why?

The use of the faded mid and close up shots of the male character overlayed on the main narrative scenes were particular popular, it was stated that it looks very 'effective' and fits to the genre 'perfectly'.  The scene which was most popular was where the couple are having an argument, it was stated that it was 'original' since you don't often see that in music videos and the 'drama' of the video made it particularly interesting.

What would you rate this video out of 10 and why?

The average response to this question was an 8, owing to the fact that some improvements could be made. For example, one member of the audience stated that the actions of the male character throughout the duration of the performance scenes were 'odd' in comparison to the expectations of the genre. I would have liked to improve this scene, as I added the scene at a later date which meant I didn't have time to carry out a test shoot. Lack of availability from Jordan, the male actor, also meant that I wasn't able to rehearse with him what he was going to do, this meant that on the day of filming a lot of the performance was quite spontaneous. Therefore, if I had more time I would have done another performance shoot. However, my video has benefited from this added scene as it isn't often that there is a music video without this particular element.

Would you watch it again?

All of the interviewees answered yes to this question. The narrative was commented as 'enticing' and the interviewees said that they 'enjoyed the song' and 'watching the music video'.

What would you improve if you could do it again?

Three areas were pointed out in response to this question. Firstly, it was commented on that I could re-shoot the parts of the video which were shot when I first started, this is because my ability to use a video camera and film has progressed over the duration of the project, therefore if I was able to show this higher quality consistently throughout the video this could improve it as a whole.

Secondly, it was said that the male performance scenes could be improved by working on his 'actions'. This could be done by rehearsing the scene first, verse by verse, so it isn't as obviously spontaneous. Finally, it was stated that the timing could be improved. For example, if I had time to improve the video, I could do this by editing the clips to cut to the beat.

 This is the current view count of my music video on YoutTube. Already, many people have watched my video, which shows that there is an interest from my target audience. When I interviewed a member of my target audience she commented that she had watched the video multiple times as she enjoyed it. Therefore, this tells me that the video has already been positively received since I only uploaded it last week.

Questionnaires which I carried out after I had completed a second draft.

Previously in the project I carried out questionnaires which identified some areas for improvement which helped me make changes for a third and final draft. From the responses to these questionnaires I drew a series of bar graphs which created a succesful visual representation of stronger and weaker parts of the music video. Therefore, when it came to creating a final draft I was able to make several changes which suited the target audiences requests and needs. For example, it was commented that the voice-over at the beginning of the video was confusing, however, it was also stated that it made the video more effective and emotional whilst making it easier for the audience to understand. The lack of appropriate mise-en-scene was also pointed out. However, in order to improve this area of the video it would have involved re-shooting a lot of the parts of the video which I didn't have time to do. The grayscale scenes and the aggressive atmosphere of the video was quite popular amongst my target audience and it was stated that this helped reflect the genre successfully.

The area for improvement at this stage which was made apparent by the results of these questionnaires was that the diagnosis scene wasn't clear enough. Many confused her diagnosis with pregnancy and this was reinforced by the fact that the female character was seen to be vomiting over the toilet which was confused with morning sickness. Therefore, by the time it became apparent that the female character had died this came as a shock to many of the audience and changed the interpretation of the music video entirely. This led to the decision to re-shoot this scene in a different location, the hospital, as there was a clear sign there which said 'Oncology' which would make the narrative more obvious.

This was the new location which I chose to shoot the scene where she finds out her diagnosis. It is made clearer by the mise-en-scene within the location. For example, the blue and white colour is associated with the NHS, which the entire population recognise. The text on the sign 'The Queens Centre for Oncology and Haematology' is clearly associated with a hospital and immediately suggests to the audience that something is wrong.

These were the bar graphs which represented the results to the question 'Are there any parts of the video that could be improved?' (top) and 'Did you understamd that the female character receives a cancer diagnosis?' (bottom). This clearly shows that the majority of respondents thought that the diagnosis scene needed to be clearer, therefore I listened which has made the narrative more succesful.

At that particular stage 12 respondents answered yes to the question 'Would you watch the music video again?' and 14 answered no. This was due to the fact that many of the respondents didn't share the same music taste even though they were in the age group of my target audience, they commented that it was a good video but they didn't like the song. However, I was able to be more specific in my choice of people to gain audience feedback from at the final, concluding stages of production. I asked the same question to three particular members of my target audience who liked the genre of music and listened to it on a regular basis, after I had completed my final draft. They all answered that they would watch the music video again which indicates that the music video is successful at meeting their needs.

At each stage in the production process I posted a link to the video on my Facebook profile, I asked for my Facebook friends to let me know what they thought and if they had any suggestions on how to improve it. Even at the early stages of production, the video was well received, and the majority of the people that commented liked the narrative as a whole. However, at this point it wasn't as clear as it could be as to what was wrong with the female character. Here are the screenshots of the audience feedback which I received after the first and second draft of the music video. 

Final draft audience feedback - Facebook

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

Final draft - Magazine advertisement

For the final draft of the magazine advertisement I have made the following changes:

• Altered the brightness of the female character's face as before it appeared too white. I added a light grey tint to the image which has made it appear more ghostly which is the effect that I am trying to recreate in my magazine advertisement. 
• Changed the font style of the main text to match that of the CD cover, I have also added a contour to the text to give it more definition. 
• Adjusted the opacity of the background image behind the main text as previously it was too bright and not completely visible.
• Added the record label logo as this is a convention of magazine advertisements since it shows who the band are signed to whilst also providing the label with extra forms of promotion. 

Final draft - CD cover

For a final draft of the CD cover I have made the following changes:

• Added a second disc in order for the product to become a digipak.I did this by creating a new red layer and overlaying it on top of the black and white image for it to be transformed into a disc. I used the red colour which I have used consistently throughout the product. 
• Added the arrow design to the first disc to carry the imagery right through the product and to make it more appealing.
• Changed the font which I have used for the main text, this is because the previous font was not clear enough and this new font allows the text to stand out more and makes it clearer to read. 
• Added the record label logo 'Fueled By Ramen'. This is because the inclusion of a record label logo is a convention of CD covers and similar products. 
• Added the band and track name as well as the record label to the coloured in spines as this is another convention of CD covers. 
• Overlayed the track lyrics and the lyrics of two other A Day To Remember tracks. The song lyrics are usually printed on a separate booklet which would be inserted into the CD cover. However, owing to practical issues and lack of resources and time it isn't possible to do this.