Question 2

We have used a lot of the different aspects in our ancillary tasks within out music video, when looking at both you will notice that there is a lot of attention towards the guitar and the actors clothing and then the same again when you visit the ancillary tasks, we did this to give a sense of continuity, by using the same stuff we make it seem like it was taken at the time and people like to see stuff that they have already seen before so they recognize it. This is why we have done this. 

Overall I believe that we have effectively linked the two tasks of which we had been set through many different aspects of the music video and the ancillary tasks. By creating a sort of continuity we have been able to capture the music videos sense of upsetting vibe within the other ancillary tasks. I believe by having an effective link between the music video and the CD cover and poster we have therefore been able to create a successful marketing campaign for the newly released single. 

Question 3

 'What have you learned from your audience feedback?. 

This question can be answered in many different sections of my work. From the beginning of this years course I have been looking into finding a lot out about what my audience wants to see in my music video and how they think it has turned out in the end of it in the final product. I believe that this helps you achieve the best results as they are the ones who are going t look at it when they listen to the song. 

The first time I used audience feedback was  when we wanted to know what to include in our Folk/Rock music video. We set out to make a video that answered many questions about the Folk/Rock genre and how people saw the genre as a whole. Once we had compiled all of our information it turned out that a lot of people believe that when creating a music video to an unusual genre it's best to stick to the conventions of the genre. It was shown in the video that everyone expects to see the usual setting being an unusual setting such as a forest, in a field, or a car park for example. We were told that to make a successful music video that people can relate to you must stick to conventions. In the genre of which we had picked it was difficult to try and incorporate different settings into the music video as things didn't seem right when we did it. This is why we stuck with what our audience had to say and stuck to the conventions through the use of setting. We also asked in our first compilation of questions what people expect to see within a genre of this sort and got replies that were all very similar and also stuck to the conventions of the genre, with dull colors and baggy clothes. When looking into these replies we thought that we could challenge this convention of the genre as it was easy to do and could make it look normal. Once we used a different clothing scheme with skinny jeans and a colored jumper we were able to make it look good due to the modernization of clothing. Overall we found out that the audience feedback of which we collected was very much based around the overuse of conventional factors when we could be using our own swing on specific things. 

The next part of our audience feedback was to do with the storyboards of which we created, on this storyboard we were able to plan out an opening sequence to our music video. To gain audience feedback on this we sent the images of our sequence to 5 random people and then asked them to tell us what they thought with any changes they think we should make and our findings were as shown below.

''I believe the opening sequence to the music video you have planned is laid out very well with good focus on how you are going to edit and incorporate cuts into this sequence but I also believe that you need to focus more on the story other than the guitar and artist playing instruments as that it what is asked of more in this modern day.'' 

''The sequence you have created looks good but there is too much focus on the artist and his instruments, try to get more shots of the narrative piece in when filming.'' 

''Very well laid out planning, keep up the good work. Try to think of new and improved, unique shots and angles you could find to make it more YOUR work and not a conventional piece.''

As you can see from the quotes I have provided above people believe that I should incorporate the narrative side of the video more when it comes to filming the film. This shows that in a modern society there is a much higher want for interesting videos than ever before. A decade ago there were more people who's music videos consisted of them singing and playing the guitar but now they all want interesting and well designed videos. This audience feedback led to us changing the film sequence opening when we cam to filming to including more of the narrative story and less of the artist, this turned out to be a bonus to us due to the lack of our lead artist Tei who had issues with his mobile phone and decided not to turn up when we needed him, therefore leading to us needing to find an actor to replace him and mime lyrics.. averagely well. 

The final way in which we gathered our audience feedback was once we had completed the final media product and had a group of people to evaluate it. We did this by giving out a sheet and having people handing it in. On the sheet we asked a question on how we would be able to improve our work. We asked this question as we thought It would lead to us being able to look over what we could have done to improve our work and think about why we didn't do this when we were making it. When it came to light a lot of people noticed that there was a lot of miss edits on the lip syncing but when we were creating the video we knew this was going to be a problem as our actor did not know the lyrics and had to try his hardest to make up for this. Another thing of which the people who filled our questionnaires out said that they think we could have focused more on the frustration of the actor with expressions and what he does, once looking over the music video I agreed that this could have been done a lot better but it at the time it seemed like we had enough. 

Overall I believe that from using audience feedback we have been able to create our final product well and with extra time and extra feedback we would have even been able to make it even more realistic and better. By sticking to the conventions more and spending more time searching for a more appropriate setting we could have made a masterclass. 

I have also created a PowerPoint presentation explaining all of these factors below. Containing images and screenshots of everything I have used to get my audience research. 

Question 4

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

This has a long list of different answers as nearly everything we use to create our product on was a media technology. With the rise in technology being rapid we could do almost anything asked to with a piece of digital technology. The project was always going to require a lot of different media technologies so we could complete it and here is an explained list on how we had used each of these. 

Right now I am recording my blog posts on a piece of digital technology called blogger. It is a website upon my computer which enables me to record different posts and keep them all in one place. This would be the main piece of technology I have used in all three stages as it is the one of which I have used to record everything I have done on. Without it it would be a lot more difficult to store all of the work. Blogger has been used for years to make sure that people can either store work or just their own opinions on and will be used for time to come. It has allowed me to share all sorts of media such as pictures, videos and PowerPoint presentations and single slides. 

The next major piece of media technology that has been a significant factor overall in this course was the video camera. The video camera is what has allowed me to do many of the tasks of which we are set throughout the year. The first thing of which it helped me to do was film all of the people answering my questions about the audience research. This allowed me to find out what people expect to see in a Folk/Rock genre music video, without the camera I would not have been able to find out peoples opinions on what should be included in our music video and what they would expect to see in terms of conventions of this genre. The video camera was then used obviously to film the actual product itself, it allowed us to gain our variation of shots and allow us to create a new piece of media which will exist for years to come. Without the video camera I would not be able to gain a very good grade in this piece of work as I would not have been able to film any of the clips I used in the music video.

Another major piece of media technology of which we used was a Dictaphone, a Dictaphone is a piece of technology that allows you to record sounds and voices to then use again at a later date. We used the Dictaphone when we were recording the song for Tei, by having him sing into one of these we were able to keep the song and then upload it to the computer of which we used to put over the video we ended up having and then edit it to make the video and the sound match up. Without the Dictaphone we would not have been able to get the sound very clearly and would have ended up having a bad quality recording leading to the song not sounding very good and making the entire project look like it wasn't up to scratch. 

The piece of digital technology of which we used was Coral Video Studio Pro, this is a piece of software found on the computer which is used solely for editing clips, putting them together, adding sound and effects to each of them to make an overall piece. This piece of media technology allowed us to cut clips to make them go in the correct order we wanted them to go into and also allowed us to put the song over the top. A lot of different features of Coral were  used by us when editing the clips such as:

• Splitting clips - turning one clip into two
• Multi trim of clips - more specific cutting
• Muting clips - take away background noise from narrative clips
• Changing the colour correct to make sure that it looks the same sort of light all the way through.

  Shortening clips and making clips longer.

All of these different attributes allowed us to make our final product happen. 

Another piece of media technology of which we used in our production of our ancillary tasks was Photoshop, Photoshop allowed us to do many different things with the images of which we had collected ourselves and therefore made them look like we were in a better place. For example in the back of our CD cover we were able to make the actor look as if he was looking off over the edge of a stage. We did this by changing the lighting of the photo and leaving one end light as if he was under a stage light and the other end dark as if it was looking over a crowd of people. Without Photoshop we wouldn't have been able to create a lot of our ancillary tasks as this was the piece of technology of which had been using for these.

A piece of media technology that was vital in the planning of our music video sequence was the still image digital camera. When we were planning to create our music video we looked into how we could plan what the shots of which we used were going to look like and to do this we we created a storyboard on a sheet of paper which had a grid on with 10 slots, we drew what we believed would be in the shot and then wrote about what was happening in each shot. When we recorded this on our blog we needed to be able to transfer this information to the computer and that's when the digital camera came into the picture. To do this we took still images of each of the images in the storyboard and then annotated them, this allowed us to show you and keep in our minds what we were planning on doing in the project.

The final, and key media technology of which we have used over and over again in many different areas of the project we have been asked to do is the internet. This has been vital to everything we have done throughout the year. With it being the place of which we store all of our information that we have found whilst using the internet it has turned into the leading form of media technology to grace the planet. It has also been used for research into our chosen genre, with the introduction of Youtube we have been able to find out what the main conventions of a Folk/Rock music video are and have also been able to find out what theorists have affected music videos in the past, therefore leading to us abiding by there theories and creating the best music video we can with our resources. This has also been where we have been able to store our final product for the rest of time. Now we have uploaded the video to youtube it will be able to stay there forever and will also keep all of our song research on.

Overall I believe the key to success in not only this project but to education and examining is media technologies, without them a lot of things become poorly marked and poorly kept. With information being able to be stored in one place people are able to see them whenever they want with a click of a button. It has also been the key to success in the fact that if none of these technologies existed then we would not be able to create the products. 

Settings Board

In the images above I have collected four different images of which I believe could be the setting of my music video. The settings consist of a forest, the beach, an empty car park and a skate park. The reason of which I have chosen these settings is because I believe it is where an upset guy would like to go to. In the music video, due to the nature of the lyrics I believe we are going to have a depressed man who has just recently come out of a relationship and misses the girl. The settings of which I have chosen would be good for this as it would be possible for the person to be alone and would be good for our filming as we would be able to get a quiet shot where the actor can concentrate on his acting and get it done quickly. 

By creating a settings board we can get an idea of where we will film when it comes to looking for locations. We could search for a perfect place for us to film that will create a convincing and effective sequence. When we started to look to film we were very convinced that if we were to film in the skate park it would link to the lyrics in the music video a lot more than if the actor was seen to be in a forest or a beach. Once we started to film we found some good locations to film such as Tavistock skate park and then in the co-op car park, these locations turned out to work very well in the narrative sequence of my music video as it created a sense of loneliness and also a factor of depression. With him not being seen with anyone throughout the entire sequence besides on his phone screen it also created a mood where you feel sorry for him and I believe that these settings did it justice for him. 

By creating this settings board it allowed me to gain ideas of where to film in the sequence and also allowed me to think in depth of where these settings could relate to in terms of Tavistock. It allowed us to gain initial ideas of the production of the film and put us into the process of trying to create our music video. 

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to other media:

1. The villain (struggles against the hero)
2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
5. Her father (usually dies during or before the end of the film/book)
6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

The film of which Ii have found which goes directly with this theory is 'The Iincredibles' this film is an animated film which Is about a family who all have there own specials powers. Within this film they are found to have there allies, and there enemies. Between all of them there are 7 characters which fit in with Vladimir Propp's theory.

The hero in The Incredibles is Mr Incredible, he is the father of the family and the main superhero out of all of them. He is always on the look out for crime that he can fight to keep the city he loves the most safe. He is a male character and the most predominant out of all of them due to his size and general look. He is the character who saves the day in the film.

The Donor in The Incredibles is thought to be a machine that is used to kill the enemy, without the machine he would not be able to destroy the enemies machines and therefore he would not be able to do what his aim has been all along and save the city. The machine also helps Mr Incredible find out what the enemy is trying to do as it has a computer in it which helps to find out what there target is.

The Helper in The Incredibles is the hardest to choose, due to the large family all helping to defeat the enemy it would be the entire family but there are also others which help him in the final fight against the enemy and these consist of Frozone, Mr Incredibles best friend and Edna, who is a genius and creates suits that help the Incredibles to fight without losing there powers or clothes.

The Princess in The Incredibles is difficult to find as they usually find themselves fighting for each member of there family just to keep the villain away, the only reward that Mr Incredible is offered is a large pay increase and a 'chance to re-live the good days' which is what Mr Incredible has been looking for ever since the superheroes of the city had been forced to lie low for good. So the pay and chance would have to be the reward at the end of the fighting.

The Father is usually seen as an authoritive figure who offers a reward to the hero for there success, as I just mentioned Mr Incredible had been offered the pay rise and chance to live in the glory days it is a women in the film called Mirage who offers him this, she would be seen as the father due to the offers she makes.


The Dispatcher in The Incredibles is Frozone, he is the one who sends Mr Incredible on his mission, he helps him throughout the mission but is also the one who lets him know of what is going on.

The final person of the 7 is The Villain, in The Incredibles 'Syndrome' is the villain. He is the one that is creating robots that kill real super heroes, this way he will be left as one of the only heroes by using fake sources. Mr Incredible sets out to stop him from killing anymore super heroes and making himself look like a hero.

Claude Levi Strauss

Another theorist of which we have learnt about is Claude Levi Strauss, he is a was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology". He believes in the use of binary opposition, this means that there is a conflict between two opposing forces. He believes that this exists to create conflict to entertain. 

Examples of binary opposition are as below: 

Good         vs      Evil                                                            Crime       vs       Police

Happy       vs      Sad                                                            Young      vs       Old

Civilised     vs     Uncilvilised                                                  Nature     vs       Man

I am now going to show you an example of this within a music video, it is used within many different media texts but here is the music video of the song End Credits - Chase and Status. Chase and status has one clear binary opposition, between crime and police, throughout the entire music video there is trouble from the police towards the main actor and his friends. Below are screen grabs from the music video which have then been transferred onto the blog for me to talk about. 

Here is the first screenshot from the music video, it is a shot of the main actor in the video and also the lead singer. He is being portrayed in the video as a 'crimester' and up to no good, they have done this by giving him a hoodie and making him wear it up. This would be to hide his identity from the other side of the binary opposition, the police. This establishing shot wold allow people to know who is on which side.

The next screen grab is of the same actor as in the first one but in an interview room, this show has been made to look like he is under interrogation from the police, this shot will also allow the audience to see which side is which and will also create an opponent for each other. Therefore sticking with Claude's theory and creating entertainment through the binary opposition.


In this third shot it is an image of the main actor looking over a man that is seriously injured either by the actor or by another actor in the video. This would make the binary opposition active as there is now a reason for them to go at each other. This is what is called a spark and would be the beginning event in a series of other events in a music video.

In this shot there is shown to be a large group of the young 'crimesters' stirring trouble again, this would provoke a lot of drama and once again backing up the theory of which Claude suggested that entertainment is made when two opposites collide. This is quite clearly shown in the music video with the police and criminals fighting.

The final shot of which I have taken from the music video created by Chase and Status is of the police moving in to start more violence. Just to strengthen Claude Levi Strauss' theory.

The music video has shown a very good reputation of Binary opposition throughout the entire song. The whole plot of the video has been based around the two opposites, this has been the only thing causing entertainment for the audience so It has been good to analyse it to his theory. The use of opposites colliding has a very brutal effect on each other, its as if they have been juxtaposed to one and other making the other seem worse or better than what they are. The video has been able to keep my attention all the way through and keep me entertained throughout. Overall I believe that Claude Levi Strauss' theory is true as it creates good entertainment for the audience but there are also many other ways in which they could be done.

From looking into this theory by Claude Levi-Strauss I have learnt that by using two contrasting things you can capture an audiences attention for a long period of time as long as there are battles between them due to it not being a natural couple. Many other music videos use the same technique to convey emotions and feelings for example when you have a smart person and a not so smart person there are comical applications involved such as jealousy and this can lead to different things happening in the video.

I believe I can apply this to our music video by using the binary opposition of love and loneliness. A couple that have just broken up will be a clear way to show the theory through our video, it will keep the audience entertained as the battle between them will go on throughout the video. To do this I think that we should have a couple starting off to show there happiness when they are together and then something bad happening and then showing there unhappiness and loneliness when they are apart, this should help cause a contrast in emotions and help to convey the message.

                                               

Regulation Research

The Mass Media in the UK is regulated very strictly, this is to ensure that people don't come across harmful content which could effect them in any way. To do this, legal bodies are set up by the government and given the ability to filter things from entering the web or onto sites that are viewed by a mass media.

I have undertook some secondary research to find out what these legal bodies have the power to do, why they have to do it and how badly things have to get for them to stop it from being viewed. Beneath is a list of which I have created to show you the different legal bodies and what they are enforced to do in terms of a music video.

The major legal body that relates to classifying music videos is Ofcom, Ofcom is a independent regulator of communications, this makes them the lead regulator in the music video industry. They can ban music videos from being placed on Youtube without an over 18's license. They can also put bars on the iTunes video buying by making sure that you are over 18. They ensure that people under eighteen are protected. There are many different sections of the page they have produced to do with under aged people which can be found at the link below.

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/protecting-under-18s/

In relation to my music video I believe that there is nothing that says it will be against the rules and regulation of which Ofcom put forward to there audiences, in my video the only significant pat which may 'effect' children' would be the ending where the main character commits suicide. This is not shown in the video as we did not have the correct equipment to make a fake death look real.

The BBFC (The British Board of Film Classification) is an independent, non-governmental body. They've classified cinema and films since 1912, videos/DVDs and some video games since 1984. Their main job is to ensure that people don't get to see what they believe is out of their age limit. The main issues of which they face are to do with sex, drugs, language and violence. Each of them are tolerated at  certain levels but when they are used too frequently or at higher levels then the BBFC rating will increase. For example if a film has the word 'shit' in it then the BBFC will only rate the film at a 12 as it is low level swearing and seen acceptable for an audience of that age, whereas if the word 'fuck' or 'cunt' is used within a film then the rating is usually increased to a 15. This is because BBFC believe that to hear this sort of language you must be of this age or older. The order of the BBFC certifications go like this :

• Universal - Anyone and everyone can see it 
• PG (Parental Guidance) - Some material may not be suitable for children, so bring your parent.
• 12A - You must be over 12 years old unless accompanied by an adult.
• 12 - Must be 12 or over.
• 15 - Must be 15 or over.
• 18 - Must be 18 or over.
• R18 - Aspecial and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas.

These areas do not effect me or my music video as the BBFC currently do not regulate music videos and would doubtedly be put into that area in the future. As they have just had video games taken off of them due to its broadness being too narrow then they may introduce a European music video censor.

 I believe that our Music video would not need a rating due to its relaxed nature but with the ending being a suicide I don't believe that it will be suitable for children to watch on there own. It will still be allowed viewings from all ages as their is not an age ratings system put in place for the music video industry. They could make advisories to me to make sure that it would not effect or influence children under the age of 18 if it does then they would put an age limit of over 18 on the video to make it illegal to download over iTunes and also put a restriction on it over YouTube.