Evaluation

I have created 3 videos answering the first two questions of the evaluation section. The first video evaluates the music video, the second talks about the digipak and the last evaluates the magazine advert. The two questions I will will be answering in these videos are:

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

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

3) What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

All industry media products, whether they are music videos, films, programs, print pieces or websites, have to have feedback in order to assess their strengths and weaknesses. They can receive this feedback in many ways, such as from the formative process, informal and informal, emotive and constructive, as well as having to deal with feedback that is unhelpful. Also they will use various platforms for collecting feedback, such as online social networks, surveys or by using a focus group, made up of the target audience to view the product. The methods of receiving feedback will allow media companies to see whether it is worth carrying out the advertising process. For example if a film receives very poor responses from online feedback, focus groups and critics, then they will decide it is not worth spending any more money on advertising, if no-one is likely to watch the film. I used some of these types of feedback during my making and evaluating of my music video and ancillary products. I firstly gained feedback during the formative process, or the making, which I received from classmates and teachers. A feedback evening was also organised after I have completed my products, which allowed parents and friends to view and evaluate my work. Lastly, I set up an event on Facebook, and uploaded my main piece, so that my friends and family of the social network could view and made comments. These all allowed me to receive a mixture of formal and informal, emotive and constructive feedback. I learnt a lot about the stress that can possibly occur for film makers and people working in the media industry, as well as artists and musicians and I learnt how to deal with criticism in a professional way, considering the different opinions and how they could be used to improve my work

 The first type of feedback that industry companies will use is the feedback from the formative process. This is probably the easiest feedback to receive, as generally in industry, co-workers and technicians will give feedback. They are experienced in the media industry, so constructive feedback is most likely. It also means changes can be made easily, as you are already in the process of making it. I terms of my coursework, I received feedback from my classmates, who were also working on making a music video or other media piece. This meant that we were all in the same boat, so we tried to be helpful toward each other when being critical. Also I received feedback from my teachers and people at the school who were experienced with film making. This was helpful, as I was getting opinions from people with understanding and knowledge of film. One of my responses from Howard, an expert with film working at my school, was to be bolder, more dramatic and abstract in my framing of shots, in order to make my video stand out more, almost like a piece of art. I responded to this during the editing process, and re-framed a shot near the beginning, which was a close-up, and I made it an extreme close ups, so as to make the viewer almost disorientated.

I felt the zooming in closer worked well with the blurriness of the shot and added a dreamy effect. Another criticism that I received was the fact that phone lines could be seen in a shot in a field near the end. This made it less professional, but it was easy to alter this in Final cut Pro. Another issue was the fact that the guitar solos in the song didn’t really go well with the visuals of the guitar player in my music video. It was obvious that he wasn’t playing the song, instead just moving his fingers in random chords. I hadn’t noticed this initially, but when it was pointed out, it became more obvious, and it needed to be changed. I simply used another shots and made sure the movement of the actors fingers synched with the music, so that, although he wasn’t playing the actual solo, it looked as if he was. Sometimes, however, I would receive feedback that I couldn’t resolve, as it was something I could improve by re-filming, which is time consuming and not practical. This sort of thing, like shaky camera movements and actors facial expressions, for example, could not be altered without re-filming. This was frustrating as I couldn’t re-film, so had to just accept the weaknesses are they were. Luckily, I had filmed a large amount of footage, so most of the time, if a shot was not suitable; I was able to use a different one in its place.

 Another type of feedback that I received often during and after the making of my pieces was informal emotive feedback which generally are the initial reactions or simple comments made casually, such as ‘I like it’ or ‘the filters are really good’ etc. These are opinions that aren’t always constructive as people don’t usually explain why or how it could be made better. I mainly received this sort of feedback during the formative process, or when I made an event of Facebook, where my friends and family commented their thoughts. These were things like ‘I like the colour schemes and transitions’ and ‘the effects are really cool and the varieties of scenes work really well’. However, sometimes I would get comments like ‘it’s a little unclear to follow’ and ‘not entirely convinced by the 3 seconds of silence at the start’. My reaction was professional, but sometimes I felt like my piece was misunderstood or I disagreed with the comments.  I intended for there to be 3 seconds at the start, so as to give a gentle fade into the music video, instead of starting it straight away and it being too abrupt. However, if there were valid comments that I agreed with I was more happy that irritated, as I knew I could change them easily, such as phone lines being visible in some shots.

The next type of feedback I receives was formal which I only received after the making of my pieces. We had a coursework presentation and feedback evening, in which all the class were able to present and talk about their pieces to family and friends in a more formal way. In a sense, this was our ‘focus group’, although they weren’t necessarily the target audience of music videos. In industry, companies will carry out a similar setup to present a product to a focus group. They may get this group to give feedback, like we did, but also give an overall rating of the piece. We gave out feedback sheet for the audience to write comments, but also give a rating of the pieces out of 5, 5 being high quality.

  
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 Another formal type of feedback, which we I didn’t receive, but a lot of film companies receive is critic’s feedback. This is very common in the film and music industry and critics have a huge influence on how successful a product is. If a film receives low rating by critics, the public are less likely to pay to see the film, therefore creating very low revenue. They have also been known to cause theatres to close down due to a badly rated production. The sort of comments I received which were positive were ‘loved the dappled light of the forest shot’, ‘shots in the field are emotionally grabbing’ and ‘good use of costume – fits with the style of the music.’. I also received some more negative feedback, often which I disagreed with or felt the person had misunderstood my intentions. For example, ‘the actress is a bit self-conscious’, the field shot’s weather was not so good’, ‘close-up shots feel quite cold but in the field it seems hot.’ And ‘some lip synching is slightly out’. Most of these I disagreed with and the lip synching problems may have been due to the computer that played my video, as it made other peopled video’s lag as well. Also, I felt that the person who said that the contrast in cold and warm shots was a bad thing had obviously taken the video in the wrong way.  However, I also received comments which I agreed with, but I couldn’t really do much about, as it involved re-filming. This included ‘camera a little shaky at times’, ‘lacked continuity – seemed disjointed and did not flow’, ‘locations could have been more dramatic’ and ‘more abstract shots would help.’ My camera movement was a bit shaky, I do regret not using a steadicam, and have learnt from this. However, I felt it also gave the video a more personal and maybe a bit disorientated feeling. Also, I felt my video did lack flow or continuity at times and this was tough to receive, but I had to admit that it was partly true.  This comment only appeared once, so I felt it wasn’t a majority opinion, so wasn’t worth considering too much. I was happy with my locations, however, they could have been more dramatic, and perhaps I could have made a bigger effort to travel further to a more dramatic natural scene, to make my video have more impact. Lastly, I have received a similar comment about having more abstract shots from Howard, during the formative process. I had tried to respond to this feedback by re-framing shots. However, I had obviously not done it enough, or perhaps I had misunderstood the point and it could have been explained in more detail with examples. Overall, I was happy with my feedback from this presentation evening.

The next type of feedback, which was the easiest to initiate and for people to give their opinions, was using an online social network to post my product. This allowed people to view the piece and they can quickly post a comment. I used Facebook for this, and I had created an event, to which I invited my friends and family. This took about 5 minutes to set up and messages are sent to the guests almost instantly. This means there is less planning involved, whereas our feedback evening took a lot of planning and time. In the present day, most people, especially people my age, own a phone that gives them quick and easy access to social networks like Facebook. This means that not only my friends can be notified about the event and comment easily, but I can also receive notifications of the comments posted.

This is really helpful in the industry and can save a lot of time and money, so is vital. Also, it means the company will receive more feedback than using a focus group. A popular film company would maybe receive thousands of comments in about an hour. This, however, could also be a downside, as it means sifting through comments that may not be very useful, not serious and sometimes even unkind.  In my case, I only received 4 comments and had invited 15 people to view and give feedback.

This was a bit disappointing, but often people can be lazy, if they know they down have to do something. For example, a focus group are required to give feedback and are paid in order to help the company, whereas commenting online is not necessary. This meant that, for me, the online feedback was probably the least helpful, but I have learnt the need for it in the media industry.  

In conclusion, I felt overall, I received quite positive feedback which meant I had achieved a close to industry quality product. However, most of the negative comment I either disagreed with and felt people had misinterpreted my meanings or I agreed with, but couldn’t do anything about. I felt the feedback during the formative process to be most helpful, as I had received feedback from experienced people and also I could easily make changes as I worked on the pieces and without having to re-film anything.

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

Technology is used all the time in the various processes within the creation of media industry products and is constantly improving and developing, so as to improve the speed, quality and accessibility to all types of users, whether they are amateur or professionals. Media technology platforms are improving all the time, to allow easier exhibition of media products, potentially, gaining larger audiences and higher popularity. The use of technology is important in the research and planning, construction and evaluating stages and these include media platforms, such as the internet and television, as well as equipment, including cameras, lighting, computes and mobile phones, and lastly programs such as editing software, word processers and presentation software. All these types of technology are becoming cheaper; therefore even the most basic level of film maker has access to the appropriate tools in order to apply their creativity and ideas to create a media product.

The first stage in industry media production is the research and planning. This includes the exploration of initial ideas, themes and intentions, which can be accessed mainly online, on television and other platforms such as CD’s and DVD’s. Film makers may want to view a range of similar films to the potential product they will be creating. Often analysis of existing products similar to the proposed product is carried out in order to point out the codes and conventions that should be included. In my coursework I viewed and analysed a range of music videos that had a similar genre, theme or song and this gave me ideas for the types of shots I would use, the mis en scene and the style of editing. These music videos were accessed on sites like YouTube and Vevo, both  very relevant source of research especially for film makers.. These were accessible on school and home computers, as well as my mobile phone. The internet is extremely useful in the research of media products and there are many advantages and disadvantages that come with it. Images of possible costumes and makeup, locations and props may be collected using search engines, such as Google, or other image sites like Flickr and Tumblr. I did this mainly for the costume and makeup ideas, using keywords such as ‘Rhiannon myth’, ‘goddess’ and ‘bohemian fashion’.

 

 

These sites are accessible on computers, laptops and now, even more on mobile phones. Mobile phone internet access is good for film makers who have a sudden idea that comes to them when away from any computer. Entering quick ideas and reminders is also easy to do on modern mobile phones. The internet can also be used to research certain people, places, or concepts. In my case, I did some research on Stevie Nicks, the writer of the song, ‘Rhiannon’ and the ideas and meanings behind the song. I found out that the character of the song was based on a mythical goddess who had a lot of power over nature and was known to travel with a horse and white doves. This was all used to spark off ideas for shots, locations, costumes etc. However, the internet does have its downsides, generally to do with the issue of incorrect or biased information. This is a problem as it means you aren’t always certain the quality and genuineness of the information we find online. The best way to overcome this, I found, was to look at many different sources and sites, using search engine. This means any information that seems out of place, or is very different to information that has recurred many times within your research, is likely to be false or biased.

The research will then be used to make detailed plans of the construction of the product. This will include plans of shots, locations, costume, makeup, lighting, equipment needed. A plan of who will be hired, such as film crew, actors, musicians, costume and set designers and makeup artists, is crucial. These people can all be contacted easily and quickly using mobile phones or social networking sites, such as Facebook, in which events can be created. These can be updated easily, notifying all the cast and crew involved. For example, if a date of filming changes due to bad weather, as message can be sent instantly by the director to all cast and crew informing them of the change. I contacted my actors via Facebook or using mobile text messaging. In the present day, smart phones are becoming more popular, as a means of accessibility. Generally people keep their phones in their pockets, whereas, laptops and computers aren’t always accessible. Therefore, messages and emails are received and viewed much faster. I didn’t have any problems with communication because of this and was lucky enough to have actors that were reliable.

Mood boards and designs are created using design software or if done by hand, they could be scanned in using high quality scanners. This will crew to easily and quickly send designs, mood boards, photographs, short clips, proposals, analyses, and other plans between different crew members using email. This is especially helpful, if members of the team are staying in another part of the world, perhaps for first hand research. I used my Panasonic Lumix camera to photograph the possible locations that I would use.

 Some people way also use their mobile phone camera, due to its convenience and the fact that mobile camera quality is constantly increasing. I also photographed costumes as well, trying out different combination. I didn’t email these to my actors; instead, I put them and all other ideas, designs and pictures onto my blog. My blog was hosted by Blogger.com and allowed me to post text, images, videos, links and apps. I sent my actors a link to this site, so they could easily access and view all the costumes and locations I had decided on. Media companies may also have some type of blog, forum or network space that allows different people to update and access it. Also, presentation of these initial research and ideas is important to share ideas within the media company. PowerPoint presentation is a good program to this, as it allows easy linking to websites, videos, and other documents. I created a PowerPoint presentation that I showed the class and my teacher. I talked about my initial ideas, the lyrics, costumes, shot types, editing etc. This was really helpful, as it allowed class members to give their options, and any other suggestions they had.

The next stage of my coursework, which is part of the construction of the product, is filming. Or in other cases, it may be photographing, writing, scripting, sound recording; Media companies will use quality video and SLR cameras with other equipment such as lighting, microphones, tripods, steadicams. Also, this filming may not just be carried out in outdoor locations, but also indoor location, some which may have been created especially in a studio. I used my Panasonic Lumix, which films in HD which I put onto a tripod that I used occasionally for more stationary shots. I weakness I found was not using the tripod enough, as a lot of my shots were too shaky. At the time I thought I had more control, when in actual fact I’ve learnt I did not. I did have access to a steadicam, which the school allowed people to hire. When the time came to film, I had forgotten about this and only remembered about it after the filming process, which was really thoughtless and I should have been more organised. In industry, film makers cannot afford to be ‘forgetful’. I used my IPhone during the filming, to play the song ‘Rhiannon’ so that my actors could lip synch/dance/play their instruments along to it. Although this is very unprofessional, it did the job, as it was quite loud. In industry, some type of speaker would be used. I also used a simple torch for some of the shot lighting. I felt like this made good use of what I had, even if it wasn’t professional.

However, I did use more professional lighting during the photography for my ancillary pieces. These were powerful bulbs on stands with white reflector umbrellas. I had previously bought these to help in my A level photography, and were at an affordable price. This meant my shots were well lighted and clear. I also used my tripod for these shots, which is very important for still, focused images. Also during this shoot, I used a black background that came with the lighting. This meant instead of finding an appropriate location as a backdrop, I was able to have a black background, which also helped with the dark, dramatic theme of the Rhiannon song. Lastly, when the filming process is completed, film companies will need high capacity storage devices, to both transport video, image and sound files and well as store then. I used a simple 4GB memory stick which I used to transport files to and from different computers and laptops. I then stored these onto the school hard drive, which has a very large capacity and is frequently backed up by school admin, meaning if all school files were lost; a backup copy would be accessible. This would even more important in the media industry, as they rely hugely on computers and storage devices to store very large amounts of video, image and sound.

The next stage of the creation of my product was post-production, which involved editing video footage and images and combining media together to make the finished product. This was carried out using mainly the school Apple Mac computers which had high storage capacity and speed. I also used a range of different programs during this stage. I used Final cut Pro mainly, for the editing of my music video. Media Company will also use high quality editors to make cuts and add effects, transitions, text etc. It is important that the performance of this program is very high, as it requires a lot of time for crew to edit large amounts of film footage. They may also use other programs, such as CGI and other special effect programs with sound programs.

Before editing my footage in final cut pro, I had a problem with my video footage, as it was in a format called AVCHD, which was not compatible with Final cut Pro. This caused me to fall a bit behind on time, as I was unsure as to how I could solve it. I firstly bought a program online called Leawo AVCHD converter which didn’t really convert my videos at the quality I wanted. I learned from this, that programs, especially cheap ones, can sometimes be unreliable, as can technology in general, as is something that I had to deal with. Instead, my teacher had better software that was a lot quicker to convert, which I used instead for my videos.  The converted quality was a lot higher and I could edit them in Final cut pro. 

Final cut Pro was very useful in allowing me to cut between shots, add sound, filters, effects, transitions, as well as alter the speed of shots. This was my first time using Final cut pro, and thoroughly enjoyed working with it. I first used a special tool in Final cut pro, which allowed me to line up all performance shots of the singer lip synching with the sound file of the song. After doing this I then was able to cut between the different ‘angles’ when I wanted. I then added the other shots, which were narrative or abstract shots. Once I felt I had the shots in the right order, length and speed, I then added the filters and transitions. Often I would increase the contrast of most shots, to give a stronger look. I then want back and made any changes to anything that I felt didn’t look right. I liked how easy it was to make small changes and the software saved them automatically, which meant I was less likely to lose any work.

I used Photoshop a lot during the production of my ancillary pieces, which I was already familiar with, due to my interest in photography. In industry, crew will also use a higher level of Photoshop to edit images for media products, such as print. I felt my knowledge in Photoshop allowed me to try more unusual editing techniques, such as double exposures and altering scanned drawings to add to images. I was proud of the way I was able to experiment with using a scanner and Photoshop to combine different media. I was really interested in the way different technology and software can be joined to create something really interesting. Lastly, I used InDesign, to create the digipak and magazine advert. This allowed me to combine all images and text I had produced in one file. I was able to set the correct sizes for the pages so that the Digipak could fit into a CD cover or so the magazine advert was an A4 size. This allows more control over the types of print pieces that can be created such as magazines, newspapers, leaflets, posters etc. I had used InDesign before, during AS when I created a music magazine front cover, contents page and double page. However, I found that I used Photoshop a lot more than I used InDesign this year, as there were less components added in InDesign. In my digipak, there was only text, which was all quite similar, and images that took up whole pages. However it allowed me to control text size, layout and column settings, which was useful.

The last part of the creation of my product was the evaluation. This is an important stage of any media product and involved comparing the final outcome to industry products and getting feedback from a range of target audiences. For the evaluation I mainly used the program PowerPoint, as well as using the internet for the sites Facebook and Blogger. I firstly, created a PowerPoint presentation to present my final pieces to an audience made of family, friends and teachers. This meant that I and other classmates could present our work on a large scale, using a projector to display the pieces and receive feedback from an audience. This use of technology was beneficial; however, at some points it struggled to play my music video smoothly, but was still viewable and not distracting. Media companies may also use this during their evaluation, to present products to a focus group. However, the quality of this needs to be high, so that it suitable for the target audience to view. I also used the internet to post my final product onto Facebook, so my friends and family could view and give feedback by commenting. This was useful, as it was very quick and not at al time consuming, however, although in the industry hundreds of comments would be received, I only received about 5. This is because; I do not have the media coverage that a lot of big media companies have. I also felt I gained a lot more useful feedback from the presentation evening, rather than online, as I felt using Facebook was unreliable and generally people weren’t ‘bothered’ to comment. This was due to the fact that the audience at the presentation evening were ’expected’ to comment, whereas people on Facebook weren’t. Lastly, I used the internet to write about my feedback and my thoughts on my Media Studies Coursework blog. This was useful as I could post text, images and videos as part of my feedback. It allowed me to not just include written evaluation, but also a mixture of media, such as videos with spoken evaluation and print screens.

In conclusion, the use of technology has helped tremendously during the creation of my music video and ancillary pieces. It has allowed me more access to existing media and information that I used for inspiration and research before making my pieces. It has allowed me to create the products using affordable and quality equipment, as well as, a range of different software and mixed media. Lastly, it has meant I could gain quicker and more useful feedback in order to evaluate my pieces. I occasionally found drawbacks however, and I have learnt that technology can be unpredictable, but overall the ever changing and developing of technology has meant easier accessibility to both amateurs and professional film makers and editors.