Evaluation questions

1. Our media product used many conventions of real media products. One of these was intertextuality where the video featured images of other artists in a subtle way, for example the hat and mask were mimicking Michael Jackson. The magazine advert referenced slipknots advert with the mask blurred onto a silhouette to create a sense of anonymity. The digipack used this same reference but in a more sinister colour. Another convention was voyeurism where in the video the artist was barely visible in the darkness creating a sense of mystery. In the ancillary products it was used through the lighting to blur the face of the artist. Another convention was the genre, quirky alternative, which was used throughout the products through extreme colours. In just the video, the music/visuals and lyric and visuals were contrasting to create a sense of disturbance as it was uncomfortable for the viewer. This helped to sell the artist as they appeared creepy and mysterious and so people would want more.

2. The combination of the products were effective as the video itself introduced the artist, which was always the intended idea since the pitch, for it to be a debut single. Meanwhile the two other products sold the artist in a more general way as the masks were not so potent, however the colour scheme remained the same. The concept we were trying to communicate was that the artist was mysterious and almost anonymous, and so we tried to make the audience of the products want to know more about the artist. We achieved this through the use of lighting to make the artist look quirky but at the same time through the masks to make the artist anonymous and creepy. This meant that the image of the artist was easy to create as it was almost like a character in a horror film. They were successful at attracting the target audience as the creepy horror film type label of the artist made our target audience interested in what the artist was about. Also the confusing element made the narrative sophisticated and this would appeal to hardcore fans.

3. We have learnt a lot from audience feedback since the pitch, it was has been very mixed and so we could strengthen our products. The feedback from the pitch was mainly positive as we had a lot of detail and we built up a strong character bio and our goodwins points were well planned so we had a good base to create the music video. What we learnt from this is that it is important to plan well before the products are created. Negative feedback was that it looked very hard to achieve what we had planned and what we learnt from this is that we should set aims which are not too complicated to achieve; the quality of our video fell as a result of this. Feedback on our rough cut was generally positive as the visuals were creepy and matched the music. There wee good uses of lighting and editing and our extreme shots were good. The masks added to the mystery of the song and overall it was a unique and creative. What we leant from this was that it was important to be creative and extreme as this made the products more unique. Negative feedback was that there could have been a wider range of shots and the narrative was a bit confusing. What we learnt from this was that we should have spent more time planning in more shots and made the story more clearer. The final cut feedback was all good except that the visuals did not seem to match the lyrics. What we learnt from this was that a more simple video would have made it easier to follow.

4. We used a lot of new media tedchnology to construct, research and plan our products. Blogger was a very good blog to use for research and to look back or to see how to improve the video. Final cut was used to contrsuct the video which was very helpful as we could organise our clips and add colour effects and transitions to it. Photoshop was used to create the ancillary products and edit them in such a way to make them look professional. This did hinder our time slightly as photoshop is a time consuiming product but we managed to use it eventually. The HD cameras were useful as we could create good professional shots. The still cameras were feulpful as we could manupolate our surroundings to take creepy yet interesting shots which we used in our research and for our ancillary prodcuts. Overall the technology helped us create a successful prodcut as it was professional, reliable and with enough time, we could fully learn how to use all the technology efficiently. Final cut and photoshop did hinder us as they were hard to layer but once this was mastered, they did not trouble us.