Final Music Video

Using the feedback from my peers and teachers I've been able to complete my final music video; I think that the changes I've made such as increasing the amount of lip syncing and removing irrelevant/confusing shots such as the 'horse shot' has made my video more accessible for the audience and overall of a better quality. As well as this, by using more transitions within my production it allowed the connection between shots to be seen, thus allowing some shots to mirror the lyrics of the song and identify with the conceptual element of the music video.

Final ancillary texts

Digipak Changes:

- I added more spines to my digipak as I had been informed that there needs to be a spine on each side

- I added the artists name onto bot spines as it was apparent that many digipaks do this to further promote the artist, and make it clear as to where the opening of the digipak is

Magazine Advert Changes:
- I added a drop shadow to the font to make it stand out above the image
- I included a date below the artist name and song name to make it clear to the audience when it's available
- As the image on the magazine was different to the album cover, I added an image of the album in the corner of the advert to create synergy between my ancillary texts
- I also added a drop shadow to the image so it stood out more, this was important as the audience need to be able to recognise what the album looks like

Progression

Despite the fact I feared I was steering away from the conceptual-based video I had desired to do at the beginning, I feel that as my knowledge has increased I'm much more comfortable with using/developing the forms and conventions of conceptual based videos.
It was apparent that before the completion of my first draft I felt as though I needed a storyline for it to be successful, however I think allowing myself to gain feedback from others really improved my understanding as I realised it could still be successful without a storyline. My first draft demonstrated this, as it didn't follow a storyline yet the audience could understand there was meaning behind the arrangement of shots and editing. This was further connoted through the shots of nature, as my video followed an idea rather than a narrative. I think this was a significant learning curve, because as I'm nearing the completion of my final product I feel comfortable with understanding the conventions of the indie-folk genre as well as the types of music video. However, this suggests that maybe I should have done more research into the types of music videos earlier on in the planning process to ensure I had a deeper knowledge as I was entering the construction stages.

Developed Ideas

Digipak:

- I was encouraged to combine images from all of my digipak drafts in order to create a better quality digipak

- I also added a spine between front cover and back cover to connect the shots as it's essential to have a spine

-

Magaizne Advert:

- I changed the brightness of the image as the face had lost all definition on one side

- I changed the font to a more structured font to make it look less amateur

- I included her website at the bottom as it would give the audience more options on how to retrieve the song

- I do think I should include a date of sale for the song as there's no indication of when it's available 

Filming 11/03

As a result of further mishaps in the weather, my original shooting plan didn't work out so I had to film all of my reshoots and new shots on this day.
I feel this was my most successful shoot because as I'm nearing the completion of my product I feel much more comfortable in planning ahead and accordingly. This filming session was to obtain all lip syncing shots of my actress, as well as any reshoots. Following this I decided to get my nature shots as it was apparent that the shots I used in my first draft were too dull and dreary compared to the rest of my music video. I specifically focused on getting a range of shots of my actress on the bridge, as this location was favoured by those who watched my music video. As well as this, I made sure I redid the shots of my actress that were much darker than the majority of the shots due to poor weather conditions; I've done this to keep continuity throughout the video, and to avoid it looking rushed. Despite feeling positive about this shoot, I'm going to wait until I've finished editing to conclude my filming session. I'm hoping that it worked out well as the deadline is Tuesday 13th meaning I won't have much time to correct my mistakes.

Developed Ideas - Plan

The feedback on my digipak and magazine adverts has helped me a lot, as I now know what I need to improve in order to have a successful final draft.


Magazine Adverts - http://heathercaseya2mediacoursework.blogspot.com/2012/02/magazine-ad-first-draft.html
Magazine Advert 1:

• Good choice of font - sophisticated
• Image may not be right for the magazine advert, needs to relate more to the artist/video

Magazine Advert 2:

• Font is slightly too casual, doesn't support the serious tone of the song
• Nicely shot image, however is it too dull and horror-like?
• Text is clear and obvious

Magazine Advert 3:

• Image of the artist is well shot and positioned
• Beneficial to use a shot that reflects the opening of the video
• Too light - definition in face is almost completely lost on the left side
• Text isn't as clear as the other adverts, rethink font and colour

Magazine Advert 4:

• Well shot image - bridge and trees
• Text is too small and hard to see
• Text is positioned well

Digipaks - http://heathercaseya2mediacoursework.blogspot.com/2012/02/digipak-first-draft.html
Digipak 1:

• Shot and positioning of the artist works well
• Front cover image could be bolder and reflect the artist and song more
• Some shots link together more than others 
• Shot of the leaves is good - eerie  

Digipak 2:

• Left cover, back inside and cover inside images link much better than the first advert
• Front cover shot connotes the themes of the song
• Left cover image of branches is slightly random

Having gained feedback on my drafted ancilliary texts, I've realised that I'm going to keep the shots I'm using at the moment, however rearrange them and continue to play around with the designs. For my magazine advert, I'm going to particularly focus on the images used in Advert 3 and Advert 4 as these seemed to be the most well received adverts. For the digipak I'm going to reorder my images in a way that they link together nicely, combining shots from both digipaks and removing images that are less effective. If I am still unable to achieve successful ancillary texts I will get some more images that may be more effective.