Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms
and conventions of real media products?
Developing our media products around the genre of our targeted audience
was a dependable element of the thought process, which we had to first
establish and therefore we selected the indie/alternative genre
encompassing the perception of sensitivity and emotions. Kodalines High
Hopes music video played a crucial part in the development, making and
production of our music video. The constant theme of the outdoors,
including forestry surroundings and vast open green space and hills is one
convention, which we took from it. For example the first shot of the music
video in High Hopes is an establishing extreme long shot focusing on the
impressive view of the natural sunlight and autumn into winter weather
(0.00 0.03). We took inspiration from this and filmed on top of croft hill
near by to where we all lived. This location provided us with the ability to
capture an amplified vast medium/long shot where the artist Lucas Stoker
is walking across (0.13-0.19) and sitting on the hill framed on the left hand
side (1.25-1.30). In High Hopes the main female performer is wearing a
white dress walking bare footed (0.38-0.31). This type of costume theme is
also apparent in the music video The Things We Lost In The Fire by Bastille
(2.42-2.45). From this we constructed our female performer with a similar
costume, a white knee length dress and specifically shot the white dancing
footage in a tracking motion in the white room studio with her bare foot to
illustrate the very simplistic plain visual image (for example 0.19-0.24).
Many of the shots in our music video were also similar to those in The
Things We Lost In The Fire, focusing particularly on the interaction
between the two performers in the music video. We decided to take
inspiration from the unusual quite mysterious connection between the two
performers and adopted this within our own narrative convention,
amplifying our concept, which we believed challenges traditional forms
and representations. We believed this added an aspect of unknown
identity into the story and gives the song a verisimilitude meaning without
actually explaining the full context of the relationship. Therefore we used
an over the shoulder shot over the females shoulder looking through the
camera lense on the left hand side, whilst the male was standing framed
on the right of the shot behind her (0.48-0.56). We also incorporated a
medium shot where the female is captured running away from the lense,
theoretically suggesting away from the male figure (2.04-2.07). During
editing we added slow motion onto this clip as we felt the pace had to
resemble a more slow progressive movement of the body. This was
already done in The Things We Lost In The Fire however our clip as a whole
was filmed with a blurred lense effect to give the illusion that the female is
disappearing or running into the sunlight. Inspiration from Ed Sheeran
Thinking Out Loud has also been applied to our narrative visuals. At the
start of this music video a female is seen appearing to follow the male
gaze convention. (0.00-0.12) / Fly Away by Christafri is one music video
that gave us an unusual aspect, which we werent aware, could work as a
convention of music videos. The whole of Fly Away is filmed in reverse,
which sparked me to use a specific clip filmed before hand and repeat
the same clip in reverse for effectiveness during the editing development
process (1.54-1.58).

Throughout the construction of the music video we applied some existing

theorists to our music video (Goodwin and Archer). Andrew Goodwins
music theory can be applied to our own music video as the lyrics are
illustrated through the visuals shown in the music video, due to the
embedded story behind the lyrics that the song gave us the ability to
develop. For example the female spins when the he sings the lyrics the
world keeps spinning around (1.10-1.15 / 2.18-2.30). This is already an
existing convention used in music video, for example in the music video
Let It Happen by Tame Impala the line I can hear an alarm, it must be
morning is followed with a visual illustration of the actor picking up a
large wooden alarm clock whilst he sits on the end of a bed. The overall
concept of letting it happen referring to natural progression, which is
the central concept that this music video amplifies. We decided to
incorporate a central theme of detachment between the performers in our
music video inspired by Tame Impala, producing a challenging disjuncture,
reflecting an unusual conception. Laura Mulveys male gaze theory is also
developed throughout our music video particularly at the start and end of
the video when Beth is looking directly into the lense. This was inspired
from the music video Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran, as the narrative
visuals at the start follow the maze gaze convention as she is dressed in a
red dress and is framed to look attractive and sexually seductive (0.000.12). During our music video dancing clips reveal our female performer to
move in quite a passionate way revealing a sense of verisimilitude, which
follows the convention appeal of the male gaze (2.30). Steve Archers
theory states that there should be a strong and coherent relationship
between narrative and performance. In our music video there is a constant
cut between the two and the performance immensely compliments the
narrative story. He also states that a carefully choreographed dance might
be part of the performance. We constructed our own dance routine for the
female to perform, which we targeted specifically to a male audience
gaze. Our narrative is dismantled and the layers blended between the
singing and dancing to provide the audience with more of a verisimilitude
reveal behind the emotion of the lyrics (3.09).
Digipak
My Digipak reflects an influential, bold iconic inspired design through its
use of vivid colourings (red, white and blue), which are paired together in
a constant repeated pattern for effect and to adopt a look of
professionalism. The leading inspiration and convetions for my Digipak
design is from the Imagine Dragons Smoke & Mirrors album cover. The
idea of smoke was a primary visual image, which I developed from this as
their cover includes the use of a yellow tinged smoke, which a golden
coloured bird is floating/flying within. The positioning of the title of the
album and band underneath was a similar structure to that of the Imagine
Dragons, following a clear-cut design theme. The colours within my
Digipak were inspired by the Panic at the Discos album cover Too Weird
to Live Too Rare to Die. The overall theme is black and white with a slight
gloomy green tint however the product is brought to life through a burst of
multi coloured smoke, which the performer is smoking. The red, white and
blue colours contrasting with my bold black background of my Digipak
reflects the effective convention that clearly works here. The record label
logo Vectro records is found on almost all existing media products such
as Digipaks (for legislation and terms and conditions/ copy right).

Audience feedback on my Digipak enabled me to recognize the smoke

required some more detailed development; therefore I sculptured a faded
low opacity image of the artist and dancer within the smoke to amplify the
inclusive illustration. I also re designed my CD disc with the identical
smoke used on the front and altered its size and angle, whilst cropping
and cutting to create a background circle within the smoke. On top of this I
created a sort of maze concept with the colour scheme reappearing in the
middle in form of diamond shapes. This was mostly inspired by the
colourful illumines work of Tame Impala and their album Innerspeaker.
Magazine Advert
I wanted to follow the very effective convention of re creating the Digipak
cover on a larger scale with a slight twist for the magazine advert, as seen
with many exemplary products that exist (for example Kasabian
Velociraptor! And Kaiser Chief Never Miss A Beat). Therefore the colours
have been developed to follow the same format as the Digipak (a strong
vibrant combination of red, white and blue). From my market research I
realised marketing was a key tool when attempting to promote your
product to your specific acquired target market. I decided to incorporate a
Twitter and Instagram account onto the visual display of the magazine
advert, which I believed followed typical promotional conventions, such as
those of Bastille and Twenty One Pilots. The audience feedback received
was very positive, specifically commenting on the structural layout of the
advert. I was told that it provided the reader with clear precise
information, which was needed whilst maintaining a creative repetitive
colour pattern throughout. I do believe that my magazine advert
challenges the traditional standard conventions as it offers a minimalistic
approach but I do claim it is original as I am aware of the broad range of
existing simplistic layouts.

Evaluation Question 2
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
It was very paramount that, when creating my Digipak and magazine
advertisement, I took a considerable amount of thought into how they
would correspond with my music video. In order for me to be able to
develop a recognisable, creative and professional branding that would
clearly portray my solo artist 84 Atlas (Lucas Stoker), it was crucial that all
of my three products followed a similar style, genre and aesthetic
combined. I believe that this was achieved through the transferring of
specific aspects from my music video to the ancillary texts, therefore
creating a creating a sense of verisimilitude whilst maintaining a
consistent, direct and mediated link between all of the products.
The Digipak and magazine advertisement are very similar in terms of
visual branding appearance as they both conform to a simplistic yet
resolute and vibrant image. My draft ancillary texts appeared too minimal
and didnt represent enough of the artists style; therefore I began
creating a more visionary structure of genre indie. This included using a
consistent colour theme of red, white and blue. In our music video very
vivid lighting colours are experimented with, such as tones of purple and
shades of blue, which connate to the striking structural design of my

ancillary texts. A blended picture of the artist Lucas Stoker was blended
into the smoke of my ancillary text, which I previously made, and the
performer who perfectly blurred into the white smoke as the picture is her
wearing a white dress. The framing of our shots were carefully
constructed, so that our final music video had a professional finished
display and conveyed similar combination conventions to those existing
within actual music videos.
Throughout our music video, the male gaze theory developed by Laura
Mulvey is presented through a mixture of direct eye contact with the
camera lense from Lucas Stoker (84 Atlas) and the female dancer, which is
used to connect the audience to the product through verisimilitude. For
example when the petals are rising and falling at the start and end of the
video she stares into the lense. A sense of real emotion is mediated
through the music video incorporating direct eye contact, as when Lucas
Stoker is framed singing, an audience can more easily feel influenced by
the effectiveness of the performance. In the ancillary texts the blended
smoke images have been purposely taken in the same structure so that
the performers are framed looking into the lense. This consistency creates
a significant and effective promotional tool for my central product, as it
reveals the artists vacant expressions through a visual representation.
84 Atlas is apart of the record label Vectro Records, which like any would
demand to create a sense of creative branding for the band. Therefore we
have achieved the targeting audience range by researching existing
structural conventions, and recreated them to show a reflection of
verisimilitude. Our record label logo features on our ancillary products as
this is an effective, generic convention of Digipaks and magazine adverts.
However the logo does not feature in the main product, as this isnt
necessary due to the simplistic representation of the artist Lucas Stoker
appearing throughout. The use of the record label successfully combines
the products together in a professional manner to create a type of
believability for the targeted audience to relate to. The comprehensive
combination of my main product alongside the ancillary texts, used to
reflect the pivotal artist Lucas Stoker supports the star image ideology
constructed by Dyer, published in his book Stars in 1980. He argues that
a star image is made out of media texts that can be grouped together
as promotion, publicity and criticism,.

Evaluation Question 3
What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Audience feedback has been a vital part of the whole production process
of the main product and ancillary texts. It has enabled us to constantly ask
for constructive criticism and individuals opinions whilst being able to act
upon it accordingly in plenty of time before a deadline has been able to
pass. We received audience feedback through online surveys and blog
posts on draft aspects of the products by students and teachers.
During the research and planning as a group we accessed online
information, such as UK Tribes, enabling us to select our target audience
on a more detailed scale, which was indie/alternative. The two groups

which stood out for us was the Indie Scenesters and the Creatives,
which we believed appealed to our targeted audience, within a close
distance due to the extensive range of interaction activities they were
involved within. This is how we wanted our ideal audience to be portrayed.
I believe our product appeals highly to an active audience, led primarily by
opinion leaders (argued by theorists Katz and Lazarfeld) who although
resemble individual choices, will generally develop a style filtered by an
individual influential leader of a group. Media theorist Stuart Hall
proposed three reading preferences reflected by an audiences level of
gratification in a media text. I believe that the majority of our targeted
audience meets the preferred reading view, because they will respond to
the product, the way we expect them too (appreciating the simplistic yet
dynamic music video product and ancillary texts, due to the similarities in
personal tastes and preferences). However I can consider that some
individuals may position themselves as negotiated readers due to some of
the very abstract creative decisions. For example the mixed colour coordination involved within the music video, including black and white
filters, purple/pink lighting and the earthy green tone presented in the
outdoor shots. In accordance to this we were then able to evaluate the
next stages of designing, making judgments as to if we felt it followed the
correct conventions.
Before we produced a complete draft copy of the ancillary texts or a
construction of the music video, we created an online questionnaire
through the website, Monkey Survey. We focused on exploring the
preferences of our targeted audience, looking more specifically at their
interactivity with media products and how successful they think marketing
has been for specific products currently on the market. The participants of
the survey were a combination of students from my Media Class, in and
around my school and those apart of my extra curricular Performing Arts
group. I believe that this gave us a beneficial range of opinions but within
the targeted audience area, therefore providing us with reliable results.
The results were as expected, with most participants using an extensive
selection of media technology to access, their favourite music, news,
communication etc. However in comparison there was a mix of opinions
when asked how successful they thought marketing has previously been.
Some commented on the use of consistency and identifiable structure,
enabling marketing to effectively spread a viral brand (for example Bastille
Wild World album). After collating the information we decided that a
more specific targeted audience survey would be appropriate to evaluate
the effectiveness of current digipaks. Therefore we constructed two
questions, asking the participants what they thought about two Digipak
covers (Twenty One Pilots Blurry Face & The Foals Total Life Forever).
Both of these Digipaks follow traditional effective conventions of branding,
using a simplistic layout. However Blurry Face is constructed with more
digital design patterns, where as Total Life Forever uses real photography.
This survey gave us an extensive range of opinions, which we could relate
to when analysing them, such as the easily identifiable fonts both use to
keep the Digipak within the theme of their artists branding. In light of our
audience research we were then able to produce our first draft of the
ancillary texts, using our own knowledge and the preferences of our
questionnaire participants. From here on our teachers and peers were
regularly commenting on our draft work via the blog posts leaving

constructive criticism as to what could be improved and included to

finalize the verisimilitude visual look of our ancillary texts.
When filming our music video we were aware of the significant impact
audience feedback would have on the level of professionalism we were
capable of producing. Therefore we focused on improving our camera
framing and lighting by going into the school white studio room and
practicing, by capturing test shots and footage and posting it onto our
blog for constructive comments to be received. We were told by the
teachers that the white studio room lighting and framing wasnt of an high
standard and therefore were suggested to do more research into how to
correctly frame and light a section of the music video. We went away and
went on sites such as YouTube where we looked at how to improve our
skills. The feedback in forms of comments allowed us to constantly
develop our technical ability during the filming process and produce a final
music video that was of a high standard. When we had produced a draft
music video we posted this onto our blog and waited for feedback. We
were praised on certain aspects of the music video, such as the intense
vibrant colour of the lighting, and the narrative story/performance
structure. However we were told that the order of the footage frames
didnt work, as it didnt follow a conventional structure, whereby the same
type of clip isnt repeated consecutively to make the music video engaging
for the audience. We went away after receiving this and began re
designing the clip sequence. The audience feedbacks successfully allowed
us too concentrate on achieving a professional level of work with would
reflect within the main product. The previous surveys we carried out also
benefited us when creating the storyboard and visual structure in relation
to the lyrics. We were able to incorporate shots in a way that reflected the
quirky style of the artists genre. For example the costume of both Lucas
Stoker wearing dark colours of green and black, whilst the dancer was in a
white dress bare footed. The petals and lighting in the white studio room
footage also added to the authenticity of the brand image.

Evaluation Question 4
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
Research and Planning

Laptop When editing pictures together to produce mood boards

for the design of my Digipak/magazine advert and music video, the
laptop enabled me to quickly and sufficiently imports them online
for further use. The laptop as well was regularly used to access the
Internet giving us the ability to reach all the necessary websites like
Blogger, YouTube and Gmail.
Blogger My own blog and the group blog were regularly updated
with research and planning blog posts, which gave us access to a
wide range of audience feedback from the class and teachers (Mr

Ford and Mr Smith). It also provided us with an organizational

structure for me to follow and meet each deadline within plenty of
time.
Google To collect inspiration for mood boards, find research and
planning resources, such as UK Tribes and find props that we
potentially wanted to use. As well to search for prime locations and
contacts whom we could contact to ask about hiring spaces. For
example a white room studio in our local town (Leicester) as well as
hiring equipment, such as lighting and camera equipment.
Gmail This gave us the power to directly approach and contact
shops and studio white room companies, through the format of
email. This was the most effective channel of communication as it
was professional, quick and efficient. It was also completely
accessible for each member of the group to use for sending and
receiving important research and planning documents.
Personal phones (IPhone & Samsung) These were crucial
technologies, which we used consistently throughout the
research/planning stages, for communication between group
members, sharing ideas and organising the filming days with ease.
They also allowed us to also reach the Internet, which supported
websites like Gmail and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
Facebook This was our primary use of social media, which the
group communicated through, as we created a group chats for the
suitability of everyones convenience.
Twitter I created a Twitter account for 84 Atlas, specifically for
promotional marketing. It also enabled me to work on recreating the
same brand image across the different social medias, targeting
specific areas of our targeted audience.
Instagram I created an Instagram account for 84 Atlas to extend
the broad range of marketing already used to promote the artist
and his album Spirit. Instagram was made to focus on posting
pictures of the band to generate a buzz for the release of the music
video called High Hopes.
Wix A site which enabled me to create a website for 84 Atlas. It
was easy to navigate, make and gave the artist further displayable
information, which held all of the social media content in one place.
Microsoft Word & PowerPoint Both used to collate all the
research we had done and present it on a page quickly whilst also
looking neat, clear and presentable.
Scribd A convenient website where I can easily upload any word
document and get its embedded code which I could use to publish
the work on the Blogger accounts, in the same format as the
original document itself.
Slide Share I could upload any power point research/planning
work to this website and I would be able to get its embedded code
to use for publishing the slide shows on the Blogger accounts.
YouTube This was used consistently for inspiration, especially
referring to other music video conventions and learning about
improving our lighting and camera work skills through tutorials.
Photoshop Used to create mood boards using my technical skills
to present them in a more complex and professional way (involving
the use of layers).

Construction and Editing

Photoshop This software was used to produce our ancillary texts,

as its a very advanced programme allowing us to manipulate many
complex design tools, such as cropping, opacity fade, liquify, re
sizing, contrast, hue & saturation etc. This made the design and
construction process much easier for us to tailor it to the genre of
our artist.
Pentax Olympus K-r This camera was used to record the whole
of our music video, including both the studio white room and
outside footage. We filmed in recording mode and during the editing
process incorporated motion blur and a black and white filter on
selected clips to effectively create the style we wanted to visually
illustrate. The camera was also used before hand for gaining crucial
experience with camera framing, lighting and then observing each
other and giving feedback.
Vegas Pro This is a professional video editing software which we
used to edit our music video into the acquired length and sequence.
The software was new to part of our group however we all quickly
leant to use it as it follows a similar layout to iMovie and Final Cut
Pro. In Vegas Pro we were able to add any required filter effects,
motion blur, reverse film, increased speed, transitions and
cropping/cutting that we wanted. All of these adjustments
complemented the lyrics and made the visual look of the music
video appealing and suitable to our type of genre.
Apple Mac / Apple Mac Book macOS Sierra Both of these two
apple products were used to edit sections of the music video, and
view clips before the finalized edit commenced. The latest structural
software of a mac appealed to certain group members and therefore
made mistakes (out of time lip syncing / poor framing) more clear to
spot and correct.
Pavilion Laptop - Windows 7 - This laptop was the primary
device we used to complete the final edit of the music video. This
was due to the software Vegas Pro only being available on it and
was the most convenient in terms of accessing the footage clips
from the SD card.
YouTube Our finalized music video was uploaded onto YouTube
after completion to be published for everyone to see. This worked
very quickly due to the high Internet speed and using the search
engine Google, which is currently the most established.
Blogger Our video was also posted onto the group blog for the
examiner and teachers to view and mark. It also follows the rest of
the work, which has previously been published in preparation for
the final music video.