Evaluationscript

Question1:Inwhatwaydoesyourmediaproductuse,developor
challengeformsandconventionsofrealmediaproducts?
OneconventionIfoundinmyresearchwasmusicvideosusingmultiple
fastshortshotsasthemusichitstheclimax.Thesetendedtofocus
aroundcloseups,mediumcloseups,withthesubjectatthecentreofthe
frame.MartinGarrixshowsoneexampleofthisinhisvideoforthesong
Animals,wheretheyentertheclubandstartdancingtothebeatofthe
song.We,asanaudience,areabletoseeamediumcloseupofavariety
ofcharactersdancing,whilsttheyareinthecentreoftheframe,enabling
theaudiencetohaveallthefocusonthesubject,andseetheirpersonal
reactiontothedropinthesong.Inmymusicvideowereplicatedthisby
havingadifferentshotappeartomatchthelyrics;whenthevocalistsang
shot,wecuttoadifferentimageinquicksuccession.Manyvideo
directorsusethistechniquetoreflectthetempoofthesong,ifitwastobe
fastpacedandinmycase,itis.Also,themusicvideooftenonlyhas3
minutestoengagewiththeaudienceandmaketheirproductlook
appealingandtellanarrativeperhaps.Thereforequick,shortshotsare
usedtohelpexplainthenarrativemoreefficiently.
AnotherconventionthatIappliedtomymusicvideowasthestoryline
concept.Idecidedtousethenarrativeovertheperformancepieceasmy
researchshowedthatthemajorityofmusicvideoshaveanarrative
elementwithinthem.ForexampleinMartinGarrixsAnimals,despite
whatitappearsasabasisperformancebyMartinGarrixwearingan
animalmask,insteadreallyhastheconnotationthathimandtheaudience
allhaveananimalisticside.Oneexampleofthiswouldbeamediumshot
ofwhenthewomanistouchingthemanstorsoandthenacloseupofthe
womansfacewhensheisbitingherlip.Thesetwospecificshotsgiveoff
animpressionthatthefemalehasasexualprowessandhasafirstinstinct
tofindamate.Thiscouldbelinkedtoawideraudiencethroughthe
theoryofLauraMulveysMaleGaze.Asnowallmaleviewersare
goingtoseethefemalecharacterhaveasexualappeal,andincreasetheir
attentiontotherestofthemusicvideo.Ontopofthisitcouldlinkto
BlulmerandKatztheoryoffindingpersonalidentityinthemusicvideo
aseverypersonwearingananimalmasksrepresentsadifferent
personalityortraitpossessedbythatanimal.Nowtheaudiencemaybe
thinkingaboutwhattypeofanimaltheywouldrepresent.Inmymusic
video,Iusedthenarrativefeatureovertheperformancebecausethelyrics
linkbettertotheideaofabreakupratherthanaperformancepotentially

would.ThisagainlinkstoBlulmerandKatzpersonalidentityas
everyoneislikelytohavegonethroughabreakupandneededtofind
themselves,muchliketheprotagonistinmymusicvideoasheistrying
tofindoutwhathelikesbeingoutsideofarelationship.Videodirectors
mayuseanarrativeoveraperformancebecauseitcouldbedeemedmore
interestingtoviewashortstoryinamusicvideoratherthanwatch
someoneplayaninstrumentforapproximately3minutes.
AnotherconventionthatIappliedtomymusicvideowastheuseof
establishingshots.InTaylorSwiftsBlankSpaceIimmediatelysawan
establishingshotofthemansionthatTaylorappearedtolivein.From
this,theconnotationshowsthatTaylorSwiftissuccessfuland
substantiallywealthy,sincesheisabletoaffordthemansioninurban
suburbs.Ineachestablishingshotused,Icanseethattheweatherwas
consistentlyovercast.Thussuggestingthatthemusicvideostorylinewas
filmedinoneday.Timeisacontextualfactorthatallowstheaudienceto
understandthestorylinetoitsfullpotentialasotherwiseitwouldappear
unprofessionalandperhapsnotevenunderstandable.Inmymusicvideo,
Iusedanestablishingshotthatoverlookedtheareathatwewerefilming
in,whilstusingapanmovement.Thisenabledtheaudiencetoknowwhat
theareaislikeandwhattheycanexpectfromthemusicvideo.Thislikes
onthetrampolinesonthefloorsuggeststhattheaudiencecanexpecta
highintensityactiontypemusicvideo.Videodirectorscouldusethis
narrativefeaturetoshowthatitismoreunderstandablefortheaudience,
thus,ensuringthattheaudiencestayentertainedthroughoutthewhole
musicvideo.
Aswellasusingconventionsinmymusicvideos,Ialsosubvertedalotof
themsinceIdidntfindthemvitaltouse.ForexampleinEDMmusic
videos,therearealotoflayersandvisualspecialeffectsthatare
displayedthroughboutthesongtoaidtheclimaxandstimulatethe
audiencesvisuals.AnexampleusedisinTigerbyR3habwherewesee
flamesdirectupwardsonstagewhilstwitnessingadanceronstageas
well,itthenfadesslightlysowecanseetheartistperformthroughthe
dancer.Thisconcept,however,linkedtothelyricswhenwecanheara
backingsoungfire.Thislinkwouldnotlookasappealingasatransition
inmymusicvideo.Forexample,whenthesongsaysshot,shot,shota
transitionwouldmotsuitthisselectionratherthanputalayerontopof
another.Hence,whyIdecidedtostayawayfromthelayeringfeatures.
AnotherconventionIsubvertedishavingmorethanoneprotagonist
withinthemusicvideo.Iwantedthestoryofmymusicvideotobeabsed
ononeperson,sothattheaudiencecouldrelatetothispersoninmore

waysratherthanrelatetomorepeopleinlessways.Consideringthe
msuicvideoisaboutabreakup,Iwantedtoshowtotheaudiencehow
friendscanbethereforthepersonwhojustgotoutofarelationship.I
couldgointomoredetailwiththismethodinsteadoffocusingonboth
peopleandhowtheyactafterarelationship.IfIweretodothisway,I
wouldrequirealongersonginordertogetmoreofamessageacross.
Question2:Howeffectiveisthecombinationofyourmainproduct
andancillarytexts?
Formymainproduct,IcreatedamusicvideoforanEDMartistduo.To
supportthisIalsocreatedadigipackandaposter.Throughoutallofthese
threetasks,Iusedseveralrecurrentthemes.
Oneoftheserecurrentthemesincludedamaskthatrepresentsthetwo
artistsasone.Attheendofthemusicvideo,weseeablackbackground
andthefacemasklogoappear,onthefrontcoverofthedigipackwesee
themasklogointhecentre,andfortheposterweseeIchosetouse
thisfacemasksinceitshowstheartistbecomesadifferentpersonwhen
appearingorperformingtheirpieces,andshowselementsofmystery
sincewecantseetheirfaces.Thenameofthealbum,WildEyes,relates
tothissincealltheaudienceoftheproductcanseeontheirfaceistheir
eyes,furtherimplyingtheelementofmystery.Themasksarealso
recurringconventionsinallofEDMsincethereisavarietyofdifferent
artiststhatuseasignificantwaytostandout,forexampleSkrillexwith
hishair,andDaftPunkwiththeirhelmets.Theuniqueuseofwearinga
facemaskimpliesthatBroilerarestandingoutfromthecrowdand
makingtheirbrandbetterknownbythisiconicsymbol,thusincreasing
theirbrandawareness.This,therefore,impliesthatthecontinuoususeof
thefacemaskhelpsBroilercreateabrandimagesincetheaudiencewill
seethefacemaskandimmediatelythinkoftheartists.
Inmymusicvideo,Iincorporatedtheideaofcolourtobeexpressedin
bothpositiveandnegativeways.InsideofAirHop,thecolourswere
brightcoloursthatstoodouttotheaudienceinanestablishingshot.The
clothesusedbyeveryonevariedwhichreflectedtheirownpersonality,
forexampletheprotagonistworeanorangetopwithblackjoggers.I
foundoutthroughresearchthatthecolourorangereflectsfriendship,
divorceandrepresentsstimulation.Theideaoffriendshipanddivorce
comesintoplaysincetheprotagonistgoesthroughabreakupyethis
friendsarebyhissideandensurethathecarriesonandhasagoodtime,
whichrelatesbacktotheideaofstimulation.Onmyposterandalbum

cover,Ishowedagreenandpinkcolourmask.Theideaoftwoseparate
coloursletstheaudienceknowthatitisaduoactandtheyareboth
differentpeople.Also,itmayreflecttheduospersonalitybyacting
compassionatetotheirfanbaseandthenrejuvenatingtheaudiencewith
theirmusic,themeaningofthecolourspinkandgreenrespectively.The
twocombinetogethertoprovidetheaudiencewithanideathattheartist
canberepresentedashelpfulandrevitalizing,implyingthattheaudience
willfeelsatisfiedoncetheyhavelistenedtoandwatchedtheirsongs,
creatingabetterbrandimagefortheartist.
TheideaofanEDMmusicvideoistoincorporatealotoffastpaced
shotswithavarietyofdifferentshottypes.Inmymusicvideo,Iincluded
closeups,arecurringconventioninEDMmusicvideos.Forexample,
wheninsideAirHop,weseetheprotagonistinacloseuplookingaround
thebuildingandseeinghisfirstreactiontoitall.Intheposter,wecansee
acloseupofapersonwearingamaskandlikewiseonthealbumfront
cover.Therecurringconventionimpliesthatthelinkisshownwithin
thesethreetasks.Ifanaudiencemembervisualisesone,theycould
potentiallyseetheotherandimmediatelyrelateitbacktothefirsttask
theysaw.Thisisagoodbrandingtechniquesinceitcanbeseeninmore
thanonewayandrelateitbackalltooneartist.Henceshowingthatthe
useofcloseupswereeffectiveformymusicvideo,inordertolinkitto
othermusicvideos,andthebrandingandmarketingsideoftheartistto
makethemmorewellknownandeasilyrecognisable.
Question3:Whatdidyoulearnfromyouraudiencefeedback?
ThroughoutthecreationofmyFoundationandAdvancedPortfolio,I
requiredaudiencefeedbackinordertogainknowledgeaboutmychosen
genre,thelikesanddislikesofmyaudience,andthereoccurring
conventionsused,innotonlymygenrebutinalldifferentgenres.
ThefirstaudiencefeedbackIreceivedwasthegenericquestionnaire,
detailingwhatgenresofmusicpeoplelistentoandiftheywatchthe
musicvideosfortheirpreferredgenres.Inthisquestionnaire,Iasked20
peopleandreceived15back.Theirfavouritegenresofmusicincluded
Pop,HouseandEDM,andrap.Ialsoneededtofindoutifthesepeople
watchedmusicvideos,becausewhatpointwouldtherebeincreatinga
musicvideofornoonetoviewit?Thankfully,four/fifthsofthe
respondentswatchmusicvideossoIknowthatthesepeoplewouldwatch
myfinalvideo.Also,Iconcludedthatthetwopeopleabovetheageofthe
bracket1519dontwatchmusicvideos,furtherimplyingthatpeople
whowatchmusicvideosareinthelateteenagebracketoryoungadult.

Peoplewhodidwatchmusicvideos,themajoritylistentoandwatcha
musicvideoontheirphone.Thiscouldbebecausetechnologynowadays
allowspeopletodowhatacomputerandatabletcanontheirmobile,so
itwouldbemuchsimplertojustuseamobilephoneratherthanspend
moreonothertechnologies.Themajorityofpeoplewatch110music
videosaweek.Thefactthattheywatchsuchasmallamountcouldbe
becausetheydonthavethetime,theydontwanttowatchanabundance
ofmusicvideos,orbecausetheydontlistentoasongforitsmusic
video.Therefore,Ineededtofindoutwhypeoplewatchmusicvideos
andincorporatetheirresponsesinmymusicvideosoIcanappealtoa
wideraudience.Mostpeoplewatchmusicvideossothattheycanlistento
thesong,regardlessofactuallywatchingthemusicvideo.Thiscould
meanthatmusicvideosarententicingenoughfortheagebracketandare
onlyinterestedinthesong.Therefore,ifIpickafamousyetcatchysong,
peoplewouldbemoreinterestedtowatchthemusicvideobecausethey
wanttolistentothesong.Also,becausesuchlittlerespondentsactually
focusedonthestorybehindthemusicvideo,thiscouldpotentiallybea
reasontoavoidusinganarrativesincepeoplepaymoreattentiontothe
songratherthanthevisuals.Whenaskedifthemusicvideoisimportant
tothesuccessofthealbum,justoverhalfsaidyes.Thereasonsincluded
that,Itreflectstheartistspersonality,andthatItraisesawarenessof
theartisttothelistenerandcanalsobeusedtocreateanidentityforthe
artist.Whenpeoplesaidno,theirreasonswerethattheywouldonly
watchthevideoiftheylikedthesong,andconsideringmostsongsare
playedthroughtheradiooranMP3playerthereisnoneedtowatchthe
musicvideoandtheartistisprimarilyknownforthemusicandnotthe
video.
4.Howdidyouusemediatechnologiesintheresearch,construction
andevaluationstages?
Withinmyresearchstages,IusedawebsitecalledSurveyMonkey.This
websiteallowedmetocreateasurveywithmydesiredquestions,express
mysurveyinmanyways,andcreateaninstantgraphofmyresults.Isent
mysurveyoutintwodifferentways,throughemailandembeddedit
ontomyblogonanotherwebsitecalledblogger,whichIhave
continuouslyusedthroughoutmyfoundationandadvancedportfolio.By
sendingoutanemail,therespondentscaninstantlyseethelinkand
simplyclickonitanditwilldirectthemstraighttothesurveypagein
whichtheycancompletethesurvey.Thisway,itismuchquickerand
easierfortherespondentstoreplytothesurveyandhelpsspeedupthe

researchprocess.Theuseoftheembeddingallowstheaudiencetonot
evenhavetoopenupanewwebpage,buttocompletethesurveyona
smallerscaleonthesamepagethattheyarecurrentlyon.Thisspeedsit
upevenquickerandcanbeevenmorereliablefortheaudiencesinceit
canbedonequickly.ThisconcludesthatSurveyMonkeyhashelpedmy
advancedportfolio.
Throughouttheconstructionstage,Iusedcamerastoshootthevideo
itself.ThethreecamerasusedweretheGoPro2HD,FujifilmS9900W,
andtheSonyCybershotRX100MK1.TheGoProallowsmypartnerand
Itoshootvideos,takepictures,andmaketimelapses.Isetthecamerain
720pat60framespersecond(fps)sothatitiscompatiblewithiMovie,
andsowecanchangethetempooftheclipandstillproducehighquality
thatweneed.Wecanalsousethiscameratoshowdifferenttypesof
anglesandshotsincluding:closeups,pointofviewshots,andtracking
shots.Thisallowsustomaketheaudiencefeelmoreintriguedtothe
musicvideosincethecamerashotsandtypesthatareusedlookmore
effectivetothenarrativeofthemusicvideo.Thiscameracomeswith
extraequipment,suchas:aheadandchestframe,tripod,andaprotective
caseforthecamera.Wecouldusethe'pointofview'shotsusingthehead
orchestframe,andtheprotectivecasewillkeepthecamerasafeincaseit
fallsofftheframeorthestand.TheFujifilmcameraispredominantly
usedforthetimelapseconceptofthevideo.Itallowsustousehigh
qualityfootage(1080x720,@60fps)andrecordaspedupcliptousein
ourmusicvideo.Theuseofthetimelapseletsuscapturetheviewers
attentionandauniquelooktothemusicvideo.Theuseofthehigh
amountofframespersecondallowsustoputthevideointoadifferent
tempoenablingustomaintainthequalitythatwouldberequired.The
Sonycameraisthemaincamerafortheshootingofourmusicvideo.This
isbecauseitgeneratesthebestqualityfootageforthemusicvideo,sothat
itlooksappealingtoouraudience,andthatitiseasytohandleandcan
shootavarietyofdifferentfilmingtechniquesincluding;timelapse,
digitalrecordingandscreenshotsofthescenerythatwearefilmingin.
Thequalityofthecamerais(1920x1080,@30fps)orthesamethe
Fujifilm,(1080x720,@60fps).Wehavechosenthiscameraoverthe
Fujifilmtofilmmoreofthemusicvideo,sinceitiseasiertohandle.Also,
wearemovingaboutalotintheactionshots,sothequalityofthecamera
wouldexpecttobedistortedhoweverthiscameramaintainsitsfocusand
quality,atthegivenframespersecond,enablingthemusicvideotoflow
throughandstilllookgood.

Intheevaluationstage,IusediMovieinordertocreatemyevaluation
video.Ialsousedmyphoneinordertorecordmesayingmyscriptaloud
andthenuploaditintoiMovie.OniMovie,Ilinkedtheimagesshownon
thescreenwithwhatwasbeingsaid,i.e.ifIwastalkingaboutcamera
anglesandshots,Iwouldshowavarietyofdifferentshotsusedwithin
mymusicvideo.Idideditingtothestillimagesbyusingatechnology
calledKenBurnsoniMovie,whichallowedmetocrop,resizeand
zoominonthestillimage.Inbetweentransitionsfromoneimageto
another,Iusedafadefeature.Thisissimplybecausethemovieflows
betterwhenusingtransitioncomparedtonotusingone.