Feedback

Anita, a few things need sorting on your blog. Your final cut of the video hasn't uploaded properly - the size / framing on the blog is also a problem. Your evaluation Q3 seems cut short. Finally, I couldn't access Q4 of your evaluation so am unable to grade your evaluation at present.

Production Update

Today was the last day to finish all the tasks and change anything that was said from the audience feedback. We had made the last changes to the music video which was suggested to us during the audience feedback about replacing the club scenes. I am happy that we made all the deadlines during the production and the changes that we made to the music video.

Final Cut of the Music Video

Evaluation

Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge conventions of real media products?

Uses Conventions- (Hip Hop/ R'n'B Genre)

- Black and white footage was used in our music video. This is typically seen in real Hip Hop/ R'n'B music videos for instance in Trey Songz- Love faces music video. We used this not only because it is aesthetically pleasing but also because it signifies the past and we used it during an interlude in our music video as a flashback showcasing what has happened in the past between the female and male performer.

(top to bottom: Our music video and Trey Songz- Love faces. It is evident that we both used black and white footage in our music video however the difference being that he used it throughout the music video for it to connote a certain time period- the 1920’s- however we used it to connote the past)

-The Mise- en-Scene within our music video adheres to codes and conventions of the Hip Hop/ R'n'B genre. The costume of our male performer conforms to the codes of Hip Hop/ R'n'B as he is wearing a 'doo-rag', baggy jeans, trainers and a hoodie. Also our female performer uses the conventions associated with this genre and in real music videos. We decided to choose an attractive female performer of dual-heritage to act as the male performer's love interest. The use of light-skinned black females or those of dual-heritage are conventional seen in Hip Hop/ R'n'B music videos.

-We included sexual qualities in our video which is typically utilized in Hip Hop/ R'n'B and stereotypically objectifies women. Voyeurism is evident in our music video (erotic pleasures gained from looking at a sexual object that is not aware of being watched) in order to please males within our target audience. When Sarai (female performer) is getting dressed we included an extreme close up of her zipping the back of her dress and a Medium close up of her skirt going up her leg but she acts unaware of people watching as she is getting dressed in her bedroom. The close-up of these parts of the body are commonly seen as sexual therefore makes it easier for us to convey this message. Although we included voyeurism, we still subverted the fact that women are objects of sexual pleasure by including the post-feminist approach which states that women are not objectified but are in control of their sexuality. We promote this by Sarai getting dressed by herself and wearing what she wants which highlights that she is in control of her attractiveness but also as she leaves her apartment to get to the club by herself which signifies independence.

-Within the ancillary tasks I included typical information found on real media products. For instance on the CD package I have included elements such as the track listing and bar code; alongside the record label logo and copy at the bottom of the CD (on the back cover) and the name of the album and artist (on the front cover). On the magazine advertisement we included information such as the release date and comments from other institutions such as XXL magazine commenting on the album which are aides to persuades the consumer to purchase the album and are typically found on real media products.

- Performance shots were included using Green Screen which are constantly shown in Hip Hop/ R'n'B music videos. This helps gratify audiences as it meets their expectations.

Develop Conventions

- We developed conventions by including a narrative into a genre that is predominately performance based.

-The type of shots we used helps develop the genre. We used the Justin Timberlake's music video of 'My Love' as inspiration in terms of the type of shots we used. We used tilt motion shots which are very subversive of R'n'B music videos as it is not commonly seen and it helps develop the genre and introduce something new to our target audience and helps retain their interest.

-Including a movie element into our music video allows us to entice the audiences' and retain their interest. We did this by including an interlude which develops the narrative and makes it more like a movie, making the music video widescreen and having a movie style opening whereby there is dialogue between the male and female performer and typography introducing the music video appearing. This was done to set off the narrative and conform to the post-modernism approach. The main aspect of the post-modernism approach that is highlighted in our music video is the breakdown of barriers between genres and styles. By combining the typical movie style and the Hip Hop/ R'n'B genre breaks down the divide between these two aspects.

(Here is the opening scene from Bow Wow and Omarion- let me hold you music video. As we saw they had a movie style opening through including text in the beginning of the video inspired us to include this in our's.)

- The choice of location helps develop the Hip Hop/ R'n'B genre. We included iconic areas such as the Tower Bridge and other areas in Westminster which helps give a different perspective of this genre as typically deprived areas are showcased to show where they come from, however we decided to show where they are after wealth or aspire to.

Challenge Conventions

- The couple staying together

- The use of Special Effects dancing scenes. The use of these dance scenes is not normally seen in the Hip Hop/ R'n'B genre, however we decided to include it as it creates an element of interest as it is not commonly associated with this genre and will provide audiences with something different.

- Using unconventional transitional effects. Normally in Hip Hop/ R'n'B straight cuts and fades are normally used however we included other effects like blurs, zooms and additive dissolves to make the music video more interesting and subvert the codes and conventions of this genre.

- By not over-sexualising the female performer helped us challenge the conventions seen in real media products. Normally in Hip Hop/ R'n'B the female character is seen wearing skimpy outfits such as a short skirt or a bikini however we decided to make our female performer were a dress to look more elegant but also to allow female audiences' identify with a more positive representation of women in Hip Hop/ R'n'B music videos compared to what it currently portrayed.

Videos Mentioned in the Evaluation and Sources for Inspiration

Justin Timberlake - My Love by gelele0205

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

I feel that all our products (main and ancillary texts) are very effective. Through the ancillary tasks we explored the theme of wealth and status in very different ways but nevertheless both together still correlate. Within the CD package we included iconic scenes for the background; for instance for the front of the CD cover we included a picture of Tower Bride which has connotations of wealth and status, something that 'Singnature' aspires towards. The use of gold within the copy on the front cover also help promote the idea of wealth as gold is normally associated with wealth and luxury. Within the magazine advertisement we included these themes in different ways but mainly through the pose that we put him in. The way he seated on the chair, showing a profile with an umbrella signifies status mostly as even when he is not facing the camera, the audience still know who he is. In our main product, the music video, we included some connotations of wealth through the locations chosen. We decided to do a bulk of our exterior shoots in Central London, in particular the scene where our main female performer leaves her apartment was filmed in Westminster. By making these connections it creates continuity in our media products which is particularly helpful for the audience as it would aid the artist staying in their mind.

This scene in particular contributes in promoting the theme of luxury and wealth as well through the glistening windows and the swivel door which are normally found in prestige locations.

Brand Identity was created and constant throughout all the media products that we created. The use of typography helped me create a brand identity for the artist ‘Singnature’. The use of bold gold typography is not only seen on the CD cover but is also used on the magazine advertisement as a title. This helps create brand identity as when audiences see this font and colour together they would instantly be reminded of Singnature. Furthermore, the fact that we included the logo for our record label on the back cover of the CD package and on the poster as well helps build the brand identity of that company as well as when seeing it consumers would recall Singnature.

The combination of all our products is effective in promoting the codes of Hip Hop/ R'n'B. The CD package promotes the Hip Hop genre through his costume. He is wearing a hooded jacket and a ‘doo-rag’ which is commonly associated with male artists in Hip Hop/ R’n’B. Furthermore, within the music video we reinforced this as he continues to wear a ‘doo-rag’ and hoodie jacket but we are also able to see him wearing baggy jeans and trainers which are elements commonly associated with that genre. We did this purposely, so that audiences that are familiar with this genre are satisfied as it matches their expectations. On the other hand, with the magazine poster we slightly subverted the codes of hip hop/r’n’b through his costume as he is wearing a white smart/casual jacket which is not typically associated with this genre. We did this purposely in order to provide audiences with a different perspective of R’n’B/Hip Hop artists as we show them as less ‘ghetto’ and not having a deprived upbringing. However we included elements that still correlate to that genre through him having his hair in an afro and him wearing baggy jeans and trainers.

The theme of love/ lust is something that we explored. Within the music video, we explored this through the relationship between the main male and female performer as they got together by the end of the video. We also purposely made our female performer wear a red dress as it has connotations of love. Within the CD cover, this theme was displayed much more subtly through the ponderous mood projected by the main image of the male artist. It can be said that he is thinking of relationships he’s had or lost which links back to the theme of love/lust.

The media products produced all look realistic and authentic. On the back cover of the CD Case we have included track listings, bar code, record label logo, copy at the bottom of the CD case we are elements typically seen on CD packages. On the front cover and magazine advertisement we had put a sign saying ‘parental advisory’ which is seen on most Hip Hop/ R’n’B CD's due to the content and on CD inlays we decided to have a dedication page and lyrics. All these elements combined helped us to create, authentic and effective media products.

Lastly, The combination of the ancillary tasks and the music video is effective in promoting the theme of movement. Within the music video we show this through tracking shots and within the ancillary tasks we promote this through the back cover whereby our artist is walking away. This links in with the theme of Time which correlates with the single ‘Rite on Time’ (Time is also subtly promoted in the music video whereby there is a clock ticking). Movement also connotes moving on in the world in terms of status and wealth which is connoted in the mise-en-scene of our front cover (iconic locations) and the locations we used within the music video for instance Westminster.

(Time is explored in the music video and links in with the lyrics of being right 'on time'. This creates a visual link between the imagery and lyrics making the music video easier to understand and more visual interesting.)

All in all, I feel that all the media products created combined are very effective as they target the audience intended, look very authentic and realistic and are very interesting due to the combination of themes explored which are normally experienced by our target audience.

(Rough Cut Music Video)

Q3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Question 3

View more presentations from anitaboateng93

(feedback from a female whom is part of my target audience)

Feedback for the Ancillary Tasks

-After our ancillary task was seen by someone within my target audience, it was said that the theme seen on the front and back cover works well however the CD inlays are too artsy and it does not conform with the R'n'B stereotypes. As we are mainly conforming to those forms and conventions we decided to make some changes it order to make it more consistent and not too subversive.

NEW CD INLAYS

Here is the new CD inlays which consists of a dedication page (top) and the beginning of the lyrics page (bottom). I feel that these CD inlays would be more successful in terms of reaching audiences expectations as it conforms to R'n'B conventions. Normally CD inlays of this genre are simple in terms of layout and colour with additional imagery which we have included here but did not before therefore this package gratifying audiences.

4. How did the use of new media technologies in the construction, research and planning and evaluation stage?