Evaluation of video

How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

When researching into our task, we used the popular video website 'youtube' to look at existing music videos. Youtube displays endless varieties of videos covering multiple genres. This was useful in gaining ideas of styles and also looking at the music video of our song. We have provided a link on the blog to youtube, showing the video of our chosen song. When looking into posters and CD covers we used google images and google web search which provided us with some of the best CD covers of all times. We studied what was successful in these covers and applied the ideas to our own cover.

In order to film our project we had to use a hand held camcorder. As it was a small project run through college, the equipment was low cost and easy to use, however by using it correctly and creatively we were able to achieve the best results. We sometimes came across problems, such as running out of battery however, due to the simplicity of the equipment and our groups knowledge, we easily overcame these problems.

To log and capture the footage we shot we used the program Final Cut Pro (FCP) on the Apple Mac computers. FCP is quite a complex application to use, however as all of our group learned how to use it last year, we had no problems in editing our video. Firstly we had to capture all the individual shots off the camera and transfer them into the timeline. This was quite a time consuming process especially when we started cutting down the clips as we wanted them to change exactly to the beat. To cut the clips we used the razor blade tool which allowed us to be very specific with which frames we got rid of. We explored the various possibilities FCP provides and used the split screen option and also 'distortion' and 'glow' effects the vary the lighting, exposure and clarity of the shots.

For the construction of our CD cover and poster we used Photoshop. I found using Photoshop slightly more difficult than using FCP, although our overall product does not reflect this. For the poster, we had to grab a screenshot from our video using the 'Preview' application, we then transferred this to Photoshop and used it for the background. We changed the amount of focus on the picture so it look slightly blurred and applied a black and white gradient to it.

The blog has been a great way for us to record and analysis our progress and work. It has allowed us to take screen shots from our videos to display on the blog and stream videos as well. Teachers were able to look at the blog at any time and give us feedback or see if we were keeping to the deadline. Electronic recording is an easier and more simple way of logging work and is a perfect example of how media technologies has helped in the planning, construction and evaluation of our project.

Magazine Poster

This is the poster advertising the single of the song we have made a video for. We chose an image featured in our video as the background for the poster. We washed it out slightly using photo shop, so that is a black and white contrast. The patches of blue and orange still stand out on the image, therefore we have used these colours as the title and for peices of information. The date of release is in large, legible font, so that it will grab the buyers attention and is easy to read .We have included a link to the webiste, as a form of e-marketing showing, different variations in the media. The poster also includes information about the single and places where it is available to purchase. Overall the image is striking so it will grab the readers attention and it contains enough information for the reader whilst still following a minimalistic theme.

Overcoming The Barriers Of Production.

As we didn't have a massive multi-million pound budget to make extravagant sets or employe top actors we had to use of initative and creativity. For our sets and location we made the most of what was at hand, which was one of our friend's houses and as it was Sams house he was at hand to star as our main charcter. This proved very effective as he was friends with all the girls we used, so it helped to battle any arkwardnes and created good chemistry on set. The time we had was ample for filming,it was only when we got back into the editing studio and realised we may need to re-film some of the shots that we felt time was against us. In the end though we were able to make it look effective. The technology we had at hand was a hand held camera and a tripod, but these both prove sufficient with a certain degree of waiting to get the right shot, the only worry we had is that the battery ran flat over a weekend but we were able to attain a new one from college, we also made the most of the natural night provided by the double doors leading to his garden with only minimal control over this variable i think we picked a perfect time to film.

Analysis of other cd covers

CD covers from different genres contain different conventions, e.g. The cd cover for nickelback - dark horse, is dark and mostly black. This represents the rock genre. Also it shows a metal belt buckel, possibly to represent that this is a rock/metal peice of music.

The Lady Gaga genres are pop, electronic and dance.. The black and white cover is possibly a usual convention for these geres as beyonce also uses this convention on her cd "I am" . And also the backstreet boys album "Unbreakable" .

The Jason Mraz cd cover is conventional to other cd covers in the indie genre as it uses a plain background with an unusual picture as the cover. This is also used by ange & ris' album "not me" .

The coldplay cove "viva lavida" is an alternative rock genre. The cd cover is almost historical as it uses images of people in other centuries. This is not conventional to this genre but it is different and very few of the cd covers in the alternative rock genre are similar.

Creating our CD cover and sleeve

We are now in the process of designing and creating our CD cover. We have been carrying out some research into popular CD covers.
Some of the CD covers are quite plain and simple, yet visually striking such as the Lady Gaga and the Jason Mraz one. The fact that they are only black and white makes them easy to achieve yet bold so they stand out to the human eye.
Other covers, such as the Coldplay one, are more artistic and creative, this is harder to achieve, yet creates a busy atmosphere which may reflect the album.
The Nickleback album is quite ambiguous, the cover does not give a lot away about the band or the songs, this may be effective in creating interest and wonder amongst potential buyers.

Screen shots

< This was our closing shot. We tilted the camera up towards the sky to symbolise the closing of the song. We used an eye catching italic font to display the artist and song name, which eventually fades with the ending of the song




< This is an over-the-shoulder close up shot. The expression of the main actor is hidden, therefore creating an atmosphere of un known and wonder. Having close ups also varies the shot selection seen in the video.



< This was an effect we used on Final Cut Pro. It creates a 'glow' like effect and makes the shot more dynamic and visually interesting





< We have used the split screen effect to display various shots and pieces of information, but only displaying on one screen, therefore taking up time and looking more interesting.





< This is a wide shot showing the lead character centre frame, with 'the girls' either side of him.





< We used a garden as the basis for one of our locations. It provided good lighting and a large amount of space. It was easy to film in and was appropiate mis en scene for the shot.

Video Research

For our music video research we wanted to take a look into videos that were quick cutting with a lot of use of artificial light as this was the idea we had. So after viewing many videos we discovered a video by “tinchy Stryder – You’re not alone”. This uses a lot of quick cutting images to fit in with the beat. We also wanted to adapt some of the ideas from the original video as we wanted to avoid it looking like a video based around disjunction. So we used some of the similar costume and mise en scene such as Calvin Harris’ shades and the idea of using a lot of girls in the video.