Question 4

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

RESEARCH & PLANNING

The internet was essential in all stages of this project, especially research and planning.
On youtube, we found a lot of reverse videos, which were sources of inspiration. Youtube was great as it allowed us to see professional videos and amateur ones, such as the reverse one above (click picture to follow link to youtube).

Also, Facebook was great for communication between the group and with our actress, Liv. We also used our group blog to communicate if someone was ill or just to illustrate our ideas.


CONSTRUCTION

Music video:

• Canon HV30 camera - much better quality than we had previously used. We used a lot of colour, and the HD quallity was very rich and made them look vibrant
• Tripod- we had a lot of shots following Lexi as she walked, or zooming on her face while she sings so we wanted a few static shots so that
• I've used Adobe premier pro editing software in other media projects but I did learn a few more techniques. 
• We tried to change the contrasts of shots so that there was continuity with colours throughout the video. The colour corrector made this a simple task:

• As music videos tend to cut to the beat or lyrics, I thought that the line "things that are inside" would be a god place to use split screens to emphasise the lyrics. It was quite easy to drag and resize the shots and make sure they started at the right time:

 

• At times where the beat slowed down, we wanted to match the visuals, so we used the cross dissolve tool to create the desired effect:  

 

Album cover:

Photoshoot:

• We used the SLR camera
• We experimented with different lighting effects, such as the fllor lights which allowed us to create the shadow effect which was used for the inside panels on the album.

•  Editing
• I have used Jasc Paint Shop Pro for years and been a bit wary of Photoshop, but it was actually quite easy to get used to. We were able to edit photos, use different layers and go into more detail than Paint Shop Pro allowed us, so I'm happy that I've finally learnt after so many years!
• I used my mac at home to edit contrasts on photos, such as the front cover, which is shown below.

Website:

• I'm really happy that I found Wix, as it's really easy to use and we could work on the website from home. Flash websites are more aesthetically pleasing that simple blogs or myspaces and upmarket brands usually use flash, so this added to the professional image we were going for.

• The website works in synergy with other sites like Facebook, Youtube, Myspace and Twitter which shows how technilogical convergence is key. This cross platform marketing allowed us to utilise all forms of media, so that Lexi can narrowcast to the young tech-savvy fans (most teenagers) but also broadcast to wider audiences, such as fans in America for example.

• Most celebrities use Twitter now as it allows fans to follow their every move and interact with them. Our website is very fan oriented, which benefits Lexi and her fans as both are working symbiotically; Lexi is gaining recognition while fans feel gratified as they can relate to her.

• We also shot behind the scenes footage and took extra photos while on location, as these could be used on the website as Lexi is in action, so that the audience can see her while not in the music video and get to know her.

EVALUATION

We also used Facebook to create an event for our music video screening which was great as we could select who we wanted to invite, so I made sure that we had students from younger years as our main target audience is teenagers AND young adults.

Even though we had a questionnaire, we thought that it would be a good idea to film a couple of responses to get a different type of feedback.

Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

 

Here are 2 prime examples of our core audience. Teenagers/young adults consume media through a variety of platforms and all of our products utilise websites like Facebook and Youtube which allow people to share music and the video itself which would be found on music channels like MTV Hits or Viva.

Artists like Pixie Lott and Rihanna have younger secondary audiences as well, so Lexi would definitly appeal to younger girls as parents would approve of her and her genre of pop music would be a hit with them.

Our audience screening consisted mostly of our friends, which was great as 17/18 year olds are in our primary audience.

Questionnaires

Positive feedback from screening:

• Able to identify Lexi Grace as the artist
• Most people noticed the MTV logo and said they could see it on sites such as VIVA or TMF
• Most people said that the video appealed to them
• Rated between 7 and 10, which is great
• People found the video exciting and nobody seemed bored at the screening, even though we repeated it.

The reverse effect worked well, such as the postbox, lipstick and apple shots

• Most people said that the video reminded them of Coldplay's The Scientist and the few that knew of The Pharcyde made the connection to their video drop. This is excellent feedback, as it proves that our inspirations came through our work and the audience could connect to our concept.

Negative feedback from screening:

• Liv seemed a bit camera shy and nervous, which detracted from the fun look of the video - this was something that we tried to work on, but obviously the audience picked up on this. With a bit more practice, Liv probably could have got into character a bit more and loosened up

• Lighting needed improvement: we couldn't control the lighting when filming, so Liv looked drowned out in a few shots and even though we tried to correct them, they were still quite obvious.

On youtube, we can see statistics for people who have viewed our video. The age range is 13-17 year olds, which is our core target audience and it is great to see that males have been watching! Also, most views have been in Britain, with some around America so it's great to see that the video has been watched by those we intended it for, and even in America!

Friends on facebook have commented on the website and said how realistic it looks, which is great to hear. Even though I love our video, there are some bits that I would love to have changed but couldn't. However, there is nothing that I would change on the website or album cover so I'm really happy that our hard work has paid off and people are impressed by it.

This just shows that the websites we used in our products (facebook, youtube etc) are ones that the target audience can relate to, as they obviously have been watching the video and like the website, so I'm really happy!

Question 2

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

 MUSIC VIDEO:

 WEBSITE:

 

Click banner to visit website

 ALBUM COVER:

As soon as you enter Lexi's website, there is a page with the album on, which advertises her new work to the audience. Different texts are working in synergy and the website provides as another platform for marketing. Through use of cross platform marketing, we have been able to extensively use all areas of the internet to broadcast to the audiences so that they are aware of Lexi Grace and the products she is offering them. She is not only an artist, but also a brand with merchandise, and her own iconography which people can buy in to.

We included information for institutions as well as audiences. By establishing our record companies and offering exclusive content to audiences through their consumption of merchandise, we create a link that promotes positive media utilisation. As our audiences are so aware of technology and can download music illegally, we make sure that there is an incentive to purchase Lexi's music legally.

Fans are encouraged to buy merchandise on the website, furthering awareness of Lexi's brand as people would notice their friend's clothing and promote word of mouth advertising. We employed many strategies to buy in to Lexi Grace, with merchandise and heavy promotion of the album. There are tour dates, a video of her current single and specific clothing with featuring her logo which creates a strong brand identity.

  

We did not only market Lexi's products and chose to work symbiotically with brands such as Topshop and Aldo, as Aldo was featured in Lexi's video which is another example of the products working together.

We wanted Lexi to be a style icon. Other female British solo artists like Lily Allen and Pixie Lott have had clothing ranges with large brands, so we decided to make Lexi's style quite unique and have her in lots of different outfits to really emphasise this point.

The dress that Lexi wears in the background on the website is also featured on the video and she is wearing it on the front cover of the album. Hopefully, fans would recognise this and admire Lexi for her style, and achieve the recognition that other artists get.

The swallow theme is also key iconography across the products. This is the most important motif that appears a lot and as birds signify freedom, Lexi is portraying this through the visual hook. The swallow appears on the front cover of the album sleeve and it's significant in establishing her brand as she's a new artist. It was important to carry this through all our products, to heighten the emphasis on the bird. We did this through styling, which again connotes Lexi's presence as a fashion icon and also the logo which is on the website as well.

We used the website to promote the other products.

There is a page dedicated to the music video, which also features lyrics, encouraging viewers to sing along and really get in to the music.

The ancillary products really anchor our music video and I think that we made good use of the different platforms. Through links to twitter, facebook, youtube and myspace, we are broadcasting to a wide audience and allowing them to access Lexi through all ways possible. We really encouraged interactivity so that fans can buy into Lexi as a credible artist, fashion icon and brand as these are things that would make her a success. By using outfits across all 3 products, we create continuity so that the audience can get familiar with Lexi and buy into her brand. 

Question 1

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

We decided to do a group video, but unfortunately I couldn't make it for George and Joe's parts. We all worked on the Andrew Goodwin analysis together anyway and I have analysed the theorists individually as well, which is further down below.

(In case you can't see the slideshow on the video, I've uploaded it here)

Evaluation powerpoint

Analysis

"Music videos work around 3 codes:

• music
• lyrics
• visuals

These codes provide pleasure to keep viewers watching and encourage repeated viewings" 

We used lots of locations and outfits to keep the audience on their toes, so that they weren't bored. Although our video may not look incredibly professional, a lot of people said that there were a great range of outfits and locations which made the video exciting. Also, the reverse footage made viewers want to rewind or watch again to see what was happening.

My Initial Music Video Treatment

My initial treatment for Lexi was based on artists such as Blondie, who had a great presence and unique style. She was a great source of inspiration and I think that we did pull off Lexi's styling quite well as a lot of people commented on this.

The reverse concept is illustrative of the lyrics we represent the "meddling" through reverse shots and lots of location. Also, as there is no clear narrative, the audience can interpret the video and come to their own conclusions.

Relating to Andrew Goodwin's theory, we can see that a lot of the time, the visuals offer a disjuncture with the lyrics:

2.42 "things that are inside" - Lexi is sitting by trees outside

1.33 "mixed up world" - we reversed, then forwarded then reversed again to the beat

0.31 "i remember..." cut from Lexi singing to her in the past as she remembers

No matter what genre of music, artists always appeal to their audience through specific shot types or styling.

For example, Pixie Lott is quite a new female British artist and to uses her sex appeal to access a male audience. She shows her legs a lot which attracts a lot of male attention, but she also has the typical close up to sell her as an artist, not just a sex symbol.

We wanted Lexi's 'thing' to be her lips as these are erogenous zones, but not too sexy as we didn't want her music to speak for her, rather than showing skin. Again, Andrew Goodwin's theory is relevant here as we used the voyeuristic treatment of Lexi to appeal to a male audience.

Our video was based on The Pharcyde 'Drop' .....

And Coldplay's 'The Scientist'

The reverse effect really made these two videos memorable with the audience, which is something that we wanted to recreate.

When getting feedback from the audience, most people liked shots such as Lexi eating the apple, putting on the jacket, jumping onto the postbox, walking forwards while other people walk backwards etc. I'm really happy with these comments because these were the things which we really thought about.

Despina and I even tested some actions which we thought would look good in the video

I'm a fan of Beyonce and when we first talked about doing a reverse video, I watched her video for Me, msyelf and I, which was reversed.I based our shot of Lexi putting her jacket on from Beyonce's video at 1.33 as I really liked this effect. Also, Coldplay and The Pharcyde's videos did not have separate the video and perfomance, but Beyonce's did and I really liked this as it gave another dimension to the her as an artist. I feel that Lexi Grace' performance also enhanced her image as it made the video more playful and allowed her to interact with the camera (and therfore audience) even more.

Beyonce - Me, Myself And I (Official Music Video)

Audience screening

We've made a facebook event and invited everyone from our school to see the screening of Lexi Grace's brand new single Meddle! Facebook is a great way to communicate with our audience, as our target audience is teens and they all use the social networkin site.

We're also created a questionnaire for the audience to fill out so that we can get feedback. This will really help us to get more opinions from people who don't do media as a subject but consume it, so they will give objective feedback.

Website

I haven't blogged about the website a lot, but we've finally signed it off and here it is!

http://www.wix.com/latymermediamv2/lexi-grace

We decided to have an enter page, which is what a lot of other artists have on their websites. We promote the album throughout our website, but the enter page is specific to purchasing from iTunes which really taps in to the downloads and tech-savvy audience. As our core audience is teens, they will be familiar with the iTunes store so we felt this really targeted them.

 
On the first page, there are features for fashion retailers Topshop and Aldo. By working in synergy with these brands, we are again accessing the fashionable audience and teens/young adults are definitly aware of these shops. Also, ALDO features in our video so by having it on the video, this intertextuality makes sure that the shop was purposely in shot.

The first page shows Lexi's tours and has a banner about her album and new single meddle which is rquite professional and something that other artists do, as I have seen on websites from artists like Pixie Lott, Katy Perry and Tinie Tempah. There are also login and singup buttons which encourage repeated visiting of the website, just like a music video encourages repeated viewing.

 Other pages include 'Lexi" which allows fans to see what Lexi is really like and get personal with her which is really engaging and lets people relate to her.

As well as emphasising the album, we also have a page for her new single Meddle.

Again, getting personal with Lexi-photos from shoots.

The competition is really interactive and engages the audience so that they aren;t just browsing the site-they can actually get involved.

By having a merchandise page, we are really getting the audience to buy into Lexi's brand. Tshirts have Lexi's logo, which runs across the website and album and is specific to her. The merchandise really anchors her brand image.

The fan page allows fans not only to interact on the site but to do so with each other. Fans can express their thoughts and opinions and really interact with each other, so this is great for the audience. This page also has a live twitter feed which shows what Lexi herself is saying!

More interactivity is included in the social networking sites. Twitter has really become a prominent part of ccelebrity culture, with nearly every musician, actor and even us normal people using it. For example, as soon as I log in to my twitter I can see updates from friends but also rappers like JME and P Diddy. Unlike other sites, most celebrities on Twitter actually interact with fans which is really engaging and is why we included a feed on Lexi's page.