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




How Effective is the combinatin of my main project and ancillary texts.




Evaluation

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

From the start of the project i knew it was going to be important to designate time and planning to each phase of my project. The order i did things and the way in which i went about doing the particular aspects of my project were important elements which i would try to intertextualize between each form of production.
The first thing i did was create the CD case as this would allow me formulate a style which i could incorperate into all the different areas of my project. The plan for the CD went as follows:

• Create plan sheets and rough ideas for a layout of the case and give myself an idea of the photos i would be looking for.
• Go to a suitable place and get the images
• Acquire a computer with photoshop which allowed me to enhance and create more visualy strong images.
• Insert all the codes and conventions typical of a CD for example the Title placement, song titles and bar codes etc.
• Ask for audience feedback
• Make changes depending on the feedback recieved.

The poster would then follow similar trials and photos would be acquired suitable for a magazine advert. From here i would be able to put together an advert which uses the same sort of fonts and imagery to create a sense of continuity between the different projects. The main differences being that the magazine ad needed to portray a different message. I needed to have a stronger title which would attract a readers attention aswell as other titles which said things such as; Out on Vinyl and CD aswell as the record label.

The final area i planned was the Music Video. This needed extra planning and i ended up using multiple storyboards to try and create a reel in my head which allowed me to go out and get the shots which i needed. I would then upon completion of filming use iMovie to use certain areas of filming such as fades, match on actions, wash outs as well as effects which would help emphasize a feeling of time passing. This put together helped tell a story and ultimately give me a successful product. The equipment and time use for the music video went as follows:

• Get a camera and tripod to ensure better shots
• Create a storyboard which gave a basic idea of how i wanted the music video to pan out.
• Go to a suitable scene to film the shots
• Dress the characters and use instruments which are suitable for the type of music, in my case an acoustic style.
• Edit the shots into a final cut which is visualy apealing and works well.

To conclude the video and from the feedback i recieved i am happy with the result. The biggest issue with the music video was creating a production which used all the codes and conventions you would find in my ancillery texts to create that interlink between the two, however with the beach shots and the use of the acoustic guitar i think i portrayed an acoustic song into a short story and music video with great success.

Evaluation

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

The conventions in which my project has followed are very similar to those which you would find in the media industry. The images and techniques i have used in certain areas would be the same as those you would find in magazine adverts and CD cases. The codes in which i have followed all incorperate the key features you would find on a CD. There ore aspects and thechniques which are all importan when it comes to creating successful media proucts. For example the application of bold headings as well as smaller things such as the bar code must all be strategeicaly placed to create an effective finished look. The application of the record label through all the acillery texts is also a good way for a company to promote themselves.

My media product has slightly challenged standard rules which you would associate with CD covers in that i have tryed to make full use of photoshops capabilities to help emphasize the CD title, 'Super Human'. The superimposed skull under the face and the outer glow and neon i have used create a consistancy between the projects. This is unlike the products i researched where the standard layout is usualy a photo which may have been made black and white or brightness and contrast edits; occasionaly the magazine adverts will have a compeuterized piece of art as the background image. My magazine advert and CD case is one of a few media texts which has edited certain ares of a particular photo. However the end result looks effective and i am happy with the result.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The main project compared to the ancillery texts is slightly different in terms of the main ideas i have tried to incorporate, as video and photo shop based media is mostly different, however i have found that i was able to incorperate scenes and put effects onto the editting areas of my video which helped create links to the whole theme i was going for. The beach stereotype which comes with Jack Johnsons music was easily adapted to both the music video and the imagery. I am happy with the subtle interlinking between the music video's and the poster and cd case. And the (Jack Johnson 'super human') logo i was able to create helped further that intertextuality i was aiming for.

The audience feedback was another key part of the creation of my project and this definitely helped me alter and better the look of certain bits of my project. The opinions of certain people helps bring an abstract view of your work and so they can therefore give you little ideas and point out weaker areas of the different aspects of my project. This was hugely helpful and i would go back and alter or even completely change areas of my project in order to improve it.

Evaluation

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The Magazine Advert Finished.

The main feedback from the project is that it was nicely set out with a strong image. The good points were that it was neatly placed and had a very sleak and slender look. However the problems that came back were that in some places it wasn't in your face enough which is a key point to any advert. I therefore felt it was neccesary to increase text size and keep a font which intertextualized with the CD cover. The image of the CD cover which was previously in the bottom left hand corner was also said by more than one critic that it was too small. So i increased the size of that and made the writing next to it a more clear light blue colour so it was more visible over the darker background. i then applyed a drop shadow to the texts and this give it en enhanced finish.

The CD Case Finished


The feedback for my CD cover was positive. Out of 20 people asked 120 said it was visually appealingand the only changes which were recomended were making the text in the top right slightly bigger, I did this minor alteration and am pleased with the finish.

The Back Cover Finished.



Again out of the 20 people asked, they all replyed it was neatly set out and intertextualized nicely with the front cover. They said the colours and crossed line link the front and back nicely. and the effect used on the surfer on the back was similar to that of the front.
The points i have taken away and changed however are the style of title. Where as before the title was simple 'Jack Johnson' i spent some time developing a title which envelopes the CD name and so the J and the N at the beginning and end of the title help to frame the title 'superhuman' and generally give the title a more fulfilled look which is not only visualy appealing but it also gives me a basis which i could use on the fron and in the magazine advert to help give the cd cover a better feeling of continuity.

The Inside Covers Finished.



The feedback for the inside was good however a few of the people when asked about the overall look said that it looked like it was maybe too plain or missing something. I agreed with the comments and thought more text was needed not only to fill out the page a bit more but also to give the CD a little extra something which is nice for a customer when they buy a product like this. So I went for adding the lyrics of one of the songs which is in the album, i tryed to wrap it around the image of the surfer as best i could as he is a focal point and i didn't want to obstruct the image as much as possible. I am pleased with the result and dont htink i have over done it.

The Plan of the Magazine Advert

Below is a spider diagram and sketch for potential ideas i am going to try to incorperate into my magazine advert.

The Plan (CD CASE)

The Inside Plan of my CD Case:



Here are video blogs of the rough ideas behind what i want for the different aspects of my CD cover.

The plan of the music Video

Below is a video plan of the basic types of shot i would like in my music video. It is hard to make exact edits and shots which i will include as drawing them up on paper and putting them together so that it work well with the particular song are two different things; however i feel i have made a good plan of a music video and rough story which will give my music video a successful finish.

Unfortunately the thechnology couldn't handle the size of this particular file, i therefore had to record it with a tripod and camera to make it of a suitable file size which blogger could upload in reasonable time.

The Plan For My Projects

The Basic Plan

I am going to be creating a magazine advert and music video as well as the front, back and inside pages of a CD. For these to look like a success it is going to rquire a rough plan. This will allow me to create a basis i can refer to in which i can create photos which look roughly like the plan and ultimately give the overall look of each cover and advert some kind of structure.

I will use video blogs and photocopies of each idea i think of. As well as the sketch ups i will talk about the codes and coonventions i am copying from existing CD's and magazine adverts.

The Creation of my magazine ad.

The first stage for me was to create a basis. I wanted to go for a more subtle chilled out magazine advert as this is more representative of the style of music the artist i have chosen produces. I went fora typical surf scene; a surfer ont he beach looking at the waves. This is very representative of Jack Johnson and his music as he creates songs which are often referred to summer days at the beach. As well as this Jack Johnson is a recognized surfer nad so upon seeing this type of image in a magazine most surfers will stop to read more into the advert.

The first step was to crop out the picture to a suitable magazine page size. From here I used the brightness and contrast tools to enhance the image. Unfortunately it went ovr cast for the photoshoot however i was able to increase the brightness to make the iage look more powerful on the page.

The first stage was to alter the page. Due to the fact that the album is called 'superhuman' i wanted to insert an effect onto the person involved. So from here i magnetic lassoo'd the edge of the eprson and used an outer glow. This enhanced the look of the surfer involved and gave the picture that little something else neccesary to make it stand out.

The next stage was to insert the text. I liked the way the photo was set out as from the horizon line up there was a nice clear sky to create the text. I thought the most important thing to be read was the Artists name as he is a world renowned musical artist and the intertextuality with the surfer would imidiately bring back summer memories of going to the beach. So i placed 'Jack Johnson' in big neat writing in the center of the sky. This keeps a neat porfessional look to the image. From here i needed to insert other text which is roughly the basis of what the advert is about. I in smaller writing put 'The Much Anticipated New Album', and then again Below the main title i placed the albums name within apostraphes. I like the cetralised look of the text and the way the sky borders the text as it sets a neat looking top third of the page.

Finishing Touches.
The final step was to finish it off. So i thought it was important to insert a small image of what the new album looks like in the bottom left hand corner as well as applying the text of the record label 'Bushfire Records' and above that, 'Out Now on DVD & Vinyl'. This follows the codes and conventions of most CD adverts.

And finaly i added some effects on the text. An outer glow on the smaller text in the bottom left hand corner as well as a drop shadow on the 'Jack Johnson' this makes his name stand out of the page a bit more and finishes the page off nicely.