Audience Feedback

This is some audience feedback I have been given in regards to my final music video. I agree that a lot of close ups were used. I felt that this made the footage seem a lot more personal and showed more emotion, however I were to do my video again I would use a wider variety of shots.

Music Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZqnGXsWO18&feature=youtu.be

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

http://prezi.com/yrjmcmc-g6-w/untitled-prezi/ 

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After uploading my rough cut on to my blog and on to YouTube, I received the same comments from several people. These were:

-Shadows could be seen in particular clips.

-The clips appeared stretched and distorted.

-The camera was unstable

I addressed these problems when filming for my final video.

I changed my camera, from my phone camera to my small digital handheld camera. After filming the first scene, I immediately uploaded the footage onto iMovie to ensure that the footage did not appear distorted.The footage was not distorted, however in the clips the top is cut off when uploaded onto iMovie. I couldn't use some clips because the character head was not shown in the footage. When I filmed the next scene, I made sure to keep the focus of the scene in the lower half of the shot, so that when I uploaded it onto iMovie it was not cut off.

 Although I addressed these problems, there are still a few problems with the final video.

     The gloomy present day scenes are sometimes slightly too dark. They are not as easy to see as the other scenes, due to the lighting.

     The shots are quite shakey at times, because I did not use a tripod. However, when filming the memories I didn't use a tripod because I wanted to create the illusion of a home-made video. I did this to make the scenes look more personal.

I should have used a proper tripod for the gloomy scenes.

     I had to go back and edit one particular because two of my clips merged together. So the different filters became muddled. I just simply split them and changed the filters back to how they were meant to be.

"Your location choices are really well chosen as they match up to the calm nature of your song choice. The beginning and the end of was very effective. The repetition of the close ups of your actresses face showed how she is feeling to the audience and you have used a variety of shots. To improve, maybe use a lot more shots as a majority are close ups."

This comment was given to me by one of my peers, who is, in fact, an Ed Sheeran fan. I completely agree that a wider variety of shots and camera angles would have made the footage more interesting. Some creative camera shots could have been used to emphasise the misery of the present day scenes, for example a high angled shot to reflect the idea that he feels degraded and low. 

     I am glad that she noticed the link between the song and the locations being calm, depicting both the serenity and the sadness of the scenes. I wanted to keep one of the locations nature based for this reason. 

     I'm also very happy with how effective the beginning and end of my video was. I used the same footage in the beginning and end to create the illusion that the memories are going to replay. This links to the idea that he can not escape them. 

     The close ups of my actress clearly reflected her feelings to the audience, however I do feel that I included too many. Perhaps some extreme close ups of just her eyes would have been effective, showing deep emotion. 

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

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

I added a sense of realism to my cd case by including a bar code. This Makes it look like a product that could be bought in a store.
     I used a very similar colour scheme to Ed Sheerans real cd case-orange, black, and white.

     Although Ed's real cd cover is extremely simple, only including a basic image of him and simple text, I decided to adapt this idea and add a little more. I began with a simple image of a sunset behind a wooded area. I decided to merge another image with this, to add a little extra and make it more interesting yet subtle.
      On the inside of the case, I have added Ed Sheerans record label. A lot of background information behind his album is included on his real cd case, however I don't know all of this information. So, to make it more realistic I just added the information I could find.

Using Adobe InDesign really helped me to get the right proportions and get a professional finish. 

     The font I have used throughout the entire packaging is 'Myriad Pro'. Originally, I used 'Cooper Black' like my magazine advert. However, because a lot more information

I did not use a masthead, simply because I wanted my image to be one of the main focuses of the advert. I wanted it to stand out to make the cd cover more recognisable.
     My magazine advert is just as simple as my cd case. I continued the colour scheme and simple layout, and the same image I used for the cd cover. I did this so that, like a real advert, it makes the cd easy to recognise.
     I used the font 'Cooper Black'. I used this because it is extremely bold and striking, especially the white and orange against the black background. It is also quite quirky, unlike the font used for my cd packaging. I did this because my cd case has to contain a lot more information, so I kept it a lot simpler.
The '+' is 'Gill San Ultra Bold'. Giving the album name a different makes it more prominent. It is also a lot bolder than the other text.
      I added Ed Sheerans signature paw print next to his name. His products, and even some of his music videos feature this. It is almost like his logo.



My music video switches from past memories to present day. I used different filters to depict the different scenes, which also creates a completely different atmosphere and mood for each scene.
     I used an 'aged-film' filter for the past scenes, because it reflects the idea of the footage being old and used. My initial idea was to make the footage resemble an old home movie of a day they had spent together, and the male character is watching it over and over again, yearning for these memories to become reality again. The aged-film filter makes the footage look worn down, reflecting the idea that he has overly used the footage.
     For the present scenes I have used the 'Day-to-Night' filter. This makes the footage look dark and gloomy. This emphasises the misery the character is feeling. Switching from bright, sunny, joyful footage to dark, depressing footage, creates an extremely clear contrast between his different moods in these scenes. It also emphasises the switch between an outdoor location and an indoor location. It symbolises that he was free and content when he had her, but now that she is gone he is trapped in the past. He can't escape the replaying memories that haunt him.
     I used a mixture of close ups, extreme close ups, long shots, midi shots, and establishing shots. The variety of shots makes the video look more professional.
     I filmed a pan of the wooded location to establish the setting for the audience. The shot captures the mood of the area; the peace and serenity of nature. It indicates that the scene will be happy.
     Close ups and extreme close ups of the actress smiling reflects the happiness they shared. It raises questions for the audience; what happened to make her leave?
     I have yet to watch a video where the beginning footage is repeated at the end of the video, however I chose to do this for narrative reasons. I wanted to create the illusion that the memories are going to replay again, as if the footage is on a loop.  

Final Magazine Advert

This is my final magazine advert, after being produced and edited on Adobe inDesign. 

I have kept the same simple style and colour theme as my cd packaging, so that it is easy for buyers to recognise his album. The black background makes the text stand out so that the image is not too overpowering. 

CD packaging

This is my front cover for my cd packaging. I have kept it very simple like Ed Sheerans real album cover. The text is orange because orange is reoccuring themes in Ed's work and image. 

This is the back of cd packaging. I have again, kept it very simple. I have used the image without the girls eyes in the sky, because I felt it would distract from the list of songs and would be too much. 

I kept the text white, because it is very prominent against the black and orange image in the background. 

I made a bar code on photoshop. 

This is my final CD packaging, finished to a professional standard on inDesign. 

I have kept the front cover of my cd packaging very simple like Ed Sheerans real album cover, but made it a little more interesting by merging two images instead of just using the a simple sunset image. The text is orange because orange is a reoccuring theme in Ed's work and image.

I have again, kept the back very simple. I have used the image without the girls eyes in the sky, because I felt it would distract from the list of songs and would be too much. 

I kept the text white, because it is very prominent against the black and orange image in the background. 

I made a bar code on photoshop. 

Image Editing

This is my original photograph taken of the wood where I have filmed scenes for my music video. 

This is the image after I have edited it, using Adobe Photoshop. I have cropped the image, and darkened the edges using the large airbrush tool. I will use this image for my cd cover. 

I then decided that I needed to add something to this image to make it slightly more interesting. 

I started over with my original image.

I then chose this image of Kate, that I had taken on my phone, to edit and add to the picture. 

At first I placed this image on top of my sunset image, and lowered the opacity. However, the edges of this picture were very harsh as it is smaller than the sunset image. 

I edited the image, by using the eraser tool to take away the harsh edges of the photo. I also cropped the image to focus more on her face, as I did not want her t-shirt or necklace in the image. I also made the image brighter, with harsher contrast using the brightness & contrast control. 

I then placed the image of Kate over the sunset image, and lowered the opacity. I also darkened the edges of the entire image using the brush tool in black. This image ties both themes of the song together. The song is called 'Sunburn' which is represented by the sunset. The song is about his ex girlfriend who is always on his mind, which is represented by the eyes in the sky. It also links to the line "I saw your eyes, and I saw Alice staring back at me".

InDesign learning

To open a document select 'Document', not 'Book' or 'Library'. 

Here you can add more pages in 'New Document' by editing the 'number of pages'. You can also add or delete pages later on if you're unsure of how many you will need.

This is the new document. 

To add an image, you first need to create a new frame. 

If you have Adobe Bridge running in the background your also have access to 'mini bridge', to access your files.

This will bring up last file that was viewed. Here you can access all of your files and images. 

Simply drag the chosen image from the file, into the frame you created. The image will be uploaded as 100% size. This may be too big/too small.

You can fit the image to the frame by using the fitting command, 'Fill frame proportionally', or...

You can access it through the 'Object' option. 

To select multiple images at once, hold down the command/control key on your key board, while selecting the images. Drag all three images to the page and drag out a frame. Before letting your images go, press your right arrow key to split the frame into your chosen number of sections. This will import all chosen images. 

Select the 'fit frame to content' tool in your fitting commands to get rid of any white space. 

You now have separate frames so you can move them and swap them around. 

To create a text frame, you select the type tool and drag out a frame. This is then ready for you to add text. 

Highlight your text and select the text character option ('A' button) in the top left corner. This will allow you to edit your text. 

Here, you can edit the font and the format of your font, e.g bold, italic, etc. 

You can also edit the size of your font. 

Hold down your command, shift and 'greater than' keys to make your text larger. 

You can divide a text frame into columns by using the column tool in the top right corner. Just type in the number of columns you desire. 

To create a 'drop cap' select the paragraph tool on the right hand side. 

You can also find this tool in the 'Window' option. 

You then type in how many lines long you want your drop cap to be. 

Simply scroll down to find your other pages to your document. 

To change your image to the correct format, select the chosen image and go to the link tool on the right hand side. 

To do colour separation you need the image in the CMYK format. 

option, alt, double click on the image to open it up in Photoshop. Go to the 'Image' option, and go to mode to select the CMYK Colour format. 

Make sure to save the image in this format. 

The image is now in the correct format. 

Select the 'eye-dropper' tool and sample the chosen colour from your image. 

You can paint text with this colour by dragging the sample colour over the text. 

To bring a text frame forward or place it behind another, go to the 'Object' option, click 'Arrange' and select the option desired.