Though out the creation of this task we have completed a number of promotion packages aimed at the new indie band “Tom and the Teapots” which we created to suit our target audience. In order to create them successfully independent research helped us to develop our own ideas before discussing them and creating plans. These plans were further developed before they were posted on a blog, keeping our work organized so we were aware of work which was still yet to complete.
Our second ancillary (the advert) has been developed from others we have studied of its kind as its colour scheme is allot more varied and therefore contains contrasting colours throughout. The colours within the advert fit in with our 'Vintage' colour scheme which is closely associated with Britain; this causes the indie theme we aimed to present. The layout remains the same as the digipack which has recived positave feedback from our audience.
All three ancillaries have clear connections to one and other due to their colour scheme, Logo, and reoccurring images in high contrast and clothing. I asked a teenaged girl, do you like how the cover and digipak are very similar?"Yes there is a very clear connection between them, which i like because when you see the band advertised you know what the album will look like, its handy!"I think the choice to keep the clear theme was a good one given the great audience feedback.The lack of focal point in the background allows more attention to be made towards the title, therefore its promoting the band name as appose to the bands lifestyle, again widening the target audience. The depth created in this image is something we aimed to include as my studies suggested its more intriguing in comparison to a simpler image. The band logo is also shown, this shows the Brand and allows the audience to familiarize themselves with the Brand logo. The bright red of the logo links to the red strip at the top of he page, this connects the two and allows the logo to look in place. The blurred background at the top of the page also blends in with the smudged album name, marking its importance and joining the two. The sharp yet blurry background is a element which links it to the Music Video, the strong contrast in colour also does this. The twitchy short flashy scenes in the video are also quite representative of the indie style we aim to promote due to the laid back lifestyle it shows. These quick scenes could also link back to the smudged background as the music video on a whole appears a blur. The ending of the video is significant as its left open for interpretation, the buildup caused throughout all three products suggests a romance is nigh yet suspends the audience from knowing all, leaving them waiting for the next album. This is commonly used in promotion pages I have studied as the fan base grows. My blog shows clear developmental stages and shows we were aware of the look we were trying to create throughout, this shows good communication skills as working as part of a team has clearly paid off.
This is the final version of our music video. A few problem occurred thought the production proses such as the weather, which caused other problems as we had less time to film through the day time, and therefore had to shoot as quickly as possible in order to retain the ambient lighting. I believe the overall outcome is very good although i still think there is room for small improvements, which i expected. If I had time to re-edit the video i would add another scene containing a performer, which i would entwine between the story building up towards the finishing scenes, this would add another element which is closly relatable to that of proffesinal music videos. The music is in sync with the actions which i find very important, so I'm pleased, although the video sometimes jumps or freezes in a way this still links with the handheld theme, aimed to create a relaxed look. The settings we used were perfect for the look we were trying to create as there all quite diverse allowing the video to be more interesting as scenic views are included as well as relatable suburban ones. By using a number of different camera angles and and techniques we intrigue the audience as each movement is suggestive of the mood, for example in the beginning when the girl is pouring her tea a cantered angle is used in order to show her importance as its different from the shots containing the other girls, it also may suggest the time of day as in the morning the character may still be tired, this is shown through the off set angle. The lighting progresses throughout as the majority of the dark scenes appear at the start and end of the video showing the progression of time.
Other programmes i used inclued:
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products and how effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?
Due to my in-depth research all four ancillaries contain elements which can relate to real media productions. My varied analysis of previous digipaks, websites, adverts and music videos helped me to find which factors attract attention, display desirable qualities and promote the band in a positive way. I asked a middle aged male do you think the video can compare to other professional videos? He replyed: "Yes, I think a lot of planning and hard work has gone into creating this video and a lot of elements with in it make the video look professional. " I have learnt my research and planning has payed off as i have learnt the key elements to making a music video look professional. Although I believe the both the digipak and advert attracts an audience slightly older than we aimed this only widens our target audience allowing a larger following. Our first ancillary (the digipack) has clear links to the advert and the music video as the locations, contrasting colours and the cast are the same, research has shown this type of branding helps gain and keep the desired target audience as well as familiarize all three of the productions with each other. The digi pack contains images which link to relevant scenes in the music video which develops and challenges real media products as research has told me that this is rarely done. Audience feedback has told me this is a positive thing as its more rememberable and leaves fans wanting to know more. The back page of the digipak and the inside CD slot contain the same 'foggy' look due to the tone which changes the reoccurring high contrast images. Originally all the images except the cover contain this same look, we later edited this to add colour and brighten it up and add a focal point. The reoccurring colours not only link the pages of the digi pack but also link to the whole project. Our second ancillary (the advert) has been developed from others we have studied of its kind as its colour scheme is allot more varied and therefore contains contrasting colours throughout. The colours within the advert fit in with our 'Vintage' colour scheme which is closely associated with Britain; this causes the indie theme we aimed to present. The layout remains the same as the digipack which has recived positave feedback from our audience.
All three ancillaries have clear connections to one and other due to their colour scheme, Logo, and reoccurring images in high contrast and clothing. I asked a teenaged girl, do you like how the cover and digipak are very similar?"Yes there is a very clear connection between them, which i like because when you see the band advertised you know what the album will look like, its handy!"I think the choice to keep the clear theme was a good one given the great audience feedback.The lack of focal point in the background allows more attention to be made towards the title, therefore its promoting the band name as appose to the bands lifestyle, again widening the target audience. The depth created in this image is something we aimed to include as my studies suggested its more intriguing in comparison to a simpler image. The band logo is also shown, this shows the Brand and allows the audience to familiarize themselves with the Brand logo. The bright red of the logo links to the red strip at the top of he page, this connects the two and allows the logo to look in place. The blurred background at the top of the page also blends in with the smudged album name, marking its importance and joining the two. The sharp yet blurry background is a element which links it to the Music Video, the strong contrast in colour also does this. The twitchy short flashy scenes in the video are also quite representative of the indie style we aim to promote due to the laid back lifestyle it shows. These quick scenes could also link back to the smudged background as the music video on a whole appears a blur. The ending of the video is significant as its left open for interpretation, the buildup caused throughout all three products suggests a romance is nigh yet suspends the audience from knowing all, leaving them waiting for the next album. This is commonly used in promotion pages I have studied as the fan base grows. My blog shows clear developmental stages and shows we were aware of the look we were trying to create throughout, this shows good communication skills as working as part of a team has clearly paid off.
This is the completed debut album by Tom & The Tea Pots, we wanted to keep the cover of the Digipak and the advert very similar so the artiest was branded and fans would recognise the style, although different sized font have been used, to draw attention to the advert in particular. The album name is bigger than the artists name, so that more attention is drawn to this, the '&' symbol has been used in both the artist name and the album name, linking together, creating familiarity between the two titles.
The band logo is also displayed clearly, allowing the audience to familiarise themselves with the Brand logo, research helped largly in creaing the logo and acted as my main sorce of inspiration. The bright red of the logo links to the red strip at the top of he page, this connects the two and allow the logo to look in place, as well as attracting the eye as 'red' is a very striking colour. The colours within the advert fit in with our 'British' and 'Vintage' colour scheme, the image has had the contrast altered, but there are still splashes of colour shown, Red, Green and Blue, which are colours mainly associated with Britain, this causes the indie theme we aimed to show.
This is the final version of our music video. A few problem occurred thought the production proses such as the weather, which caused other problems as we had less time to film through the day time, and therefore had to shoot as quickly as possible in order to retain the ambient lighting. I believe the overall outcome is very good although i still think there is room for small improvements, which i expected. If I had time to re-edit the video i would add another scene containing a performer, which i would entwine between the story building up towards the finishing scenes, this would add another element which is closly relatable to that of proffesinal music videos. The music is in sync with the actions which i find very important, so I'm pleased, although the video sometimes jumps or freezes in a way this still links with the handheld theme, aimed to create a relaxed look. The settings we used were perfect for the look we were trying to create as there all quite diverse allowing the video to be more interesting as scenic views are included as well as relatable suburban ones. By using a number of different camera angles and and techniques we intrigue the audience as each movement is suggestive of the mood, for example in the beginning when the girl is pouring her tea a cantered angle is used in order to show her importance as its different from the shots containing the other girls, it also may suggest the time of day as in the morning the character may still be tired, this is shown through the off set angle. The lighting progresses throughout as the majority of the dark scenes appear at the start and end of the video showing the progression of time.
This shot is used at the start, and has a clear focus of the girl as she appears three times. This over the shoulder mid shot shows the girl from angles, keeping the full screen busy. The red hair of the girl keeps the colour theme and again suggests the indie theme. The bright hair also contrasts with the subtle cream background. I believe this scene looks very professional as audience feedback has told me. It also links to previous ancillaries as this girls has appeared in images on the digipack.
I like the movement in this shot as the camera follows the focal point of the girl by using a panning shot, and the handheld look adds to the indie feel we aimed to create. The natural lighting automatically sets a slight contrast to this scene, this was further edited to exaggerate this more. The full length shot of the boy reading represents the character under a positive light, which audience feedback has told us is a good thing and has received praise from an older age group.
This ambient scene is similar to other scenes which occur throughout this video. The lighting is also bring so the view can clearly see what is happening. The panning in this scene also works well as it shows both a full length hot and a mid shot, showing diversity. The white snow contrasts with the dark clothing both characters which sets them apart from the landscape. The perspective of this shot shows depth and the houses in the distance get small as they are further away, research has told me creating depth intrigues the audience.
A FUJIFIL FinePix S1600 camera was used to take the images for the digipack as the many functuions it posseses allows us to capture the highest quaility possible.
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages of the project?
We all have experience using the technologies we did throughout this project as past experiences have taught us the quickest and simplest ways of doing so. Although we struggled to use the software to create the website we thought it easier to plan and complete the other ancillary task, the advert rather than waste time learning the program in and out. After making this decision we found it easier to link both the ancillaries as research told us the advert could be a more detailed version of the digipak cover. 
We used publisher to create both these ancillaries which was fairly straight forward, fireworks was used to edit all the images which was difficult at first but the more we became used to it the easier it became, a layering technique was used to add parts of colour to the images which I learnt and believe to be useful and I think works well with the look we were aiming to create.
We used a camcorder to record our music video although wanted it to look edgy so decided against using a tripod to hold the shots steady. I believe this worked well as the shots almost look like their point of view shots, putting the view in the scene and making them feel part of the story.
A FUJIFIL FinePix S1600 camera was used to take the images for the digipack as the many functuions it posseses allows us to capture the highest quaility possible.
We used imovie to edit the video which was really easy once we knew how to use it, although we had to change the format of the files so they could be uploaded to this program using software called handbrake, although this took longer than expected we caught up the time lost during the editing stages and had no problems doing so. The background sound was removed and the song was added which was very simple to do and added to the professional qualities. Some clips were cropped and changed from landscape to portrait so the screen size remains the same throughout and the contrast on all the clips were enhanced so the moving images were more defined and the contrast between dark and light was created, adding to the indie theme. Short black fades between each scene is individualized from the one before it, it also adds to the flashy look we aimed to create and black links with both the colour theme and the indie lifestyle. A camera was used to take the images for our digipak and advert which resulted in them being sharp and therefore easier to edit.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
“I like the distortion at the top of the advert and how all the colours contrast. Although I think the logo doesn’t really blend in with the look of the rest of the advert and is aimed for an older age group. The name doesn’t attract my attention either as I think it’s rather random and doesn’t have any connections to music, I think the teapot part of the name doesn’t suit the style of music. I like the leaves in the background as its clearly showing the time of year, which I notice changes in the video, showing the passing of time. I like the images in the digipack as especially the black and white ones as they are subtle yet attractive. The edited images are also unique as I haven’t seen any other digipack like it, I like how one thing is drawn to attention by being in colour, it looks cool. I like the hand held look in the video as it gives the affect of a home make move which fits the style of the music. The song choice is also good and my friends think so too. Although I think the tripod should have been used in the more serious scenes. The story line is quite humorous but in a subtle way.”I believe all three completed ancillaries were successful as they are relatable to ones viewed by the public today. A great deal has been learnt throughout the completion of this project due to audience research and feedback.
“The video is edgy and is defiantly fits my style of music, I love it! ”
“The video could of contained a variety of scenes in different locations although I do like how it tells a story which relates to the lyrics, its very well organized.”
“I love how parts of the images in the digipack are coloured and some arnt, its different and looks quite funky.”
“I like how the digipack and advert look almost the same, it sets a good theme.”
“I don’t like the font used on the back page of the digipack as it doesn’t really stand out from the background as well as it could, and I think gray images should of contained a little more colour. I like the saturation as the colours contrast really well and look deep and meaningful. In the advert I like how no cars are on the road behind showing the person is alone, resembling the style of music it represents. The colour of the logo is a little bit too bright and I would suggest placing it on the left as appose to the right. I like the timing of the video as the footage is in sync with the music, like the party scene is upbeat in comparison to the other scenes. I like the ending how the kiss happens as the music ends and leaves it to the viewers own imagination to what will happen next.”
This feedback contains both negative and positive comments which if done sooner would of helped me develop my project further. Although I think this feedback is very informative and has helped me understand factors which attract the ages group its aimed at.
