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

We have done a great deal of research and planning into a variety of music videos. Some of which were not the same genre which ensured that we got an understanding of a broad range of forms and conventions used across the music video media. We have also compared music videos and found similarities and differences which we have used and avoided in our media products.

We didn't just look at music videos, we also looked at the conventions of digipaks and websites and looked at the media products as a whole and spotted the synergy between an artists products. This inspired us and gave us an insight into the music industry and how music is sold.

Mood board of Inspiration

This mood board displays some of the idea's and inspirations for the Cosmo artist. There is a broad range of images that some people wouldn't put together. This mood board shows ideas for all of the media products we produced under the Cosmo name. There are some retro items that we were keen to include to make the references. That includes the music video, the digipak and the website. We all put in our idea's for what we wanted Cosmo to be and also looked at how he would be similar and different to other artists.

Cosmo's Image
We wanted the image of the artist to be different and have his own personality and character. We looked at similar artists and what we wanted the video to entail. We noticed how many artists changed their image in the video and in other types of media. We looked at David Bowie who is famous for his change in appearance.

Selling a Product

After some research we concluded that the purpose of a music video is to sell something. They are there to promote a new song and an artist. We took this into consideration when building our media product. We designed our music video so it could be watched multiple times and the viewer won't get bored. As this is a concept video the viewer can get a little bit more out of it every time they watch it.

We also needed to sell the new artist and get people interested. We did this by featuring Cosmo in the music video many times. We also featured Cosmo heavily in the website and digipak. This will all help to sell the artists image and get him recognized by people who are interested in his music.  

Music Video Theories
When making our music video we thought about the different theories that are associated with them. We looked at what we wanted to make and how it was similar to what the theorists said and we also tried to be a bit different and do something that wasn't generic. We didn't want our music video to be like everyone else's as that would be boring and we wanted a challenge.

We considered Andrew Goodwins theory when making our own video and when analysing others. Often when analysing other music videos I would look for the themes and conventions that Goodwin had mentioned in the past.

Another theorist that I considered when making my media product Carol Vernallis. Some of her views were similar to Goodwins but others were very different. We tried to consider both theorists to ensure we got a wide range of forms and conventions.

Concept Music Video

When doing our research we found that similar genre videos had used concept videos. We wanted to follow on this trend and put our own spin on it by adding some performance so that we can sell the artist. We need to get the new artist recognized and sell his image. We looked into other videos that blended performance and concept and drew idea's from them. This helped us construct our own video. When looking at similar video's we were also mindful of the conventions within the videos we were watching. 

Digipak

When we were researching digipaks we had to consider what similar artists digipaks looked like. We also had to ensure that all of the media products looked the same as we had researched how artist have synergy between their products. We wanted our product to also have synergy to help the customer see the links in the products and sort of make a brand for that set of products. This helps other artists sell other media products.

We linked all of our media products with the galaxy images and the Cosmo image. We made sure that in all the pictures of Cosmo he was wearing the 'Happy' T-shirt to keep the synergy. We also had our own idea's about how we wanted the digipak to look.

Each member of the group made a digipak and we combined elements of them to create a digipak we were all happy with. We then conducted research into what people liked and disliked to perfect our digipak.

Website
Before building the website I conducted some research which included finding similar artists websites and taking inspiration and learning what an artist needs to have on a website. We all found a website that we liked and then discussed why we liked it which helped us plan our own.

We also had to decide how we were going to make the website as we had never built them before. We chose Wix as it is simple yet many things can be done with it. It was easy to use but took some getting the hang of to start with. It allowed us to make a website exactly how we planned it to be. We also found some interesting effects that we used such as the honeycomb gallery which many people liked.

After creating the website we made a survey to get feedback and perfect the product. Many people liked how it worked but said there wasn't enough content. We then realised that in order to sell the new artist we would need a lot more information about him. When we were looking at other artists we had forgotten that they have already got a fan base that know what that artist is all about. 

The website went through some changes as I found that it could be improved. I made all of the backgrounds different so that it didn't get boring and made it fresh. It gave the website more variety and made it look a lot more professional.

Evaluation Question 2: How Effective is the Combination of your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?

The mood we were originally going for with our music video and our ancillary texts was more Psychedelic and hippy with a Gothic and almostGlam Rock spin. When going through the design process we looked at what was and what was not relevant to the mood of the song, therefore we would accurately portray the artist's tone without any confusion. We used the galaxy design due to Cosmo's name being strikingly similar to cosmos. Not only was this relevant to the artist but also very relevant to today's hippy culture in which galaxy design etc. is very popular. When looking at how to present the imagery etc. we looked at artists such as Pink Floyd, Boy George and David Bowie who were visually similar in a variety of ways and appeal to a similar target audience.



One of the posters that we have on our website uses imagery that is on the back of our digipak. This was implemented in order to create a clear link between the merchandise and the digipak, therefore promoting the album further. When asking people which posters they liked more, they told us that they much preferred posters 1 and 3 because they merge better with the background and also fit better with the rest of the ancillary text. The first poster uses an image of Cosmo taken straight from the video itself, therefore promoting the video as well as the album. People who have already watched the video would see this poster in particular and notice that this is a scene from the video that has been dressed up to fit with the galaxy theme. This poster also promotes Cosmo's tour dates that are shown on the website (creating another link to something else we have created).





MAKE-UP




When considering the artist's make-up the general theme and colour scheme was kept in mind. To keep it from looking less hippy and moreGlam Rock the eye shadow was toned down a little bit, however by keeping the glitter and diamonds it loosely linked to the galaxy theme and could within reason be linked to stars. We also kept to the purple colour scheme by using purple eye shadow. As our music video contains very little reference to the galaxy theme and the colour scheme it was extremely important that we use the make-up to show this. On the website we also use yellow therefore the shadow on the upper eye was not completely irrelevant.

When looking at the video itself you can see we show this make-up a lot in the throughout. This meant the fact that we had little reference to the general theme that surrounded are artist wasn't so bad. To cover this up we made sure there were a lot of shots of Cosmo wearing the make-up. The reason we had little reference to the galaxy theme was because it was extremely important to us to make links to the 60's thehippy era in practically every shot possible meaning links to old cartoons such as Mickey Mouse or old toys such as Rock Em Sock Em Robots. If we had made more reference to our theme than the 60's. the video may not have matched the song because of the style and era in which the music was created.

COSMO'S IMAGE






COSTUME

In the video Cosmo wears two outfits, one being a dark Gothic military jacket and the other being a T-Shirt saying "Happy". The T-Shirt acts as an ironic statement that contrasts against the moody and dark atmosphere of the video and the song. Below is a mood-board presenting what direction we wanted Cosmos image to adhere to; as you can see we wanted Cosmo to retain his mysterious and almost Gothic persona while retaining the 60's easy going and at times very odd vibe. In the video Cosmo wears a leopard print bandanna. This is a clear reference to bands such as Guns N' Roses which is just one of the artists we took style influence from. We also took influence from the likes of John Lennon, using the tinted circular sun-glasses.







ARTIST LOGO


We have used our logo on a variety of our products. We have used our logo mainly on products such as our merchandise , digipak and also our website; this is the image which ties all of our products together and regardless of design tells you that this product promotes Cosmo as an artist and brand. I feel our design is unique and well presented. A lot of our peers liked this logo when it was shown to them, therefore it has appeal to a range of people regardless of music taste.



As you can see we have incorporated Cosmo's logo into the merchandise that is 'available' from the website. This also includes the galaxy theme that I have made multiple references to. In actual fact this is where the galaxy theme stemmed from. We originally took the idea further when I started designing a variety of t-shirts, bags etc. and had the idea to use the theme of galaxy, stars, nebula's etc. due to Cosmo's name resembling the cosmos as another name for galaxy. From that point on we stretched this idea onto every aspect of Cosmo, much as we did with the logo.

Evaluation Question 3: What Have you Learned from your Audience Feedback?

Throughout the construction of the project and at the end of production when reflecting on the end result, audience feedback has been particularly influential for us to evaluate how well we have achieved what we aimed for with our music video and accompanying ancillary texts.

We got feedback in all stages of the development of the music video and from the first draft we got some quotes from people. We put the main quotes together so that we could discuss how we could improve. We also had to keep in mind that this isn't to everyones taste.

These comic strips illustrate some of the responses we received from our initial research into the target audience; in each panel the two (or three) most common responses are represented, i.e. the majority of respondents were aged 16-19, followed by over 31's.




One of the most useful things we learned from this feedback is that digital download via iTunes, Amazon Mp3 etc. is currently the most popular way in which people consume music, and, likewise, digital forms of promotion such as an artists' social media presence influences the consumers interest in their releases, whether it be a new single, EP or album. For this reason, we tailored our marketing for the up and coming artist COSMO greatly towards social media - the Facebook and Twitter profiles that we created were imbued into the website, which also promoted digital material such as the music video and a gallery of photographs.









Some of the respondents commented that they enjoyed our use of Psychedelic effects, the placement of unusual objects that reference the 1960's and 70's such as the lava lamp and the toy robots; similarly, some said that they think the video is unique and different. For this reason-
















Many people loved that our video was so different and wasn't like everyone else videos. We were the only group to make a conceptual video which made it different and stand out which many people told us in the feedback. We found this out from the feedback that we got on multiple pieces of our media. They also said that they like that all of the media has synergy. We were very glad about this feedback as our aim was to be different and this feedback proves that we have achieved our goals.

These stock images boldly illustrate the general Primary and Secondary audience groups for our artist. As our research has reached both male and female respondents, from mostly the 16-19 age group, followed by +31's, the positive feedback we received as presented above supports these targeted groups; both the younger and older groups enjoyed the references to the 1960s and 70s. As COSMO aims as an artist to revive psychedelic and folk music by infusing it with modern Pop and Electronic, and so the target audience is as follows-

Primary: young and eccentric

Secondary: more mature, appreciate
nostalgia of the 60s and 70s


Following the responses to the online survey, we interviewed in person some members of the Primary target audience - young people who have diverse taste in music and culture; I feel that these interviews successfully reflect the survey responses, as the general consensus is that our media products (music video and digipak) are unique and stand out, likewise our artist is original and although taking influence from the likes of David Bowie and Marc Bolan, is distinct as a contemporary artist.

Evaluation Question 4: How Did You Use Media Technologies in the Planning and Research, Construction and Evaluation Stages?

Presented in GIF is some of the software that we have used; throughout research and planning, construction and evaluation we have used a variety of software from programs from Microsoft Paint to Adobe Premiere Pro, online tools such as PicMonkey and SumoPaint, and Social Networks from Facebook and Twitter to website template creator Wix.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

In this presentation I discuss some of the technology that we used in the research and planning stages of the project.

                              

In addition to these software and online tools, we repeatedly used more elementary programs such as NotePad, Word and Paint from Microsoft. For example, we used NotePad and Word to create basic lists, and Paint to put images together.

Using Microsoft Word to create a moodboard; we benefited from using this

software by quickly and easily bringing images of inspiration together.

Creating a timetable in Microsoft Word; we benefited from this software by

quickly and easily creating lists of props, costumes and ideas, and creating

schedules and timetables - this made it easy for us to get organised.

Similarly, I used the 'Notes' tool in my Apple iPhone 6. Whenever I had last minute thoughts or ideas

the day before shooting for example, I took note of these to then discuss with the group either when

next speaking in the Facebook chat group or when I next saw them; this was useful to record

ideas to not be forgotten, for instance I needed to improve the lip sync edit and in general

edit when next working in Premiere

CONSTRUCTION

Throughout the construction stage, consisting of the production and post-production, the SONY Handycam we used was key for capturing footage, as was Adobe Premiere Pro for editing; these were used repeatedly to produce test footage ad a number of drafts of the music video, before heavy final editing for the final construction.



SONY AVCHD HD Handycam


Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 video editing software

In the above video I illustrate some of the technology we used in Construction, how we used it, and
how we benefited from using it.




In addition to the SONY Handycam, we also used a Fujifilm Finepix SLR for some of the construction. As Kaitlyn happens to own an SLR camera which is more powerful and professionally targeted than the Handycam, it was effective for shooting, for example, the performance element of the music video; however, when shooting more spontaneous and last-minute material, we used the Handycam for its availability within the Media Studies department and its ease of use.


Shot with Fujifilm Finepix SLR



Shot with SONY AVCHD Handycam

In the construction of our artist's online profile, we created a website using Wix; we benefited from using this software as it was very straight-forward to use with simple drag and drop tools and options.

EVALUATION

Throughout the Evaluation stage of this assignment we have used a range of software and online tools to present our own thoughts and the feedback from our peers, and feedback from the audience of our music video.

Finished Digipak

Above is Kaitlyn's final draft for the digipak. Because of some of the feedback we have changed certain parts of the digipak. We also included a picture of Cosmo from Georges digipak. We thought that this was needed as we needed to get across the new artist. We also thought that we could improve on what we had already produced.

Social Networking

This is the Facebook page which features links to Cosmo's content and also creates hype for the content. Fans can like the page so they can get updates. We have used a variety of pictures that all show off Cosmo's image and get him recognised.

This is the twitter page that has just been made so that we can create more hype around Cosmo's other products. The twitter page is like many other artists and many people follow their favourite artist.

Production Diary #22 (Group Post)

In today's session one of our Media teachers watched the current draft of the music video (as in the comparison split screen), and gave some feedback; in anticipation of a final draft, she suggested we make some precise tweaks to the lip sync, add some more interesting and psychedelic frame movements, film more arty shots of Kaitlyn and scrap the clips from cartoons as they may suggest a weakness in that we ran out of footage and ideas.



Although the set deadline for the final draft was today, our teacher has given us some leeway to make these few changes. We are under pressure to wrap up the final construction as soon as possible, particularly as I am only available on Monday and Tuesday of the coming week; I have come up with a few ideas, which will be brainstormed with the group, to replace the cartoon clips and supplement the shots of Kaitlyn. This includes a shot of a hand tapping along to the song which will go alongside the shot of a foot tapping, and a shot of Kaitlyn looking out of a window in a daze.



As a reminder of these ideas and the general game plan going forwards, I used  the Notes tool on my iPhone. e.g. Bring the shot of Kaitlyn with bunny ears to earlier in the sequence.