Evaluation Question 4 (Complete)

Evaluation Q4.
21/02/2015
Vasil

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

Evaluation Question 3 (Re-filmed)

Evaluation Q3.
21/02/2015
Vasil

 What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Video Link in case of failure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw9TrRM0BiA 

By evaluating my work, I was able to gather the feedback from my audiences and other audience types to comment and give my feedback on what I could improve on within my media products and what they thought was good and beneficial to the products too. It is important to evaluate my work so that I can decide and look at the work I have produced and see whether the task given to me was a success or what other elements could I involve to make my product more successful. Furthermore, by evaluating my work I would be able to understand all of the elements I have included and whether or not I have conformed or subverted to the genre§s conventions. By having a rough cut on YouTube, I was able to get my inch target audience to evaluate my music video. I also showcased my M.V to meet my peers in a classroom setting and get them to evaluate it in the same way and give me evaluative points from which I can improve.

I used YouTube to showcase my music video so that I would be able to achieve a wider and more global audience will help by giving me constructive feedback on my music video. By doing this, I was able to relate to it as an audience and help me improve it. YouTube allows me to get my music video globally recognised from other countries, due to the large global scale of YouTube. This allows me to see what a larger audience would think of my music video and how it could help me develop as a producer by taking on the constructive criticisms and make my music video better. As YouTube allows people to view, and share videos, it would be beneficial for my M.V. to be on the website as it would gain my music video more views and more importantly, opinions as viewers would be able to share, it would be beneficial for my M.V. to be on the website as it would gain my music video more views and more importantly opinions as viewers would be able to share and view the video at a simple click of the left mouse button. This also allows more viewers to gain a better understanding of the genre I am trying to portray and will let me know whether they think the production is conventional or relatable to the niche audience.

Another positive is to let the audience comment on my music video and share their own opinion by commenting on the music video. I had some very constructive feedback which included comments such as "Some clips were too repetitive" (Seen in the long sequence where the lyrics were repeating themselves); "Lip-synch needs improvements"; "More editing is needed". There are also comments such as "I like the artist`s clothing". These were just a snippet from the comments I received within my music video on YouTube and I took all of these on board when it came to improve my music video. With these comments, I was able to see an unbiased view of what society thought of my music video and gain feedback with which I gave my best to make my music video better than it was.

The comments also made me feel like a producer,  as it made me feel confident about my skills as a producer. I also felt that if I had more editing knowledge, I would have been able to gain the full confidence of my target audience. I was able to take on the constructive comments and as a producer felt that I could make small changes to my music video. By taking on the comments, I believed that I was able to incorporate the the wanted needs into the music video and make the product more professional than the audience thought was now very reliable.

For example, with the comments asking me to add more scenes, I filmed with two cameras and shot several new scenes from Thorpe Park, which introduced more positive times (for the couple) in the narrative. This way, I showed more artist memory and made the audience try to connect with the artist better as this aid them relate to her. I also improved the lip-synch by listening to the song and adjusting the time frame of each scene in order to have my artist singing the correct lyrics. Some of the scenes such as the smoking and the love couple pretending to be on the Titanic in the park had to be increased by 20%. (Using the re-time function) in order to improve the synchronisation. I also added in new editing effects such as: flashing to make the music video more entertaining and up-beat fro the audience. This can be seen in the Thorpe Park scene where the couple decided to test some rides. This way, the audience felt their needs were met and they felt more entertained. I found those changes as essential into making my artist more representational and also make my music video more professional for the music industry.

This feedback would help me if I was working within the music industry as it would help me make my product more entertaining. It would help me develop as a producer as I had to try and develop my product with new technologies (Such as more graphic effects) and make the artist perform and use more of their time to help make the music video more better and more entertaining for the audience. The feedback would be able to help me develop as a producer myself as I would have to correct my own mistakes and change what I thought didm`t go well for the audience even if it looked good. I would have to take on board the opinions of others and improve my teamwork skills through the feedback if I wished the music video to be more successful.

Evaluation Question 2 (Updated)

Evaluation Q2.
21/02/2015
Vasil

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

Evaluation Question 1 (Updated)

Evaluation Q1.
20/02/15
Vasil

The brief given to us was to produce a music video by an artist of our choice that either challenged or conformed to the music genre that he falls in. Another part of the brief was to produce two ancillary pieces (a digipak or a poster that once again challenged or conformed to our chosen genre-indie and possess the representation that our artist had). My group consisted of Ayesha and Lilly.
I believe that our group worked well as all of us had plenty of ideas for our ancillary and music video designs and each of us held a specific set of skills (For example editing the music video with the use of filters or being able to download a music song for the video and then implement it in the video itself) that the other member did not have which meant that we could and did create three very professional products (The music video, poster and digipak) that followed the conventions of the indie music genre and did not challenge the made up artist (Autumn Healy) from the original artist`s (Lana Del Rey) representation to her target audience (17-25 year old males and females).

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

Since the task given was to produce a music video and ancillary texts that either challenged or conformed to our chosen music genre (indie) and artist representation, I decided and agreed with my group that we should produce a music video for the artist Lana Del Rey and the song that was going to be produced is (slightly monotone and dull) "Blue Jeans". As I protested that the song will be very boring for our audience as it is too monotone and the lyrics were slightly depressed, the group agreed on my argument and the song was improved by finding a remix of it. Thus our chosen song is called "Blue Jeans RAC Remix". Another valiant point would be that by having a remix, the music video product would become more desirable as the original niche target audience would slightly increase as the remix contains tones and instruments (such as an electronic keyboard) that are conventional to the house music genre.

The other benefit that the artist (Lana Del Rey) would experience this way would be that he would follow Richard Dyer`s theory (In particular his second paradox that states that the artist must be present and absent from the world at the same time). By having a mix, my artist will be visible in both the indie and house worlds which would result in a higher audience percent. A music video is a video that can contain a narrative (a short story that can be from the memories of the artist), concept (an idea that the artist would want to share with his audience with the use of a story that contains a moral) or performance (A new dancing move that the audience would want to learn or see the artist perform in an instrument that would have plenty of ) theme in its sequence. The music video is usually used as a weapon to introduce the artist or his ideas to the audience and for the record label, to promote the artist and the sponsored merchandise in order to achieve a greater profit/revenue. The use of such skills would create more interest in my artist, which would increase her viewing percentage.

In the Indie music genre there are several very important conventions that I followed in order to portray my artist (Autumn Healy) from the original artist representation that I analysed from the artist Lana Del Rey.
Firstly, it is conventional for the filming location, which is usually a cheap place (a studio, apartment or park). This is because the artist (Lana) would want her audience to concentrate on her in order for them to remember her outline and what she sings about. This also conforms to Andrew Goodwin`s theory which suggests that the artist is the main feature in every genre`s music video. While some music videos do not have their artist (portrayed as they might be a concept based music video), my music video did, which meant that I conformed to Melon`s theory by creating a narrative styled music video. This was as a result from the Target Audience research that I had carried (more on this later) in order to research what the demand for such a music video would theoretically achieve.

Another benefit to such a setting is that it creates a romantic theme which highlights the artist`s true feelings and causes her to open up to her audience, causing them to respect her and idolise her. This would appeal to my target audience of 16-26 year old females as they stereo-typically enjoy the idea of a love and romance (Which was proven by my target audience research). I overall chose to conform to the indie genre as videos within this genre typically include a cheap, naturalistic setting to make the artist the main attraction, therefore allowing the audience to see their idol through out. 

Nevertheless, by creating a Narrative based music video, I challenged the indie genre as I introduced a story with my music video, rather than a performance that had my artist playing a guitar. This way, the audience were also a witness to the second part of Goodwin`s theory which stated that the artist would always try and show the brand of clothing or performance equipment that they used. In my case, Lily (Our artist actor and director) used fashionable clothing from the 60`s (flower crown, short skirt, etc.) in order to create a diverse fashion style that would be memorable for the target audience. Another convention that was followed was that the use of vintage clothing, which would make the music video more diverse and memorable for our target audience.



The use of strobe lighting in the scene where the couple (Lana and her love interest) were sitting on a bench challenged the indie genre as it uses more simple lighting effects, such as high key lighting. However, the use of strobe lighting did conform to the house genre as house artists/dj`s use strobe lighting in order to make the music video more interesting and appealing for a club scene. Another place where I used strobe lighting was in all of the roller coaster scenes (that we used as fillers), in order to make the repeating parts of the video more appealing to the more niche part of our target audience. Meanwhile, while the audience that support house liked it, the indie genre audience would feel either confused or intrigued as the music video would be more diverse that the standard indie music videos.
Another indie convention within my music video that I followed, in order to appeal to my audience was by editing on Final Cut Pro X and applying the filter "Aged Film" to clips when the artist first meets the main love interest. These filters were layered over several arranged flashback shots which provided the audience with a more diverse and dynamic narrative compared to other indie music videos. By doing this many indie artists enjoy to apply for their niche audience, in order to differentiate their look compared to other genres in order to become more noticeable. 

Adding a range of costumes and connotations of clothing, creates a more diverse and memorable video for the audience to enjoy and for female members of the audience to aspire to.
The use of costumes conforms to the indie genre, as the artist's look is typically simplistic in order to be easily remembered and copied by the fans. This can be seen in the scene where the love couple are wearing very common clothes such as: a checked t-shirt which is relatable to the female majority of the audience. This overall links to Dyer's Star Theory as in his first paradox he believes that an artist can be ordinary and extraordinary, simultaneously. This is evident in my own music video as her expensive clothing links to the romantic lyrics and highlights her extraordinary talent and clothing choice. Then there is the sad relationship story which contrasts with the higher position in society that is uncommon to have.

I also conformed to the indie genre by using iconography, specifically drugs and cigarettes, and making them the focal point through the use of extreme close ups at the end of the music video. As the artist drops the alcohol bottle and takes drugs, (using the kuleshov effect) death intervenes with the artist without the audience being able to view the inferred. This is relatable to the indie genre as artists within the genre typically highlight elements of their life with their audience in order to create a strong bond with them. This then appeals to the target audience as they can relate to her habits and even bond with her emotionally.

Finally, I also included cinematography techniques in order to highlight conventions that conformed to the indie genre. An example would be the use of a panning shot when Autumn skates in the same park. Skate boarding are activities conventional to indie artists and are evident within many videos. An example of this would be Ellie Goulding`s song "How long will I Love you". This shot also slightly adapts from the house genre as I used fast editing on Final Cut Pro X through the re-time function and select to 20%. 

Thus my media product did overall conform to my main music genre (The indie music genre). Nevertheless, some effects such as strobe lighting did challenge the indie genre convention for such camera effects.

Final Group Ancillary-Miss Georgiou

Final Group Ancillary

Final Group Music Video-Miss Georgiou

05/02/2015
Final Music Video
Vasil Nikolov

Video url: http://youtu.be/xDWOiPs_KOM

West Hatch High School: 16807
Vasil Krasimirov Nikolov-4240
I awso worked with:
Ayesha Bhatti- 3018
and
Lilly Badcock-3204

Final Music Video-Miss Georgiou

Final Production Post

16/03/2015

Vazl

WestHatch High School 16807

Vasil Krasimirov Nikolov 4240

I also worked alongside:

Ayesha Bhatti-3018

Lily Badcock-3204

Rough Cut Post-Miss Georgiou

Rough Cut
29/12/14
Vazl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dONv995sA7k

When it comes to production, it is important for the benefit of the record label to make sure that the music video they are producing is acceptable for the target audience they are marketing. Furthermore, it will help them develop solutions to any problem they have encountered as the audience would supply the label with plenty of feedback (Such as the one seen below).

We did hold a screening in front of a small group that fell under our target audience of our rough cut as well as upload the music video on Youtube. We found that it was a good idea to upload it to Youtube as the website supplied us with quick and fast responces by the Youtubers that have viewed our music video. We received responce from the screening, however Youtube supplied us with quicker responces. With the feedback that has been given to us, we will be able to further tweek our music videos in order to make them more proffesional and at the same time more able to be sold by the record label.

There were several positive comments. One stated that we possesd good editing skills as well as positive colours and a wide variety of coamera angles that have made the audience feel engaged with the music video. We had also received some negative comments. The three main ones were that the narratives needs to be slightly more clear; be less repetitive and have slightly more effect. While some may say that it is bad to have a negative comment, I believe that it is benneficiary for us as it supplies us with a segment that we can improve in order to fully perfect the music video and gain the most viewers from our initial target audience. 

Group Digipak-Miss Miller (Complete)

Group DIGI
18/12/14
Vasil Nikolov

Once we completed our individual digipaks, we held a meeting in which we portrayed each other`s digipak and decided on how how our overall house will look. This was a good idea as this way, we can make our group digipak more professional due to each other`s strengths in the different areas that a production of a digipak possesses. Following the meeting, we agreed to mainly use Lily`s digipak and include several segments from Ayesha`s such as the front cover as it fitted better the theme that was given off by lilly`s front cover. Our group worked together to implement the different segments by each being responsible for the different segment that we thought should be changed. I will give a quick glimpse over what the group liked/disliked in each other`s suggestions. 

Firstly, my one:

In the meeting my group did approve the use of my font and the artist's signature. The group commented that the text that was used would allow the audience to bond with the artist as the font would provide them with a more personalised and authentic copy. This would be conventional for the indie genre, as it links with the added signature on the quote page that Lily has which, would result in the the digipak to posses a more personal touch for the audience. The image was also approved, however, we all used it in our digipak proposals so we dud not use it personally from my digipak. The picture was liked by all three of us as it creates a bond for the artist with the audience (due to her looking straight down the camera lense, causing the audience to look up to their idol). The image is also conventional for the indie genre as the costume (which falls under the Mise-en-scene category) is naturalistic and does not fall under the mainstream attire that modern society is used to see. Following these positive notes, the group did give several adequate reasons for not using my overall digipak. They had decided that the background for the digipak is too unrealistic. The use of the bright blue had neutralised the dark effect of the golden grass which made the overall background clash in a very weird and unnatural way.  This is due to the mismatching images seen in the cover itself. The other comment was that the rest of the design was too bland as it was mainly white. This would bore the audience as there is mainly one colour. Also the use of random objects would be too confusing for the new listeners as they will not be able to make a connection between the props and the lyrics of the artist`s main best-seller (blue jeans).  This is why, we only implemented the font from my digipak. 

Then Ayesha's digipak.

From Ayesha`s digipak, the group fell in love with the front cover as it contained the correct elements within the cover. The digipiak included several positive elements that contain the wanted conventions of the indie genre. For example, the image of the front cover created a very similar bond with the audience. However, unlike my one, Ayesha`s looked far more professional which would gain the trust of the audience to our artist. Clothing, is also conventional to the indie genre and would appeal to the female members of the audience due to their admiration towards the artist. Meanwhile, the male segment of the audience would also appreciate the artist`s appearance as it contains flirtatious elements in the pictures. For example the use of  bigger looking lips, feline make-up and flirtatious clothing that purveys the shoulders of the artist. Overall, the layout of the front cover is conventional to the indie genre as it  uses the romantic theme that we wished to incorporate in the digipak. In this case, the use of flowers for the background contained naturalistic features which are conventional for the indie genre as indie artist like to look like they have connected to nature. The font that Lilly used is also in a hand written style, that results in the digipak to become more unique for the artist, resulting in the creation of a bond between the audience. Also the layout is eye-catching as the colours used in the digipak link successfully together. Nevertheless, the group decided to use some of them (Similarly to my one) in the general digipak, as her digipak had a slight problem with the same colours. As they were the same, trhe group believed that male audience might be put-off due to the overly-feminised layout.
 
                                                          Lilly`s digipak + End product

Finally comes in Lilly`s digipak, which we found perfect as according to the group it contained the perfect layout for a personalised-style digipak. The elements that Lilly used used within the digipak had several designs that conformed to the indie genre. It should be added that they have represented the artist as well. The mentioned segements sometimes fall in the range of themes that have been introduced in the music video. For example, the colour choice such as: red connotate the theme of love/passion. This is conventional for the indie genre, as indie artists like to have themes that either collide with their feelings or highlight the main message of the artist's songs which causes the target audience to bond with the artist and relate to the artist.

The text that Lilly used within the fan acknowledgement page and the song list will be used in the group digipak as they form a bond with the audience under the view that the digipak would become more personal for the audience. These two slides were chosen as the written text was far more detailed and personalised than either my quick famous quote or Ayesha`s short message. Both pages conform to the indie genre as the personalised segments make the audience bond with the artist due to the style of the digipak would be more personalised and original.

The extra immages that were accepted to be included in the general digipak from Lilly`s appealed to the target audience as they would make females to admire the Artist`s effortless yet stylish look. Meanwhile, the male target audience would find certain clothes attractive. Thus the group chose this digipak as our main layout for the genreal digipak as it was mainly conventional to the indie genre rather than confused of which genre it represents (Like my one sadly did). Furthermore, the layout is involving for the audience as it supplies them with romantic inclusions as well as the artist`s thoughts. Although this digipak featured most of the elements we will be using, the front page was not accepted by the group as it did not blend like Ayesha`s could with this digipak. Furthermore, the black font did colide with the darker segments of the background which, resulted in the text being less readable. 

We the edited the front cover, colours and font blends well with the other pages in the digipak. However, we kept the other elements the same as we believed that they promoted the artist well enough to the audience while still conforming to the indie genre. This final digipak would appeal to our target audience as it contains romantic themes as well as represent the indie genre and our niche audience would appreciate.

The artist is placed in the centre with the use of a mid shot, which promotes the artist further. This highlights the artist's importance as she is looks straight into the camera lense which causes the audience to look at her, which is inviting and causes a relationship to build. This also causes her to look confident as she smokes and looks into the camera, showing evidence of Dyer's theory as she shows her rebellious side, which is conventional of the indie genre as dynamics are changed. The artist also wears natural make up in each picture, reflecting an old hollywood look which is both unachievable and achievable as the look is simple to re-create. The artist also had back combed hair, linking to this and with a flower crown which is conventional of the indie genre as naturalistic features are included caused that artist to look unartificial. The artist also holds a cigarette in the extreme close up of an extra picture. This exposes and promotes the audience as she takes up the whole back page, following Goodwin's theory and also conforms to indie genre as habits such as this link to depressed emotions which link to the sound of the music and the messages within, this can link to older members of the artist that also possess the habits. The other extra image is a mid shot of the artist standing and smirking at the camera as she's placed in the centre of the shot. 
Another extra image is used as the artist is placed in the middle of the shot as mid shot is being used to show this. This promotes the artist further as she becomes more recognisable.  The artist wears traditions 60s/vintage clothes reflecting that of an earlier time which is conventional of the indie genre and causes the audience to look up to her new/revolutionary image. Autumn also wears natural makeup, with an element of the 1960s for example nude, big lips and winged eyeliner. This causes her to look more natural and not over done, which causes women to look up to her and also appeals to male audience members as she looks flirtatious and intriguing therefore, her image can appeal to a wider audience.

Next, the design and layout of the images within the digipak include scenaries that are not overly attention grabbing, the background is naturalistic which links to indie genre and also does not take attention away from the artist, promoting her further to the audience and highlights the idea that she is the most important element of the album. The background elements make the pictures more interesting to look at especially the black roses on the front cover however, are still natural and the artist is still in the centre of the images therefore, the audience focus on the artist mostly building a larger bond with her especially as she looks straight at them through the camera angles. The creation of a relationship with the audience conveys love messages within the songs and the roses on the front cover and CD disk as she shows care for her audience and the appreciate this, as her songs and music videos become more personal from the artist. This again links to the front cover as roses are used behind the artist. 

The name of the artist is written in bold style using a 'snell hound' font from Photoshop that adds a more personalised element for the audience, on the digipak cover. This causes the name to stand out against the background and as it is located in the centre, it would cause her to become the main point and be recognisable in stores. This highlights Goodwin's theory as the artist is intriguing, exciting and at the same time promoting himself to the fans. The album name on the front is written in the same colour, adding a personal touch as well as being extremely vintage. This links to her look and themes within the romantic elements in her music. The song titles are written in black/crimson red in order to stand out and look more diverse, linking to the indie genre and macking the back cover look more authentic. The note is written in the same style, as the front cover which adds to the personality of the artist and creates a positive bond between one  another while showing that she is caring about them. A signature of the artist is added at the bottom, which makes the digipak even more important to the fans as it makes the digipak more unique.

The language used is colloquial and features lexicon style that is easily understatable by the audience. This is evident through the fannote as it shows an informal writing style and the describtion of her life is in a down to earth style. The use of this language makes the audience more engaged as they would respect her easily.Also the use of a shorter-structured sentence makes the digipak more memorable, which is a positive element for promoting and selling. The digipak is conventional of the indie genre as the audience are appreciated due to the idea that the album is for them.

Overall, the devices that have been used connote various messages in the digipak. For example, the black and white colours that have been used within the front cover portray to the audience to the theme of good vs evil. Such an ideology appears in her lyrics and shows that she has encountered both good and poor moments in her life. This is conventional to the indie genre as the artists usually adds elements that has experrienced and wishes to use ans an ideology. The use of the notebook alongside type written text is used to create a bond between the artist and the audience as it makes it more personal from the artist and shows her care for her fans. This also creates a uniqueness effect that is conventional for the indie genre as it looks more diverse compared to other genres. We have used each others digipaks to think of new elements for some of the pages. The use of old filters creates the unique style that we wanted to have. 

In Conclusion, by applying each other's elements that were approved from their initial digipak, we have finalised as successful digipak that conforms to the indie genre. Through the use of these conventions, the digipak would appeals to our audience. For example, the use roses and the colour red would look more appealing to females as they  did wish to see from the target audience results, the use of romantic arthefacts. In all, one believes that creating a group digipak proves to be much easier than creating an individual version as each member possessed good ideas that would contribute to the general which would make the development more efficient. Furthermore, as some of our group`s memebrs were better at Photoshop, the quality of the product would be much more different. Overall, I believe that we produced an excellent digipak as we did split our jobs in the places where we were good at.

Group Magazine Advert-Miss Miller

Group Magazine Advert
17/12/14
Vasil Nikolov

In order to achieve a fully professional magazine advert, my group colleagues and I had a meeting where we portrayed our individual magazine adverts and started to develop our personal one using ideas from each of our individual magazine adverts. This allowed us to produce a final magazine advert that was conventional to the indie genre and could link with our digipak as well. We crafted our group magazine advert using Photoshop, which allowed us to use several tools that are usually unavailable on paint. This way it allowed us to produce a final magazine advert that we were all pleased with.

My Magazine Advertisement Proposal

For my group magazine Advertisement, the group decided that the choice for the artist`s position was too bold...This quickly resulted in the drop of the overall design as we agreed that the artist would take too little space due to the size of the tree. Furthermore, the way in which the artist`s face was put on the moon was too clunky as even with the use of the blur tool did not hide the edges of her neck. A part from that, the group did like the colours that were used as they were warmer than the colours of the other choices. Another feature that the group liked was the writing techniques that I had applied as it made the writing more personal for the fan base and the font colour was a lot more readable than some of the versions. Nevertheless, the group also commented that the amount that was written was too enigmatic, which would confuse or annoy the audience. This is why we decided to use the white colour from this design as well as the theme font for some of the writing as it complied with some of the indie conventions (Such as making the writing more personal in order for the artist to make a bond with his audience and make them feel as if they have known each other from a distant period). 

Lilly`s Group Magazine Advertisement Proposal

From Lilly`s Group Magazine Advert we took the style of writing, layout, background, Artist clothing and the extra information that she had written. We found the advertisement to by far superior to my creation as the audience could clearly see the artist as well as develop a personal bond as she is looking at them on an equal eye level. The cinematography used in the magazine advert was more conventional for the indie genre as it allows the artist to show himself and what he likes to wear to his audience. This is why we decided to use her cinematography. We also had a slight criticism which was the added filter to the picture as it made the otherwise bright colours very gloomy. The layout was far easier to understand as it showed to the audience the artist with all of his traits and negative habits. This was far more conventional for the indie genre than my one as it is was easier for the artist to build a relationship. Furthermore, the clothing that was senn in the advert complied with the artist representation. Another criticism that we had was that the colour of the font (which was mainly black) was too unreadable. This resulted in the writing being more unreadable due to the natural black spots in the background, caused by the shadows casted from the tree or the artist. This is why we agreed to modify the text by making it white which increases the readibility.

Our Group Magazine Advertisement

In the beginning we had decided to keep Lilly`s mid shot as the shot was portraying our artist in the indie conventional genre that also conforms to how Lana advertises herself on her Albums. However, we wanted to experiment with the black and white filter and make only Autumn be in a black and white colour. This way, we could make the artist more viewable for the audience. Nevertheless, we did experience technical difficulties with the hand tool as it affected the entire picture rather than Autumn herself. Following a 23 minute haggle, we deiced to abandon that idea and add a different picture...The one of Autumn resting on a tree. This way, the audience could see Autumn in full and this way both attract more of the male audience as she is a spiffing gal and show the clothing that she wears in order to promote her fashion to the fans that want to follow her footsteps. This is how, we ended up with a long shot of the artist resting on a tree. An extra feature was that we kept the idea of nature surrounding the artist which falls under the conventions for an indie artist as she would use a cheap background leaving the audience to concentrate mainly on her. Also the use of the tree, gave us space for our writing to be in white as the bark is a darker colour and the use of white would be easier to read and portray her mostly innocent to the audience. Furthermore it would be better for the music labels as they would not need to give too much money for the photography and creation of advertisement. Meanwhile, the use of CGI or other special effects are more costly and might lead to less attention being given by the audience to the artist.

We kept the artist dressed in the same vintage shirt and floral head crown as it maintained the 50s style we were searching for. This causes the artist to be seen more important however, the effortless look causes her to become ratable to her audience. This therefore still conforms to the indie genre as the artist looks less mainstream and more memorable which is a feature that many indie artists aim for.

Even though we changed the picture, we did want to keep the artist holding a cigarette in order to portray her personality that is rebellious and thus still conforming to a typical feminine image as she shows her negative habits that are typically portrayed within the indie genre as she appears to be earthly and poses human weaknesses such as the need to satisfy her urge of nicotine.

We also kept Lilly`s layout as it was not complicated, and was more powerful to our audience. It can be argued that this way it links to the indie genre as the idea of simplicity can be seen being used by other indie artists such as Ellie Goulding. As previously mentioned the picture contains the element of nature as the artist is surrounded by trees and is wearing flowers in her hair. This is conventional of the indie genre as it contains a naturalistic scenery, which acknowledges the importance of the artist and makes her stand out to her audience. This results in a positive promotion tool as the audience concentrates mainly on her. 

Once again we conformed to the indie conventions as we made sure to keep the lexicon as colloquial as possible. This way, the language doesn't take away attention from other key features such as the artist and allows a lot of people to be able to read what is written. This results in better promotion of the artist as she would have a greater audience. We have kept all of the information that Lilly had implemented in her magazine advert  thus keeping the shortened date (which is memorable) and the use of the phrase 'includes hit' points out that the album will have all of her popular songs as well as some new songs. IT links to previous successes and further highlights her importance.

The target audience of the indie genre would appreciate the magazine advert as many of the conventions we had incorporated in the advert were mainly following the indie genre. However, It should not be fully disappointing for the house genres as we have used conventions that follow the house genre. Conventions such as the use of brighter colours do follow the house genre as they provide the audience with more bright full and more eye-catching balance. Compared to these types of colour, the indie genre uses more simple and sometimes darker colours. Meanwhile, the indie genre fans, have received a layout that is more known to the indie genre. This is due to the simplicity of the layout and the fact that this way, the cost would be far lower than a house genre would cost. The target audience is from both music genres, so we had decided to make sure that our magazine advert contains the basic conventions from both genres that can be mixed between the two genres. I should say, that we had successfully managed to incorporate some of them. This way, we should be able to have a high target audience from the two different cultures 

In Conclusion, I believe that our group did yield a very professional magazine advert that conforms to the indie genre conventions. It uses the correct mise-en-scene for example, the vintage clothes and make-up and naturalistic setting to typically make them stand out from the other performers. The advert appeals to my chosen target audience as every aspect was chosen in great detail  and any decision had to be agreed on by all three of us. The techniques used to make the audience bond with the artist (for example the cinematography as the artist looks down at the audience) creating a personal connection and involving them into what she is doing. Working in a group made the work far less stressful as it means that we would always have a supply of ideas in case the original backfires. Furthermore, not all of us are good with Photoshop, which is good in group work as it means that we would have a member that can do the work in the most professional way, while the other can aid with the design.

Individual digipak-Miss Miller (Updated)

Individual digipak

04/12/2014

Vasil Nikolov

There are two main reasons why I chose to produce a digipak:
a) This is a popular style in recent times and provides the fans with an album that is produced in lesser quantity and higher quality. It contains the artist`s favourite quote and contains high quality graphics that contain interesting literature/design of this special edition album which due to the low production number is more unique and satidfying for the dedicated fans.
b) By each member creating an individual digipak, ther group bennefits from being spoilt for xhoice from the different ideas each digipak has. This should provide the group with plenty of design once we start our group digipak which would result in a more proffesional digipak.

The colours that were chosen to bge incorporated within the digipak were primarily used to represent the artist and then seconadarily to remind the audience that the album is not a pure indie genre due to the slightly uncinventional colours. For example the warm blue and the warm autumn yellow were used as an incentive for the audience about the character of our artist. The blue colour`s connotation is to represent the artist as being down to eart and normal while the use of the autumn yellow is to represent the artist as a cheerful person that is kind-hearted. Both colours are unconventuioan lfor an indie artist as they usually use further simplistic colours such as pink or white in order to portray their innosence to the audience. Meanwhile, warmer colours are used more by the house/electro genre as they tell the audience that the artist is happy with his life and that they do not posses a dark side.  This would result in the audience believing that their artist is a nice persona and that their are happy at the moment. Furthermore, the use of warm coloyurs might send them the incentive that the artist is in love as a usually romantic music videos contain more warm colours that send uplifting emotions across the audience. The clothing used by the artist further promotes the idea of romance as it would cause the audience to see her feminine side, resulting in a promotion of love by the artist. In the other segments of the digipak, the audience would see that there is a high usage of the colour white as well as red and green. The reason for choosing the white colour is to portray the idea of purity as the artist does not wish to overcomplicate the design and because white is a convnetioanl colour for the indie genre. The colour red can be spotted on all of the cards that have been implemented as well as the colour green on the bank notes. This si to introduce to the audience the two other themes that the artist will have in her album. Red gives off the connotation of danger, which is conventional for the indie gwenre as the artists like to share something dangerous that has happened to them. Also the colour links with the theme of gambling which is a hazard that can corrupt the individual`s mind and make him think only about winning more money (The thrid theme that is introduced by the colour green). This should excite the audience as I have not specified whether she or her love interest aontain such an intoxication of the mind. The use of the colour black in all of her and the album`s writing is to portray that the artist has a slightly conservative personality and that she does not change too much. This is unconventional as inide artists, like to look different from the mainstram of music which leads to many experimentations with themsleves. Nevertheless, the audience should find the colour eye catching and should be able to see the writing clearly within the album.

My artist (Autumn Healy) is in the front cover and I have placed her on the side of it as it takes up most of the space which highlights her to the targeted audience. The use of a mid-shot is conventional to the indie genre as it shows the artist's importance and puts her as the main focus for the album. The artist`s personality suggests that she is confident which results in the audience forming a bond with her. Her representation arrives from the artist looking straight at the camera. Once again, this is conventional to the indie genre as the artist always wants to be the main object for the audience to concentrate on. Similarly to the magazine advert, the artist is wearing a a flower crown in her hair which relates back to the indie genre as artists wished to look vintage which deprives the artist from being branded as mainstream. As the artist holds a cigarette (iconography) it makes her conform to Dyer`s theory as it portrays her as being seems rebellious which would make her more down to earth and result in the audience developing a stronger bond to her. The reason for it being conventional to indie genre is that it would promote their habits and give the artist an in depth view on their life. As Autumn wears natural makeup and vintage clothing, I have decided to implement the nature element thorough the digipak. This is why in many of the images there is a leaf or a tree that is represented in the digipak. This element would cause her to become more distinctive for her audience. 

The design/layout used throughout the digipak contains a simple yet naturalistic background. The use of a warm background as well as the white background in the other slides, portrays to the audience that the artist is relaxed as well as happy with the simple colours that have been used. This might add to the perception of her personality as it allows the audience to understand that she is happy with the little of life leading to her being percept as more humble. The use of a field and a sky with a white cloud is used to make the pictures more satisfying as the overall design is clear. This conforms to the indie genre as the artist is using a cheap, naturalistic settings. However, as the artist takes half of the front cover, the focus is not fully concentrated upon the artist.

Her name is written in a italic, white writing at the top of the front cover in order to portray the artist in a more feminine way. Furthermore the use of the colour white, in the heading is used to mix with the cloud and thus incorporates a more "soft" view of the artist. This once again links with the gender of the artist and would make the audience believe that the digipak is more personal than the standard CD case. This would result in the artist`s name to stand out and make it more recognisable to the the public. A part of the CD, this writing feature has been incorporated throughout the album name, causing it to become more personal. The other type of writing is more retro as it would remind the audience of a typewriter. This would signify the importance of her message to the audience and would link with her personality as she does prefer to use more vintage methods. The writing used on the back cover only portrays the top 3 hits of the artist which have been incorporated in this digipak. Her personality is conventional within the indie genre as artists typically include small and unique features that  separate them from one another and make themselves more memorable for their audience. The writing style is quite simplistic as it uses colloquial features that link to the British music culture. This way the artist can link to her main audience and build a connection that is based on her cultural understanding and wishing to still be a part of that culture.

A part of the different colours that I had incorporated in the music video, I have used other elements of everyday life that affect the individual`s thoughts, beliefs and habits. Elements that I chose to include within my digipak could be seen in the music video for the "Blue Jeans" song as they connote varying messages. The back cover is presented as a table cloth on which the audience could see a bank note and a card. This links with the music video as well as presenting the theme of gambling and corruption such as money to the audience. This would intrigue the audience as they would wish to know what has happened in the music video. It can be argued that such an element is unconventional for the indie genre as these elements link with the themes that are introduced by the artist, rather than the artist himself. This therefore links more towards the dance genre as their type of videos contain a theme that the artist tries to portray to the audience.

Photoshop was the main software from which I had created my digipak. Overall, I believe that the I was much more successful at using Photoshop for my digipak than my magazine advert as the photographs did not need to be of high quality. I was much more successful with the use of tool such as the quick selection tool as well as the cropping tool. Due to the simpler background, the editing looked more professional as many of the segment were bright and more realistic. The chosen handwriting  makes the digipak more personal. However, I did struggle with using tools such as the resizing tool as it stretched the objects more than I wanted them to. To overcome this, I Decided to select the closest size to the wanted one and then select it to a different angle.

In Conclusion, I believe that my digipak has conformed 75% of the indie genre. Furthermore, themes complying to the genre have been introduced without distracting focus away from the artist. I decided to mainly conform to the genre as my main target audience did support this genre, however, I did spice it up with the other genre I had a high percentage from the survey. I believe that creating an individual digipak will my group with more ideas that can be used to produces a professional final digipak.

Individual magazine advert-Miss Miller (Updated)

Individual Magazine Advert
03/12/14
Vasil Nikolov

Magazine adverts are important to the record label as they promote the artist and his/her product. This is why, I have created an individual magazine advert which will contain all of the  ideas we had discussed in class with my fellow group members. Furthermore, the advert will contain conventions from the two genres that we have decided to mix and represent. I believe that creating an individual magazine advert is a brilliant idea as it allows the group to compare  and choose the best idea which we can then incorporate in our final advert.

Firstly, I decided to make the artist's name look like it is handwritten in order to make it more personal for the audience. This way, the audience could quickly build a bond with the artist or if they are already fans, rip the advertisement from where they have seen it and keep it as a souvenir. Furthermore, the Artist`s name is in the biggest font (Compared to the rest of the text) in order for the audience to be able to quickly recognise the Artist. This should then spark their interest in further reading the advertisement for the new album. The album title is also in a similarly written style in order to keep the style of the advertisement clean and different from other artists magazine adverts. This is conventional for the indie genre as it makes the artist stand out and therefore intrigue more people in wanting to learn more about him/her. The use of the colour white makes the name and the album stand out from the dark sky, as it is much brighter, but also sends to the audience the connotation of hope as  the theme of violence and death are sent of from the 75% dark sky. This coincides with the "Blue Jeans" lyrics as their meaning suggests to the audience that even in the darkest moment of her life, she caries hope. Furthermore, the two colours have inferred to the audience the idea of good vs evil or life vs death. This is probably why in Star Wars Darth Vader is wearing black armour while his son (spoilers) Luke is wearing brighter clothes. Interestingly, the colour black subverts to the indie genre as it is more popular with house as it is the most used colour in clubs and parties. Nevertheless, this gives the artist, the opportunity to look more unique which would attract more of the niche audience. 

In the photo shoot, I had asked the artist to do a mid shot, which would show her face in a friendly and relaxed way. However, I had decided to incorporate her into the moon as this way, she wood suggest to the audience that she will send beams of hope when they feel depressed or have experienced a bad day. Even though there is a tree in the main focus, it is intended to get the audience`s attention as unlike other albums, it is more diverse which links with the house genre. Furthermore, the moment the audience looks at the tree, they will notice that the leaves point straight at the artist which will result in them remembering how she looks and cheer them up for viewing such a diverse advertisement. Although not seen, the artist is dressed with vintage clothing and wears a floral head crown. Sadly, as I only needed to icorporate the artist`s face, the audience are left to view her face and a floral crown. Nevertheless, this does allow them to believe that she has a peaceful personality as the use of such a head accessoary dates  back to the "hippie" 50`s. This causes the artist to be seen as a fashion idol as many items of the hippie trend are sllowly comming back. Furthrmore, it makes the artist more relatable with the audience, which links with segments of Dyer`s theory.

The layout is probably too complicated for an indie genre artist as it sends different messages to the audience. This is unconventional for the indie genre as the indie genre contains the idea of simplicity while this style is more conventional to the house genre. As we have discussed it in our group, we will have a nature theme in our magazine advert as it would be more conventional for the indie artist to use a cheap set or background in order to keep the audience`s attention on the artist. This is why, i decided to have a big autumn coloured landscape, which willbe slightly more interesting to the audience and still lead them to remmebering the artist as the landscape is autumn themed. Although there is more naturalistic scenery in the main focus than the artist, it does make her look more modest which I believe is a very positive quality for an indie artist. 

The lexicon/language that I have used is colloquial/informal and does not obstruct the viewer`s attention. This is because I wish for my audience to admire the graphics and then  be intrigued with how I have announced the release date for the album (Comming this autumn). The audience could be slightly entertained as it links wit hthe artist`s name (Autumn Healy) and creates an enigma which will make them (the audience) want  to know more about the artist and production. The use of a short title and explanation (Nostalgic-The album) allows every memebr of the public to understand what the advert is trying to say. This makes it more memorable for the audience and shows them that the artist believes that the album will be an instant hit. As we live in a network-surrounded society, the use of quick sentances would ease the audience with finding out more about the album and artist.

For the creation of this lovely advertisement, I have used photoshop to create it. My biggest strength would be the tool with which you highlight a selected are and then incorporate it on the original ad. Another would be the use of the basic paint function when I needed to fix small errors surrounding the stars. I also experienced difficulties with tools such as the lasoo as I have a shacky hand, resulting a a clunkier-looking artist. Another issue was mkaing the artist more embeded into the moon. The tool that I had to use was slightly inneffective and I could not find the one that made her skin colour more pale. Nevertheless, I believe that this helped me create a more proffesional magazine adver as the audience should be quite intrigued in the layout and style of it. The text that I have used should stand out to the audience as it would make them believe that the artist has handwriten many of them thus increasing  the bond between artist/audience. Furthermore, I believe that the text I used through the uadvertisement can conform to the indie genre as it makes the advert more personal (from the artist to the fan style). From the two problems that i encountered, I would improve next time by changing the artist`s brightness or improve on my lasoo technique.

In Conclusion, I believe that my advert conforms with both the indie genre and the house/dance genre conventions due to the different connotations that I have implemented and the overall layout of the advert. The Mise-en-scene that I had incorporated (makeup, setting, etc.) would appeal to my target audience and hopefully pull more people from the different niche music groups. Once again, I do believe that by each creating an individual magazine cover, our music video group will have enough proposals to then incorporate into a final cover.

Photo-shoot-Miss Miller

Photo-shoot
20/11/2014
Vasil Nikolov

It is important that we have a photo-shoot with our artist as with the pictures, we should be able to create our digipak and magazine advert. This is why we made sure that we took relevant images with which, we can portray our artist in an appropriate way for our audience. The images that we have included on the advert and digipak are vital in informing the audience about what our artist is; her lifestyle and what to expect her to be. Basic, the use of this photo-shoot allows us to portray the character of our artist with which we can intrigue our target audience. It is also important that we make her attractive for potential fans that wish to purchase the artist`s music. Therefore conducting a photoshoot would give us many opportunities to show off our artist and produce images that can be included onto the advert and digipak.

We took this picture of the artist (holding a cigarette) looking straight down the camera lense in order to present her as string and powerful.I intend to use this photograph as my magazine advert as the picture is conventional to the indie genre due to the artist portraying his bad habits bad habits such as: smoking, drinking and other bad habits. These habits are the typical for artist of the genre as they can portray their "broken" personalities, making the audience feel interested for them. The artist is dressed in vintage 50`s clothing which follows the original artist representation and the use of a cigarette collides with the codes of the 50`s as smoking was seen as "cool" in that period. This creates a relationship between the fans and the artist as she allows them to find out more about her personality and personal interests.

Here, the artist is "chilling" on a bench and having a smoke. We decided to photograph her due to the natural background. Furthermore, as we have filmed in the autumn, the autumn colours are matching the artist's name (Autumn), which creates a link for the audience to remember. I intend to use this picture on the digipak for the back cover where she is looking at the cards table due to her bold look and having a poker face. This picture is conventional to the indie genre as the artists is using cheap background that makes the audience less distracted from her. The audience might feel connected to her as the artist is looking straight down the lense, making them  feel like they are having a chat with her. This creates a connection between the artist and the audience and connects to a segment of Dyer`s theory.

I intend to use this picture as a backup for the magazine advert. As my magazine advert requires autumn background, I can possibly use it on photoshop so I can extract and mix it with the moon and stars that I have downloaded. This picture is conventional to the indie genre as similarly to the first one, the artist is showing her rebellious behaviour.

Finally, the artist is resting on a tree in Victoria park. Filmed in a mid-shot manner mid shot to get a view of the artist's clothes. I intend to used this picture for the CD of the digipak as one side of the Cd where she is enjoting nature, while on the other side, there will be a picture of playing cards with money. This picture is conventional to the indie genre as the artist is using a cheap background and allows the audience to see our artist`s natural beauty. As the shot is different from the previous, it allows the audience to see the artist in her entire form and beauty. This causes fans of both genders to fall for her and wanting to hear more from her and see more of her.

In Conclusion, having a photo shoot was a very successful decision to do, as we used surroundings that made the pictures more conventional. These images conform to the indie genre and give our artist naturalistic features. Each group member will be creating drafts of digipaks and magazine adverts on paper and then on Photoshop.