Final Acillary Tasks

Front Cover

Feedback for Front Cover of Digipak:

Phoebe: "I really love the simplicity and the shot itself. The text is clear and shows what is necessary and I think blurry background really works and expresses the video. I think the connection between digipak and video is clear and obvious."

James: "I think the colours on the front album cover are really distinct and effective, especially as it is blurry. I like that Phoebe's face is clearly shown to the audience and her mood is reflective on the song itself."

Personal reflection: I personally love how simple we have made the front cover of this album as I think it works well with the theme and tone of the song. Yes the song is simple but that does not mean it isn't good and often songs of the EDM genre often have simple meanings as they are supposed to be light-hearted. The photograph itself is a reflection of the music video as it was taken in the same setting, therefore, it suits the entire theme. The skyline is also very apt as it is a time where the day comes to an end - this along with Phoebe's facial/body expressions give off the vibe of a youth's sadness, which was what we were aiming for.

Mr Kerrigan: "The image you have used is very striking. I like the use of the tall, lit-up buildings in the background of the image; it is very appropriate given the title of the song. There is something about the use of soft-focus that makes the urban setting seem enigmatic. It is, however, fitting that the focus is on your performer. There is something interesting about the way she is looking 'across' the camera as opposed to away from or into it; again, it is very enigmatic. The type-font you have employed is simple but clear, meaning that it is easy to read and doesn't distract from your image."

Feedback for Back Cover of Digipak:

Alex: "I think the text isn't clear as the lights are interfering with it. I like the colours and I think it meets all the traditional conventions. However, it obviously isn't finished therefore I cannot make a proper judgement."

Scarlett: "You can see where the product is going and I like how the information is around the outside so not to interfere with the picture. I think the colours in the picture are really cool and I love that they don't look fake or manipulated."

Personal reflection: I like how in the front cover you can see Phoebe's front and in the back cover of the digipak you can see the back of her - it just makes logical sense and also flows nicely. I think the fact the barcode is in an unconventional place add uniqueness to it. All the conventions of a digipak that were researched during research and planning, e.g. social media logos have been included.

Inside Front

Feedback for Inside Front Cover of Digipak:

James: "Originally the front inside panel was plain and didn't have the text but I really like that it has been added in. It fits really well in the space its in and is clear to the audience in what is says. I like that the shot is really fresh and unedited as it looks more effective this way."

Alex: "The shot itself is so cool. I love how clear and focused it is. Everything about it is sharp and collected and it works really well with the actual music video itself."

Personal reflection: This is my favourite of all the digipak elements we created. I just think the lyrics along with the picture work so well to highlight Phoebe's emotions, especially because facial expressions and body language are not visible here. The current of the water also show how she feels like everyone is leaving her as it is moving in the opposite direction to where she is positioned.

Inside Back

Feedback for Inside Back Cover of Digipak:

Scarlett: "The simplicity and unedited atmosphere of this shot kind of links with the music video itself and how relaxed it is. It works well with the rest of the digipak and I like that the template of the CD is included so it shows the true effect."

Ben: "By keeping the template it shows exactly how the back inside is meant to work. The colours are consistent with the rest of the inside, however I don't like that the shot is off centre."

Personal reflection: This shot is very simple but during the editing process the whole group was drawn to it and wanted to include it in the digipak. I think because this is the section where the CD would be placed it does not even need to be particularly special. However, saying that some critics might argue that it was not very imaginative. This shot ties in nicely with the inner front cover as they were both taken at the same location and therefore the inside of the digipak has great continuity. If there was one thing I would change about this shot it would be to perhaps straighten it up as it is a tad off centre. I also think we could have made the colours sharper - we did try to do this in Photoshop but were unsuccessful as everything we tried did not add much to the shot and made it look dusty and blurry, which was not the desired effect.

Side

Feedback for Side Panel of Digipak:

Ben: "The lamppost is really cool and it works as a side panel. It fits with the front and back cover and doesn't stand out in a good way."

Phoebe: "I really like the incorporation of the lamppost and it works really well as a side panel. The colours match the front and back panels and it all fits together really well."

Personal reflection: I really like this shot and I think it is one of the most effective out of the entire digipak. Again, it will be featured on the outside of the digipak and so therefore to give it continuity points we opted for the night-time shot. The way the sunset and lamppost fit perfectly within the frame in a straight angle gives the spine a very professional feel and is atheistically pleasing.

Magazine Advertisement

Feedback for Magazine Advertisement:

Phoebe: "The finished product looks really good and like it would fit into a magazine. All the features incorporated work and are in sync with traditional conventions of promotional posters."

James: "The text is clear and the colours are really cool. I like the reflectiveness of the expressions and it fits with the music video. The brand is recognisable as there is a connection between the products. The use of the logos is really good as it shows it to be in professional setting."

Alex: "This is a cool poster and I like that the writing is clear and in a large font. It fits the conventional features of a promotional poster. It looks better now that the sizing is correct."

Scarlett: "I think the poster picture and the picture on the album cover work well together as they're obviously at the same location. There is a clear link between the products which is good for the audience and the artist as the brand is recognisable."

Ben: "It's really important to make a link between the products for the audience and the girls have achieved this really well. I like that all the logos are incorporated and the text is clear which is also important. It all works really well, even better now it's the same size."

Mr Kerrigan: "Again, the images you have used are very effective. There is something striking about the difference between the image used for the body of your magazine poster and the image used for your digipak; I like the contrast between your performer facing away from the camera in one image and being side-on in the other. There is a clear sense of interconnectivity between your three products."

Personal reflection: I am glad we made the changes we did as a group because the poster now looks a lot more well thought out and overall just looks as if it was established better. I feel like all the components (e.g. record label logos) are much easier to read and understand and the whole poster itself looks more professional. When looking back on the real media artefacts I researched and blogged about previously I definitely think that our final magazine advertisement has many more connotations than our first edit, this not only shows improvement but also highlights the importance gaining feedback and using your own personal criticism to improve your production. I also prefer the poster now it is the correct size as it meets the criteria of being a "magazine advertisement". The connection between all ancillary tasks are also recognisable and flow well together. On presentation points I think that the chosen font and text work well as it shares the attention with the image itself and the album cover being closely centred shows the audience what the product they are being persuaded to invest in looks like.

Final Production

Feedback

Mr Kerrigan: "I like the idea behind your narrative; there is a clear sense of progression, and it ties-in well with the song. The idea of a literal journey that parallels an emotional journal is a well-established convention of story-telling, and it works well here. I particularly like the night-time shots; they match the tone and mood of the song. There is a nice transition between the day-time and night-time scenes; the use of speeding up the footage in post-production editing works well and is an effective way of time-shifting. I like that there is a sense repeatability in your video; whilst the story makes sense after the first viewing, subsequent viewings allow the viewer to pick up on subtle details, which allow for a more developed understanding."

Phoebe: "I think the girls have made this video look really cool! The corrections which were needed after the first and second drafts have been made, the final product looks really refined the concept is definitely there."

James: "The quality of the final product is understandably a lot higher than the first two drafts. I really like the transitions used and the reversed sequences. I like the fact they've gone off path from their plans in order to avoid continuity issues as I think is shows how versatile they are as a group."

Alex: "This is still completely different to the storyboard but it works. The girls have obviously worked hard and spent time on fixing the issues and I like that they kept putting new ideas in there. I really understand the concept and storyline of the music video and it fits well with the song."

Scarlett: "It was a promising first draft and an even better second draft, this final product is an even better outcome. The audio goes with the visuals and you can see that links are being made. I am really glad the jumpy cuts have been fixed and the music video is more visually enjoyable now."

Ben: "I really love the emotions Phoebe is portraying in the music video and it goes really well with the song. The whole concept works really well and I can easily understand what is going on. I like the use of different shots and angles to portray different messages and meanings and I really like the underlying messages which have connections with the song."

Personal reflection: "I am really proud of our final production. I think that despite the numerous changes we had to make  I think  they were all for the better and the production now looks better than expected. I am also confident that after showing the music video to our focus group that our target audience will understand the story in which we are trying to portray. If there was one thing I would change about the entire process of making our music video, it would be our planning. I think that as a group if we organised ourselves better and had access to all of our planning blogs in physical form I feel like our music video would have been more effective. We might have even been able to film all the footage on one day instead of two."