Evaluation 4

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

 Audience feedback is really important in order to find out what the audience liked and disliked and their expectations are based upon the media product to show to them. It is more important than you think as it helped me improve my digipak and advert as well as my music video. As you are the only person who sees your imagination , sometimes your own visual ideas aren't exactly what they are to other people, so their feedback allows you to remember your ides aren't majority and/or appealing to the target audience always, so feedback is essential;. The feedback given to us was from our class mates and our teachers and this was actually very effective as the target audience for out videos were our classmates as well as our teachers, so to get their opinion to change or alter or keep what worked well drastically impacted the outcome.

My feedback was positive as well as negative and this really outlined that it is important to create what audiences want but you have to go with majority over minority for success. The positive feedback helped me understand what we were doing well and what we should do more of. The negative feedback helped me understand what we need to do or what we need to improve on, and what isn't exactly working well, thus allowing me to improve the products and make them up to the expectation of the majority, which in this case was my class mates. With the majority on my side, it'll prove success and sales which in the media industry is key.

Evaluation 3

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

Evaluation 3 from danny wright

Evaluation 2

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

Evaluation 1

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

There was many types of media technologies which I used in order to produce my music video for this project. Technology helped me with the research, planning, construction and even the evaluation as without the use of software like word or even the internet, this would not be here..

As part of the planning I had to create storyboards to obviously portray my vision for my music video and to show the basic idea of what i had in mind in a particular sequence or style etc. With the help of technology, I was able to create an 'animatic' which is basically when you put together all your thumbnails from your storyboard and then put them into a video creating software to make it a video. The software i used was 'Final Cut Pro' and with this software i was able to add the thumbnails and music together and see what should go where, what works well and the rough narrative i wish to show. This was through my use of the iMac's we have at school which is another technological advantage to help me create this project.

The internet's biggest social media website for streaming video's is YouTube and i used this platform when researching music videos, if that'd be explicit, or uncut or even to see if other students have created similar videos or had great ideas to inspire me helped very much. It was at the stage of working alone that i realised that the style for in my video was very rare and only dominated by the artist Eminem and it was only because of technical sites like YouTube or twitter where i could find fan bases to help with ideas.
The internet is also full of information and it's i got all my research for my Digipak's evaluations, conventional digipak's and inspiration for my own. The internet also allowed me to travel back in time to see the biggest Digipak's and what made them successful. The Digipak itself was created via Adobe Photoshop along with my Magazine poster, where i also got all my social media link logos' from.

When constructing the music video, all my filming was done by the use of DSLR Cameras and persoanlly i managed to apply all my previous knowledge of the technology from last year's project as well as skills I learned throughout other subjects like photography and graphic design, however, I still learnt new things while filming because the cameras used in my video weren't the same as the ones i would use for photography so to figure out and learn how to change shutter speed or ISO settings were challenging until I figured it out or looked at tutorials on YouTube. The SD cards used in the cameras were directly compatible with the iMac's at school so the transfer of footage was easy and then the uploading of footage from the Mac to Final Cut Pro was as simple as drag and drop. When it came to editing i used a lot of previous knowledge again to aid me in effects and transitions and this was all provided by one single application. Because the Mac's were up to date with the latest software's, i was able to produce high quality videos with amazing resolutions and frame rating, which ran at a minimum of 30 FPS (frames per second) which creates a smooth video.

Digipak Update 2.0

As you can see there's not a dramatic improvement of the design besides the colour, hue and saturation change. After feedback, I decided to make the minor adjustment as it was less jarring and now I prefer it. I simply lowered the saturation of  Liam's skin colour and darkened the red's used as its more complimentary to the dark shades of black and whites I used.

Music video

This is my final music video production for the song '3 AM' and I published it directly to YouTube. I will be publishing my evaluation's for the project to follow this on my blogger soon after.... 

Photoshoot

Photoshoot from danny wright
These are the photo's that made it into potential Digipak photos and i explain why i did or didn't use them in a PowerPoint presentation shared on Linkedin.

Bloody Bathtub

This is the state of the bathroom after my cousin and I filmed the bathtub scenes for my music video. I was reluctant to make a mess at first but with some fun and excitement, we tried to make a mess obviously for a more immersive setting. The fake blood used was in fact home made by myself and all of that mess was from one small bowl as scene in picture (left). The home made blood was a mixture of cocoa powder, casting sugar, food colouring and water - there's an exact guide on how to make it but I myself just went with the flow and managed to make it.Although the blood was entirely edible, it didn't taste nice and that's why in the video my Rap-Star was reluctant to have it in his mouth.

Woodland Location Photoshoot

These were just a couple photos to show the location and setting of part of my music video and to show how I managed to get the location so bright without daylight or professional lighting. I adjusted the ISO and shutter speed on the camera to be able to capture more light in a longer take, thus making the camera's exposure higher and the pictures brighter.

Little Feedback

After having feedback given to me, I was informed that my Digipaks design worked really well, however there is a little conflict from colour choice, so i will be updating my Digipak by adjusting the saturation of my rap-star to fit in with the contrast levels I have created to make it less jarring.

New Digipak

This is my new Digipak design for my artist Liam. B . My Digipak obviously consists of a front cover, track-list, and a CD. However, as I explained in my Digipak analysis for Eminem, there was no extra content provided in Digipaks, so to make it all the more appealing to me audience I am including a lyrics book to all of his songs with signed posters and a second CD which includes special interviews and behind the scenes footage for those die hard fans.

Again, because of my research, I felt that simplicity was best in this case and kept colours quite simple too. Except the red is there to compliment the shades of black and white as they work amazing together as a trio of colours. The red should stand out on a shelf and attract the consumer like a moth to a flame and the mid shot of the artist gives the audience a clear shot of who the artist is. I really like how this turned out and the housing style of a forest at 3 am is relevant for the music video and song name as that's the hit single in this album.

Further Font Rerearch

With further research for fonts i decided that "Mr Headlines" was a really good font choice as again it produces the boldness and seriousness I want as well as a simple look. I just decided that i visually appreciated this font better and i feel the consumer would prefer this too. This is the font design I used for my Digipak and Poster design to promote my artist.

Font Research

Due to obvious reasons, the previous font used is not suitable nor conventional or even a connotation fro my genre, artist or music video. So this resulted in doing further research for fonts and here are my three favourite fonts so far.

I feel as if these fonts are most suitable for my artist as they're simple and bold which suggests a firm and serious person. It is also very clear to read and due to how bold it is, it'll help consumers to recognise the simpler font easier.

The New Song Choice

I have chosen the song 3 a.m. by 'Eminem' as I feel it has the creative words and narrative for my ambitious intentions. The songs narrative is about Eminem blacking out and killing people, to then wake up in confusion as to what happened. It is a very macabre narrative but I feel I could really portray this creatively with my persistence and eager imagination.

New Poster to Accompany The Digipak

This is the deign I have created to promote the album in magazines, newspapers, and pretty much and print media available. I have a clear shot of the album itself taking up most of the room as that's obviously the selling point and I have included all platforms where the album can be found, iTunes, Spotify etc to show the fans where the music is available. There's also a QR code which in this day and age is very very convenient as all you do is hover your mobile phone over the code and it will redirect you to the platforms as to which the album can be found saving time and maximising efficiency. Then there are links to all social media platforms where his fans can keep up to date with the latest news and advancements in the artists life, creating a more communal aspect to this rapper.

Rap Digipak Reasearch

Here is Eminem's Digipak for his 'Infinite' album.

The style for these Digipak's are plain and simple with a clear shot of the artist, like other conventional Digipak's it still includes a front cover, tracklist, CD panel and housing style. Eminem's Digipak doesnt seem to have any additional content etc, so I feel with my Digipak i'll include extra content like another CD or DVD and perhaps signed posters to make the purchase for the digipak worth it.

New Artist, New Story - The Biography

So as I have a new artist, there obviously has to be a new biography for said artist, so I have created a document for my biography for my artist. Synopsis

Born on June 21^st, 1989, in Queen Mary’s hospital, Sidcup, rap musician Liam. B had a turbulent childhood. He released his first album ‘LIAM.B’ in late 2016, and the album went multi-platinum, garnering Liam.B two Grammy Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards which was noted as the fastest-selling album in rap history. More recently, in 2017, Liam. B is said to be releasing another album revival, a highly autobiographical attempt to come to terms with his struggles with addiction and experience with rehabilitation. Liam. B plans to release his second album, in October 2017.

Early Life

English rapper Liam.B was born Liam Birks on June 21^st, 1989 at queen Mary’s hospital in Sidcup. He never knew his father, who abandoned the family when Liam. B was still an infant and rebuffed all his son's many attempts to contact him during his childhood. Thus, Liam. B was raised by his mother, Deborah Birks. She never managed to hold down a job for more than several months at a time, so they moved frequently between North London and South East London spending large chunks of time in public housing projects. "I would change schools two, three times a year," Liam. B later recalled. "That was probably the roughest part about it all."

This itinerant lifestyle left a large impact on his personality. He had no close friends, kept almost entirely to himself and was treated like an outcast at each new school. "Beat up in the bathroom, beat up in the hallways, shoved into lockers," he remembered. Liam. B has been scathingly critical of the way his mother raised him. Through his song lyrics, he has publicly accused her of being addicted to prescription drugs as well as subjecting him to emotional and physical abuse. However, Deborah Birks has vehemently denied all such accusations, and in 2016 she filed a £3 million defamation lawsuit against her son. They settled the case for £25,000.

Eminem attended Welling school, Welling, where he failed the ninth grade three times and eventually dropped out at the age of 17. Despite being a poor student, Liam. B always had a deep affinity for language, devouring comic books and even studying the dictionary. "I found that no matter how bad I was at school, like, and no matter how low my grades might have been at sometimes, I always was good at English ... I just felt like I wanna be able to have all of these words at my disposal, in my vocabulary at all times whenever I need to pull 'em out. You know, somewhere, they'll be stored, like, locked away."

As a teenage dropout, Liam. B found a way to express his passion for language, as well as to release his youthful anger, through the emerging musical genre of hip-hop/Rap. He identified with the nihilistic rage of late-1980s and early-1990s rap music, and he was especially taking interest with N.W.A., the popular and highly controversial gangster rap crew from Los Angeles. He also took early influences from English rap artists, such as Plan B, Dizzee Rascal, and Tinie Temper in the early noughties following through to the 10’s.

He recalled, "I finally found something that yeah, this kid over here, you know, he may have more chicks, and he may, you know, have better clothes, or whatever, but he can't do this like me. You know what I mean? He can't write what I'm writing right now. And it started to feel like, you know, maybe Liam’s gettin' a little respect." Liam. B assumed the stage name Liam. B as the took influence from Plan B. This period in Liam’s life—working odd jobs to make ends meet and desperately attempting to land a record contract was a tough time for him and in 2007, Liam. B released his first independent rap album, forever. Though the album displayed flashes of his verbal prowess, biting wit and flair for storytelling, the low-budget record failed to turn a profit or attract more than local attention.

Career Highlights

Liam. B released Forever EP, which was discovered by Eminem, the legendary rapper and owner of Shady Records. After Liam. B Posted his latest album on every digital music platform known to man, e.g. Spotify, SoundCloud and YouTube etc, Eminem heard about to the rapper's talent and the amount of buzz from his YouTube views sky rocketing. Eminem was so impressed that he signed Liam. B to his Shady Records label. In 2014, after two years of working with Eminem, Liam. B released Liam. B EP. The heavily hyped record became an instant success and went on to sell over three million copies. Liam.B’s first single, "Insane," mixed a childish humor and energy with rampant profanity and flashes of violence—a potent and fascinating combination that felt different from anything else in rap.

The New Genre

The new genre I have chosen to peruse in attempt to recreate a music video is in the rap genre. I chose this genre as it was out of my comfort zone, despite is conventional nature, I am not that well endowed with knowledge on the topic so i felt it'd be a challenge if you will to see if i can apply my media knowledge and creativity to still produce a well made music video.

I am very excited to experience this genre as my project prior to this was contemporary pop and it wasn't that exciting as it was pretty mediocre. My knowledge of music mainly is in EDM (electronic Dance Music) so to step out my comfort zone to tackle this task is actually a good thing as I expend my knowledge.

Research for new Music Video

Here I created a Prezi presentation to show research my extra research to get my ideas and inspiration. I discuss artists who share my ambiguous nature and just show the type of ambiguity i wish to apply.

Changes

Obviously due to the group spiting up, this meant for a new artist which took some more research and analysis to configure an idea and suitable music video idea that could be done alone. So after some further research I felt that if I chose to aspire to very conventional elements it would be easier and then my music video would be just that... conventional. 

However, I decided that an ambitious music video would be so much better and if there was a clear and imaginative narrative that it would not only be more aesthetically pleasing but it would show creative abilities to manipulate convectional genre's to the ever changing music industry. So, I have an idea to research more into ambitious rap videos and try to see if there's a theme of ambiguity. 

New Digipak Design

The drawings aren't that good but this is the rough idea I want for my Digipak as I feel it's conventional to the genre but i also feel as though it fits in well with my ambiguous design style.
The housing style will be consistent with the albums hit song "3 a.m." as it'll be the same location.

Animatics For My New Music Video

This is the very quickly put together and rough version of my animatic, I plan to improve this later on, however due to a tight schedule, the video was my priority and not this. Nether the less it shows and accurate idea of what i want to create.