Evaluation 4- How did you use media technologies in the contruction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

To conduct research into my artist and other music videos I used the search engine google. To find other music videos to inspire my own and analyse I used YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, as it has a large range of music videos available free of charge. I also used sites such as Wikipedia and the official websites of the bands researched to find out facts and information about them and their music videos.

My research and planning has all been documented in detail on my blog. I have made my blog using blogger as it is easy to use and convenient when working at school or at home. You can use blogger on any device which means I could transport work from school or home without emailing or using a USB. All my blog posts are dated with the date they were uploaded making it easy to locate any blog post I needed. When looking at the codes and conventions of genres I made simple and colourful PowerPoints to put onto my blog, this was easy as I could upload them as images by print screening them. I made some of my planning on paper such as my storyboard which had to be scanned onto the computer so I could put them onto my blog, again all I had to do was imbed them as images. 

To make my print artefacts I used a website called Canva. Canva allows you to make many different types of print work and both CD and magazine advert templates are provided on there.  My CC cover and insert both required the use of images or screenshots from my music video. These images were good but were slightly too bright than what I wanted as I wanted my text to stand out over them. I uploaded all of my images onto Photoshop to edit the brightness levels as I thought this software would not ruin the clarity of my images. After this they could be uploaded onto Canva. 

Once my footage was recorded I could use the Adobe Premiere Pro software to edit my music video. I found this software the best option for me to use as it is easy to use but also advanced enough to me to do everything that was required. I made sure my footage was converted to MP4 files to ensure it was compatible with the software. I renamed my clips whilst they were still on the USB, this is just to make it easier when uploading them to Premier Pro later. I also had to convert The 1975’s song Loving Someone to an MP4 file to make it compatible. This song would replace the audio footage already on my files but for this to happen I had to delete the audio on my video. You can do this easily on premiere pro by locking the video but not the audio.

Once my audio was uploaded onto premiere pro I could begin to edit my footage. I wanted to change the speeds on my first few clips to make some slower and give others a time lapse effect. This was easy to do on premiere pro by just right clicking and changing the speed/duration. To make sure my music video fit with the codes and conventions I tried to ensure my editing pace fit with the music. Premiere pro made this easy to do as it is easy to cut clips down and move them around to match your music. This also made it simple to align my lip syncing with the song’s lyrics. 

 
During the evaluation stage of my production I decided to use four separate formats to present my work. For question one I decided to make a video with a voiceover. This was easy as I already has the skills in premiere pro. I decided to present this with clips from my music video, other music videos and scenes that inspired me. I had to download some clips from the internet with was simple using a YouTube downloader. These were cropped and added in to the sections of the music video I already had the footage for.

For question two I decided to make a slide show. I made this on Microsoft PowerPoint which is simple and easy to use. After this I had to save my presentation in to my files and upload it to a website called slide share. This website allows you to embed a presentation into a blog or website. This is easily done my creating a embed code and pasting this into blogger.

For question three I made a Prezi. I had issues with this as the software will only work on certain laptops or computers. I found out that it would not work on the computers in class but would work on my MacBook. Prezi allows you to create an interesting looking presentation on a large range of templates. I chose a simple template to not distract from the information.

For question four, I decided to create a typed document on Microsoft Word. I thought this would be most effective with this question as there is a lot of information with pictures and screenshots to go with it.
  

Evaluation 3- What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Evaluation 2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?- Evaluation from Phoebe Hughes

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

My Creative Journey, 19th December

Today I finished the process of editing my final music video. All of the clips I re recorded fit well with the lyrics so I did not have to film anymore. I decided that my song was too long so used some of the effects and transitions on Premier Pro to edit this down. This was easily don with a fade. This did not affect that narrative or flow of my music video as the last minute of the song is a repetition of the chorus.
My next step is to show my classmates my music video and digipak and get some audience feedback. This will help with the evaluation which is my next task. I think for my evaluation I will use four different formats to present the information. This will be a voiceover, slideshow, Prezi and typed document.

My Creative Journey, 15th November

I have recently finished producing the digipak for my music video. the main aim of my album cover was to make it happy, colourful and positive. I wanted the product to be colourful as I wanted it to reflect the colours of the gay pride flag which is used a lot in my music video. I feel as though this would attract a young, liberal audience to buying the CD. I also wanted this to come across as a positive, happy message to promote social equality.

Whilst making my poster I wanted it to come across professional as though it would not look out of place in a modern and diverse music magazine such as Rolling Stone and NME. I think I achieved this by keeping it simplistic and not making the advert look too busy.

Whilst making the initial digipak drafts on publisher and powerpoint I was concerned that they did not look professional. As I have limited experience using photoshop I decided not to use it as it would be very time consuming to learn. I then found a website called Canva which has lots of free templates for you to model your designs on. It was very easy to use and easy to implement your own pictures. I think this website really worked for me and my digipak look very professional. 
Alongside creating my digipak I have continued to edit my music video. It is starting to come along very well. I have had to re record a few of my clips as the lip syncing did not always match and look realistic. I think I have now achieved a better look and made my music video look increasingly professional. 

Digipak: Magazine Advert