In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products?

SOHPIA-

“BEFORE STARTING TO FILM OUR MUSIC VIDEO BASED ON A JESSIE J SONG CALLED ‘CASUALTY OF LOVE’, I

DECIDED TO RESEARCH INTO WHAT CONVENTIONS ARE USED TYPICALLY IN HER POP MUSIC VIDEOS. WHAT I

GATHERED FROM MY RESEARCH ON THE ARTIST, WAS THAT JESSIE J IS VERY CREATIVE WHEN MAKING HER

VIDEOS FUN AND INSPIRATIONAL. SHE USUALLY CHANGES HER HAIRSTYLE AND OUTFITS THROUGHOUT HER

VIDEOS AND SHOOTS QUICK SHOTS AND TRANSITIONS, ESPECIALLY IF THE SONG IS HAPPY AND UPBEAT. EVEN

WHEN THE SONG IS SAD, HER VIDEOS ARE SUBTLE AND SIMPLE, BUT EQUALLY ATTRACT VIEWERS. JESSIE J’S

VIDEOS EXPRESS STRONG EMOTIONS AND RELEASE POSITIVE VIBES, FOR EXAMPLE IN: “WHO’S LAUGHING

NOW”, “NOBODY’S PERFECT” AND “PRICE TAG.” HAVING RESEARCHED ON THE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS

OF JESSIE J’S SONG, I WAS THEN ABLE TO CORRELATE SIMILAR FEATURES IN OUR MUSIC VIDEO, ‘CASUALTY OF

LOVE’. IN HER SONG “BANG BANG”, SHE USES TITLES AT THE START OF IT, WHICH WE APPLIED IN OUR VIDEO.

WE PURPOSELY MADE OUR SINGER IN OUR VIDEO TO WEAR DIFFERENT OUTFITS AND HAVE DIFFERENT

HAIRSTYLES, WHICH JESSIE J DOES. IN HER VIDEO, “WHO’S LAUGHING NOW” SHE HAS A YOUNGER VERSION OF

HERSELF AND WE MANAGED TO ADD THIS EFFECTIVE ELEMENT IN OUR COURSEWORK. WE FILMED FLASHBACKS

OF THE YOUNGER VERSIONS OF OUR MAIN FEMALE AND BOY CHARACTERS AND TRANSITIONED THIS INTO THE

OLDER VERSIONS. WE DEVELOPED THE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF POP MUSIC VIDEOS IN GENERAL BY

USING DIFFERENT FILTERS SUCH AS SEPIA AND BLACK AND WHITE TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO VIEWERS THAT WE ARE

ILLUSTRATING FLASHBACKS. MOST OF THE SONGS MENTIONED BEFORE FOLLOW A NARRATIVE SCHEME WHICH

WE COMPLIMENTED IN OUR MUSIC VIDEO, AS WELL AS EQUAL PERFORMANCE BASED TOO. THEREFORE, OUR

MUSIC VIDEO DOES USE AND DEVELOP THE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS, IN THIS

CASE, JESSIE J SONGS AND WE HAVE MANAGED TO INCLUDE THEM IN OUR A2 COURSEWORK.”

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

SOPHIA-

“THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ANCILLARY TEXTS WHICH INCLUDE THE PRINT ADVERT AND THE DIGIPAK IS TO

PROMOTE AND ADVERTISE THE ARTIST AND THEIR SONG IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. THE COMBINATION OF OUR

MAIN PRODUCT BEING THE MUSIC VIDEO DID COMBINE EFFECTIVELY WITH THE ANCILLARY TEXTS, AS WE USED

THE SAME FONT AND COLOUR SCHEMES THROUGHOUT. THEY COMPLIMENTED EACH OTHER WELL AS IT LINKS

TO WHAT JESSIE J USES WHEN SHE ADVERTISES HER NEW SINGLES. AFTER RESEARCHING INTO JESSIE J’S PRINT

ADVERT FOR “WHO YOU ARE”, WE WERE INSPIRED BY HOW IT WAS ILLUSTRATED. THE USE OF THE BOLD AND

GOLD TEXT OF THE ARTIST’S NAME WAS CLEAR AND IT STOOD OUT. THE WHITE TEXT OF THE ALBUM ‘WHO

YOU ARE’ ALSO STOOD OUT AS IT CONTRASTED WITH THE GOLD LETTERS. WE USED THIS AS A BASIS FOR OUR

FINAL PRINT ADVERT AND DIGIPAK. WE INCLUDED OPENING TITLES IN OUR MUSIC VIDEO, SO WE USED THE

SAME FONT AND COLOUR ON OUR PRINT ADVERT AND DIGIPAK TO CARRY ON THE CONSISTENCY. BY APPLYING

ALL THESE SMALL DETAILS, I THINK THE COMBINATION OF OUR MAIN PRODUCT WITH OUR ANCILLARY TEXTS IS

EFFECTIVE.”

What have you learned from your audience feedback?-Aycan

AYCAN-

“I ORIGINALLY USED SURVEY MONKEY TO IDENTIFY WHO MY TARGET AUDIENCE WAS AND WHAT WE SHOULD

INCLUDE IN THE MUSIC VIDEO. SOPHIA CONSTRUCTED THE QUESTIONNAIRE AND I GOT PEOPLE TO ANSWER IT.

THE RESULTS ESTABLISHED OUR AUDIENCE WHICH WAS FEMALE AGED 16-19. THE SURVEY ALSO ALLOWED US

TO SEE TO DO A POP MUSIC VIDEO AS THIS WAS THE MOST POPULAR GENRE AMONGST THIS AGE GROUP. THIS

AIDED US AS WE KNEW WHO TO ASK FOR FEEDBACK WHEN WE HAD COMPLETED OUR VIDEO AND ANCILLARY

TASKS.

THE AUDIENCE FEEDBACK HELPED US AS THEY IDENTIFIED WITH WHAT WAS GOOD ABOUT OUR MUSIC VIDEO

AND WHAT WE COULD IMPROVE ON. THERE WERE COMMENTS ON HOW OUR ROUGH CUT HAD A

PROFESSIONAL FEEL DUE TO THE TRANSITIONS AND EFFECTS. PEOPLE ALSO THOUGHT THAT OUR VIDEO WAS

REPRESENTATIVE OF JESSIE J’S STYLE AS WE USED QUICK CUTS AND TRANSITIONS. JESSIE J’S STYLE WAS ALSO

IMPLEMENTED BY THE INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCE WE USED WHICH REFLECTS HER VIDEO FOR ‘WHO’S

LAUGHING NOW’ WHERE THERE IS DEPICTION OF HER YOUNGER SELF IN SCHOOL AND SHE PLAYS THE ROLE OF

THE TEACHER.

WE WERE ALSO HIGHLIGHTED ON THE FACT THE OVERALL NARRATIVE AS CLEAR BUT PEOPLE WERE CONFUSED

ABOUT THE RELEVANCE OF THE CRUTCHES AND FELT THAT WE NEEDED TO SHOW HOW SHE GOT HER

CRUTCHES, IN WHICH IN OUR SECOND ROUGH CUT AND FINAL CUT WE DISPLAYED THIS BY SHOWING SHE GOT

RUN OVER AS SHE WENT TO MEET HER BOYFRIEND. ALSO, THERE WAS A COMMENT ON THE SURVEY I USED TO

GET FEEDBACK IN WHICH CLAIMED THAT OUR ORIGINAL BED SCENE CONTAINED TOO MANY PILLS AND THIS

GAVE THE VIBE THAT SHE WANTED TO COMMIT SUICIDE IN WHICH I REPLACED THIS WITH MORE SHOTS OF

PHOTO’S ABOUT OUR PROTAGONIST’S LIFE AND ONLY A COUPLE OF SHOTS OF HER BED IN WHICH SHOWS WE

DEVELOPED OUR FINAL CUT AROUND OUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK.

OUR FEEDBACK FOR OUR ANCILLARY TASKS STATED THEY LIKED THE COLOUR SCHEME AND THE USE OF THE

RECORD COMPANY’S LOGO. HOWEVER, THERE WAS CRITICISM FOR OUR DIGIPAK WHICH STATED THAT WE

SHOULD MAKE THE TEXT ON THE FRONT COVER AND THE BACK COVER SHOULD STAND OUT MORE. THE

FEEDBACK FOR THE PRINT ADVERT STATED WE SHOULD ADD A RATING FOR THE ALBUM FROM A MAGAZINE, AS

WELL AS THE ARTIST’S WEBSITE AND WHERE THE ALBUM COULD BE PURCHASED. WE USED THIS FEEDBACK TO

IMPROVE THESE PRODUCTS.

THIS THEREFORE ILLUSTRATES THAT OUR FEEDBACK SHAPED OUR FINAL PRODUCTS AS WE ASKED OUR TARGET

AUDIENCE FOR FEEDBACK WHICH GAVE US VITAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT TO SUIT THEIR TASTES.”

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,

planning and evaluation stages?

ANGELLISA-

“WE USED YOUTUBE AND GOOGLE TO RESEARCH INTO OUR CHOSEN MUSIC GENRE, AND TO WATCH VARIOUS

JESSIE J VIDEOS SUCH AS ‘WHO’S LAUGHING NOW’ AND OTHER VIDEOS FROM OTHER ARTISTS SUCH AS ONE

DIRECTION-STORY OF MY LIFE. WE DID THIS TO GAIN IDEAS FOR OUR MUSIC VIDEO. YOUTUBE WAS AN

EFFECTIVE SOURCE AS WE WERE ABLE TO ALSO SHARE OUR ROUGH CUT VIDEO AND GET FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE

OUR FINAL. ALTHOUGH WE ALSO USED THE INTERNET, YOUTUBE WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ONLINE PRODUCTS

THAT WE USED IN ORDER TO CONDUCT OUR RESEARCH AND PLANNING.

BLOGGER IS A FREE ONLINE BLOG WEBSITE IN WHICH WE USED TO PUBLISH ALL OF OUR COURSEWORK PIECES.

BY DOING SO, IT ALLOWS US TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF OUR RESEARCH AND PLANNING. THIS IS USEFUL AS WE

COULD EDIT ANY OF THE POSTS AT ANY TIME. WE USED THIS WEBSITE AT AS LEVEL SO WE WERE

COMFORTABLE WITH EDITING OUR POSTS AND EMBEDDING OUR VIDEOS AND SURVEYS. THE USE OF BLOGGER

HAS ALLOWED US TO ADD A REAL STRUCTURE TO OUR RESEARCH AND PLANNING

IN THE CONSTRUCTION STAGES WE USED DIGITAL CAMERAS TO FILM THE FOOTAGE. WE DECIDED TO USE

AYCAN’S NOKIA LUMIA 1020 CAMERA DUE TO THE FACT IT HAD HD VIDEO RECORDING AND WOULD BE ABLE

TO PRODUCE GOOD QUALITY FOOTAGE COMPARED TO THE CANON CAMERA’S PROVIDED BY SCHOOL. WE

WERE ALSO FAMILIAR WITH THE WAY IT WORKS AND THEREFORE DID NOT NEED TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT –

THUS SAVING TIME. SOME OF THE SHOTS WE PRODUCED WERE; HIGH ANGLE, LOW ANGLE, WIDE SHOT, CLOSE

UP AND LONG SHOTS COMBINED WITH TECHNIQUES SUCH AS PANNING, TRACKING AND ZOOMING. WE MADE

SURE THE BATTERIES WERE FULLY CHARGED BEFORE EACH FILMING SESSION, BUT ALSO HAD A BATTERY PACK

AND THAT THE MEMORY CARDS WERE FULLY CLEARED TO ALLOW MAXIMUM FILMING TO TAKE PLACE WITHOUT

HAVING TO CHANGE MEMORY CARDS.

WE USED ADOBE PHOTOSHOP AND FIREWORKS MAINLY TO CREATE OUR DIGIPAK AND ADVERT. IN THESE

SOFTWARES, WE USED BASIC TEXT, COLOUR AND SHAPE MANIPULATION SKILLS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE OUR

WORK. THIS TOOL WAS EXTREMELY USEFUL AS I WAS ABLE TO MANIPULATE MY WORKS FULLY AND EDIT THEM

AT ANYTIME ENSURING WE CREATED TWO PIECES OF WORK WE WERE SATISFIED WITH. WE DOWNLOADED

SIMILAR FONTS, HEART SHAPES, RIESLING AND NIOUBES, FOR THE TITLES TO MATCH THAT OF JESSIE J’S.

TO EDIT OUR MUSIC VIDEO, WE USED ADOBE PREMIERE PRO AS THIS IS THE PROGRAM INSTALLED IN OUR

SCHOOLS COMPUTERS. WE HAD PREVIOUSLY LEARNT HOW TO USE THIS PROGRAM AT AS LEVEL BUT IN ORDER

TO REFRESH OUR MEMORY WE CARRIED OUT A PRELIMINARY VIDEO TASK AND EDITED IT SO WE COULD

PRACTISE. THIS HELPED WHEN EDITING THE FINAL PRODUCT BECAUSE WE HAD GAINED FURTHER KNOWLEDGE

OF HOW TO USE THE SOFTWARE EFFECTIVELY. WHEN EDITING OUR VIDEO WE WANTED TO USE THE PROGRAM

TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL AND TRIED TO USE AS MANY TRANSITIONS AND EFFECTS TO FIT IN WITH THE STYLE OF

OUR MUSIC VIDEO.”

AYCAN-

“I HAD ORIGINALLY USED THE TITLES ON PREMIERE PRO TO CREATE THE TEXT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VIDEO

BUT I WANTED THE TEXT TO BE ANIMATED MORE. I VIEWED A FEW TUTORIALS ON YOUTUBE TO GUIDE ME

THROUGH MORPHING THE TEXT AS I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SOFTWARE BEFORE. AFTER USING THE

SOFTWARE FOR A FEW DAYS, I BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE SOFTWARE AND USING THE VARI OUS

TOOLS AVAILABLE BECAME EASY TO USE. THE FINAL PRODUCT CAN BE SEEN IN ROUGH CUT TWO AND OUR

FINAL VIDEO.”