Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

The prezi below is for Question 4
http://prezi.com/cludbu7uhrbg/untitled-prezi/

Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

The link below is the prezi for Question 3
http://prezi.com/koa9nlvnpfi2/untitled-prezi/

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

The following link is a prezi for Question 2
http://prezi.com/cludbu8uhr/untitled-prezi/

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

The following is the link to my prezi for Question 1
http://prezi.com/oquwbldatd5g/untitled-prezi/

Final Magazine Advert and Drafts

 These are our drafts to our magazine adverts the reason to why we chose to have them in black and white was because it allows the consumers to get thinking why the mistress is the only text in red. Which is why it stands out as that is the album name. The font is consistent from the back cover and front cover as its more sophisticated to say that the mistress has no time.

This is our final magazine advert that we chose as the mistress is the album name so sutied better on the right, simlar to how it is in Jay Seans album, just below she has no time. The reason to why out now is in a large font as its important information, so if its eyecatchy it would get the consumer to want to read on. By havunf artists name that feature within in gives the consumer the information they want to know so incourgaes them to go out look for the albumitsself. 

Final Inside CD Sert

 

This was our final inside cd sert, we thought it to be most effective as hes holding her hand tight as he wants her back but shes still going away as she doesnt want to give him a second chance which is why the lighting is so dull on her, as it looks like shes fading out.

The writing on the left are the thoughts of the male charchter and in the middle are lyrics from Jay Seans songs , theyr kept in the middle so it ooks as if hes ytrying to say it to her, in order to make it up to her.

On the right are lyrics but in hindi as she remembers the times they had together but she ends it because shes not sure if it wll still work out. Her thoughts are also written above.

 

Draft of the inside

 

This is the draft version of the final insidesert. The main attention to detail was that the whole image was blurred and only have the hands that are holding them together in a clear vision. Although this helps it become the main focus we thought for the original image stood out better and the writing layout was also better for the final cover, which is why we left this to a experiment.

 

 

Final Back Cover

This is the final back cover. The font of the writing has been kept consistent throughout the cover as it has the same font at one point on the front cover and throughout the inside cert.

In order to create a mysterious atmosphere we have kept highlighted the silhouette of the male characters mistress in order to show the audience she his mistress has the perfect figure which comes across to be very seductive, we did this by purpose as we it shows the audience he had a perfect lady but then she was also able to go and use her figure to cheat on him and get him back, showing he’s not the only one who could get away with doing whatever he wanted, she could too.

The background colour is a merge of blue black and green. It was quote hard to keep the lighting consistent however this was done using a lot of repeated layers in Photoshop. The reason to why we chose these colours is because they are symbolic and allow the image to speak for itself. The green symbolises jealousy which is the representation of how the female in our video feels when she finds out her boyfriend has cheated on her. The colour blue symbolises trust, loyalty and truth but that’s ironic and it also comes across as cold and the black to show the dark side to her character. It also symbolises sadness and mystery which is what the characters are going through whilst the audience are unable to know who the mistress is which is a mystery as you can only see the silhouette to the female on the cover.

Final Front Cover of Digipak

Back cover Drafts

This draft is very similar to the final back coverin terms of lighting annd layout etc. However its lighting was more dull in complarison to the final draft, and we wanted it to be at such a point where the characters face is slightly visible.

These were the drafts where we were testing out the lighting towards the final product. This style and colour was similar to those of the mistress album in our case study however we thought the 'cold' look was to go better with the storyline, which is why these were left as experiments.

We used this effect as we wanted to show that our female charachter was in the spotlight, but the further eperiments below show that it didnt work to well as we expecteed therefore we decieded not to keep the effect.

Front Cover Drafts

Development Stages

The main aim of these drafts was to get the font for the title 'Jay Sean' correct as it was the main typography on the front cover, so it was cruical to get it right.

We realised that ' the mistress' wasnt really needed as that was the original album name so decided to stick to she has no time having the AR DECODE font which is used on the main cover as its kept consistent through the inside cd cert and the back cover.

We liked the use of black and white font but felt it was better to have it in colour for the front cover.

First Draft of Front Cover

This was our first draft for out front cover as we thought it would be wise to use a natural image on the front cover of the album as it may help attact the audience, but then we thought it wasnt really conveying much of s story so we decided to keep it as a draft, as we needed the image on the front cover yo reflect the story behind the song in the album itslef.

Second attempt of a photoshoot

 

 

We did recieve some really nice images from this photoshoot but they just wernt good enough to work in our magazine cover, as the lighting was too sharp and our male character looked more like a model then a guy who was heart broken, so we decided to stick to the images from the first one. However we did get a useful solo of the female that we then went of and used for our back cover of the digipack.

Photoshoot (first attempt)

 
 

This was our first photoshoot which did go down according to plan and was quite successful even though we ran late of schedule, however we were able to get many shots that were satisfactory to me and my group members and were capable of being used for our CD digipak and Advert.
Most of our images we purely based on geting the point across of the main storyline of our music video, unfaithfulness , as both partners have cheated on eachother but the female charchter has only done it in order to get revenge. This is why we have our female charcter leaning over on to the male one as he is known to be 'cocky' so knows he can get all the women on him, which is why he has direct eye contact with the camera, showing hes confident, as the female charachter looks straight at him. In the other picture that we have used for the poster the point of havung her lean over onto him is to show shes trying to make up to him as she had cheated on him back but the male character still keeps his head high but doesnt want eye contact with her, therefore is still in direct contact with the audience, so is looking straight at the camera, this cannotes that he may not want to forgive her or give her another chance for what shes done, even though he was in the wrong himslef. The same purpose is used behind the image where hes on the sofa and shes holding his hand, but because theyr both wrong none of have eye contact with the camera in these images as theyr are indenial and know what they have one it wrong and dont want to admit it.
the image wherre they have theyr hands drifting away was suppose to be a like a scene from the actualy music video itself, to hint out that they would both go theyr own ways.
The cause for the argument in the relationship starting were mainly because it was triggered by the male characther therefore thats why we chose for him to hold his girlfreind whilst she tried to walk away as if anything only he could make it up to her and ask her for a second chance and bring her back.
Both our models have the dark side to them which is why we chose for the background to be black as it shows the time of their relationship their going through, however it also represents power which is why the male character is holding her hand tight but the female is just hanging on to it. It also represents the hard times their having to face which is why the lighting is so dull, especially from the female side as it shows she may just be about to walk out the frame.
The solo pictures did come out really well but we didnt feel the need to use them as we thought to use the ones of them together would be better in terms of portraying the storyline to our music video. Also in our case studies Jay Sean had used his mistress album with him alone looking away from the camera with his mistress in the background, but the lighting was lit quite dull so you were only able to see a feminine siloutte, which comes across as a 'sex object'. we tried to reinforce this which is why we have our female charachter in a fitted dress and red lipstick, so it outlines her siloutte, but from her side she may only be doin this to show her partner that she can be just as good as any other mistress that he would run to and it does not give him a reason to go off with another women.

Photoshoot Plan

Me and my partners made rough sketches of what we wanted our final front cover to look like, which is what we then went and put into practice whilst we were taking pictures in the studio, however because we were terrible with our artistic skills we decided not to keep the rought sketches and decided to write them out instead.
We had three main ideas amd that was to have the main cover with both male and female charachter on the couch with him looking straight at the camera whilst she is totally focused on him.
the second was to have them both go their own ways, as it reflects theyr both just doint what they wanted to do in terms of thoughts etc. This is where we got the idea of having the back drop to be black, as it shows theyr both have authority upon themselves.

The male money is wearing a top that says money so its to show he has it but has miss used it, and when hes standing trying to ask his partner to come she back she still refuses, showing him not even hos money is strong enough for him to bring her back as honesytly and loyalty was the main tie in their relationship but beacuse that broke, they are having to break up too.

Reseach and Planning the CD cover and Advert

This is the cover of jay Sean’s album the mistress. It has a medium establishing shot which shows Jay Sean sitting down with his arm on the chair rest and his hand on his face, this connotes he is thinking, with a whisky glass in his hand. It may be drinking for stress relieve as he’s not really smiling but also could be just for the sake of it to chill out. Behind there’s a silhouette of a women standing, you can’t see her face so aren’t sure if it’s his mistress or just a random lady like he has in his video sex 101 from the album the mistress. The colour red symbolises love and the affairs that all the songs in this album are about. This is why ‘the mistress’ is in a gloomy font and the only words in colour where as the hole cover is black and white even the name ‘Jay Sean’. It shows the importance and emphasis put on the phrase and shows that that’s what the whole cover maybe about. The whisky glass also supports the mise-en-scene as the location looks classy with carpet and the room has a wood railing with a chair and in the background it shows a bed with lamps so shows Jay Sean maybe waiting for the lady to enter into his bedroom. But the cover leaves you to question whether the lady in the back is his mistress or not. The black and white effect to it gives an olden style feel, this may show that jay is experienced in his field of being a ‘player’ and it may have been time to him cheating on his actual girlfriend who he calls the mistress. The ‘olden style’ effect to the room is also added due to the railing. The black and white can also mean that he may be tired of lieing to his mistress, which is why the title and cover is all in black and white but ‘the mistress’ is the only text in red. The text in red also allows creates tension for its audience and allows them to think what the story behind it is as it creates suspense.

This is the outside case to the album the mistress. Because the album is all about Jay Sean and him not staying loyal to his girlfriend and having several affairs there’s a women laying down on the carpet in her lingerie with a eye mask on, in order to hide her identity, as this makes it harder to recognize her, but she has her hair flared out and a finger in her mouth with another hand upon her chest, this shows she is ‘playful’ which comes across as sexual and it supports the fact of jay Sean not being loyal to HIS mistress.

It then has all 15 songs displayed in the album along the side of her in a fancy font which supports the image and the song names for example ‘Rouge a Lavres’ as it sounds more French and France is known for romance and love, but the actual meaning of rouge a lavres is red lipstick, so although we can’t see it as the covers in black and white it may be out to his mistress that was in the colour red on the front cover. On the bottom in a smaller font it has a paragraph on the producers of the CD cover and the artist of the actual album. This is the back of the CD cover it’s not consistent at all with the front cover other then the medium shot of the lady and the black and white font. The medium shot as the front cover consisted of a medium shot of Jay Sean but by putting the lady on the back its like it’s the close up of the lady who was standing at a distance totally blacked out in the background of the front cover, so behind Jay Sean at the door. However the font of the text is even different as its more sophisticated and elegant however the carpet is consistent as the from cover also has the same, but its only noticeable if you pay good attention but it shows that the mise en scene is the same and so this shot is taken in the same room as Jay Sean was in.

This is the cover to Drake and Rihanna’s album Take Care. There’s a medium close up of an establishing shot of Drake sitting alone on the table. He has a lot of gold chains and gold candle holder but is sitting alone drinking out of a gold cup and is looking down at it, this may be because he looks depressed and no matter how much money you have this shows it can’t buy you happiness. The bird statue symbolises his freedom as it can connote that his trapped and wants to be free like a bird but for some reason is trapped. This album is also about love but the fight for love which is why drake is shown lonely and depressed sitting in a rich surrounding, you can tell this by the painting in the back ground on the walls as well. The writing in gold says ‘Take Care’ shows that he is talking about taking care of Rihanna although she’s not in the image but is in the video to the song itself, but by not keeping her in the image it shows him being love sick. The text looks hand written more like a signature, showing its personalised by drake himself, it is the title of the song but because its personalised in such a way it could come across as a message. The colours throughout the cover have been of a consistent gold, this could also connote money, and that drake must be pouring in gold so is really rich, and usually people who have money intend to pay their way out of things so the text being handwritten shows that he still makes the effort to do things himself, but not just that as it also shows that his money is unable to take care of his love so he no longer has her either which is why he’s having to pass the message down for her to take care in gold, so not giving away he loves her but in gold which could show how much he meant to her and that he thinks her to be good as gold.

This is the back cover to take cares album. Once again there’s not much consistency in the cover but the colour gold is enhanced once again in the text. So the drop list of songs is done in gold, which works well as it stands out on the back background but the colour black makes it quite dull and gloomy which reflects the emotions shown through Drakes facial expression in the front cover. The colour gold on top of black also makes it look strong on top of black not just due to the consistency but it comes across as powerful since it’s consistent. The background also looks like black puddles of water so black representing it’s not really clean but it has a grainy effect so it gives a gloomy feel of, but this may connote Drakes feelings and say that how he feels. The front cover was more detailed as there were quite a few props to attract your attention where as the back is more simple. This may be the reason to why the drop listing for songs are in the centre. Below there is also the use of record labels which is shown on the bottom of the cover which allows the audience to see who helped to release the album and what record company the artist is signed to. In this case it is Cash Money Records and Universal Republic. Below are more production details, which are like saying a thank you to the people involved with the cover but also there for adding detail to the cover.

 

This is the advert for the album Take care.

The advert is actually constructed of the CD cover itself as the main image. It has the artist name ‘Drake’ written as the main title of the magazine advert. It then has details of when the album is to be released, with the featuring artists below. This is a main factor that attracts the audience as it’s the main information a consumer looks for when looked at an advert. The likes and dislikes as if the album has songs by their favourite artists then their more willing to wait for the album to release and go and buy it.

Below this are details of the record labels Drake is assigned with, in this case cash money records and universal republic. This is a feature that has been kept consistent throughout as it’s then followed through with in the back cover of the album cover.

A feature I will be adapting from this is that I will be keeping the house style consistent but I will not have the logo on the front cover as I feel it needs more focus to the simple detail on there and by putting a logo it diverts the consumer’s attention away a little. Another thing is that it is straight to the point. It has what a consumer would mainly look for and that is the main artist featuring within the cover and who the main artist is which is made clear at the top as the main logo is ‘DRAKE’. There for when a consumer goes to buy what it’s looking for they know what they want as the front cover of the album is the same as the magazine advert itself.

This is the magazine advert for Rihanna’s album ‘Rated R’. The house style is completing different to a normal R&B magazine advert for e.g. in comparison to drakes as he has a medium close up where as rihannas is more extreme.  However her work is usually different to others, but this looks a little spookier and alien due to the heavy makeup and the way one of her hand is covering her eye, this connotes mysteriousness, showing she is perhaps trying to hide or hiding something. The ‘R’ in the background standing for Russian roulette is carved, this could reflect pain as although its in black the only colour visible on the page other than black and white is red, and not only is that a representation of love but also death and pain, so perhaps she’s trying to get the message across on the cover that the album could be about love and sorrows and love hurts which is why ‘Russian roulette’ and ‘hard’ is in red.

The house style of using the artist name as the main logo in followed once again, it’s the text that has the largest font but as she is the artist and she uses her name for the album to sell so shows she is a very well known artist, but keeping her name in the largest font helps attract it as the first thing you look at as a consumer, after the background image is the largest text on the page and then follow on to read the rest starting from what stands out the most.

This is a key feature definitely worth subverting as not is Jay Sean just known by face; although we won’t have his face on the cover but definitely known by his name, therefore the product is most likely to get a word out by the magazine advert to penetrate the market.

Class presentaion/ treatment of the initial idea pitched

 

We have presented our video plan to the class in order to gain some feedback on the positives and negatives of our initial ideas for the music video. Our presentation to the class about our music video on Jay Sean - 'She has no time' was approved however, there were some concepts that the class mentioned that there was room for improvement.

Survey monkey

This is our link for the questionairre we made on survey monkey for our music video in order to gain feedback.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WCLDJWN

Music video

The following link is the music video myself and my group have produced for this coursework.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCB148pVcmI

Before editing

Just before we started editing to produce our music video I and my group members decided to sit down and take a look at all of our footage in order to extract all the best clips for use whilst editing. Once the clips were transferred on to the Mac we made separate folders in final cut pro according to the quality of the clips and if they were usable and looked professional enough to be used in the video or not. This way by putting our clips in to folders it was easier to access the clips that were definitely going to be used in the music video in comparison to the maybes and extra clips as we had a total of 139 clips and some were repetitive however because we were shooting on busy locations like the golden jubilee bridge through our scenes we would have pedestrians walking past, which is why we would have to then retake the same shot again and by making folders it allowed us to extract the best scenes and make easier access to when it came to using them.

Day of the music video shoot

Today we went central London to do the final and main shooting needed for our music video. We had reached our location which was the golden jubilee bridge at 3pm perfect enough to get a bright view from the bridge whilst the sun was up. This was when it wasn’t too dark but not extremely bright as it is winter therefore we were there on the right time in order to get opening scenes whilst the sun was up and then we finished shooting with a sunset for the closing scene. We finished shooting around 5pm however there were some complications with lighting as well as getting the frame for the camera right

First of all the bridge was quite busy as it is a popular bridge with a beautiful view, but it was also quite narrow in terms of getting a wide angled shot with both the scenery and the actors in the frame. So we had little space to play with as we had to leave way for pedestrians who were trying to get across, and so we had the camera quite close to our characters which is why we took time getting out camera angles correct, so the pedestrians would not walk in front of the camera and would go behind. This way we would have clear shots with no one walking in front of the camera, however this did happen on several occasions which left us to retaking the same shot from the start t get it more accurate and so it would be easier to join the shots whilst editing.

Another problem with faced with in the beginning was that our main character was afraid of heights, something me and my group member were totally unaware of however by time he was used to the height of the bridge so managed to get quite close to the railing in the end anyway.

We had some technical difficulties on the day with the camera, for some reason neither me or my group member were able to get the camera stable on to the tripod which is why it made scenes where I was trying to pan quite difficult as well as holding the camera still on to the tripod whilst shooting. However when we took the camera and tripod back to college the next day and were asked to set it up again by the technicians we had done it perfectly well and the camera was stable. So it showed that the equipment was perfectly fine, we just had technical difficulties on the day, this may have been due to the weather as our hands were really cold and it as quite windy up on the bridge as well.

We managed to get all the shots needed from this location as a result it was good that we decided as a group not to choose Trafalgar square as our second location. This is because we lost daylight and the location was busier compared to the bridge when we visited it after anyway as it’s a big tourist attraction making it harder for us to shoot our video. It would also have been much more time consuming then the time spent shooting on the bridge.