Evaluation - Question Four

Evaluation - Question Three

'What have you learned from your audience feedback?'

During the planning and production process I was able to show my footage to an audience in order to gain feedback, I was given the opportunity to do this a couple of times, I therefore gained an insight into what steps to take next in order to gain the best possible outcome. Here are a few of the comments I received during a screening to my peers. 

I was able to then go and do some further editing, or capture more footage if required, in our case, we were able to go a film some narrative which made our production much more interesting. I have learnt that gaining feedback from peers is an important stage when filming a production as you are able to gain an insight into what's working and what's not. This is most helpful when it is from your target audience, which worked in our favour. A lot of the audience said that we needed to add a narrative in order to make our music video better. Although we were planning to do this anyway, it showed us that this is something our target audience would enjoy.Overall, I found the feedback very helpful and it really encouraged my partner and I to dedicate more of our time.

Evaluation - Question Two

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

I think the outcomes of the production work very well together as we ensured that we used similar shot types and wore the same outfit so audiences were able to familiarise themselves with distinctions between the three. You can see the main product and ancillary tasks below, I have also produced a power point that goes into more detail. Click here

Evaluation - Question One

Digi-Pak

See our Final Video here

Final Poster

Self Assessment

In it's more recent state, I think our music video is worth 10/40 which is an improvement from my last self assessment however, still needs a lot more work. We were very pushed for time in order to prepare for our second screening, and when we were editing we found footage that we are unable to use as the white background setting was too small for the long shot in which we wanted to achieve so people are to be seen moving around in the background. This was annoying as other than that, the footage would have been almost perfect. The re-brand has been successful and we are now clear on the look we want to go for.

Ancillary task one, the magazine poster, I would give my groups first version 4/10 as it is at a basic level but also has some strengths and is starting to come together nicely. However, it is unfinished and is yet to feature the digi-pak. It also needs to link to the digi-pak more.

Ancillary task two, the digi-pak, I would give my groups current version 2/10, it is starting to become a formation however, needs to be finished and produced at a high quality level. 

We Are Going To... Re-Brand!

Looking back at our performance video, I think we need to re-brand and make it a solo performance but with the same routine and same effect we were trying to put across, although we will change the location itself as I don't feel as if it's working as well as we would like it to, the setting and overall idea of the location will remain the same. Cutting down to one performer will also make it easier for us to arrange both film and photo-shoots. It would also make it feel like our production which could give a positive impact on the outcome as everything will appear a lot more natural. We will think of a brand new name, image and narrative, although the concept will remain the same as that is what we feel the song is trying to portray, just that will be harder to achieve with the one performer. Overall, I think that this is the best decision to be made and that it will prompt us to improve, giving us the best possible outcome.

Practice shoot so our performers were able to practice the routine in which we created, however, I was a stand-in so we were able to see what it looked like with the three of them as one of our performers was unable to attend. We had no intentions of making this look perfect in any way. More professional filming clips are soon to follow...

Tzvetan Todorov's Theory of Narrative

Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages;

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset;
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption;
4. An attempt to repair the disruption;
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

Applying Todorov's theory to 'pop' music videos:
Pop music videos tend to support this theory, especially 'Black Heart' by Stooshe. It begins with the three girls singing together then the male creates a disruption by seeing all three of the girls separately. It then shows him feeling sorry for himself and attempting to resolve the disruption, and then it closes with the three girls still together and not letting this male ruin their friendship.

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

'Music Videos are simply an extension of the lyrics.'

It is difficult to state whether or not this is true for the original music video 'Black Heart' by Stooshe, as there are a lot of performance shots therefore not many events occur and we are just watching the group perform. However, the dangling hearts in the background connect the music video to the title of the song although the hearts in the background are pleasant and bright colours and are shown in a good light. This suggests to the younger audience that it is better to be happy and in love rather than sad due to him having a 'black heart.' Therefore, this theory both applies and doesn't apply to this particular music video.

Annotation of Lyrics by Laura Smith

Document will have to be enlarged in order to read it

Target Audience

The main focus group for our music video are your average teenage girls. Where they attend school or college, have a part-time job and are into music. Personally, I see myself as a average teenage girl, I attend sixth form and also have a part-time job, working in a kitchen means that we are able to have the radio on whilst working so I listen to a lot of music as I listen to music during my spare time also. Kiss 101 is the main radio station that I listen to whilst at work and they play a lot of music in the pop genre, including Stooshe - Black Heart, as it is a song which you can happily sing-a-long to. If I was to choose my favourite radio station then it would be Kiss 101, as is the answer which I think most teenage girls would give. Therefore this is the perfect target audience for our music video.

Here is a picture of how I see a typical teenage girl:

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire results from NatalieEarle

Questionnaire (Collaboration with Natalie Earle)

Organisation of Performers (Collaboration with Natalie Earle)

Magazine advertisement research from loousmith

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The idea of the pyramid is that one must satisfy lower level basic needs in order to progress onto the next level of needs. Maslow studied some people who he believed were 'self-actualised' therefore, they would be on top of this pyramid. He found that they had particular characteristics which were similar between them all who were studied. 'Although we are all, theoretically, capable of self-actualising, most of us will not do so, or only to a limited degree. Maslow was particularly interested in the characteristics of people whom he considered to have achieved their potential as persons. By studying people he considered to be self-actualised (including Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein), Maslow identified 15 characteristics of a self-actualised person.' These characteristics include:

• They perceive really efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty
• Accept themselves and others for what they are
• Spontaneous in thought and action
• Problem-centered (not self-centered)
• Unusual sense of humor
• Able to look at life objectively
• Highly creative
• Resistant to enculturation, but not purposely unconventional
• Concerned for the welfare of humanity
• Capable of deep appreciation of basic life-experience
• Establish deep satisfying interpersonal relationships with a few people
• Peak experiences
• Need for privacy
• Democratic attitudes
• Strong moral/ethical standards

Narrative

The narrative for our music video production is going to be a typical teenage love story. We want a male character that can be pictured with the three female characters in the music video. He will be pictured with them all individually, but when he's with one girl the other two are unaware and think that he is just 'theirs'. When in fact, he is seeing all three of them. During the music video they all find out what he's been up to so they all turn against him and go off together and become friends through it. We will show this by them all singing together in the formation of a group. We will also show them walking away together, as if they are leaving him in the past. This will also enable us to make him look guilty and seeking forgiveness, becoming quite lost when they all walk off together and leave him in the past. This is the narrative we will use to draw attention away from the unachievable look we originally wanted.

Analysis of Location Shoot

Once we had completed our location shoot I came to realise that we had found the right location for the setting we wanted to achieve. However, if we had the resources available to us then we would have liked to have filmed in front of a 'green screen' so we could then add a more interesting background. This would have been more suited to our genre also, as well as giving a more professional outcome. Unfortunately we are unable to get this particular necessity therefore we will work with our available resources and carefully plan out our location so we are able to get the best possible outcome.

Similar to the original music video to 'Black Heart' but different in such a way that it doesn't look identical, we could have then added stuff in the background like in the picture to the left. We could create our own style of this look by artistically creating objects that we could either attach to the wall or hang from the ceiling. However, this would be very time consuming and our time needs to be dedicated to careful planning, filming and editing time. Therefore, we will also be unable to carry this idea out, instead we will experiment with some after effects to see if we are able to achieve the sort of look we want another way. Or we will just create a narrative that is interesting enough to take focus away from the performance shots. I am also going to do some more research into the pop genre to gather ideas and see if there are any other techniques we could use in order to create this particular illusion.