Evaluation

The inital research was personal and individual, therefore it involved going off and utilising verious media technologies. Firstly we decided that we would use the indie genre, more specifially indie rock, therefore many of the arists i researched such as Mumford and Sons and Fleet Foxes fitted into genre. I tried to vary the type of indie rock artist so i could gain a wider range of knowledge about the different attitudes and ways in which they presented themselves as artists. For example Mumford and Sons and Lilly Allen.

Mumford and Sons embrace a indie rock yet add in a more country/folk element to their style of dress, and the instruments that they use. Whereas Lilly Allen,

uses heavy make-up and dresses in heels, yet the two are similar as they are recognisably indie by the fact that they use quirky and personal elements such as the archway of flowers shown in the picture above. All of the artists that i researched share some things in common, they always have unique music videos such as Amy Macdonald's - This is the life, and they all introduce personal elements and the idea of a journey in the music video. Here youtube has helped me to research various music videos.

The posters and digipacks again with internet research helped me to inform and gain more of an understanding about the indie rock genre. I mainly used google images in order to find the images. For example this image for Florence and the Machine was something that highlighted to me that the indie genre is quirky and unconventional which later informed our attitude when producing our own posters and digi-packs.

We then took this research and moved onto looking at audiences expectations of the genre.We created a questionnaire in order to gain a better understanding of the audience that we would be targeting with out products.

With this we mainly used out blog's in order to bring the research together and formulate it into something that we were able to keep going back to in order for it to inform our products and planning. For example knowing that most of our audience would be 16-18 allowed us to work towards this, like by having problems that youth experience or having characters within the music video that the audience can relate to.However with creating the pie charts we used microsoft execel, however we then had to use paint and save each picture individually as a png.file.

We then began the planning of our product. We began by using unsigned.com, and eventually found the band Fancy Me Yet.

We also utilised wikipedia, when looking for indie record labels, which after reading the information of the label we eventually decided on Drowned In Sound.

These websites were all of great use to us as they meant that we developed our understanding further and was on the way to creating an artist and products. Furthermore these websites gave us additional knowledge and insight into the indie genre and through finding them anchored the idea that we were using a genre that is unconventional and less mainstream, and as the DinS website showed, their artists didn't do huge arena gigs, but smaller festivals for example.

The Fancy Me Yet official website was also useful for when we were deciding the songs as it had mp3 versions of 6 different songs, but we eventually decided on "a little bit of".

This led to our actual planning. We made a timeline of the song and then formulated the video and what would happen within it. The storyboard was then drawn up, we used a digital camera in order to recreate some of the shots that would be used within the music video.

these were then actually used in the video...

We then had to use a scanner to put all of the sketched ideas and planning onto the computer and then insert it into our blogs.

Some final things that we did before beginning the filming, was to create a shooting schedule on microsoft word, contact people who were being used in the video, this was mainly done through facebook e.g.

and then we had to use zamzar in order to convert the song into an mp3 file. Then we burned the song to a disc so that when filming Leah was able to sing along with the disc meaning that the lip syncing and timing would be much more accurate. At this point we also used the recorder on the computer to record the song, so that it was ready when we came to editing and having to put the music with the filming.

In the making of our music video we uploaded all of our recorded footage onto IMovie 9, which enabled us to do many things with the video.

Lip syncing was important for creating high quality video so the cutting and timing of clips was made much easier by imovie. Below are two examples of the lip syncing. Also imovie has a button that is connected to itunes so it was simple to just drag and drop the song onto imovie.

Imovie also allowed us to speed up and reverse clips, to create an effect. To us it was significant because by showing leah and me standing back to back, represents that Leah's past is behind her, and creates an important link between them right at the beginning.

We also used some of the edits that imovie offered which added impact, for example in the bath scene we see a dissolve from me to leah. This is highly significant as the dissolve shows that the girl has grown into leah, its her past self, and that she is the one coming out stronger from the experience and can look back on it. Its also very personal showing the darkest moments of someones life therefore conventional to the indie genre.

Other things included stabilising the clips and using the crop button to cut out unwanted things in the shots.

We also used a projector in order to play a video behind the lead singer which was showing an event from her past, this idea had been used in other music videos, one artist from Drowned in Sound - Metric, in her video from "Eclipse (All Yours)" used clips from the film Twilight:Eclipse on screens in the background whilst the singer was singing.

After the music video was completed we moved onto planning the digipack and poster. We again made hand skectches which we then had to scan back onto the computer e.g.

When creating the two products we used various websites in order to create the effect that we wanted. The cubes on the poster were made by using lunapic.com,

 The font was particularly important for creating a youthful and quriky effect on the poster therefore we used dafont.com in order to make our text.

We also used Gimp, which meant we could produce a higher standard of ancillary texts because we were able to cut around pictures, neaten up edges, and remove unwanted backgrounds that would of otherwise clashed with other backgrounds.

Our music video has generally followed conventions of indie music videos, we have used the idea of following a journey, which is used in Sandi Thoms music video.

Here you see Sandi Thom walking towards the camera, which brings the audience on a journey with her, compared with our clip where the character is walking towards the camera. They differ though since ours is a personal journey that the lead singer has made to get to where she is today.

Another conventional element that we have used is to show the bands passion and love for the music on a more personal level. Fleet Foxes used this idea in their music video where we see the band setting up which puts instant importance on the instruments as well as the band members, we have utilised this idea within our music video.

We also highlight the passion that the band have for their music through showing them all together and united as a band, always with their instruments.

We have also included the element of socialising, through using cafe scenes and resteraunt scenes which is often used, as shown in Amy Macdonald's "This is the Life".

We may have challenged convention with the inclusion of a storyline, however we have conformed because its directly linked in with one of the band members. However this personal element within the storyline isn/t usually used in indie videos since having a storyline takes some of the focus off the band and the music. Some specific personal moments we have used are the dancing in the bedroom and the emotional breakdown. We felt that whilst a little unconventional, it would create a personal relationship between the band and the target audience, especially since we are addressing an issue that many youths experience.

The poster is very conventional, many of the posters we looked at included an abstract central image, representing the quirky and different nature of the indie rock genre.

The digipack is also very conventional since we have used natural settings and placed the band throughout as the focus. Also the instruments are shown because within the indie genre it is very important to show the instruments as they represent the love and passion that the band have for music.

Our media products collectively present the band as passionate about music, laid back yet are on the same level as many youths. This is shown through them being deconstructed in the digipack and the poster which presents the idea of finding yourself and knowing who you are, in a more quirky and fun way. The video offers an insight into the personal experiences of the lead singer allowing the audience to instantly form a connection. The abstract is shown throughout all three texts the posters main image, the cut up bodies of the artists and in the video when the girl looks through the window and leah looks back.

We feel that this creates the idea that its ok to be different, and not be mainstream, plus the band being like that themselves gives the audience the sense that they are part of what they are, they are not alone in that. We feel that all of this has created an effective campaign because we researched out audience well enough to create something that would be eye-catching and create a relationship on a more personal level. Drowned in Sound are experienced with campaigning indie artists and have had successful artists such as the Kaiser Chiefs.

Furthermore the website for Drowned in Sound also shows that they organise many festivals and events that would enable our band to be successfully promoted to the audience. The questionnaire was also of great use to us in creating an effective campaign, for example we found that many of the audience members prefer to see the band/characters in casual clothing. This creates the idea that they are down to earth and normal, also by including this we are meeting the audiences specific needs and expectations which will make our campaign much more effective.

This image shows the everyday casual clothing that the band are wearing, the image below shows the casual costume of the characters.

Another effective element of our campaign is the idea that as a girl the lead singer danced around and sung in her bedroom, aspiring to be a singer, just as many audience members may. Then comparing this with the fact that she is now a lead singer of band, presents the idea to many of the audience that dedication and hard work/experiences can get you to where you want to be. Therefore this is effective in the campaign as many will aspire to be like the lead singer and form that personal connection with her story.

What did the audience say?

Positive Comments:

·         The band setting up is effective.

·         The fast cuts of Leah on the blocks are effective as it keeps up with the tempo.

·         Singer in front of screen makes it clear there is a narrative.

·         Change from singer to Amy is clear.

·         Really good job, easy to understand genre, great narrative.

·         Great concept, music video was engaging.

·         Profiling shots of the band at the beginning help audience.

Negative comments:

·         In some ways, the narrative is confusing; some audience members found it difficult to establish the relationship between Amy and Leah.

·         Possible change to the order of the ending. Maybe consider not showing the band at the end, because they feel that the video is more effective finishing on Leah.

·         Dinner scene is unclear- again what is the connection between Leah and Amy.

The main issue was with the storyline, it was mixed as some said it was a clear link between me and leah whereas others were confused. Therefore we decided to go away and make it more explicit for those who didn't find it as clear. We used dissolves in order to create the idea that the girl was Leah's past and it dissolves back and forth between the two because its the same person.

So we took clips like this and added in a dissolve, therefore making the link more explicit.

The positive comments were also useful because we were able to see if the audience had understood things that we had intended, and this feedback reflected that our aims through constructing the music video were successful.