Evaluation Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I believe that all three of my media products use, develop and challenge the forms and conventions of real media products, however, some more than others. Below I will analyse how I used, developed and challenged these different forms and conventions, using theories regarding identity and representation.

We used different forms and conventions in our media products to make it look real and professional, so that our audience are able to find it familiar.

We developed forms and conventions to make our product more authentic, so that our media products stood apart from others. Helping us appeal to more niche groups within our target audience.

We challenged forms and conventions mainly in the music video, through our narrative and character representation. Showing the unorthodox nature of the artist we created that is distinctly different from other forms.

MUSIC VIDEO

Forms and Conventions of a House/R&B Music Video

1. Shows off the artist(s)

2. Represents the artist(s) positively

3. Represents the genre clearly

4. Bright colours

5. Fast cuts that synchronize with the track

6. High use of lighting

7. Genre

8. Range of shot types

Genre 

Our music video uses and develops media product forms and conventions. We followed Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos in our media product. We ensured that there was a clear relationship between the lyrics and visuals - we done this through the use of narrative.

We also followed the conventions outlined in Simon Frith's Theory on  music videos by having a combination of performance and narrative. We developed this even further by including conceptual narrative which was interspersed with performance. Below are two comparison gifs, my music video and "Every Step Every Way" by Majid Jordan

The costume in our music video "Sporty-Vintage"fit the conventions of our genre, the costume consisted of bright colours, Nike trainers, puffer jackets etc.

Still from Skeptas "Shutdown"

Still from my music video

Similarly our music video demonstrated key genre characteristics in terms of props (sound desk) and performance (dancing). 

Performance

We used a lot of group shots - this helped to create a fun and enjoyable atmosphere with the friends. Below are 4 stills from my music video conveying this, and a gif from "Finders Keepers" by Mabel which is also considered to have a 'London sound'

We used beauty shots to help build a relationship between the artists and the audience making things much more intimate. As well as this it provides an opportunity to see the artists distinctive characteristics. Below are two gifs showcasing this, one from my music video and one from "Decline" by Raye which has more of a Garage/old school R&B feel
  

Identity and Representation

Conceptual Narrative

We used Vernallis' theory on conceptual narrative especially when it came to editing - we followed her theory on discontinuous cuts that were both unpredictable and irregular, however still matched the beat. Below are two gifs, one from my music video and another from Cherrie's "163 För Evigt" 


The locations that we used were definitely inspired by the 'hustle and bustle' of London as well as the urban sections the city which added to the overall narrative. This is because of London's strong and deep connection with UK Garage and UK House as well as the artist. Below are two pictures, one which showcases the locations of my music video, and another showcasing locations from two other music videos, Skeptas "Shutdown" and Ramz's "Barking"

2 stills from two other music videos showing
 urban locations

4 stills showing urban locations of London

We used Todorovs narrative theory which looks at the journey from equilibrium to new equilibrium through some disruption - we followed this theory more or less however we unconventionally started the music video from the disruption as it fit with the lyrics of the song

WEBSITE

Forms and Conventions of a Website

1. Graphic - includes lots of images

2. Usability - easy to navigate

3. Interactive sections

4. Purchasing opportunities - merchandise/albums/singles

5. Menu bar

Overall, we followed the conventions of an artists website, the only development we have is the landing page which is not very common

DIGI-PACK

Forms and Conventions of a Album cover

1. Barcode 

2. Album name

3. Artist name

4. Focal image

5. Record Label

6. Copyright information

7. Distribution information 

Overall, we followed the conventions of an artists digipack, however we did have one challenge which was that we had a focal image at the back of the panel, which is not very common at all.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the different media products we created use, develop and challenge each of their forms and conventions. The reason why we used and developed the forms and conventions was to make it more real for the audience so that it would relate to other products they have previously consumed. However, the reason why we challenged some forms and  conventions is because we wanted our results to be unique and different to have an overall edge. 

Evaluation Q2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Our main intention when creating our media products, was that the ancillary tasks and our main product work effectively together as a combination to promote Cruze. This would be ensured through a successful marketing campaign which both reaches the audience and appeals to the audience. We started off our campaign conventionally with a single, the next step is a a music video which acts as a way to promote the single and promote the upcoming album. After its release, a tour will ensue where the artist will perform the entire track list.

Marketing methods are used to create awareness for campaigns to generate revenue. These are couple of methods many industries conventionally use:

• Social Media Pages
• News
• Appearances
• Live Performances
• Tours
• Music Video
• Album
• Single
• Freebies 

We looked into Mark Mulligans graph on how much money an artist makes off of each section in the media campaign, which proved very useful. As it informed us that most of the sales were made from the album, however now this has changed, most of the sales come from the tour. which songs from the album will be performed.

Below is an emaze of our take on Above and Below the Line Promotion for our artist Cruze

I will now compare our marketing campaign to another artists whilst looking at the inter connectivity between all three media products.  Below is the marketing campaign for Cruze

Since Cruze is a new artist, the core part the marketing campaign was the website alongside with social media - this is because these platforms are consumed the most and are very convenient and inexpensive.   The overall aim of this campaign is to the target audience 17-24 and to get them to buy into the media products. Social media is consumed heavily in this age group which is why it is so useful, it allows us to get information out to the mass public as quickly as possible. Similarly, the website is very useful because it contains all the information that a person would need, in regards to tour tickets, merchandise and future events.

Below is the marketing campaign of Demi Lovato

The aim of this campaign is to reach her target audience and to get them to buy into her media products for example the album. When looking at the image above we can see that the website is used to promote many other products, for example the album and tour tickets and the music video. Therefore, the website can be seen as a hub of all other relevant information. Similarly, social media promotes the music video as well as the album. An underlying aim of all these promotional tactics is to promote the overall brand image.

Richard Dyer theory on star identity looks at how pop stars are constructed. He argued that the identity of pop stars is a product of the record label whose aim is to make money and sell the artist to the audience. He also argued that a stars identity is consolidated through branding. The idea of brand repetition across all media products is very important. I will now analyse how this theory was incorporated into AlunaGeorge’s marketing campaign and how we drew from the theory also Cruze.

Conclusion

Overall, our marketing campaign was very successful in regards to reach and appeal due to how well we combined our media products. The result of this was an interested target audience who consumed the products we made for them.

Evaluation Q3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback was very useful from pre-production to construction as it helped drive our creative process. I will now analyse our target audience and the feedback I received, whilst doing this I will use the uses and gratifications theory.

OUR AUDIENCE

AUDIENCE TYPE	DESCRIPTION	VISUAL EXAMPLE
PRIMARY AUDIENCE	Fans of the genre - Who will find the music similar to what they already listen to 17-24 year olds  Female
SECONDARY AUDIENCE	British Teenagers/Young adults
TERTIARY AUDIENCE	Mainstream music consumers for example individuals who listen to pop/rap/ music regularly

Description of a typical target audience character

Young girl who lives in London, who is active and loves to have fun with friends.

Spends a lot of her time consuming music e.g. on the way to school, whilst doing homework, in the shower even when hanging out with friends.

Usually streams music on Spotify or Soundcloud

She is also very likely to listen to Stormzy, Aluna George, Skepta and Jorja Smith

After looking at target audience, we moved onto pre-production. We discussed many of our ideas and the image that they would convey to their audience in our group meetings. The main theory which drives our discussion was Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratification theory which helped us understand the needs of our target audiences. The theory looks at the wants and needs of audience members and why they consume media.

Below is a mindmap on Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratification theory.

We knew our target audience was going to be 17-24 year olds, our initial meetings focused on what kind of artist we should create which would appeal to them

The genre: Indie Pop / Garage / Trap / R&B
Website: Very graphic and interactive / minimal and interactive

Artist type: Band / Duo / Solo Artist 
Artist Name: Mahalia x Jordan / Cruze

Track: Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know / Jorja Smith - On My Mind

Below is a presentation looking at the data results of the survey we done on what our audience wanted the most

We learned a lot from our audience feedback during the pre-production stage. We discovered that factors like genre and artist type are very significant for when audience members listen to music and that they focus on details such as this. Overall this stressed the importance of audience feedback and the importance of their willingness to engage with the artist and go out of their way to purchase their music. 

An example of the importance of genre on a artist can be seen with Miley Cyrus. The music she was originally making after she left Disney Channel was not reaching her goal target audience, (young adults). As a result she changed her music genre from 'pop' to a more 'alternative-pop' to 'trap-pop' and then finally back to pop, when she established her young adult fan base. 

To avoid this hassle and a complete change in genre, we researched the most popular genre among our target audience (garage, r&b, pop) and decided to choose a song that hit all these elements. By the time we finished the planning section of our project, we felt that we had successfully taken our target audience feedback into account. 

I will now look at the feedback we received after releasing our media products

AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE MEDIA PRODUCTS

After releasing the music video I had some of our target audience group answer some questions that I produced on Survey Monkey. Below is the analysis that Survey Monkey provided.

What would you improve

Which shots were your
favourites

We also received feedback regarding our website from our target audience through some question and answers that were done through WhatsApp - this is a response from an 18 year old male.

Below is a presentation of this.

The audience response to the website was extremely positive, the audience member particularly liked the twitter feed and the poster. During an interview I conducted one comment which came up very often was that the website was 'easy to navigate'.  

We also received feedback regarding our music video from our target audience through some question and answers that were also done through WhatsApp - this is a response from an 18 year old female.

Below is a slide of the feedback that we received for the Digipack - this is from a 22 year old female

The response to the digipak was very good, the audience member was able to identify the genre of the digi pack through how professional and similar it looked to other artists of that genre. 

Conclusion 

Overall, I have learnt a lot from my audience feedback. It was very useful to get an insight on the audience we were marketing our products to. We learnt a lot about our target audience's thoughts and opinions throughout the process which helped us create effective and successful media products.

Evaluation Q4: How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

We used a range of different types of technologies from the beginning (research and planning) to the end (evaluation) of the project. The outcome of this was three very effective and successful media products.

Below is a (web tool) of the technologies we used in research and planning, construction and evaluation.

Pre-Production (Research and Planning)

Below is a prezi on the pros and cons of the technology we used in research and planning

Production
Below is a prezi on the pros and cons of the technology we used in the production side of our project

Post-Production

Below is a prezi on the pros and cons of the technology we used in post-production. 

Evaluation

Below is a prezi on the pros and cons of the technology we used in the evaluation side.

Conclusion

Overall, I am now aware of the amount of time and effort which goes into making a successful and professional music video, digital pack and website. Technology was very important for the project because it allowed us to research, communicate and produce products. I learnt how to use a lot of new technology as well as developing my skills on the ones that I was already familiar with. I also learnt how to use the studio equipment, Photoshop and Wix, which was very rewarding. I was very happy to further develop my editing skills on Premiere Pro.