Final Digipak

Overall I feel I have completed my digipak after receiving positive feedback and making alterations I have reached a stage where I feel my product is ready to be used. 

Final Magazine Advert

After making amendments from my annotations exercise I have reached a point where I am happy with my magazine advert and so is my demographic. Therefore below is my final magazine advert.

Final Music Video

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

I used lots of technologies within my project. Yet the majority are used outside of the construction stages as I felt the overproduction of effects and technology would be unconventional for the escapism type music video and genre. I am aware of how powerful technology is yet I believe that this doesn't mean it's the answer and the correct way. I used media technologies to allow me to develop on software such as Premiere Pro by teaching myself new skills through online tutorials. All examples of me learning knew techniques can be found in the Skills Development label.

How technology offers opportunities for creativity, empowerment, distribution and democratisation. 

Throughout my project I have discovered many advantages and disadvantages of media technologies. Below are some flashcards that demonstrate these issues. To view my explanation click the flip (middle blue) button.
(To access flashcards below click in the gray area)
 Disadvantages of Technology

Advantages of Technology

Timeline of Technologies Used During Promotional Package
Below I created a timeline of all the new technologies I had used during this project. Some software (like PhotoShop, Pinterest and Prezi) aren't included as I already had sufficient knowledge from outside knowledge. For this reason you can see how I have developed and used new technology over the seven months. Click on an entry to see my description of the technology and analysis.

In conclusion I have used a fair amount of media technologies throughout my project. In some places I could have incorporated more software but I felt that this wasn't needed and wouldn't have suited the style or my demographics expectations (which are usually the conventions). As discussed in In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My promotional package is conventional and by using After Effects this would break the brand identity of being conventional, meeting expectations and remaining within the traditional singer/songwriter genre. Despite not using lots of effects and taking advantage of technology in my music video I used technology throughout each stage. During research and planning I used mood boards, infographics and more visual aspects so when I would revise my research ready for construction I could envision the direction I would be going in (such as style of shots and atmosphere). Whereas after construction I used a lot less visual but more text (Google Slides, Prezi, Issu) to analyse the products and decide further improvements quickly and clearly.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

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

Please note to view this full screen you will have to be using Google Chrome. 

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

Gif Set of Music Video

Above is a gif set of my music video. As I envisaged a gif set of my music video appearing on my demographics blog. I find this works really well and demonstrates how my music video is ready for my demographic.

Annotation of Final Magazine Advert

Annotation of Final Music Video Timeline

Social Networking Audience Feedback

Below are my responses to my online appeal for feedback.

Above is my response from my social networking plea for feedback. I am extremely happy with the positive feedback and feel that for this reason (me and my demographic are both happy with the products) I can concluded that these are my final edits. 

How to Fade In in Premiere Pro

After the annotations exercise suggesting that I finish the video less abruptly I decided to add a fade out of music. Above is the process I took.

Audience Feedback on Social Networking

I feel that I am happy with my products but I would like to see if my demographic are. For this reason I have put up a post on the social networking site Tumblr to see if there are any more improvements needed from their point of view. I enabled answers so the responses would come directly to me. I also used more informal and colloquial language so my demographic would be more attracted to answer it.

Matthew P - On Top (Seventh Edit)

I am at a point now where I am happy with where I am with my product.  Yet before making this my final edit I will present it to my demographic on the social networking site Tumblr to see if there are any possible improvements that need to be made from my demographic.

Third Draft Magazine Advert

Fifth Draft of Digipak

Above is my fifth draft of my Digipak. I have reached a stage where I feel happy with the result but I will use social networking to see if there are any final tweaks that are needed to be made.

Annotations of Digipak

Below I annotated a printed version of my digipak to highlight any issues with it in its printed form that might not be recognised on screen.

The writing isn't very clear in this image so here are the issues raised:

• A different backdrop to be used? Brown paper to signify a scrapbook? Although I feel blue maintains the house style, has a relaxing mood (which matches the song) and contrasts well with the red.
• Adjustments to thank-you letter. Mainly keyboard errors and shortening of sentences.
• Reduce size of artist songwriting as it is too blown up and appears blurry.
• Add an Instax of beach.
• Make track list bolder.
• Add social networking sites to broaden profile.

Annotations of Magazine Advert

I decided to analyse my Magazine advert in true form and see it printed out. Below I annotated different ways to improve the advert.

Matthew P Feedback

I messaged the artist to inquire about any possible feedback that he could give. Below is the feedback he suggested.

• Matthew P suggested that maybe there were a few too many beach huts on the digipak. Although I can see why he thought this I feel like this is an important and strong motif that connects a house style. In my audience feedback there was a positive reaction to the beach huts and these are more valid opinions as these are the consumers. The way I presented the digipak to the artist could have brought on this opinion as they were all seen next to one another. In reality the panels would mostly be presented individually and there wouldn't be these overwhelming consistent imagery of beach huts.
• It appears that Matthew P prefers more conceptual videos (Lynch) and at this stage this is one factor I cannot change. Although I feel that the demographic will still enjoy it (as supported by my focus group), this feedback is more the artists preference and in hindsight maybe I should have had more communication with the artist to produce a video that he would have preferred. Although I felt that the song fits a narrative better and that the demographic would've preferred this.

Sadly for this reason I won't adapt the suggested improvements. Although it's important to get the artist's input, I feel that some of these adjustments would be too drastic and would affect the house style. Yet I feel this doesn't affect the product too drastically as there was still positive feedback from the demographic.  

Annotations Exercise

To get more feedback on my package I decided to present it to my demographic one more time. I gathered four people (two boys and two girls) separately and conducted a one to one and engaged in conversation with them about the products. I also encouraged them to annotate printed versions of my ancillary products.

Main Areas of Improvement for Magazine Advert:

• "Text looks stretched out" In response to this I will make the text small and less stretched as I agree with this statement.
• "Linear font doesn't match title" I disagree with this statement. Although they juxtapose I feel this works and conveys the font clearly. This opposition prevents information being lost in bulks of writing. Also there have been positive comments on the different fonts, so could just be personal preference.
• "Flag appears to be off centre" I agree with this statement and could move it across in Adobe Photoshop CS6 but I really like this imperfect factor. This is exactly how I found it and I want to depict the imperfection of reality (like in the music video reality wasn't depicted as beautiful, despite the face I slightly romanticised youth homelessness). The flag was off centre in the music video so to maintain continuity I will keep it in its original position.   
• Unclear on what YNDA logo is. I agree that because it isn't a mainstream record company it isn't recognisable. Yet this is part of the vital information needed on the advert so it will remain there.
• The stars aren't central. I agree with this and will move them slightly to the right so they align with the top of the beach hut.

Main Improvements for Digipak:

• "Seagulls would've made photos come alive" Although I agree with this and it would've complimented Matthew P's motifs, it wouldn't have fitted in anywhere on the digipak and would've looked out of place.
• "Inconsistent Instax as last one doesn't fill frame" Again, like the off centre nature of the flag I like the imperfect nature and reflects the laid back nature of the genre and the song.
• Keyboard Errors in thank you letter.
• "Colours on Instax a bit dull" I agree with this but it's the nature of the camera and I find it reflects the first part of the music video with the young girl.
• Repetition of Demo. I will remove the extra word Demo on the track list.

Main Improvements for Music Video:

• Lip Syncing could be improved. I will review the lip syncing and alter it as this has been an ongoing issue so I will address it. If needs I will replace footage with other footage to get the right alignment.
• Abrupt Ending. I agree that the video ends abruptly and to solve this I will fade in the sound of the waves (like at the beginning) and add one more shot of the subject walking to prevent this sudden finish.

Fourth Draft of Digipak

After holding a focus group I came up with various adjustments that the digipak needed. Taking these adjustments into account I created the fourth draft with a completely new layout for the fourth panel. Adjustments include reducing the size of the main image, adding an image of the artist writing a song and removing one of the two similar images.

Matthew P - On Top (Sixth Edit)

Above is my sixth edit. These include all the amendments I documented after the fifth edit. I will show this to three people and see if they feel they need any adjustments. If any points I will investigate this. Also I notice that there is a long black screen at the end so therefore my music video will need shortening.

Matthew P On Top - Fifth Edit

Above I have completed the alterations suggested by my focus group. I used the Saturation tool in the Three-Way Colour Corrector to decrease the intensity of the blue. I did this for the beginning section to add a more dull and overcast atmosphere but left the 'finding' of the note at its original intensity to match the happy, sunny surroundings.

Watching this I have decided to review the music video and decide on possibly weaker parts of the music video that need adapting and editing,

1. There is a close up of the girls eye edited in at 0:22. I feel this disrupts the fluency and the pace of editing. It also looks over-edited and unnatural. 
2. For the "oo ooo" parts at 1:11 I feel that the singer has his eyes squinting which doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing.
3. During the string pluck at 1:15 I feel that the video clips and editing doesn't match the pace of the song. This is quite obvious as the majority of the video is edited according to the rhythm of the track.
4.   Again the shot of the singer/songwriter lip syncing "of anything" 1:41 is squinting which doesn't look very attractive and disrupts the eye to eye contact/relationship between the singer/songwriter and the viewer.

Contact Sheet

Above are three images I took in response to the feedback. I found that only one of the three (the first) came out well as the other two were underexposed. For this reason I will be using this image in my ancillary product.

Analysis of Focus Group

Above is my analysis of the focus group results. On the blue side is the issue raised and after clicking the card a green side will show my thoughts and response to the issue.

Focus Group Highlights

For my focus group there were seven people. Four boys and three girls, I felt that this was a really good balance between genders so I could get a varied opinion. Below is the video of the highlights of the focus group and a photo to convey my planned layout. In the end I decided against leaving out lined paper and pens for notes as this would distract the participants away from a discussion. The photo was taken at the beginning while my focus group were looking at the ancillary products. I let them talk and have fun for about five minutes to allow them to relax, get used to being filmed and therefore produce a calm, colloquial and accurate focus group.

Adjustments to Digipak (Third Draft)

In preparation for my focus group I printed my ancillary products. I then analysed how they appeared in print. I found that the advert to be successful but the digipak needed some adjustments.

The first adjustment needed was the height of the two sides. One was higher than the other which meant that when folded there would be evidence of the other side. The bar-code also stood out as it was too far from the side so I moved it closer to the edge. Finally I felt the cover image didn't have a very good quality so I edited and made the titles stand out a lot more by spacing them apart.

I now feel that this draft is the one I can present to the focus group.

Specified Focus Group Planning

I will aim for my focus group to be a maximum of 15 minutes in total.

Structure:

1. I will hand out a copy of the ancillary product to each participant first and let them organise and explore the products. (2 minutes)
2. Ask questions relevant to ancillary products. (5 minutes)

• What genre do you associate with the ancillary products? Why do you pick up this genre? (If the answer isn't singer/songwriter) How could I make it clear that these products belong to this genre?
• Would you purchase the digipak from seeing the ancillary products? Why?
• Looking at the digipak would you feel like they go well together? Do you sense a brand identity? Despite the difference in images can you connect the two products? Why?
• So you've paid £10 for the digipak, this includes; a CD of 12 tracks, thank you letter from the artist, booklet of lyrics and extra images. Do you feel like you would be getting your money's worth? Why?
• How would you improve these products? Are you drawn to them?  

3. Present Music Video (3 minutes)

4. Ask questions relevant to music video. (5 minutes)

• Do you feel that the music video flows well? Is there anything I could improve on?
• Do you enjoy the music video?
• Does the lip syncing appear to be synced to you?
• Is there a connection between the music video and the ancillary products?
• Is there a connection between the music video, ancillary products and the song?

I have added time estimations on each question. This is a rough idea on how much time I should spend on each question, but I will not interrupt if I have a discussion developed. I won't take notes during the session. This will hold up the process and add a formality. Instead I will have two camera's recording and one voice recorder so I will have three sources of the audience feedback to refer back to. I want to keep the conversation informal and relaxed so the participants feel at ease and give information. I also want there to be a formal element so the responses are sensible and make sense.

Location

I have booked the Alpha Room in the Start Up Lounge. This features a projector to show my music video on, a group of tables to allow the participants to lean on while writing and sit together as a collaboration (to encourage feedback and discussion among them) and a flip camera to record on. I have booked this room for Wednesday 11th March 2015 at 1pm but I don't intend the focus group to start until 1:10 to allow set up and preparation (setting out pens, paper and ancillary products).

I will also inform the participants to write notes which I will collect in at the end to read and analyse.

Below is the booking reference for the alpha room in the start up lounge.

Brainstorm of Focus Group Planning

To ensure I cover all necessary points and conduct a fluent focus group I have had a brainstorm of possible facilities, questions and set up. I will plan more precisely after this and finding participants who can attend.

Responding to Hot Desking

One point raised during hot desking is that the right panel lacks infrormation and writing. I tried to add an important lyric from the leading single. I found it really hard to encorporate it into the design. Above are the results and I feel that this really doesn't work. The black is too harsh and the typography really stands out. The other panels are really busy and I feel that this empty panel breaks it down through use of space. For this reason I will ignore this response to hot desking as I don't feel it benefits the design or the consumer.

Hot Desking Results Analysis

To ensure I get the most out of the hot desking I will analyse the answers and see what I should improve and what I should keep.

Hot Desking

To develop my designs I wanted to recieve some feedback that would introduce some possible improvements, tips and strengths. Below is the document of the questions and feedback that was actually used during the hot desking exercise.

Second Draft Digipaks

After creating a thank you letter it meant I needed more room for text but still wanted to include as many images as possible. For this reason I removed one image but made the main image larger to incorporate text. Below are my two drafts (each with a different front cover):

Digipak One:

Digipak Two:

What is in a Thank You letter?

Looking at the overall results I have considered some factors that I know to be true. I kept the note broad so I wouldn't imply anything untrue about the artist. Subjects such as make-up and songwriters are unlikely whereas family, friends and fans are paramount. I used colloquial language to enhance the chilled approach of the artist and to embrace the fans. Making them feel like they are the artists best friend who they have known all their life. Below is the thank you letter.

Well honestly I don’t know where to start. There are so many people to thank and I wouldn’t be here releasing an album. So I will firstly thank everyone at YDNA Records who laboured with me to produce this record. Especially my band who we’ve shared many early mornings and many cups of tea. They are truly the inspiration of every string plucked.

My family have been behind me every step of the way and I’m forever grateful of my parents taking me to every gig and introducing me to the guitar. Thanks to my friends for the late nights on the beach and making memories. You kept me going when it looked like I wasn’t going anywhere.

Finally thank you to my fans. Thank you for your support in buying and sharing my music. You have all pushed me forward to the best that I am and I look forward to sharing many life changing experiences with you.

Let long straight lines guide you to paradise.

Love,

Matthew

Fourth Edit - Music Video

After taking a couple weeks break from my music video I decided to watch it again and to review it. I came up with this list of improvements:

• The extreme close up of the eyes towards the start of the music video.

To build suspense I added an extreme close up of the girls eyes. This was at a 90 degree rotation and I felt that this rotation wasn't very fluent and disrupted the video. Although I have to have a rotation for an extreme close up to be featured (due to cropping already existing footage). In my fourth edit I have decreased the amount of rotation so there is less fragmentation and heightened fluency.

• Check sound clips at around 30 seconds.

While watching my third edit I was convinced I could hear sound clips (pen on paper) from the original footage that wasn't intended. I checked the whole video and found no unintentional sound clips and checked again. Overall there were and are definitely no more sound bites that weren't intended.

• Check lip syncing at 1:11.

Whilst watching I thought the lip syncing was slightly out but after slight alteration I believe the lip sync is now more convincing.

• Change clip just before 1:14.

I found that one clip stuck out particularly just before 1:14 and after watching it repeated I found that I understood more and more why the clip was there and why it worked. Although to ensure it isn't just my opinion I will raise this point during audience feedback.

• Check guitar playing is synced correctly.

During the close up of the guitar being plucked to the tune I found it to be slightly out of time. I corrected this error but then decided that there was too much focus on the guitar and it didn't match the pace of the music video. For this reason I shortened the music video and added two more clips.

• Alter light leak at 1:58.

I added a light leak to create a fluent transition between far apart locations. I felt that this effect was too sudden and dark so I added a fade in and made it longer so there was more of a build up and a more successful transition.

First Proof - Digipak

I have designed two possibilities for my digipak that were influenced by my adverts. Each digipak is the same apart from the front cover. I am unsure on which one to pursue so I will create them into physical products and present them to a select few who are my target market and see which one is preferred. I will also present the adverts as well to what ones my audience prefer.

Digipak design 1:

Digipak design 2:

Second Draft Advert

After completing a photo shoot for my ancillary products it allowed me to replace the screenshot with a real image. During this I reviewed my first draft and decided to replace the black iTunes logo with a less distracting and simplified white one which I find more effective. I also replaced the quote from Clean Slate Music with a shorter one from The Fly as it is more attention grabbing and doesn't make the advert appear so busy.

 

After this I also experimented with using a different image as a backdrop and how it would work. I really like this new design but am unsure. I intend to have the album cover the same as the advert so I will experiment with this new layout and with input from hot desking and audience feedback I will decide.

 

 

Contact Sheet

Above is my contact sheet from today's shoot. I feel that I have given myself a lot of different varieties of the same thing and that this works quite well. There will definitely be an image I could use from this contact sheet for my magazine advert and cover of my digipak.

Contact Sheet (Instax)

Above are all the photos taken from today's shoot. I am really impressed with how they turned out. They're not all 'perfect' but this fits in with the aesthetic of the Instax image. I will use most of these in my digipak.

Digipak - Design of Front, Back and Inside Panel

Above is the first part of my design for my digipak. The beach hut is a screenshot from my music video and needs to be replaced with a higher quality photo. The inside panel also contains found images of Matthew P but I will replace them with my own similar style images as well as presenting them with the textured edges. I will also research the contents of a thank you letter so I can produce a note with a more genuine quality. Apart from this I feel that this part is complete and ready for audience feedback.

First Proof - Magazine Advert

Above is my first proof of my magazine advert. I have conformed to conventions  by including information such as reviews, using the same imagery as the front cover, where the album/digipak could be bought and including the title of the artist/album. I am yet to attend a photo shoot so the beach hut is from a screen shot but this is the style of composition that I would like to obtain. Overall I feel that although in some places the advert works in others it doesn't. For example the beach hut appears to be slightly cluttered with "includes the new single On Top", Matthew P's website and where the digipak can be purchased. I really like the text in the sky and how it gets less and less towards the centre of the advert, this directs the viewers eyesight.

Reviews of Matthew P

As part of my advert I would like to include review quotes, information and stars so I will be exploring different reviews (from professional critics to listener reviews) to see the general feedback and how I can present the track in the best light to increase fans and sales.

Alt Sounds

http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/149310-review-matthew-p-long-straight-lines-album.html

Star Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5 stars)

Best Quote: "A pleasant enough debut album that people of all ages can enjoy.

Overall: The review doesn't depict the album in the best light and I would only generally consider a 

rating of 4-5 stars. The best quote appears hesitant and this might rub off on the viewer when looking

at the advert, which isn't the desired effect.

Clean Slate of Music

http://cleanslatemusic.org/2012/07/13/album-review-matthew-p-long-straight-lines/

Rating: 8.5/10Best quote: "An album worthy of your time. An artist worthy of more than a passing glance."Overall: This review presents Matthew P in a decent light and the quote certainly suggests that the viewer should listen to the artist and investigate more. The repetition of  "worth of your" suggests wealth and that the viewer will gain from the small amount of money that it would cost them to purchase the album. The rating is also a decent one and although it isn't a perfect 10 it still encourages and promises the viewer value for money. I will investigate the feeling of whether ratings affect whether a viewer becomes a consumer and how low can the rating be before they are put off from purchasing the album.

IndieLondon

http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/matthew-p-long-straight-lines-review

Star Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5 stars)

Best Quote: "Debut album Long Straight Lines is a beautifully crafted listen"

Overall: The review really accentuates the positives of Matthew P's compositions which is reflected

in the rating but also a few imperfections. The quote isn't the strongest but the star rating justifies the

purchase and would still encourage the viewer to make the purchase. Maybe I will consider just

having the rating/collective of ratings and one quote to demonstrate the positives and not to crowd the

advert too much and to convey my point as quickly as possible. I will probably present the ratings as

starts due to the association within our cultural capital of this sign.

Manchester Scene Wipe

http://www.manchesterscenewipe.co.uk/reviews/matthew-p-long-straight-lines-review/

Star Rating: N/A

Best Quote: "There is no doubt that with the sun shining and beers flowing this album would make a

perfect soundtrack."

Overall: The review doesn't really state the emotions towards the album and whether it's approach is

positive or negative. I really like the informal quote which reflects the singer/songwriter genre but it

might not be appropriate for my audience due to them being teenagers and the legal drinking age

being 18 (despite the strong associations of under age drinking). It might also suggest an explicit

nature to the album and might mean that parents would prevent the purchase. Overall I feel that the

quote isn't appropriate for the magazine advert as it would probably do more harm than good.

Amazon User Comicasa Dude

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Straight-Lines-Matthew-P/dp/B007YX6BRC

Star Rating: 5 stars (out of 5 stars)

Best Quote: "Solid song writing and some very slick guitar licks makes this one of the finest albums

of the last couple of years"

Overall: The review is very positive and would be worthy of appearing on my magazine advert but I

worry about the fact that it was written by a user on Amazon which would remove it's credibility and

could be biased. For this reason I wouldn't include this on my magazine advert due to unreliable

source as it could be written by anyone, thus losing the trust between the viewer and the persuasive

advert.

To conclude I will use the quote from Clean Slate of Music "An album worthy of your time. An artist worthy of more than a passing glance" due to the high positivity and the encouragement of the viewer to purchase the digipak. I will use the rating from IndieLondon as it was 4 out of 5 stars which is still acceptable and wouldn't necessarily put the viewer off  from purchasing. I will only include these two as I really like the use of space and wouldn't want my advert to be too cluttered.

Sketch of Magazine Advert

Advert Vision

Above is the vision of what I want my advert to look like. This is only a collage from current images I have. The beach hut is a cropped screenshot which is obvious through the quality of the image appearing slightly blurry and there's less of a crisp outline. Yet I really like the use of the singular beach hut against the detailed blue sky which was taken from a current image. I really like this layout and when planning my photo shoot I will remember this design and take photos to improve quality. The only disadvantage of this design is that there is no feature of the artist which I think should be paramount taking into account he is trying the raise his profile. The advert includes the minimal amount of information of the artist, album title, leading track and website. I feel that more information needs to be added such as reviews, social networking and record label details.

Instax Research

To correspond with my demographic and the chilled atmosphere of the song I am considering using an Instax camera to take images with.

I will have to scan them in and they will be harder to manipulate on Photoshop but their becoming trendier due to their authenticity and no two images can be the same. Their popularity is being assisted by Taylor Swift's 1989 album which contains Polaroids. Taylor Swift is big in the genre singer/songwriter and therefore it is important that I keep up with trends to keep Matthew P current.

Below are some tutorials that I will be using to learn how to use the camera:

  

Different exposures:

I used different exposure levels on the same subject in a naturally light room. Below is how they turned out.

Instax 1: Inside Instax 2: Cloudy Instax 3: Sunny Instax 4: Very Sunny Instax 5: Hi-Key

I think the one that worked best was the Hi-Key, I really like the vibrant colours and I think this suits the nostalgic style. Although it does slightly overexpose certain areas but this 'bad quality' is quite fashionable as instant photos  The images 3 and 4 were too dark but this was more to do with light conditions rather than any other factor.

For these images to get on the blog I had to scan them which reduces the quality a little but the darker the image the more the bad quality shows up. Scanning is an effective way to reproduce them digitally.

 

Above I experimented with a scattered effect and I think this works really well. It would be improved if each of the images were of something different. It implies that more is there than what actually is therefore implying that the consumer is getting more for their money.

Above I also tried writing in the white spaces. This is done a lot on instant photos but here I feel it doesn't work. It distracts too much away from the image and there isn't enough room. For this reason I will exclude it from my ancillary products.