Evaluation question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research and Planning

 Digipak 

·      We found artists and bands digipaks on the Internet to see how they were constructed and laid out. We used the search engine google to find various sources on the Internet. We also did primary research so we could see all over the digipaks by looking at our own.

·      We used templates off the Internet so we knew how to lay the digipak out properly.

·      We used the Internet to research the artwork and style of previous Pete Doherty albums, looking out for common conventions.

Video

 ·      Our first task was to research and analyse 5 music videos in the similar genre our music video is going to be. We commented on various shots that were of interest to us we could possibly use.

·      We researched into the green screen so we had the opportunity to use it in our music video if we needed it.

·      We took recce shots of our potential location so we could plan possible places to film.

·      We experimented with the slow motion effect, to create this effect we filmed a friend lip syncing the song in double speed. We then used final cut to edit the speeds of the video. This is a technique discovered from our research where we studied a Coldplay video.

Website 

·      Whilst researching about our website, we looked at other websites Pete Doherty is part of such as BabyShambles and The Libertines, so we could follow a similar type of genre.

·      We also looked at other artist’s websites to see how they portray their image and the style of their music.

·      Whilst researching for our website we also saw how artists websites are laid out making them accessible and easy to browse whilst cleverly linking to other websites in order to promote their music such as Facebook, Twitter and Ticketmaster. 

Construction

Digipak

·      We used the internet to download a digpak template, this made designing it easier as we knew which side is which and the dimensions of the panels.

·      Photoshop was an important new media technology, we used it to edit our photos. In two of the photos Jack is shown in colour whereas the rest of the photo is black and white. In another all saturation is taken away and the image is black and white, this achieved the moody feel that is present in many digipak designs made for this genre of music.  The photo where jack is seen walking across a field has had the contrast, brightness and hue changed. Photoshop was vital in the construction of the digipak.

·      Plain backgrounds were downloaded from the internet for use on our digipak, these backgrounds were used so text can be clearly seen.

·      We acquired a QR code online and placed it on our digipak, this enables viewers to scan the code on their phone and be immediately linked to the website.

Video

·      Video camera and tripod used. The tripod enabled us to have a very steady shot, although some handheld shots were included.

·      The shooting location was near a busy road, this meant a lot of background noise and made it difficult for jack to hear the song. To overcome this problem we used to speakers to amplify the song so it could be heard more easily.

·      The track used “Arcady” was downloaded off iTunes.

·      Final cut pro was vital in the editing of our footage. It was used to sync the footage to the music and perfect the continuity and cut rate. Text was also put on using final cut showing information about the artist and song.

Website 
·      Wix was used to create the website, this gave us a template to work over, and tools to personalise it, for example the fonts and backgrounds used.

·      The template also offered a media player which we could upload Pete Doherty songs which featured in the album we put together.

·      Linking is a vital tool, our website is linked to ticketmaster, facebook, twitter and an e-commerce merchandise site for Pete Doherty.

·      Video, digipak, and video are all presented on blogger.

Evaluation question 3 - What have you learned from your audience feedback?

On reflection we have learned that more audience feedback would have been beneficial, we only had one set of feedback from one viewer, more feedback from different people would have given us a better insight on how to improve our video. However the feedback we did gather is credible as it is from a qualified media teacher that could analyze the technical aspects and tell us how to better them.


We were often receiving feedback off our teacher throughout our project. This feedback is from a qualified media teacher therefore is a reliable source with an expert eye and knowledge about how we can improve things.

Jack was acting in our video but he does not know how to play the guitar, to overcome this problem Fraser's hands were used playing the guitar wherever it was possible. We received criticism from the feedback when Jack is shown playing the guitar and it is evident it does not fit to the track, we have learned from this and will not make the same mistakes in future projects.

Here is feedback off an English teacher and her son

This is feedback of our final video, again we could have down with more although this feedback offers views of a middle aged person and a younger person (age 14). It shows they particular bits they liked so we know what we would do again if we were to do a similar project. They also give some criticism about the guitar and offer advice of what we could do in future. Smoking in a music video is always a risk as smoking is mainly frowned upon nowadays, therefore a lot of parents maybe wouldn't like their child to see this in a music video as young people often follow their role models. If we were to do a similar project we could perhaps have less emphasis on the smoking in some shots, although we only used the smoking to follow similar conventions of Pete Doherty. 

Evaluation question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

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

View more presentations from JackSmith1994.

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

A comparison of our music video and Pete's music video to the song 'Arcady'

Our Website

Here is the home screen to our website, it has the artist name clearly at the top with a large picture of the artist too. Links to follow pete are also on the home page as this page will be seen by everyone who enters the website. Therefore hoping viewers will spot the links to follow pete on Facebook, twitter or myspace. This is something you see on every artist or bands website. All different pages or subtitled across a bar at the top, making it clear and easy how to get around the website. 

Here is our second page on our website, this page offers a free music video from youtube of our music video 'Arcady' with information about how the video was made etc. Many artists offer links from youtube of their latest music videos to advertise and promote their product. 

The discography page shows full track listings and an image of the Pete Doherty album cover along with five of the songs from the album on a media player under the album. 

This page is just general information about Pete, the album and what Pete's next adventure is. The Babyshambles and the Libertines are both linked to their own websites as fans of Pete are also likely to be fans of his other bands which are all in the same organisation. Therefore offering links is a way of advertising his other products to fans. 

This page shows all the tour dates as Pete will be doing during his summer tour. The 'buy tickets' logos are linked straight to ticket master, making selling tickets easier rather than selling his tickets direct and Pete's company having to solve problems themselves. Using an agency such as ticket master is a more popular way for bands and artists to sell their tickets nowadays. 

Here is a gallery of Pete Doherty merchandise with links to another agency to buy the merchandise. Again a lot of artists use this rather than setting up an e commerce site itself as they don't have to deal with problems of faulty goods or wrong size etc.

 As we were new to Wix we did have some problems on making links for the merchandise to the actual seller. We did manage to link it but you have to click on the >> to follow the link onto the parent side.

Here is the Merchandise site the links go to. On here you can buy the merchandise as it's an e-commerce site. 

Our final page consists of a contact form so fans can communicate with Pete's team, asking questions or showing their support. This page also shows an edited picture of Pete, with colours coinciding with other conventions on our digipak and music video. 

Research into Artist Websites

Baby Shambles Official Website

Here you can see the Baby Shambles official website, it shows general information which are all subtitled down the left hand side. These include 'news', 'gigs', 'merchandise' 'photos' and many more. The background on this website stays the same whilst the small box in the middle changes accordingly to the links you click on the left hand side. (Click the linked title to see more).



Coldplay Official Website

This website is very different to the Baby Shambles website. The bright pink and blue colours coincide with the conventions of their recent album. It is also advertising a lot more than the Baby Shambles website, this is mainly because they have recently released their new album compared to the Baby Shambles who are an old band that are no longer together.

Here you can see how the website and their new album 'Mylo Xyloto' are linked with the same colours and style. This is why it's important we use the same conventions and styles whilst creating our website and digipak.









Coldplay Live on X factor

Here you can see Coldplay performing live on X factor final. With millions of people watching this performance it's a massive advertisement for the band. Here you can see they also use the same styles and conventions with the bright fluorescent lights which people will remember for a very long time as they haven't seen anything like it before.

Coldplay - Charlie Brown

Here you can see Coldplay are using the same conventions in their latest music video too. 

Making Our Website

This was our first time using 'Wix' to create a website. Wix help by offering many templates so it was easy deciding how we wanted our website to be laid out. Whether it was with the subtitle headings above the top or along the side. We decided to have our subtitles along the top so we could show off our stylistic photos, as you can see in my screen shot.




Here you can see we uploaded our music video 'Arcady', this is an advantage of creating a website over a magazine as you can include different types of media.    We did have some problems when creating our website. For example when editing things such as photographs they would often stick onto every page when we only wanted them on one. We didn't actually find a way around this apart from putting the photographs onto the website at the very end and then publishing it.

Our Digipak

Here is our finished digipak, it includes logos from sponsors such as ticket master and song. It also includes a QR code for our website and a bar code which is found on all digipaks.
On the front cover we have the name of the album 'Pete Doherty', this is easy to read and clear to see. The back cover has all the track listings on the album, most track listings are on the back covers so fans can easily see all the tracks in the shop by simply turning it over. We also include lyrics to our song 'Arcady' which number one on the track listings. Our album also includes his latest tour dates for his summer tour.

Making Our Digipak

To make our digipak we used adobe photoshop software. Our task was to make a digipak design digitally therefore only had to make the covers so doesn't include things like an information booklet or a designed CD. We also took pictures using a high resolution camera and edited them in photoshop. The font we used was off the photoshop software rather than personalised fonts. We also used other images off the internet such as backgrounds, the QR code and sony and ticket master logos. 

We got a free template off the internet, making it easier to lay out our digipak. There was a wide choice of the amount of panels and type of digipak we could have but we chose the basic six panel digipak. 

Research into Pete Doherty's Albums

Pete Doherty started his music career with The Libertines. Towards the end of his time in The Libertines he founded The Babyshambles before becoming a solo artist which he still performing. I am doing some research into albums Pete Doherty has been apart of. Pete Doherty is a very talented man, as well as singing, he also plays various instruments, writes music, poetry and art.

The Libertines
On this album cover when he was part of The Libertines you can see Pete in the red polo t shirt and his fellow band member Carl Barât having a similar style and look. The artwork on this album front cover is a photo made to look as it isn't planned with Pete not looking at the camera with a cigarette in his hand. However, it is carefully framed in a diamond frame with an extremely clever background and clever lighting giving an excellent contrast. Very little information is given on the front of this album apart from the band name 'The Libertines'. The font used goes in proportion with the type of people Carl and Pete are. The scruffy intoxicated look of the band members in this photo is shown in the font with the letters from newspaper articles at slants and the letter 'S' as a descender.

The Babyshambles
This album is very different to other albums Pete has been involved in. The clearest difference is it's cartoon rather than a photo. The four cartoon people on inside the tour bus are the band members. It is clear Pete is the cartoon at the very front of the bus with the trilby hat placed on top of the bus. This is done to add some humour to the album and Pete Doherty fans who know that Pete is always seen with a trilby hat on.

Pete Doherty
This album is Pete Doherty's only album as a solo artist. Pete did the artwork on the front of this album showing his skills as an artist, accompanied with French artist Alize Meurisse. The font used is with a hand written look. The art Pete has done is clearly of a person but can't see much detail but it will be something that is of meaning to Pete.