3. What have learned from your audience research?

The sample group I chose was mainly C2/C1 category and are in higher education and planning to go onto study at degree level, which suggests they are aspirational and independent which links well the audience that I associate Blighters with. I found this out due to the audience research I did previously. I used the social networking site, www.facebook.com to find out what consumers thought of my music video productions and print productions.

However, I used it mainly as an aid, because I asked certain participants to answer the questionnaire and sent them the link to the questionnaire; I mainly asked consumers individually, because the participants I tagged in the questionnaire didn’t respond as quickly as I wanted. All of the participants in the focus group I asked were in the demographic 16-20 years. This was because I felt the appropriate demographic for our band’s genre was young people.

This graph shows the gender of the participants I asked; the majority being female. Although, the band members are all male and may create a sense of aspiration for the male consumers; I think that male consumers may appear threatened by an all male band which is why I believe that Blighters are aimed more towards female consumers. From Blighters myspace page, the majority of their friends are other bands or female fans, which strengthens the idea that females are more the target audience then male consumers. However, according to the graph below the majority of consumers asked liked the video for different reasons, and the two participants that disliked the genre, liked other aspects of the video. Although, this graph isn’t gender specific, I think we would have been able to see whether female or male consumers preferred this song, because the previous graph just states how many of each gender participated in the questionnaire. I have found that by using a strong narrative I was able to keep the focus groups attention because they enjoyed the strong “enjoyable” narrative. Many participants liked the mixture of the performance shots and narrative, because they felt it kept the pace up and made the video more exciting. The main reason I think the audience liked the narrative was because we’re so exposed to it on music channels; many videos have a strong narrative and many don’t have a mixture of performance shots, thus relying heavily on narrative, which is something that I felt made this video stand out more and gave the audience something fresh to watch.

The aspects of the music video that the two participants disliked was the genre, and it was a personal preference idea rather than a problem with the video itself; the participants didn’t like the genre of the music video, however this didn’t prevent them from enjoying the narrative and composition of the shots.

In terms of my print productions, the majority of participants said they would purchase the album because of the advert or album, as the terms “are strong” and they flow well together. The participants preferred the simplicity of the advert and album cover than they would’ve done if it was more colourful and busier (in terms of information). I learnt that by keeping my advert simple, I was able to appeal to a broader audience, because they weren’t overwhelmed by information or colours.

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

My media texts have been created around genre and through researching music videos of a similar genre and that use similar ideas to those of my original ideas.

4. How did you use new media technolgies in the contruction, research and planning and evaluation stages?

To view this fully, click here: How did you use new media technolgies in the contruction, research and planning and evaluation stages? on Prezi

This is my evaluation for "how did you use new media technologies in the contruction, research and planning and evaluation stages' in reference to print production and music video production.

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

By combining both my music video and print productions effectively I have been able to strengthen the genre of music and strengthen my ideas.

I chose to build on the school theme that was running throughout the narrative of the video and was prominent within the lyrics and the name of the song ('The Exam'), so I used a wood effect to resemble a desk as this linked with the school theme because it had connotations of a desk and the use of paper on top of the "desk" [wood effect] strengthened the implication of education. By linking the theme of education between both the video and print production I was also able to create a sense of nostalgia which I have tried to interweave throughout both production by editing shots into black & white and using Polaroid images on the front of the CD cover.

As well as using the editing to link my main production and ancillary texts, I used visual links as well, in order to appeal to audiences members who engage better visually. By integrating part of the video into my print production, it not only creates a direct tie between the two productions, but also familiarises the audience with the band and the music; they are able to relate to the singer on an aspirational level because they can see what he has achieved. Although the image of the performer on the front cover allows the consumer to relate to him, the use of lyrics on the inside pane of the CD case familiarises the audience, again with the performer because they're able to aspire even more due to the fact they can learn the lyrics, but also with the video and the song; the audience can engage with the song and the visuals on a different level because they're able to sing along with the performer and can link the visuals with the lyrics in a more precise manner.

In order to keep the ancillary text appropriate to genre, I used an image of the artist in order to promote the band and because this ties in well with the indie/alternative genre. Other bands from similar genres use traditional images of the artist, such as Jack Penate 'Everything is New' (it is just an image of the artist in a medium shot), however I decided to create an image using multiple Polaroid’s and one image because I felt this tied in best with the artist and because of the nostalgic feel I have been attempting. Positing the image in the centre of the CD cover framed by the text, "Blighters The Exam", draws attention to the artist and, similarly to the use of the same image that is from the video, allows the audience to familiarise and relate to the artist and the music.

To keep a sense of continuity between all media texts I used similar textures and pastel shades; the use of old paper is sepia and reminiscent of older times, this ties in with the black & white shots in the video and links both together because of the similarity in darker, pastel tones. However, I decided on keeping the main image in colour, because this tied in well with the performance aspect of my music video because it was all in colour as well; the contrast between the colour and the sepia effect of the paper made the image the main focus of the CD cover and because of this it is promotion of the artist because the audience become accustomed to seeing him.

Heeeeello =D

My new A2 media blog for the fabulous year ahead :)