Final Reflections

How does your A2 blog compare with your AS in terms of detail and use of ICT?

I have posted more than double the amount of entries I did on my AS media blog. I have included a lot more detail in regards to analysis and research. I have also used a wider range of ICT to present my research, analyses and planning in order to hopefully achieve a high grade. For example, I have presented my work using Prezi, PowToon, Emaze, Photobucket and Slideshare during my A2 studies. 

How effectively does the blog show all aspects of the research, planning and production of your Advanced Portfolio?

My A2 blog shows all aspects of research, planning and production in great detail through the use of video analyses, recce shots and shooting schedules/risk assessments. I also kept up to date with an extensive production diary which documents our entire journey towards the final music video. 

Where are the gaps in your blogging work?

There are little gaps in my work such as the lack of a complete shooting schedule and some of my posts aren't as in-depth as they could be. 

How many individual and group blogging entries did you produce?

 I have individually posted 111 blog posts that me and my classmates produced. 

What would you change, given another opportunity?

If I were given another opportunity, I would tidy up the shooting schedule. I would also write a bit more in-depth in some areas of my research. 

1. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Ellie devised a range of different methods for audience feedback, mostly aimed at our primary target audience, but also our secondary and tertiary audiences and people that aren't in any of the aforementioned social classes. Below are audience profiles for the three types of audience.

Below is a prezi designed to be the desk of a member of our primary audience. The playlist on their screen shows the sort of music that they would listen to: Charli XCX, Tonight Alive, CHVRCHES and Paramore. The post-it not shows that they are in a band and play guitar, as does the guitar plectrum. The sketchbook and pencils scattered around (plus the doodle) show that the audience member is arty. These people are the kind of group that we are specifically aiming for. 

Firstly, at the beginning of December, we got feedback from all other classes on the first draft of our music video. As it wasn't finished and needed a lot of tweaking, there were lots of things that people thought we could improve on. The most feedback we got was questioning the box that Zahra (our drummer) was playing. This was due to the school rules caused restrictions during filming. We explained afterwards that this was the only way we could think of to make up for the lack of real drums! A lot of feedback was also given on the colour of the video. The whole first draft was in black and white. A few people liked the black and white whereas some people wanted some colour. 

We took all of the feedback into consideration when editing it to make our final piece. We altered the colour so that all of the verses were in black and white and choruses in colour. We also inserted more individual shots of Zahra playing real drums to try and detract from the box in other shots. This seemed to work - less feedback was given about the colour and people rarely commented on the box. 

These are screenshots of the online survey (all audiences) Ellie created for people to take part in. It asks questions such as "What is your age?" as well as opinions on the music video. This is to see what our audience as a whole enjoyed or disliked about the video and whether they thought Alleyways as a band were relatable and current. This survey was not targeted at a specific audience such as our primary, secondary or tertiary audience but instead to anyone that watched the video to get general opinions. 

Ellie's mum very kindly posted the links to our music video and feedback survey on her facebook with a request that all of her friends answer the questions and Ellie's sister asked some of her friends to do the same. This is where the majority of our feedback came from which is good because it gave us a wider understanding and, more importantly, audience - different gnders and ages of people with different interests rather than just asking other classes in our year and friends to answer the survey which could have been biased.

We got over 25 responses and the feedback we got was mostly positive with the positives and negatives/constructive criticisms shown in padlets below. 

A lot of the positive feedback stated that we were fun and unique which is the image we were going for - different from everyone else and like we really wanted to make music. 

Everyone who completed the survey answered "Yes" to the question: "Do Alleyways appear to be a relevant/current/relatable band?" Most gave answers as to why. We learnt that people think we are realistic and current as our image is fun, unique and quirky. We have good chemistry as a band and gel well. We have an 'indie' aesthetic that is quite popular nowadays, as well as other points, seen below.

We have conducted a screening session for people to watch our music video and give feedback via a questionnaire which rates things from 1-5 such as costumes, performances, narrative etc. The general response was very positive with a lot of 4 and 5 star ratings. 

Above are some pictures of comes of the responses we got. From this we can deduce that our costumes were overall well received with lots of 4 stars and one response of 3 stars. Our locations got a similar response and got 5/5 all round for how well the video fit with the song. We had a very average/below average response to how easy the video was to follow, meaning that we could possibly have made it a bit clearer and easier to understand. overall, the video was very well received and we got lots of 5s and a 4.5.

Above is a video of some audience feedback that Ellie filmed with some members of our audience asking general questions above positives and negatives of the video. Again, the video seemed very well-received. We were told that everyone enjoyed the video and one person wouldn't even change anything if they got the chance to direct the video themselves!

Overall, feedback has been very positive for our music video. Things we could have improved on include changing the colour of some shots and replacing the box that Zahra (our drummer) played on with actual drums which was impossible due to circumstance.



2. How did you use new media technologies in the Construction and Research, Planning and Evaluation Stages?

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

After completing our final music video our focus was then driven towards making a Digipak to the best of our ability as well as one which accurately fits in with the style and motifs of our music video. We also aimed to create suitable advertisement for our newly formed band accompanied with an active social media presence. We accomplished this in several different ways such as the use of iconography, magazine articles and interviews among others.

The main goal of our marketing campaign throughout the run-up to the release of our music video was to utilize the closeness and intimacy shared the band shared as not only a group of musicians but as affectionate friends. I believed that we displayed this effectively throughout our digipak, website and music video as no individuals were left out or kept out of frame. A clear motif in our music video is the togetherness of the band - something everyone can relate to as we all share a deep connection with either friends or families. Our campaign replicates this extremely well. 

New artists usually apply iconography to their media campaigns in order to help hem stand out and be noticed by their target market. In this case our target audience was young adults between 16-21 who were interested in pop rock and alternative rock. By analysing and exploring other bands digipaks of this genre we came up with we came up with ideas that we could place in our own digipak and music video that will appeal to our designated audience. We chose to use silhouettes throughout digipak, marketing campaign and music video as it has been used extremely successfully previously to attract a selected audience as shown in The White Stripes' 'Under Great White Northern Lights' digipak. 

We also used silhouettes due to the fact that nobody in the band would be overshadowed in our band as no one can steal the limelight as we are all blank spaces. We are all equal. Straight away, the audience would understand how close together and intimate the band is which relates back to the main goal of our marketing campaign. We want to be a personal band. Evidence of this can be seen in our digipak, shots in our final music video and photos featured on our bands' official website. 

Screenshots from 'Fast In My Car'

Screenshots from alleywaysband.wix.com/wearealleyways

Synergy:

Font and Logo:

As shown in the Screencast above, we have successfully used our logo which is he self-titled 'Alleyways' across all of our ancillary texts. This font also successfully links our website and digipak as well as our final music video. We did this to create a sense of familiarity which is shown throughout our marketing campaign. The motif of a large white font allows our audience to instantly recognize our logo as well as the fact we use our own band name as an emblem which means that more individuals can recognize us and get acquainted with our name. 

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

After conducting research into electro-alternative artists and their brand identities, we compiled a list of conventions that we aimed to retain during the construction of our music video and ancillary texts. We recognised the conventions by analysing real media products from artists such as The 1975, PVRIS, CHVRCHES and Charli XCX. These influences helped us construct our own music video, website and digipak. We also disputed some conventions such as the sexualisation of women (Charli XCX) in contemporary music videos and a blend of colour scheme (black and white and full colour).

I have used YouTube and Photobucket to present the music video and ancillary texts.

Music Video

Genre conventions:
The 1975 and PVRIS both market themselves with a black and white band image - they are both rarely ever seen in full colour. CHVRCHES are seen in silhouette during their 'Lies' music video and Charli XCX oozes a fashionable nature in her videos. We were inspired by all of these elements and tried to incorporate them into our own image and video. However, we twisted our band image by marketing ourselves in black and white but then subverting to full colour during the chorus sequences of our first music video to reflect the energetic and bright nature of the music. We like the idea of Alleyways presenting themselves with a dark visual aesthetic that juxtaposes the upbeat genre of music. This idea is similar to the concept for The 1975's 'Girls' video. The band were criticised with conforming to a major label for their prior video as it was in full colour which contrasts their slick black and white image. In response, The 1975 released their 'Girls' video in bright colour. We did the same except instead of making a statement, we reverted into full colour to surprise the fans. 

Style of Music Video:

After all listening to 'Fast In My Car', we agreed that we wanted to create a fun, energetic music video that fit the song's tempo and title. The song is very modern and so we all said that we would emit a 'trendy' style in our choice of dress. This style also corresponds with the current interests of our target audience and fits the stylish conventions of several examples of artists' of the electro-alternative genre. In our music video, we kept to a strict 'trendy' dress code and incorporated fairy lights into some some selected performance shots to conform to the electronic genre's classic sensibilities. 

We also created a steal-o-matic of our music video influences and certain shots that inspired us in videos of the alternative genre.

Music Video Narrative:
Music videos are conventionally edited between performance and narrative sequences. However, after investigating videos of the electro-alternative genre, we found out that the artists tend to perform throughout the music video - even during the narrative sections. We decided to mix this up a bit and feature narrative shots that included performance and others that did not.

Top left: PVRIS - 'My House', Top right: The 1975 - 'Girls'
Bottom right: CHVRCHES - 'The Mother We Share, Bottom right: Charli XCX - 'Breaking Up'

The above examples all include performance during their video however CHVRCHES' performance is intercut with narrative shots instead. We combined both of these elements together in our video so that we have performance during some narrative shots and shots of us performing in the drama studio spliced with the narrative.

Above: Performance
Below: Narrative

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory (Dancing in the Distraction Factory, 1992)

Goodwin stated that there are five key characteristics of a modern music video in his 1992 study. We supported some of these conventions and challenged others.



Digipak

We analysed the conventions of digipaks in the alternative genre and applied some of them to our own Alleyways product. We also challenged some conventions such as displaying the artist on front of their EP/album cover. We aimed to stay mysterious and cause intrigue which would hopefully gain positive attention.

We were inspired by album covers that featured a simple image on the front. We felt that it would be more appropriate to display a photograph of the band on the front cover of a debut album rather than an EP. We managed to retain our brand image through the repetition of the font and colours used. The front cover of the digipak also relates to the 'Fast In My Car' music video through the fairy lights imagery and backdrop.

Website

Branding, Interactivity and Purchasing Opportunities

After more research, we found out that the three most important elements of an artist website are purchasing opportunities, interactive capabilities and consistent branding. Therefore, I have compared Charli XCX's official website with our own to see who's is more equipped in the aforementioned three fields. 

Interactivity:

- Charli XCX's site provides the viewer with a flashy 'enter' button positioned on a lollipop that cracks when clicked and directs them to the home page. When the lollies are hovered over by the mouse, they bump about in response. The site displays social media links throughout and allows fans to view all of Charli's music videos to date. A 'Sign Up' page allows the fans to keep up to date through regular e-mails.

- Our site gives the opportunity for the viewer to stream the debut single for free on the home page via a music player. Social media links are provided throughout. Our site has a merch store on its own domain as opposed to Charli's site. A 'Bio' page is supplied too to give the site a personal touch - something that Charli's also does not have. Video content has not only music videos but teaser trailers too to keep fans up to date. There is also the opportunity to sign up to the official monthly mailing list.

Purchasing Capabilities: 

- Charli's site links viewers to purchase her discography through iTunes, Amazon and Spotify links found on her 'Music' page. Her 'Live' page lists all upcoming tour dates of hers and their respective ticket links. However, her 'Store' link, found on the home page and header, redirects the viewer to an external site which lets her image down slightly.

- Alleyways' site supplies the viewer with iTunes links to pre-order the debut EP. It also provides GigsandTours, Ticketmaster and SeeTickets links to buy tickets to all upcoming tour dates. The 'Store' page allows fans to internally purchase official merchandise and in some cases even customise the colour of the chosen item. We felt that by establishing our merchandise store through the official site gave the situation a more personal touch.

Brand Consistency:

- Charli's site follows a strict pink colour scheme which relates to her latest studio album's design and its campaign. The repetition of lollipops further establishes this. These two elements also appeal to her target audience's interests. The use of overwhelming colour is featured in Charli's music videos too.

- Our site maintains a black and white colour scheme which is synchronous to the digipak and music video. There is synergy between all Alleyways media products aesthetically thanks to the colour scheme and choice of font used.

In summary, we used, developed and challenged the conventions of alternative music videos, websites and digipaks whilst also building our own brand image that fits the genre's target audience. We used and developed the traditional ideals of alternative music videos but also challenged them through changing colour scheme. We dismissed the idea that the artist should be displayed on the front cover of their album/EP and used the conventions of an alternative website in order to make it seem as legitimate as possible. 

Alleyways - 'Fast In My Car' Final Draft

Above is the final draft of our final music video in standard definition. We are very happy with our final draft and feel that it represents our band's sound and image well. We took our feedback into consideration and attempted to alter a few elements of our video in order to create the best final music video that we could possibly make. We also tried to fix our drumming issues by shooting some extra footage of Zahra performing on an actual drum kit.

Alleyways - 'Fast In My Car' First Draft + Feedback

Above is the first draft of our final music video. In the final draft, the shots that take place during the chorus will be in full colour to contrast the verses. We will also need to re-shoot one sequence but despite this, we are very pleased with how our first draft turned out.

 We received positive feedback on our music video first draft. We were praised for our energetic performances, mise en scene and editing. However, the fact that Zahra is playing a box during our drama studio performance shots struck up some concern amongst our peers. Ideally we would replace the boxes with a professional drum kit however the school rules indicate that we cannot move the music department's drum kit to the drama studio. Some viewers are telling us to keep the black and white filter whereas others are persuading us to lose it. We will need to think about what we are going to do with the colour of the video before our final draft is due. We are aiming to go with our original idea and keep everything in black and white expect for the chorus segments.

Editing Of First Draft + Car Shoot Reflection

Above is a screenshot of the Premiere Pro timeline as it stands whilst Ellie edits our first draft. She has included lots of our best footage in order to tell us how many gaps we need to fill and which specific areas of the music video. There are lots of little sequences that we need to film as well as a few re-shoots. We believe that we will have all of these completed by the Final Draft deadline. We are all happy with how our first draft is turning out.

Shooting in Dom's car proved to be difficult at first as we needed to acting carefully with our props in order not to distract Dom whilst he drove down the road at a pretty fast pace. Despite all the complications that we faced, we managed to acquire some really good footage during the shoot.

Digipak Feedback

We were told to give feedback on our peers' digipaks. 

COSMO:
This digipak relates to the artists's genre and style. I like the front cover with the hand. However, the purple is a little overwhelming and the 'Happy' page isn't synchronous with the rest of the package. I prefer George's rendition of the digipak as it is toned down more and the front cover is amazing.

Alex Echo:
I really like the simple black background and the white text looks really effective against it. The photos are appropriate and the whole digipak fits the genre.

Hybrid Beauty:
I really like the back cover and the 'special thanks' page looks cool. I like the CD and the photo pages fit the artists' genre. Maybe choose a stronger front cover?

Encoded:
I really like the monochromatic look however the physical CD needs some work but the style fits the genre of the duo.

Grace Starr:
I really like this digipak and it is one of my favourites. The fonts all fit the style of the artist. I feel that this digipak will be amazing when finished.

James Couleur:
I like the idea of the back cover however it is poorly executed. The panels aren't synchronous with each other i.e black and white versus colourful.

Jaya:

I really like this digipak. The front cover is brilliant and the collage of photographs is really cool! The back cover is good in thought however it could be edited  darker to fit the rest of the digipak.

Nicholas Alexander:
I really like this digipak and the blue theme suits the genre well. I'd get rid of the white shape behind the text on the back cover if I were you and replace the text with a darker colour to contrast the photograph.

We received mostly positive feedback on our digipak. We were told that it is one of the best digipaks in our year and we were commended for our use of text. All feedback is listed below:

The bottom left square is the best picture out of any on the digipaks. I think the entire thing is very professional and the theme is clear and obvious.

Alleyways digipak is my favourite by far. It looks so professional from the lyrics page to the professional layout of the front covered image. There isn’t much to improve and i am struggling for things to suggest.

I really like Alleyways digipak, introduces the band and the genre at the same time, could include more writing on the CD.

WWW: Like the picture of the Group together a lot it is high quality.
EBI: Not a fan of the bin on fire or CD. The bin picture quality isn't the best, if retaken it might look better. The CD is extremely basic so unless you’re going for minimalism I suggest soothing more interesting. I also hope that the microphone image isn't the front cover because it’s more suited to the inside of the CD holder. I personally do not like the silhouette shots maybe keep one and have another band photo in an interesting location.

Alleyways is also one of the top digipaks and needs no words.

The alleyways digipak have quite a few images on theirs that make it look over loaded. a lot of the pictures look professional. You can see that the text works well with the black coloured background. The overall layout is really good some of it is really over loaded but still looks amazing.

Good, strong imagery here; the font matches, everything looks great - apart from the images don't totally flow. Maybe rearrange a few, swap them out to get a better balance! I'd make the font bigger on the front cover as well, apart from that, it's brilliant!

Great pictures and really like the text. All looks very slick and professional and links to the genre. Nothing bad to say really!

I think this is possibly the best as it has colour and sticks with the bands themes and has synergy with the other products. It has a lot of good pictures which have been nicely edited to fit the style of the band and the genre.

I really can’t think of anything to improve on for this I really like the outcome of the digipak.

A more interesting front cover just a picture of a microphone would not make me want to pick up the album if I saw it in a shop.

I like the theme and text. It is hard to tell which is the front and back covers.

Theme is good Text is easy to read Hard to distinguish between front and back covers etc.

Great photographs, professional editing and layout.

I love it all and I would improve nothing. Perfect.

Everything about this digipak is amazing - the colours, the text, the images, the genre AND the overall layout. Improvements: there aren't any - where can I buy it?

In response to our feedback I have altered our CD Design and included the track list and a better representation of the band name and EP title.

The slight change in the above digipak therefore renders the rendition as the final CD package.

Production Diary

#1 - 19/09/14
During our first meeting, we presented all of our music video ideas and chose three of them to put forward for our final A2 music video. We decided that we would like to produce a music video for either: Paramore's 'Fast In My Car',  Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' or Paramore's 'Born For This'. We all uploaded the three tracks to our blogs and spoke about our opinions on them.

#2 - 22/09/14
In today's lesson we decided to produce a music video for Paramore' 'Fast In My Car'. We conversed about our ideas for what we can include in the video such as balloons, the inclusion of Dom's car and silly string. We also began to put together a narrative that would run throughout the video where we are all picked up by Dom in his car and Ellie, the vocalist of the band, will sing passionately in the passenger seat whilst the rest of the band play their instruments in the backseats.

For our music video, we are hoping to all be dressed in colourful colours and be surrounded by a fun atmosphere. To create this vibe, we will invest in as many bright props as possible.

#3 - 23/09/14
Today we talked about what roles we are all going to play in the production of the 'Fast In My Car' music video. We all decided that our band will be called 'Alleyways'. I will be doing the daily production diaries, Ellie will be putting together the website, Zahra will be comprising a poster for the Alleyways' EP and Dom will be researching similar artists. Ellie will also take part in a lip syncing task to prepare her for performing during the video.

#4 - 24/09/14
During today's lesson we began working on our selected tasks. Ellie started putting Alleyways' website together using Wix, Dom researched a few similar bands and their digipaks. Zahra helped Dom and considered styles that can influence the poster that she is creating for the EP's marketing campaign. I also created a song lyric timeline to help us during production.

#5 - 25/09/14
During today's lesson, me and Dom researched some famous music video directors such as Spike Jonze. Ellie continued creating Alleyways' official website and Zahra began designing a poster for the EP release. We have decided to do our lip sync task tomorrow and to take some professional photos of the band to be used in our digipak, on the website and posters.

#6 - 26/09/14
In today's lesson time, we went to the music department's recording studio to film our lip sync task. We all felt that we were particularly successful in producing a good lip sync video and Ellie performed exceptionally well.

#7 - 29/09/14
During today's lesson, I researched similar artists' magazine interviews. Ellie, Dom and Zahra researched similar artists and influences. We all prepared ourselves for conducting a photoshoot tomorrow for our website, digipak and social media platforms.

#8 - 30/09/14
In today's session, we all took part in a casual photoshoot for Alleyways' magazine articles, website and social media accounts. We had to take the photos by filming the different scenes and then saving good freeze frames. However, after the shoot we decided that we didn't like the outcomes that we produced and so we agreed that we would re-do the photoshoot with the assistance of someone outside of the group to take pictures.

#9 - 01/10/14
Today we got George Brewer to help take pictures of us for our press and social media presence. We found it a lot easier to take pictures with someone else's help. We all made sure to dress up for the occasion too in colourful colours to positively benefit the photographs and our image in relation to the sound of our band.

#10 - 02/10/14
In today's lesson, we started our storyboard and began to put together a risk assessment. We also all assessed each other and learnt our merits and weaknesses.

#11 - 03/10/14
We continued our storyboard and finished our risk assessment in today's lesson. We also finished our sheet which features all of the possible obstacles that we may encounter during the production of our music video.

#12 - 06/10/14
We finished the 'Fast In My Car' storyboard and Ellie began putting together the presentation.

#13 - 07/10/14
Today we presented our band and what we have done so far in preparation for the music video.

#14 - 08/10/14
We all began to catch up with our blog work.

#15 - 09/10/14
Today we all completed a Cross-Media Image Consistency presentation each to adapt the way we wish to present our own band.

#16 - 14/10/14
During today's lesson, we ventured out to shoot the beginning of our music video. It didn't go too well as the setting was a little drab for our band's aesthetic. We will require a re-shoot.

#17 - 15/10/14
We all continued to catch up on blog work and filmed the cramped studio performance scene of our music video during our free time after school.

#18 - 16/10/14
Ellie and Dom edited the footage that we got from the night before whilst me and Zahra left to go to Barcelona on an Art trip.

#19 - 20/10/14
Me and Zahra came back to find that Ellie and Dom had completed a lot of work whilst we were away. They had begun to put together a rough draft of our music video. We then filmed for two hours after school in the Drama studio and the shoot went very well.

#20 - 22/10/14
Today we added footage from the shoot the night before to put into our rough draft.

#21 - 23/10/14
In today's lesson, we discussed how we could change our digipak design idea to suit the band more. We concluded that we would have a front cover that did not feature that band, like Ellie's previous idea, but a back cover which does feature us in silhouette. We all agreed that this was a good idea and Ellie began to draw up the design using photos from our photoshoot.

#22 - 24/10/14
Today we continued to complete blog work and allow others in the group to catch up so that we can all be fully focused on the filming at hand.

#23 - 04/11/14
In today's lesson we have been creating a survey to find out what our audience wants from our band, music video and digipak. We also put together the digipak using a template provided on the Internet and pictures that we have taken for it.

#24 - 05/11/14
Today we uploaded the teaser trailer for our music video, updated the design of our website and posted about our various social media outlets. We also shot a little footage for a clever sequence during our music video.

#25 - 06/11/14
We created lots of merchandise that Alleyways can sell on tour and through their website. We added further updates such as iconography and widgets. Tour dates have also been posted on the website. We all took part in practising our editing skills using footage that we had shot the day before. I conducted some magazine advert research to prepare me for making a magazine advert to promote Alleyways' debut EP release.

#26 - 07/11/14
In today's session I created a magazine advert or poster for our band. Ellie updated our teaser trailer as it was a little grainy. Zahra also created a poster.

#27 - 10/11/14
Me and Zahra were taking part in an Art session all day today but Ellie and Dom created a Kerrang! 'Introducing' article whilst we weren't present.

#28 - 12/11/14
Today we continued to edit our final music video using all the footage that we have shot so far. We all also conducted a self-reflection on our blogs and thought about what can do to improve them.

#29 - 13/11/14
We continued improving our blogs by researching the music industry and how they treat unsigned artists. Ellie finished editing another sequence for our music video.

#30 - 14/11/14
We looked at the weather forecast to see which days will be appropriate for us to shoot the rest of our music video. We are mostly up-to-date on blogging, research, and planning but we are falling behind with shooting at the moment.

#31 - 17/11/14
During the lesson, Ellie created a presentation on cross-media consistency covering CHVRCHES. They are relevant to our image and sound so it is good for us to investigate them. She also uploaded some edited footage of a sequence that we shot a few weeks ago. She also planned how we will answer the evaluation questions when we get to that stage. I improved our NME Radar article by making the layout of the text more like the original article. I also changed the photograph as it suits our band image more than the previous one.

#32 - 18/11/14
Today we prepared for tomorrow's photo-shoot and music video shooting. Ellie created a poster, inspired by CHVRCHES, to promote Alleyways' EP release.

#33 - 19/11/14
In today's session we completed a brief photoshoot which we all felt went extremely well. The photos came out stunning and we edited them a little to improve the lighting slightly. We all prepared to meet after school and shoot a few more sequences and shots in Dom's garden.

#34 - 20/11/14
Today we began editing the footage that we shot the night before. We are all very happy with it and have a lot of good shots to choose from. I also analysed the other artists' websites to help them improve.

#35 - 21/11/14
This morning we continued editing our music video. I uploaded our GoPro Car Test Shots and Zahra analysed our peers artist websites.

#36 - 22/11/14
Today I uploaded our finalised digipak design. I am extremely happy with how it looks and so are the rest of my group. We all feel that it presents our genre and image well.

#37 - 25/11/14
Ellie continued to edit our first draft of the music video. We all think that it is coming along well despite not finishing filming yet.

#38 - 26/11/14
We uploaded the finalised versions of some of our constructions. Ellie showed us all of our first draft so far and we took notes on how to improve and when we can next film to get extra footage in. We plan to shoot more footage of Ellie tomorrow and to shoot some instrument shots on Friday.

#39 - 27/11/14
We set up a black background and lights in the class to film several shots of Ellie singing on her own. The footage is of a high quality and I am very pleased with how it looks. We also shot some footage of the entire band which was then uploaded and imported into the Premiere Pro first draft file.

#40 - 28/11/14
I wasn't in sixth form today as I was visiting the Norwich University of the Arts. From what I have heard, Ellie continued editing and Zahra and Dom caught up with our blog posts. The three of them shot after school in one of our school's music rooms which includes a professional drum set-up. They put a white sheet behind the kit accompanied by some fairy lights to try and emulate our drama studio performance shots. We realised prior to this that we didn't have enough footage of Zahra and so the three of them took the time out of their evening to shoot gather some visuals of her performing. They then moved to the drama studio to get some more footage of Dom playing guitar.

#41 - 03/12/14
Today we finally filmed our interior car shots during lesson time. I provided party poppers to jazz the scenario and sequence up a little bit. I returned to school and watched our footage through and I thought that it looked really cool! Obviously, we will need to tweak them to perfection but what we have is very good indeed. We will add the footage to our first draft tomorrow. Filming in the car was difficult as we all had to make sure that our actions were noticeable and in sync with each other i.e the party poppers and dancing.

#42 - 04/12/14
Today we finished constructing our first draft and exported it to YouTube.

#43 - 05/12/14
In today's lesson we evaluated our peers' music video first drafts and told each group what liked about their video. We also gave constructive criticism regarding certain shots and editing techniques too.

#44 - 08/12/14
Today we continued to evaluate the remaining music video first drafts that the other groups have produced. We also received some of our peers' feedback on our music video first draft. Our feedback was mainly positive however we have realised that we still have a few things to alter to make our final music video absolutely perfect.

#45 - 12/12/14
In response to our music video feedback, we filmed some extra shots of Zahra playing drums to hopefully divert the audiences attention from her playing a box in the drama studio performance shots. We continued editing the music video to perfection.

#46 - 15/12/14
Ellie and I continued to improve the final draft during today's lesson. Dom and Zahra caught up with blog work and we prepared to film a little more footage to replace our original car pick-up shots.

#47 - 16/12/14
During this lesson we ventured out in Dom's car to shoot some more footage for the final cut of the music video. Unfortunately, just before we were about to commence shooting the battery on the camera ran out despite being charged throughout the day. We were forced to call it a day.

#48 - 17/12/14
We decided to to keep our original car pick-up shots in the final cut however we rearranged them so that the video begins with Ellie instead of me. Ellie added a bright filter to all of our full-colour shots and we all agree that it looks really cool. I like how it completely and utterly contrasts the black and white sequences.

#49 - 18/12/14
We finished the construction of our music video today and we all think that it looks really good despite all the complications we have faced during its production. It looks better than I first anticipated it would.

#50 - 19/12/14
We uploaded the final draft of the music video during today's lesson.

Final Constructions

I created the above slideshow using Photobucket - an easy-to-use website of which I hadn't used previously. I intend to use Photobucket more to present my work.

Kerrang! Article - Final Draft

I improved Ellie's Kerrang! Article in order to make it look more legitimate. I consulted 'Introducing' articles that Kerrang! have published in the past to help me get the layout as correct as possible.

I took elements from original articles and edited them using Paint and Photoshop. I then overlaid these elements onto our new portrait photograph.

I erased the original text from the sub header using the colour picker tool on Paint.

I used the colour picker tool again to remove the original information from the 'Vital Stats' box.

I placed the components above the photograph as shown above.

I then copied the 'Best New Band' badge from an original article and pasted it onto my article page. I copied Ellie's original text from her article and rephrased a little of it in order to fit the confinements of the layout. These two processes then completed the Kerrang! article page.

  

I am very happy with the final article and believe that it looks incredibly legitimate. Straight after the photograph was taken, we all agreed that it could easily be featured in Kerrang! so I'm glad that we got the opportunity to create our own 'Introducing' page.