Introduction: Note to the Moderator

Hello there and thank you for taking the time to read and mark my blog.

The final video can be found in the 'Coursework' label tag, along with the digipak and poster.

This blog contains all my individual research and planning, along with the evaluation questions and preliminary tasks.

All of the posts are ordered chronologically, and all are put into different label tags to make it easier to browse.

I hope you enjoy reading through my blog and see the enthusiasm and passion I have towards this project.

Nicola Jordan

Coursework: Final Video

This is my Final Music Video

It can also be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETf29bC9Kdc&list=UUYAJwHMTHyrFiYB5FlPNzBQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Coursework: Written Evaluation

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

My product uses most of the Forms and Conventions of a real media product, the editing of my video has been done with a sensitivity to the tempo and mood of the music playing. For example the start of the video there is a slow piano instrumental consisting of chords being played and held, this is quite a slow tempo so therefore I placed a slow piece of video within this slot, I had a clip of Abbie walking past some children and continue to follow her until the lyrics start.
The genre of my Musician is present within the video, mostly of course through Mise-En-Scene, many of his other music videos are in the street, and urban areas as that is where he can relate to the most. My video is set in such areas, something that the general public can relate to and recognise.
The camerawork also helps to show the genre of the Musician aswell, I did not use a tripod for any of the filming and this is present in some of the shaking and movement of the video. This type of filming makes the video much more personal to the viewer, they feel almost as though they are looking at it through the eyes of another person.

How effective is the combination of your main products and ancillary texts?
As I mentioned in the product and brand proposal I was keen to stick to the term "A Man and His Music" and also " Less is More" so I made sure that I stuck with this theme when doing all of my tasks. The digipak features silhouetted still images of clips from the music video, linking them both together. A Jimi Hendrix style black and white face of Ed Sheeran is featured on the front of the CD cover, being an iconic image associated to the single. Sticking with this Iconic image I chose to use this same image as the main focus of the promotional poster, thus linking all of my products together. I feel that sticking to the Brand and theme is something I have done well throughout this whole process, and feel happy that they are recognisable as a whole package as apposed to singular products.

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?
Regarding my digipak I relied on audience feedback to get the final image for my back cover, I produced two images and asked a few of my peers which one they preffered, and which they would be interested in if seen on the shelf in a shop.

This was the result, and therefore I listened to my consumer audience and chose the image that won unanimously as my back cover image for my digipak. 

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

My use of new media is present within the Evaluation stage of this project, I used the popular common platform of 'Youtube' to get my music video out to the general public. This meant that it was viewable by millions of people, and also made it easier for my to show my peers and the target audience to get some feedback. I also used methods such as 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' to share my video to an even larger range of people.

How the project went?

I feel that the project as a whole went very well, I made sure that I was organised and understood what I needed to do before starting any of my tasks. I executed each task do the best ability that I could with the resources I had available to me. If I were to change anything about the project it would be to try and get better quality cameras, learn to use a higher grade of editing software so that my video can be a more professional standard.

Coursework: Advertisement

After creating the Digipak I moved on to creating my Advertisement, sticking to the minimalist and simple theme i decided to create something that would stand out to anyone that would pass by it, or come across in a magazine. I feel it would make the viewer stop and look at the page.

This is my final Advertisement to accompany my single, I decided to put an iTunes logo on it because in this current age Itunes plays a big part in where people get their music from. So therefore it would appeal to my Younger Target Audience if it was accesible on Itunes. I used the front cover design and encorporated the 'kiss me' lipstick mark on his cheek. I was keen to make sure that both the advertisement and digipak were relevant to each other which is why they are all in the same minimalist design.

The wall beneath Ed Sheeran and the Itunes logo tyes the advertisement in with the music video, as there are various sections that are seen standing infront of a wall. A wall is something that isnt too fancy and can relate to the every day person in every day street situations. I added another lipstick kiss to make sure that the audience would be sure of what song this was Advertising and it would be iconic for the viewer.

I also included a url to Ed Sheerans website, as his management company would want him to be linking everything he does together. And there are many opportunitys to earn money on his website through merchandise.

Coursework: Digipak images

As the front and back cover were the only bits that I wanted to include any information on I decided that I would use silhouetted still images from my music video for the rest of the pack. These are the images I selected.

Behind the cd case would be a mirrored piece of card, I wanted to include this because when the cd is taken from the holder the viewer would see their face in this mirror. In particular their lips, which references the song 'Kiss Me' this is also quite an original and quirky idea for a digipak and would be appealing to the target audience.

Coursework: DigiPak BackCover

After making the Front Cover i started to focus on the back cover, i came up with the idea of using the back of Ed Sheeran so it was like he was part of the Digipak, wether you view him from the front or behind.

I took the original front silhouette and blackened the insides and flipped it to create the illusion that it was the back of him. I knew that this needed to include the name of the single so that the target audience knew what they were buying.

I decided to use a small bit of colour in this back cover, i used red lips in the shape of the name of the song to tye in to the name 'Kiss Me' and also stand out to the audience.

Again this design is simple but has an appealingness and a sense of relation to the Ed Sheeran himself. I could of put lots of fancy lights and views and object on this back cover but decided to make it comparible with Ed Sheerans brand.

Coursework: DigiPak Front Cover

To acompany our music video we had to create a digipak and advertisment to promote the song and music video.

I started off by looking at the specifications of a digipak, i came across many examples and used these to help me to get the basic outline of what a digipak should include.

I looked at this particular digipak and noted that only really the front and back panels have information and writing on them. I decided to incorporate this into my design only supplying information on the front and back covers and having pictures from the video itself on the other pages.

I started by creating my front cover, I wanted to keep my whole digipak design in a minimalist style as this was relelvant to Ed Sheeran and his brand, he is simply a man and his music which is something i was keen to encode in my overall design.

I liked the idea of silhouetted figures and faces, and took inspiration from the iconic picture of Jimi Hendrix.

This helped me to create my front cover design, something minimal which i feel would stand out to a customer and my target age range. Of course Jimi Hendrix comes with a tagline of a bad boy image, drugs, sex and rock and roll, this is not like Ed Sheeran at all so when making the image I had to make sure I took this away from it and portrayed Ed Sheerans brand.

You can tell that this is Ed Sheeran and by being so simple it would have a stand out appeal to a customer.

Ed Sheeran is stareing straight into the camera which gives a more intimate and innocent vibe as apose to Jimi Hendrix slightly lifted chin stance which comes across as more defiant and tough. This is what breaks Ed Sheeran away from the drug, alcohol abuse tag which comes with reference to Jimi Hendrix, and makes his real, simple brand image come across to the audience.