Evaluation: What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Unfortunately there has been a problem with exporting this video, and a good half or so of the video is missing. I'll re-export and upload it again so you can have the full viewing experience. For now, here's the unexplained cropped version:

I am really pleased with the response I got from my target audience. Overall I think my products were a success, as it mainly had the desired reaction of laughter. I think it comfused a few people, due to the sheer randomness of it, but everyone who saw it said they liked it (and I got them to pinky promise honesty!) 


It was very interesting to watch my audience's expressions as they watched my video. It was good to see them appreciating certain parts I'd hoped they would. One of my favourite parts was hearing the different opinions on the lip sync issue. Most of them agreed with me that it would have ruined my video (or made it a bit unbelievable) however some were more intent on the inclusion of lip sync. To be honest, I really think it is down to personal preference, as I am very fond of certain videos that do use it, and some that don't. I don't see it as a major factor in the quality of a video, as each video has a different edge to it, a different intention, which would be spoiled if they all had to be the same and follow the same rules. Sometimes making things a little different is the way forward in my opinion, but not to the point of different for the sake of it; it has to make sense with the concept.


My audience seemed to get the viewing experience I'd hoped they would, so I'm rather pleased and proud of the eventual outcome. It made my day when they had trouble coming up with faults and things they would change, I've got a real sense of achievement due to them. :)

Another thing that pleased me was a comment I received about my digipak. I was told that the front of it reminded them of the Foo Fighters album Wasting Light -->
I was also told by my dad that the back of the digipak reminded him of a Pulp back cover!

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

In the construction of my video I used a lot of different technologies and methods. I filmed it all using a Panasonic camcorder. I edited everything on an Apple iMac using iMovie '09. I really like using the Macs for editing, I get along with iMovie particularly well. It can be a little infuriating at times when some features aren't in the version available, or the times when it randomly changes the settings. Other than those irritating moments, overall it is a brilliant program I'd love to work more with, and hopefully go on to FinalCutPro. 


Here are my particular construction tools:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Green Screen:
I used a green screen for most of my shots and edited them on with iMovie. I learnt how to get the most out of the green screen. It became apparent that pinning the corners to the wall so the fabric was stretched tightly with minimal creases produced the best effect. I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with the green screen and iMovie to perfect it before filming the actual video. I taught myself how to add green screen layers to existing videos. 


Unfortunately with iMovie, it is only possible to add one layer to a video, which became a problem when I wanted to add more. I solved this problem by exporting the first layered video as a HD project, before importing it and adding another layer on top of that. Although this worked to get the effect of several layers (particularly with my green screen stop motion over Tom over the sky) it did significantly decrease the overall video quality, leaving it faded and pixelated. It also meant that if I were to edit the green screen layer I could only do it once, and then after it was exported, imported and the second layer added, I couldn't change anything on the first layer unless I began it all again (which I had to do a few times). 


I sifted through the various settings and searched online for a solution to the pixelation, but the only option seemed to be to install a version of iMovie that supported plug ins, which I didn't have the access to do; or to purchase FinalCutPro which I can't afford. I felt like my video was ruined by the sheer drop in quality, and I debated losing the effects just to keep the quality (I export my videos regularly and keep back ups just in case I change my mind or have to back-track) but I had nothing to fill the gaps without adding layers. So stuck in my dilemma, I decided to look outside the box. It took a fair while but eventually my persistence paid off! I discovered that if you change the entire problem section of the dual/triple layered video so it has a 'Hard Light' effect, the pixelation completely vanishes and the colours appear really bold! I was so happy and proud to have figured it out, so I carried on layering my video and going ahead with all my original ideas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Stop Motion:
I used a Panasonic DMC-TZ6 camera on a tripod to take photos of fridge magnet letters to form the title of the song. In truth, I must have looked an odd sight - I had the green screen resting on a table with colourful letters arranged spelling 'Vince The Loveable Stoner' with a tripod on top of the table, me standing on a chair taking a photo, leaning over the move the letters a millimetre, take another photo...etc. It took about an hour and a half to take around 250 photos of these letters forming the words. 


I then uploaded them to iPhoto on the Macs, and imported them to iMovie. I changed the frame time for each photo (in one go, not seperately or I would've been there years!) to 0:03 which is the standard for basic stop motion. Unfortunately iMovie wouldn't allow 0:03, so I had to make do with 0:10 with the intention of speeding it up after I'd exported it as a movie. 


This worked, but firstly I had the problem of the preset photo settings. It was set so every photo had the Ken Burns effect so the image would zoom in across the frame time; so that meant at such a high speed each image zoomed really quickly and the whole thing was ridiculously jumpy. I fixed it by cancelling the Ken Burns effect on my project as a whole, then exporting it and speeding it up to a decent speed. 


I then exported the sped up version and imported it as a green screen effect onto the already green screen-ed video of the sky with Tom over the top. Due to the fact I'd taken the photos on a green screen background, my newly created stop motion video was able to happily layer over the entire video!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ancillary Tasks:
I used Wix to create my website for Stereotypical Blues Train. I like this web-based website builder. It's better than some in my opinion, because although there isn't the freedom to create a site entirely from scratch as there would be using a program (like Serif WebPlusX4 for example) it is very good for special features that would otherwise be rather tricky. 


I used a mixture of programs to create my digipak. Mostly I used Picnik for the effects, Picasa for the structuring, placement, contrast editing, and text adding etc. I prefer to work on a selection of programs as it opens new worlds of effects and options rather than being limited by a scarce selection you might find in a single program like these. I like to utilise the most helpful options and build together a final product which will look a lot more professional than had it been created in one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research:
I used the Internet to do my research, particularly using websites like YouTube and DailyMotion to watch videos. I used Wikipedia and various search engines like Google to get the information I needed. Other sites available to me include survey websites and social networking sites which proved very helpful for getting opinions on my project.  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
I used the camcorder and green screen again for my evaluation. I did this so it would be clear which part of the video my audience are talking about in the audience response videos. I put their seats in front of the green screen and positioned my camcorder so they sat just in the side of the frame before I interviewed them. I later put their comments over the relevant sections of the video so it is clear to see using iMovie to cut down the irrelevant sections and to make it more entertaining and comprehensive with titles etc.


I also used the Internet to exhibit my final products to a wider audience, which recieved a warm welcome, particularly on FaceBook and YouTube. I also used my email account to send my work to the Head of Media at Aberystwyth. And of course I used Blogger to document everything.

Evaluation: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

I think the combination of my media products together is a successful one. The two ancillary tasks both follow the same house style of a black background and reds. I've gone for simplicity and sophistication for the website, to show the sensible side of the band, and the sincerity, so the audience don't think they're a joke. I've included everything a band website needs to be fully functional, and promotional - especially by including the digipak on the news feed on the home page. The video is also available in the media section of the site, so it all fits together as a package.


The digipak continues with the simplicity, however the image of Tom repeats in a pyschadelic pattern, to fit in more with the video. The main image of Tom on the front is taken directly from the video itself, so it would lend itself perfectly to a television advert as well. I chose the bright neon colours to reflect the craziness of the video. I edited the same image of Tom and repeated it again to reflect and symbolise the stages of the drugs effects - e.g. partially blurred image for blurred vision...saturation for heat flushes...etc. The image of Tom is quite striking and will grab attention, as intended on shop shelves and online. It also includes the web address on the back cover, to encourage consumers to discover more about the band.


I think the combination of the different approaches whilst maintaining a clear house style works to show various aspects of the band to get the best possible reception. It was very important that I got across several views of the band from this collection, and still managed to ensure that they are clearly of the same package. I think I've done that well, as each the house style runs through both ancillary tasks to unite them, whilst both including things that clearly came from the video so it stays tied in. As the video is brighter than the ancillary tasks, I feel it does depend a little on the image of Tom and the song name being mentioned, however this is similar to current bands, where the album and websites fit in with posters and adverts etc, using slightly less noticable connections to the videos, as they cannot all be exactly the same or it would be dull. An example of this is Take That, with the continuous yellow of their Progress album, through posters, adverts and website, however not all of their videos are bright yellow as there has to be some differences.

Video Construction: Green Screen Production

I made this video to explain how I used the green screen: