Reflection on my media products

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

My blog is a lot more detailed in A2 than it was in AS because I need a lot more blog posts. I have found with A2 that I can go into a lot more detail with things and that I have a lot more to talk about. This shows that I have improved from AS and that I have tried hard to stay up to date as much as I can. I have also improved with my ICT skills a lot as we have used more advanced technology and we have expanded our knowledge on our  Adobe Premier as we have spent a lot of our time editing our footage.

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

I have tried to make my blog as clear as possible when it comes to showing the stages of making each aspect. I have made sure everything has the correct date for when I posted it and that every blog post I have done is in as much detail as I can and have written as much as I can without starting to waffle on.

• Where are the gaps in your blogging work?

 Sometimes I get distracted in lesson so I miss a couple of blog posts so therefore I have to catch up after school. My blog could be a little bit more organised for when it comes to my labels but apart from that I try to stay really up to date with things.

• How many individual blogging entries did you produce?

 I am not entirely sure on the answer to this question but I am predicting between 50-70 blog posts. This is because even though a lot of them we have to work together as a group most of them I have gone away and posted myself on the blog and have made the posts my own or have written a different thing to everyone else, so my blog is more individual. Unless it is a post that we have to copy and paste for example the evaluation questions.

• What would you change, given another opportunity?

I would make sure that I stay constantly up to date with all my blog posts especially my production diary as I have to write about what I have done everyday. I would also try and be more individual when it comes to making things and posting by myself. I could probably do a bit more research into things to get more detailed results.

Final Digipak Class Feedback

This is some of the feedback we got for our final digipak:

1st draft Music Video Feedback-from Year 13

Overall I was really happy with our group feedback we got lots of lovely comments that were very promising. There were a few comments that stood out that we need to improve:
Good comments that people said about our video:
"Outstanding" 39/40
"Great editing and performance"39/40
"Editing was amazing" 38/40
"One of the best" 38/40
"Lip-Syncing is solid" 37/40
"Editing is the best of the year" 38/40
"Best one i've seen" 36/40

Bad comments people said about our video:

"Why the drugs?"
"I imagined her to be more innocent due to her digipak images"
"Few repeated shots"
"Focus less on drugs/alcohol"
"Too influenced by Skins"
"The video portrays her in a different way to the digipak, was this intended?"

HOW WE CAN IMPROVE OUR MUSIC VIDEO:

We can improve our video by getting rid of a few of the repeated and drug shots and adding more of the performance shots, as a lot of the audience are confused about the drugs being in it. Everyone seems to love the editing so we need to keep doing that to keep the standard up. We have kept the pace up when the song builds so that the shots match the beat of the music so when we change a few shots we need to keep doing this.

Digipaks First Draft feedback

1) COSMO

I really love the Cosmo digipak as it is so different and creative. Also it looks like all one   CD which people will happily buy in a shop. This one is my personal favourite's as it is really original. Just by looking at it you can also see how much effort and details has been put into it.
The thing that could be impoved is there could be a bit more writing on it.


 2) HYBRID BEAUTY

Hybrid Beauty's digipak is really nice and it shows them all together as a group. It is really cute and shows the bond between all of them, they could improve it by maybe adding a little bit of colour to make it a bit more exciting and something different from black and white.

3) ALEX ECHO

Alex Echo's one is quite good, the thing I think it can improve on is showing a bit more variety in the sections, rather than having the same design on each one. I like the fact that all the font is kept consistent throughout, I think a couple more pictures can be added to show a variety in the photoshoots that they have done.







4) JAMES COULER

From the first glance at James Couler's digipak you can clearly see that it matches their genre and mostly looks like a digipak so far. I think the head shot on the wall lets it down a bit because everything else is so colourful and then the wall shot is just plain black so it looks really boring.
Other than that I think it is really good and creative.

5) ENCODED

Encoded's digipak is different so therefore this makes it look unique. The font colour needs to be changed so that it can be read more easily. I like that the background is good because it stays consistent throughout. To improve it, it would be good to have a few more pictures on the different sections to make it a bit more exciting.

 6) JAYA

I like the front cover of the digipak the photo as it looks professional. As are most of the
The thing that needs improving about the digipak is that all of the sections are so random apart from the two black ones on the end. Also the colour of the writing doesn't look very clear on the background.

7) NICHOLAS ALEXANDER

I like the colour consistancy throughout the digipak, this makes it look more effective. It is nice and colourful and the shots are all varied.
The thing that could be improved the most on the page where it says the list of songs the font needs to be a clearer colour as it is difficult to see. Apart from that it is really good.




8) ALLEYWAYS

I like Alleyways digipak as it is colourful and has a variety of sections. The writing throughout it is all consistent so this also makes it look like one CD. They could improve on making the writing font a bit bigger to make it more viasble.

Peer Feedback for Digipak First draft

This is the feedback we have been given from our class for our digipak so far . Overall I was pleased with it and I will take all the constructive criticism into account so we can improve it to gain the most marks possible.

Our Website Feedback from the class

This is the feedback our class has said about our website and what we have to do to improve it:

Good things:
A lot of people have said that our website looks "really professional" with a "great layout" and it is "really girly" which is good because it goes with our theme. Our website makes out star look really "innocent" which is what we intended as she likes a lot of pink and glitter. Our photoshoot of our star was mentioned a lot and people commented how professional it was and that it was one of the best we had seen.

Things to improve on:
A lot of people commented about the white gaps we had on website so we got told to delete all the white gaps to make it seem fuller and like we have more information on it.
People also brought up that we need to add more merchandise because we only had a few items and they were our old CD cover design so it didn't look that good anymore.

Changes made to the website:1. We changed the Photos layout on our website to make it look more professional and to display it differently than any other groups.
2. We got rid of white gaps at the top of every page to make it look more full and like it has more on it.
3. The next thing we did was add new page to separate a few things instead of squash everything on one page.
4. Another thing we added was a new button, it was called 'Buy tickets here'. We added this so that when someone clicks on it the link takes them to a page where they can buy tickets.
5. More merchandise was added and updated to the merchandise page as this came up a lot in our feedback of something that we needed improving on.

Review on how my blogging work has developed

How successfully do you think your blog details the research, planning and construction stages of your music video? 
I think my blog is quite successful when it comes to blogging because I have tried to set my labels out so they are all organised and set out nicely. Therefore this makes it easier to find things so this also saves time. I have tried to do as many posts as possible for all three stages of making my video so it shows how much work and detail my group and I have gone into to get it right. I wanted my blog to display how hard we have worked so I hope by having organised labels it shows.

How happy are you with your individual blogging so far, in relation to the targets you’ve set yourself?
I am happy with my blogging this year because I have set myself a target to keep up to date with things so it is not all a big messy rush at the end and so far I seem to be doing well to catch up and if I miss anything or start to fall behind a couple of nights after school or in my frees I will do some blogging to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Roughly How many individual blogs are included in your overall blog count and any new technologies?
I have a lot of blogs that are included in my blog, I have used them all for different reasons like to compare,contrast and analyse. This has helped me to know what to blog about and what to do to help improve my work. For example I have learnt that we need to have lots of quick snappy shots in the music video to keep the audience entertained and amused for the whole three minutes of the song. Also I have been looking at full mark digipaks on other peoples blogs and I have put a couple of examples on my blog to show what we need to do on our one to get good marks.

How can I improve my blogging?
I can improve my blogging by maybe adding a bit more details to my posts instead of writing the basic things. I could also try and think of more original things to blog about instead of doing the same thing as everyone else. I need to focus more on blogging things I find for inspiration, as sometimes I have used something to guide me and I haven't written about it on the blog so this does not look as good.

Website Evaluation

1) NICHOLAS ALEXANDER:

Website: www.nicholas-alexander.wix.com/realna

Overall I like this website, it is full of information and about upcoming events and it is very clear who the star is. I like the interview video and it makes me look forward to seeing the final result.
What the group could improve on is making it a little bit more professional by doing a professional photo-shoot with a good camera and it would look even better if the green screen wasn't shown in the photo with Nick and his manager and then putting more of those photos around the website. This would therefore make it more exciting to view.


2) ENCODED:

 Website: www.encodedmusic1.wix.com/encoded 

The encoded website is good and I really like the idea of the count down clocks, as it looks really effective. To improve the website I think they could change some things around for example it is too wordy so it loses its touch and makes it less exciting. I think also it needs to have a bit more colour on it and a few more upcoming events to make it look more professional. I like the photos that the group have put on the website but I think they need to add more and for them to be able to do that they need to do a more professional photo-shoot.

3) COSMO

Website: www.thycosmo.wix.com/cosmo 

The Cosmo website is very slick and professional. I love how colourful it is and how quick everything loads when you click on it. Everything is so easy to access and if you are looking for something specific it is so easy to find what you are looking for. I like the way the photo-shoot is set out and this makes it look better.

To improve it they could put more information on the website to attract the fans even more. Also before they submit the final draft they need to check all spelling and punctuation as I have noticed some errors.


4) HYBRID BEAUTY

Website: www.hybridbeauty.wix.com/hybrid-beauty 
 I really like Hybrid Beauty's website it looks really nice and they have done such a lovely professional photo-shoot. It is very clear who the band is and it says all their names etc. I think the thing that lets them down is that they barely have any information on their website about their Band. If they added some more writing and details for example how they joined together and added some colour then I think it could be really good.


5) ALLEYWAYS

Website: www.alleywaysband.wix.com/wearealleyways 

I really liked their website and the photo-shoot of the band looks very professional, it would look even better if they had more photos of there band on there. I like the merchandise they have added too as this will persuade fans to buy things and promote the band even further. The website has nice clear colours to it, to make it look even more professional. The thing they mainly need to improve on is that it looks really empty at the moment they need to add a lot more information about their band and upcoming events.


6) ALEX ECHO

Website: http://sarahmaerz5.wix.com/alexecho

I really like the layout and design for Alex Echo's website. It is really well organised and looks nice and professional. The thing they could improve on is giving more details about the star and expand on things about him and how he was found etc. Also maybe they could put some things to do with them and the press to make it sound like they are really important and that everyone needs to be up to date with that star.

7) JAMES COULEUR

 Website: www.jamescouleur.wix.com/jamescouleur
My first impressions of the website were that it looked very professional, as you went onto it a pop up came up about twitter and I love the idea of all his tweets down the side of the website as this makes people want to follow him more. The photo-shoot is good, there are a lot of photos with James with his guitar, they could improve that my taking more that show a variety of his personality.  Overall when the website is completed I think it will look really good and will attract fans.


8) JAYA
Website: http://onlyjaya.wix.com/jaya

My first impressions of the website is that the picture of the star is professional but apart from that its front page is very boring and dull. The UK tour dates page is too wordy and makes it boring to read, and will make people switch off. There is not enough variety on some of the page the same picture has been used a few times. Some pages has too much writing and some do not have enough these need to be balanced out more to make it better.
Also the photoshoot is Jaya all in one outfit I think there needs to be more variety here to make it look more vibrant. Apart from that the website is good.

Filming Reflection

How did it go?
In the end our group had to film 4 times to get it right. We filmed in 4 different locations with many different outfits and lots of different hair and makeup styles. We experimented with many different shots and angles to help make our music video look more professional.  For any props we needed to buy we split the money three ways so it was equal and therefore this helps towards our filming.

What went well?
What went well in our group was that we all get on really well and are all equally dedicated to our group and we all try really hard to work together and we all value each others opinions when it comes to filming and editing. We all knew what we had to get done and what we wanted to achieve this helped to make our time keeping skills very good, we all stayed organised and we haven't fallen behind at all in the process.

How could it have gone better?
We have learnt that we need to plan exactly what shots we want to film in more detail before we go to film. We also realised how many times that we have to go through the song to get it right, we realise we should  have filmed the song at least three times each time we changed the shot for lip syncing. This is because when we came to editing the footage we barely had any as we had to cut all the footage once we had found the bit we wanted.  

Peer Assessment

For this task, I had to assess a fellow class members A2 Music Video blog. I chose to analyse and mark Benjy's blog.

 

Overall blog - is it musical? Labels clear?:
Yes Benjy's blog is very clear and easy to understand which is good because it will make it easier for the examiner to read.

Music Video x3 - Goodwin Textual Analysis:
For this post Ben wrote in lots of details and chose 3 good songs to analyse so this made it easy for people to understand and he has really thought about it and shows that he has put in a lot of effort into it.
 
Banana Phone:
I love Benjys banana phone video as it really creative and it makes me laugh, they have used lots of different shots and lots of close ups and medium shots this made it more effective, to improve they could make the lip syncing more in time to make it look more effective.

No Rest - Dry The River:
He has a different idea for Dry The River that not many people would think of so that draws the reader in and makes it more exciting to read.

What Music Means To Me:
I found Benjy's post about his favourite songs really interesting and I could relate to it a lot, to make them even he could add some more details to it.

Audience:
Ben has written a lot about why people listen to music and he has spoken about what he does everyday and why he likes all the songs he has chosen.

Star Profile:
Benjy's star profile is about Michael Jackson, he has got lots of detailed slides about lots of different things like his background etc.

Any Other Comments:
Benjy's blog is full of detail, the thing that could improve it is that it could have a bit more colour on it to make it more exciting.

Essay and Representation:
Ben has written a long detailed essay about Shakiras and Rihannas song about how it is made for a male audience and how sexual it is, I found this really interesting to read.

In return, Benjy had this to say about my blog:

Overall Blog-Is it musical? labels clear?:
Emma's blog has good labels and everything is easy to follow so therefore it makes it easier for someone to look at her blog.

Music Video x 3/Goodwin textual analysis:
Her three ideas for the music video are really varied so this makes it good when it comes to discussing it with her group so she can add all her ideas to it too and this will help her group get more creative.

Banana phone:
Emma's banana phone video is really good as she has experimented a lot with the cloning effect and it has paid off, she has used a variety of shots and clips so this is good because it makes it more exciting.

What Music Means To Me:
Emma has written about why the three songs she has chosen mean something to her. To improve she could write about them in a bit more detail.

No Rest- Dry the river:
She has written a lot about the song and has clearly gone into detail about it and why she thinks what would make a good music video for it.

Audience:
This post has a variety of reasons as to why audiences consume music the way they do. So therefore it is in a lot of detail and Emma has also written about her daily routine and what she has learnt from every music video she has wanted and why she has learnt this, she has also written about what she enjoys about some of them.

Star Profile:
Emma wrote a lot about Christina Aguilera on her blog, this shows she has really tried hard and has researched the star she decided to use. I found what she had written really interesting and admired how detailed the post was. To improve she could  maybe add some pictures to the post.

Who's laughing now class feedback

 This is the some of the feedback our group got from the class:

  A lot of the class liked the acting and thought that the shots were good. Also the class liked the shots of Megan and Sarah playing the class bullies as there lip syncing was on time and good.

 A few class members mentioned that we need to improve on the timing of the lip syncing as it was a bit off.

I agree with this as it makes it look less professional.The dancing bits could have been more enthusiastic, so then it would have been easier to get the timing correct.