Evaluation 4*

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

Some of the new media technologies that I used:

Software:                                                                           

• Blogger                         
• Photoshop
• InDesign
• Imovie
• Youtube
• Facebook
• Google
• Prezi

Hardware:

• Mac computers
• DV Camcorder - using digital video tapes
• Digital Camera 

Blogger was the main media technology that I used the most. I used this site to compile all the research that I did on Chase and Status and other music videos so that I could create an overall picture of what I needed to do to create a video, digi-pack and magazine advert for the band. Blogger allowed me to upload images and videos onto the site so that I could get a more visual idea for the planning of my music video. It also to allow other people to get a more visual understanding of what I am trying to explain in my evaluations as I am able to show them what I did so it is easier to explain why I did it. Blogger has also helped me to organize and display my work which makes it easier for other people to understand it.

Facebook, Youtube and Google were also fundamental pieces of software in helping in my research of Chase and Status. I used Google in the initial stages of my research to get some background knowledge of Chase and Status, without this I wouldn't have had the tools to find out what Chase and Status are all about and what makes them who they are and what represents them. Youtube was used throughout the whole of my researching stage. On Youtube I was able to watch music videos not just from Chase and Status but from other artists aswell so that could discover what the main conventions are of different music videos and what conventions are acceptable to go against. I also able to watch videos on how to use other softwares such as imovie, Photoshop and InDesign which helped me greatly in my construction process. Youtube was also used to display my rough cut and my final music, this helped me in my research stage as comments can be left on Youtube and I received some good audience feedback on this site. In my evaluation stage I used Youtube so create a slideshow video to present my answer, this was a really easy way to create a slideshow. Facebook was only used in the research stage to gather some audience feedback from my peers for my rough cut, this helped me greatly as I was able to receive information about what was good about my music video and what wasn't good.

Photoshop and InDesign are two media technologies that helped me greatly in the construction of my Digi-pack and magazine advert. In Photoshop I was able to edit photos so that I could make them look more modern and bright, I was able the change the contrasts and colours of the pictures to the red colour that I wanted them all to be. This was a really useful piece of software as it allowed to create the very bright and modern Digi-pack and magazine advert which suits Chase and Status's style very well and conforms to their brand identity. Indesign was also a fundamental part in creating my digi-pack and album cover as it gave me the template for the digi-pack which would have been very hard to construct on my own using any other piece of software. It also allowed me to add text onto both pieces which was useful as I was able to use the same font on both pieces. 

Imovie was the most important piece of media technology in the construction of my music video. This piece of software allowed to me to edit my footage precisely so I was able to create a good looking video that all fitted really well together. It was also very easy to use once you got to grips with it which made the editing process a lot faster. Imovie has a lot of good features to create a really professional looking video which can be used at the click of button, such as transitions and adding audio to your video. You can also upload your video straight from Imovie to Youtube which makes things really fast and easy.

The Mac computers was the new technology I used the most in terms of hardware as I used it for my research and planning, construction and evaluation stages of my project. I found the macs easy to use as they had all the software that I needed installed on them. This meant that all my work was saved in one place and was easily accessible.

I used the DV-camcorder during the construction and research of my project. I used the camera first to film my rough cut which was part of my planning as it helped me practise how to use it and to decide what things work and what didn't. Then I used it in my construction of my music video to film the footage. It was a really easy camera to use as you can stop and start filming when ever you want with just a click of a button. This made the construction a lot easier as I was able to film fairly quickly.

I used the digital camera in the construction of my digi-pack and magazine advert. I used it to take photos of the basement and the cork to put onto both of these things. The camera was very easy to use as it has automatic focus, a bright flash and takes very high quality photos. It is also very easy to upload the photos onto the macs as you can just take the SD card out and put it into an SD reader, plug it into the macs and you can select the photos that you want to upload and they are saved to your computer in seconds. This helped save a lot of time.

Evaluation 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

http://prezi.com/ob7ykljdq5kw/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Evaluation 2*

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

I feel like the combination of my main product and ancillary is very affected at there are links between them all to show that they are all part of the same overall product. In preparation for creating my products I did a lot of research on different videos, magazine adverts and albums covers that Chase and Status have. This gave me a good understanding of what their brand identity is, what their music is all about and what common themes they seem to go for. Even though Chase and Status have certain things that they stick to and haven't changed throughout their career there are also lots of transitions they have gone through and they are a very dynamic band that are always doing something new and exciting. So I decided that it would be a good idea to do something that is a bit different but also keeps the same image that Chase and Status have kept throughout.

(my album cover)

(my magazine advert)

For my digi-pack and magazine advert I made sure there it was clear that it was connected to the music video I made. Whilst down in the basement I decided to take some photos to use for my for the both of them, so that there was a link between all 3 products.  I wanted to stick to something fairly similar to Chase and Status's album cover as I felt this worked well but I also wanted to push the boundaries and do something different as that is what Chase and Status are all about, pushing boundaries and doing something different and exciting. 

I decided that for my digi-pack cover I would take a picture of a cork with a smiley face on it lying on the old, dusty stone floor. Chase and Status used the same idea of a cork with a smiley face drawn on and I thought this worked very well as a symbol for them as it represents their brand identity of being involved with the party culture. Also as my video involves a lot of crazy dancing and has an illegal rave look about it, I felt like this also linked very well to my video as it had the same party representation. I didn't want the cover for my digi-pack to look too much like the video as not many album covers look the same as their videos but I still wanted there to be a small hint of my video on the digi-pack cover as I felt like the video represented Chase and Status as a whole.

I also thought that it would be a good idea to stick with the same colour theme throughout my digi-pack and magazine advert. I decided the best colour for it all was red, Chase and Status used the colour red on their album cover and I decided it would be best if I stuck to the same colour scheme as the colour represents the right emotions of passion and anger. I used the same shade of red throughout both of my products so that you could see a clear link between the two.

For my magazine poster I decided to use the image of the corridor that I filmed in for my music video. I decided on this as many music videos are released before the albums so fans of Chase and Status who would have watched the video would instantly recognize the advert to be related to Chase and Status as there is the same corridor as to that they saw in the video. So this makes my advert more eye-catching to Chase and Status fans who will then go and buy the album which is the main purpose of creating a magazine advert for an album. I also decided to use this same image for the image inside of my album case, this then creates a link between all 3 products emphasizing the fact that they are all connected.

I used the same font for both my digi-pack and magazine advert, fonts are very recognizable and a brand identity is created from using the same font throughout all its products. I needed there to be a very strong link between the two products and I think that the use of the same font if the fundamental thing in making the combination of the two products very effective. I also stuck to the same font colour as I also felt this made a difference on how the two products linked. 

Evaluation 1

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

Final Magazine Poster

Final Album Cover

Final Video

Photograph Manipulation on Photoshop*

For this photograph I used photoshop to edit the photo, I used a filter called... and played around with the colour and contrast settings on it so that I had the bright white at the front and the red at that back making sure that you could still see the detail of the brick work. I also had to edit out the white box in the top right hand corner of the picture using the paint tool, i did this as it stood out too much ruining the overall effect of the picture.

For this picture I edited it in photoshop and I used a filter called... I also played around with the colour and contrast settings so that I could make the picture red and make the cork with the smiley face stand out more.  I also edited out the little brown stick in the top left hand corner of the picture as it stuck out too much.

For this photograph I used photoshop to edit it. I used a filter called... and played around with the colour settings to make the photo red and white.

CD and Magazine Layout*

Photoshop and Pages/InDesign Learning

To edit my photos for my album cover and magazine advert I used Photoshop. I had already used photoshop before but before using the software again I watched a few videos to pick of some tips for interesting things that I could do to my photos. I also did some practices on some photos on photoshop to see what kind of things that I could do. One of the main things that I wanted to do to my photos was put a filter on them so that they looked a bit more less real and in your face. Some of my photos also had a lot of detail in them which I wanted to simplify. I also wanted to change my photos so that instead of being the dull colours that they were, they were bright colours.

To put my album cover and magazine advert together I used InDesign. I had never used this software so I had to watch some videos about it on Youtube and also had a few test runs to get to know the software. I learn't how to get up a template for my album cover and how to put text onto my photos. I found that it was a relatively easy piece of software to get to grips with as it is very much like photoshop.

Analysis CD Packaging*

For this album cover a bright red colour has been used, red is colour that can represent energy and anger as well as passion and love. I think this colour represents this album very well as the music is very energetic and their music conveys the emotions of both anger and love. The colour black has been used for the band name, album title and tracklist, this colour contrasts against the red and could also represent the slightly darker side to the album.

The image that has been chosen for the album cover is a cork with a smiley face drawn on it in black marker pen. The choice of a cork represents the whole party culture that Chase and Status are associated with as a cork is from a wine bottle so is associated with drinking alcohol. The smiley face that is drawn on the cork is also an associations with the party culture as it is a symbol for drugs such as acid and mdma which are well known party drugs. The lighting that they have chosen for the photo is that the light is falling on the top of the cork so that a shadow is formed on the bottom of the cork, this helps gives the impression that the cork is flying through that air. They have also put an effect on the cork making it look blurry, the blur is in a horizontal direction giving the impression that it is moving through the air. The image of the cork flying gives off more of a party image as it represents the party starting or that the party still going on.
Chase and Status's name is positioned at the top of the album cover, this makes it the main focus of the cover as it is the most important piece of information. 

The name of the album is written at the bottom of the cover, this splits it up from the bands name so that you can easily see that they are both separate. It also make the album cover look more full. The photo of the cork is positioned in the middle of the cover, this drag your attention to the album cover as it is more interesting to look at a picture rather than writing and as it is in the centre it is the thing that you would look at first. All of the writing and the picture on the album cover is positioned in a centre verticle line so there is the exact same amount of space at the sides of the cover, this makes the cover look neater and also helps grab your attention as it is all in one space and look more appealing to look at. The track list is centred in the middle of the back cover, this makes it centre of attention and easy to read and pick out certain songs. 

The font choice that they have used on the album cover is the same that they have used for their previous album cover and posters, this makes it iconic to Chase and Status and makes it more recognisable that the album is theirs. For Chase and Status's name the 'and' is written in a smaller font size than the rest, this is done as 'Chase' and 'Status' are two separate people and this represents that. Also as Chase and Status is quite a long name and it is more appealing to look at a shorter name having the 'and' in a smaller font make the name look shorter without diverging form their name. The font is very bold and on the front cover all the letters are in capitals, this makes it very eye-catching and easy to read. On the back cover the track names are written in capital letters and as some of the songs are collaborations the other artists name is put next to the track name, this helps establish the difference between the two. Each track name and its artist has its own line this also helps establish the difference between each song.

For this album cover the colours that have been used are black, white and yellow. All the colours really contrast against each other making the album cover really stand out. Yellow is a very acidic and happy colour which represent the whole party culture that Chase and Status are involved with especially when it is used as writing against the black background as it looks like bright lights in a dark room, which is just like a rave. The photo that had been used on the front cover is of a bulldog. The 'British bulldog' comes from the British professional wrestler Davey Boy Smith who was known as the British bulldog. Bulldogs are also known as very violent dogs that are used for fighting. This makes the album cover represent the very British gang life that features in a lot of Chase and Status's songs. Chase and Status also have a very strong brand identity of being very British and this album cover represents that perfectly.

 Chase and Status's name is written in the centre of the front cover and is in the largest writing, this makes it stand out and is the prime focus of the page. The name of the album is written at the bottom of the page in quite small writing, this is because it is not as important as the bands name. The picture fills up the whole entire page and the writing is all in front of it, this makes the writing the centre of attention but you can still see the image. The image helps to grab your attention as it is an interesting picture and something that you would want to look at. On the back cover the track list is written on the left hand side of the page, as you read from left to right, it makes the track lyrics easy to read and also makes it clear the difference between each of the songs. 

The picture of the bulldog that has been used is a close up of its face, in it you can see the detail of all of its skin and its expression, It gives the dog a kind of menacing look, this goes well with the kind of crime and violence related songs. The picture is very bright and has been put into black and white. This gives it a slightly old English vintage look and helps it fade slightly into the background against the writing. The font that has been used on the album cover is the same font that has been used on their  advert, creating a link between the two. The font is very bold and is all written in capital letters, this makes it eye-catching so that people look at it. All the letters are written in capitals making it clearer and making it stand out even more. The font looks a bit like vintage signs for company factories, this gives off the impression of old warehouses which is where illegal raves are held which is a big part of Chase and Status's fans lifestyle. 

The language that they have used on the album cover is all very simple and straight to the point, only the information that is needed is on the page. The name of the album is 'no more idols' this could represent that fact that they do not look up to anyone, they have their own identity. This is a very British way of thinking and is also a very rebellious way of thinking which goes well with Chase ans Status's brand identity, as their music is a lot about crime and substance abuse.

The colours that have been used on this album cover are pink, white and black. The white has been used as a background on both the sides and on it is writing and images in the black and the pink, this almost gives the effect of the plain white canvas that has been ruined which gives it the rebellious look that Chase and Status are known for. The main image on the front page is the writing of the name of the album, the image is of a black background that has been painted on like graffiti in bright pink. The fact that it is like graffiti with paint splats and dripping paint represents that bands rebelliousness and the choice of the pink against the black gives off a really party vibe as it looks a bit like luminous paint dripping down walls like you would get at an illegal rave. The image of Chase and Status that is used on the front cover and the back cover. On the front cover it is in black and pink inside the writing and looks very like pop art graffiti as it is only in two colours. The image on the back again looks like graffiti but it has a bit more detail in it so you can see their faces more, as this was one of their early albums they were still in the stage of getting themselves known so having a picture of them would help them get more recognized.  The images of them look very chiaroscuro giving them a menacing look, which represents them as a band as a lot of their songs are about crime and they are also involved with the party/illegal rave culture. On the image they both have pink paint splats on them, this could either be seen as luminous paint splats from a rave or it could be seen as blood from a fight. Either one would fit the band brand identity as their music is about partying and crime. 

The name of the album is positioned over the entire front of the album cover and their name is written fairly small on the left centre of the page. This is done as Chase and Status were not as well known when this album came out so their name being the main focus on the cover is not needed as their name won't be as well recognized. On the back cover Chase and status's name is written on the the top of the page to emphasize to people that, that is the bands name. The track list is then written under that and then there is the image under that. This is all positioned slightly to the left so it takes up about two thirds of the page. This makes it more appealing to look at due to the rule of thirds. You also read from left to right, so the first thing that you would want to see is some writing. The font that has been chosen for the album name is very bold, disproportionate and looks like graffiti. This gives off the vibe of a very rebellious band and is very eye-catching. The font that has been used for the bands name is very bold, metallic and industrial looking, this reminds you of an illegal warehouse rave which is something that Chase and Status are associated with. This font is also used on their adverts for this album, creating an association between the two. The font that has been used for the track list is also very bold, making it easily readable. The name of the album is 'more than alot' this name represent the big and bold music that Chase and Status create. 

Analysis of Magazine Adverts for Albums and Singles*

The colours in the advert is bright and they all contrast each other. This suits the band style of music as their music is  quite dancey and lots of flashing lights are used in their concerts and the bright contrasting colours represent that. The colour pink is used for the main text on the page, as it is a bright shade of pink it represents fun and has that kind of festival/party feel to it. The bright green that is used on the page gives it a kind of acidic and electric feel to it. The colours black and white are the most contrasting colours and make the advert stand out more and make the writing on the advert easier to read. The advert has been given an effect to make it look worn and decaying, this makes the poster look quite edgy.

Chase and Status's brand identity is that they are very edgey, different and non-conforming, they are known for their music to be great for partying to and the band often perform at festivals, they are also very stereotypically English, most of their songs have something about them that represents England.

 All the text on the page and the text boxes are slanted at an angle, this represents the bands edgyness and the fact that they are different. The bands name is positioned at the top of the page which makes it the main focus of the poster, it is written in the font that the band use on all of their merchandise, this makes the poster very iconic to chase and status. 
The font that Chase and Status have for their name on the poster is very bold and looks very metallic in the way that there are slits on some of the letters. This gives the poster a very industrial feel which link to the illegal warehouse rave culture that their music appeals to. The rest of the font on the page is also bold and metallic looking but it is slightly thinner than the main header and it is a bit more worn looking. This font also gives off the industrial feel but it is not as bold as the main header so it is not what catches your eye first.

The type of language that they have used is all very simple. All that is written on the page are clear facts written in the easiest way so that you can get as much info as possible without having to read that much. The main information about who is preforming, when and where it is going to take place is written in large writing so that it is eyecatching to the reader. Other more specific information like when the doors are going to open, where to buy tickets and what songs will be played are written in smaller writing so that people that have already been sucked into the advert can read more.

The colours that the band have used on this poster are all bright and contrasting, this suits the bands style as their music is quite dancey and when they perform there are lots of bright lights. The use of the colour red in the advert is very representative of the song that thy are advertising because the song and the video is about violence and crime and red represents violence and anger. The use of the colour blue with the faces makes them look very cold and heartless, again representing the crime in the song. Black and white are the only two other colours on this page, these two colours contrast well with the other colours making the advert stand out.

In the advert the singer Plan B is wearing a white shirt with braces, braces are a very stereotypically British thing to wear and this goes along well with both Chase and Status's and Plan B's brand identity of being very stereotypically British.

The photographs on this advert are laid out into a gun target, this again represents the crime theme of the song as Plan B and Chase and Status are in the target. The text is positioned on the left hand side of the page and the photos on the right. This makes the writing more eye-catching as you read from left to right so it is the first thing that you see. Chase and Status's name is written at the top of the page, this is because they are the main focus of the advert do that needs to be the thing that you read first.
The choices of shot that they have used for the photographs make the photos look very mysterious. Plan B's photo had been taken from a low angle making him look more powerful and in control. The other two picture are taken from a pretty much straight view with Chase and Status looking slightly to the side and the shots are both close up, this makes them look very mysterious and sinister.

The lighting in the photos are very chiaroscuro with the dark areas being very dark and the light areas being very light, this gives off a sense of mystery. The font choices in this advert are all very bold. The font that is used for Chase and Status's name is used on all of their posters and album covers so it is significant to them and is recognisable, the font is all in capital letter and is very metallic looking which represents the bands industrial style of music. The other font on the page is also all written in capital letters but it is not quite as bold as the font for Chase and Status. The writing again has a very metallic feel about it but is also very worn, it almost looks like it has rusted. This gives off a feel of a very industrial, rundown and illegal rave kind of feel, which is what Chase and Status are all about.
The language choice in this advert is very simple and only words that are needed are said, it very much gets down to the point.

For this magazine advert the colour red has been used for the background, this is a very bright colour which makes the advert stand out. Red is a colour that represents passion and anger, this represents that album very well so is an appropriate colour to use for an advert that is tying to sell the album.  The writing on the page that says the bands name, the album name and that it is out now is all written in black. This contrasts against the red making it stand out, catching the audiences attention. It is also the same as their album cover which creates a connection between the two. There is another album cover for one of Chase and Status's singles that is featured on the album. The colours that are used for this album is blue and pink. The blue contrasts against the red making it separate from the background of the poster so it stands out but at the same time it doesn't stand out too much to detract from the main message that Chase and Status's full album is out now. The writing around the single album cover is written in white writing, this contrasts just as much as the black writing, and is eye-catching so it catches the audiences attention, but as it is written smaller you are more attracted to the black writing which is the main piece of writing that they want you to look at. 

The image that is on the page is the same image that is on the album cover, this creates a connection between the two creating a great selling technique as the album and the band has a strong brand identity and people know what they are looking for. The image is of a cork with a smiley face, this creates a party image for the band attracting the right type of audience as Chase and Status's music is the type that is played at parties and festivals. The bands name is positioned at the top of the page and is the farthest left, this makes it the first thing that you read and this is what will attract fans of Chase and Status. The image is placed between the bands name and the album name, this helps to show the difference between the name and it is the same as they are positioned on the album cover. The text saying 'the new album out now' is positioned underneath the album name, it is positioned here as it is the first thing that you read after the bands name and album name, so you already have the information you need about what you would need to look for if you were going to buy it. Chase and Status fan would instantly recognize that it is a new album and would just need to know when it was out so it is better that this is written at the bottom as it is not the ext that would attract an audience.

This is all positioned in pretty much the centre of the page and the first thing you see from the left, making the centre of attention. The text about a song that is featured on the page is written on the far right making it the last thing that you would read, this is done as it is not as important as the rest of the text, it is just an add on. 

The font that is on the advert is the same font that is used on the album and Chase and Status's previous album. This creates a kind of logo for the band that is easily recognized. It creates a link between the album and the advert and also previous albums. It is a very bold font and all letters capitals, this makes it stand out and easy to read. The word that have been written on the page are all very simple and to the point. The words 'out now' are used twice to emphasize the fact that you can buy the album now. Also the word 'new' is used twice to tell people that it fresh and in the moment.

Shooting Schedule*

Location Choices*

I decided to use the run-down basement in the Mansion at my school. I decided to use this area as it looks very stereotypically English and pretty much untouched for for about 70 years. As I are using characters from all over the world we thought it would be best to have a location that is predominantly English as Chase and Status's brand identity is very English and that is what their fans from all over the world find interesting about them. It also looks like a place that an illegal rave could happen and hat also suits the brand identity of the band. It is also a really good place to film as it looks fairly enclosed but it is actually a fairly large area so it makes it easily accessible to film and dance in. Even though the basement is pretty much unused there is lighting down there and windows at the top so lighting won't be an issue.

Actors and props*

Props

The main focus in our video is the location, the choice of costumes and the crazy dance movements. But I have also decided on some props to have in my video to add the overall effect. I decided that in one of the frames our actor should be drinking a cup of tea as tea is a very British drink, I didn't want to have the tea in a standard mug and I thought that a teacup and saucer would be more representative of Britain as it is very classic and has been around for hundreds of years. We decided to have this in our video to stick with the Chase and Status's brand identity of being very stereotypically English and to remind the viewers about what the band are all about.

Actors

I decided that Rauzan Iqram would be the perfect actor for my video. In my video I decided that i wanted the style of dancing in it to be very house, with lots of house shuffling, Rauzan can dance very well to this style which is very essential to the overall quality of the video. He also has a very fun, down to earth and crazy character which would go perfectly with the style of music and the type of vibe I want to give off in the video.