Commentary

Evaluation

Pop Promo Evaluation

We decided to use the techniques of other music videos rather than develop or challenge them. This pop promo is a stereotypical music video for this type of genre. We have encorporated both a narrative aspect and musical performance in our video as this is consistent with the other pop promos we researched which include video's from artists including Ronan Keating, Pink Floyd and Journey.

The characteristics of this genre are simple, these are a clear narrative with a performance element, which are kept very simple. The bands appear in their own music videos to promote themselves.

We decided to incorporate a live performance into our video, as the band are primarily a live band, performing to different audiences every week. The variety of shots of the band were created so that the video audience can feel as if they can meet and know the band members individually, before meeting the characters in the video. The cameras were not set on tripods, but were not obviously hand held, which we hope creates a more realistic view point. In keeping with other videos of the genre, our camera work has a more natural element to it, and doesn't appear too polished or staged. The bands wardrobe was chosen so that they looked smart and respectable. The drummer was wearing a jumper which has 'The Martells' logo on it, this is so the band are being repeatedly promoted throughout the pop promo. The black and white is to differentiate from the narration of the story through song, with the fictional characters in a real world environment depicted in colour to create a deeper sense of realism, and appeal to a younger generation.

The idea behind both the print advert and the CD cover was to make the band appeal to a younger audience aswell as the older audience that the band would already attract. This worked well as a mixture of imagery between the graffitti of the guitar and the cup of tea. The images reflected the band as they have three guitars and the cup of tea image sits well with the audience that they appeal to. The graffitti demonstrates a younger edge and involvement.

I think that our print ad and CD cover worked together with the pop promo, whilst in the music video the band themselves reach out to their existing audience and younger people performing the narrative reaches out to a younger audience who can relate to the characters I have created.

The CD cover and the print ad use the same colour schemes and have the same picture as the focal point, and the same message runs through the video as well. Our aim was to appeal to a broader audience by using elements which appeal to both the mature and young without alienating either. .

Media technologies played a big part in the entire process of making our pop promo from pre-production work right through to the editing.

In the early stages we started a blog on blogspot.com to keep a record of our progress, which we could use towards our coursework. We also used the internet and websites such as YouTube.com to view different pop promos to research and analyse. This helped us in finding and understanding forms and conventions for different genres. We used other text based site including Wikipedia to research the history and uses of pop promos.

In the planning stages the internet again proved to be useful, as we could record alll of our research, findings, and ideas in a blog. Programmes such as photoshop were also essential when it came to planning the CD cover and the print ad.

Technology was one of the most significant parts of our production. This is because we needed the cameras to film the action, the editing software was also essential as we used this to create the final piece. The technology this software provided also allowed us the opportunity to add the final touches to the promo including fading in and out, and slow motion effects.

Other technology and equipment we used included digital cameras to take the pictures for the final CD cover and print ad. Photoshop was also used, this enabled us to edit pictures and add fonts and other pictures on top of pictures. By doing this we were able to create a well edited CD cover and a print ad for the album our song comes from. Microsoft word also proved helpful as we were able to write out pieces for our blog before putting them online.

All of this technology enabled us to take our project from a series of ideas to a completed pop promo.

The bands feedback: After watching the pop promo, the band said that they thought it was fantastic. 'Can you make another one for us?' - Sandy Sutherland. "I looked so much better in this than I expected to, thankyou for a great job!' - Gary Nunn. The band have since used the promo on their own website, on their facebook and myspace sites, and on YouTube.

The band's feedback

After watching the pop promo, the band said that they thought it was fantastic. 'Can you make another one for us?' - Sandy Sutherland. 'It was so much better than I thought it would be.' - Gary Nunn. They have decided that the pop promo is so good that they wanted to put it on their website, they also put it on their social networking site and on YouTube. They all agreed that the band were all represented in a positive light to the audience. They liked that they were put in black and white as they said it made them look smart and made the pop promo look slicker.

Do you think that the video as a whole worked well with the lyrics in the song?

Yes, we think it works well.

Do you think that the pop promo would appeal to the audiences you attract?

Yes, everyone that has seen the video, our audience, really liked it.

Are you happy with the way in which you are represented as a group in the video?

Yes, we thought that we would mess the video up (laughs) but it looks really good.

Do you think that the younger characters and, you, the older artists work well together?

Yes, we like that you have incorporated the young with the old.

What did you think of the black and white?

We think it makes us look really smart and slick.

Do you like the video?

Yes, we love it!

Other class members feedback.

Initial impressions: good areas

Theres good believable chemistry between the two characters, the class Liked the shots of two characters looking back at each other, they thought there were good shots of the band, liked the band being in black and white because it divided them up from the narrative.

Initial areas: weak impressions

They thought the band could have been more enthusiastic and that it was difficult to realise who the main singer is, the main singer could of been put in the middle or had more shots (close ups) of him to show the audience he is the main singer. Some of the cinematography looked a bit amateurish at times.

Use of cinematography
There should have been more shots and also more close up shots, the shot of the two characters turning heads was really good. Although there were a lack of shots the overall camera work was good.

Use of mise- en- scene
The two characters looked the part, the band also looked good, the location worked well with the narrative and performance.

Use of editing
The switch between narrative and performance was perfectly timed so the audience didn’t get bored of watching it, the story built up the relationship well the story also works well with the song, the lyrics were represented well so were the cuts and they loved the slow motion effect when the characters were looking back at each other.

Suitability of visuals to the music & lyrics
It fits nicely and the music and visuals reflected the lyrics well.
Response to brief
Everyone said yes

Production values and technical ability
One of the zoom ins was a bit wobbly it could be improved. The class thought we should of either used tripod all the way through or use handheld all the way through because it didn't look slick like it would with a tripod and it didn't look crazy like it would have done if it were done hand held.

Suitability to the genre of music
Yes it was suitable to the genre of music

Suitability of creating a bands/ artists image (representation)
The band didn’t seem very enthusiastic and there was a slight conflict between a young narrative and an old band.

Suitability for target audience
Mainly for older people however by involving a young love story it opens it up to a younger audience as well.

Final edit!

FINAL EDIT.

Final print ad

Final album cover