Podcast evaluation

Evaluation

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

My product uses, develops, and challenges the forms and conventions of real media products. I designed my video on the styles of music videos of bands from the early ‘70’s, to match the sound and style of the band themselves. I also took inspiration from the videos taken of live footage of bands from the same genre. I did this by using similar editing techniques, such as the heavy use of overlaps and cross-fades. I also used camera techniques to mimic the videos I had analysed and researched. I used close ups and extreme close ups of the guitarist and the bassist taken from an angle looking down the guitar neck, and from directly in front. I used extreme close ups of the drums during the accented beats to highlight the pounding beat of the track and this is an effect commonly used in videos of the hard rock genre. I made effective use of panning, and zoom shots to appear as though I am following the band around the room, even though I filmed each member separate.

I have developed the conventions of the videos I have researched by portraying the band in a slightly fun-loving light, as shown by the unusual faces and cheeky smiles the band members pull from time to time, as well as cementing the fact that they are a serious band. This is a development, as in a lot of videos the bands are always seen to be serious and straight to the point. It makes them appear to be better than the rest of us, which isn’t good as it means they have forgotten their roots in blues music and in the working classes where most of these bands came from originally. I have used these little shots to show them to be the same as the rest of us, a concept heavily featured in blues music.

I have challenged the conventions of the vast majority of videos, but in the rare cases I have also developed their forms and conventions by using symbolism and interpretive meaning. My video has no narrative, as it is supposed to be a reflection and symbolisation of blues music – the root of all rock music. Blues is about individual expression and personal creativity. I have symbolised this by featuring the band members on their own almost separate from every other member. Even The guitarist is seen at key points in the video, in his bedroom as if he is jamming over guitar licks on his own. Each shot is edited to blend in with each other, so that even though they are on their own, they are each adding their own piece of creativity into the song and it all blends in to create a great piece of music, and a great video.


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

In relation to blues music and the hard rock genre, the combination is very effective. The Image I have used for my album cover was a black and white image I found on Google of a Fender Stratocaster, the same guitar James used in the video. This is an iconic image in almost all styles of music, but in particular in blues and rock. I did this to provide a minimalistic approach similar to that of blues music, and the very stripped down sound of guitars, bass and drums that the band themselves employ. This minimalistic feel is very similar to the video itself, as the video is set mainly in one location, is based around one theme, and has a very simple structure.

When making my magazine advertisement, I decided to make it stand out and appear slightly different from my album cover. To achieve this, I decided upon using the same images of the Fender Strat and the band’s logo, except I inverted the colours to make the black become white and the white become black.

3. What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Largely, my audience feedback has been positive. These points include that it is enjoyable to watch, that I have met the conventions of my genre, that I have included plenty of meat shots and that I have synchronised the visuals to the track effectively. Points of improvement that I have been made aware of are that the lip synching is slightly out and can be off-putting, but that is due to the fact that the song is performed by their new and current vocalist, whereas the video is starring their old singer. Another point of improvement is that there is a lack of narrative. Reason for this being that I wanted to make the video more symbolic and representative using performance instead of a narrative, also due to time and technical issues I could not use the narrative I was hoping to.

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

In the research and planning stages, I used the website YouTube to research videos of the same style and genre, which is where I drew inspiration from.

In the construction stages, I used technology, which included a video camera to capture my footage and the Apple Mac program iMovie to edit the video. I recorded the song I used myself in the college studio, using a V-4000 mixing desk, the program Sonar and I mixed the song on Cubase 4.

In the construction of my ancillary texts, I used Photoshop to create them and I used it in a far more advanced way than I did in AS. I used tools such as colour inversion, the rubber tool, magic wand, and even manipulation of layers and their opacity to create what many believe to be a professionally made album and magazine advert.

The video

Music Videos

Here is a list of videos I have looked at to draw inspiration from.

Whitesnake - Ready To Rock

Rainbow - Difficult To Cure (live)

Deep Purple - Black Knight (live)

Airbourne - Runnin' Wild

Whitesnake - Slow An' Easy

Ac Dc - Shake Your Foundations

Ac Dc - Fly On The Wall

Motorhead - Whorehouse Blues

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Superstition

Airbourne - Heartbreaker (live)

Def Leppard - Armageddon It (live)

Iron Maiden - Wrathchild (live)

Ac Dc - Thunderstruck

Santana - She's Not There (live)

Motorhead - Rock Out

Saxon - Ride Like The Wind

Updates

I have begun work on my music video and as of now am currently up to the start of the second verse. I am thoroughly impressed with what I have done, and I have already gotten plenty of positive feedback so far. I shall continue to edit my video after I have gotten my shots of the band in their rehearsal space this Saturday.

Slow An Easy by Whitesnake

Analysis of Slow An Easy by Whitesnake

Analysis of Whitesnake ‘Slow An’ Easy’

The song opens with a shot of a dirt road, which then smoothly fades into a close up of the lead singer, David Coverdale. Examples of thought beats are shown throughout the video. The smooth transitions and superimpositions match the slow and smooth start of the song. When the bass comes in the camera displays an extreme close up of his fretboard as he plays. A similar shot is used to highlight the guitarist’s slide guitar intro. The main focus of the camera is on David’s eyes when he sings the line “I can’t see you baby, I can’t see you anymore”

The lights then flash to the beats of the drums when the song properly kicks in. During the breakdown, the band claps their hands to match the track.

As for narrative, the narrative of the video doesn’t match the lyrics. The song is in all senses a love song about making love to a woman, typical of the style of music. The video on the other hand, has a narrative of its own. The storyline is revealed gradually in small chunks through the video. The first hint of it is a shot of a car accident at the start. From what we can gather as we watch the video is that the narrative involves a woman, her car and a mysterious pearl necklace. The necklace is also wrapped around David’s hand during the shots of the band’s performance. It is then revealed later in the video that David is the one seen putting the pearls around her neck, just after a shot of him trashing her dressing room in anger. At the end of the video we see him discovering the car crash and her necklace near the wreckage. Just after he picks it up, a car that looks exactly like the one in the accident pulls up next to him and he discovers her behind the wheel without her necklace on. She then drives away very quickly leaving him behind.

Performance is used throughout the video and it is made up mainly of the shots of the band on stage. They are seen on a fully functioning stage with a full light show, monitor speakers and even the drums with microphones placed near them as if they are about to capture the sound through a PA system, as if they are playing at a real live concert. The guitarist points his guitar in the air and David does the same with the mic stand on a number of occasions, like you would expect to see at a real rock concert. Even the band mimes to the backing vocals as though it is a real show, and the camera’s attention is then brought to them.

Star image is important in this video. The first minute of the video is made up mainly of extreme close up shots of David Coverdale’s mouth or eyes, and whole face. During the guitar fills, the camera brings its attention to the lead guitarist in low angle shots to highlight his skills and bring focus to his facial expressions. The same can be said for the drummer when he does his little drum fills. During the guitar solo, the camera focuses on the guitarist and shows close up shots of his guitar.

Visuals occasionally relate to the song in this video. Examples of this includes tracking shots of the word ‘Slow’ written on the road when David sings ‘Take me down slow an’ easy’. Also, all the instruments are played perfectly in synch as though they performed it live.