Evaluation - Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Instead of carrying out another survey I chose to use social media to gather my feedback as this would offer me a more personal insight and provide a more informal platform.

The first comment I want to discuss is the one on the video itself. This points out the lack of sun in our video despite the name of the song being sun, this is mainly due to the time of year we filmed but also due to the fact that we decided the lack of sun would be ironic in context of the story of the relationship within the lyrics. Obviously this may not have been clear enough to everyone but it was a subtle element we added in for the interpretation of the audience. The that fact that the music video itself only received one comment is mainly due to the fact that only people with a youtube account may comment on a youtube video. This presented me with a problem as it narrowed down the people who could feedback on the video. So I decided to create a facebook page to post the video in and receive feedback on.











On this we received some interesting feedback. The first comment reads that the transition of the shots had a good flow and that the viewer liked the way the video was cut to the rhythm of the music. This is was a massive aspect of our video and so this was a good thing to hear back. This viewer, unlike the previous one, felt that we had conveyed the story of lyrics just like i previously explained and this was also good to hear back as the narrative in the video linked directly to the narrative in the song.
This is important as Narrative was a hugely popular response in our survey and was found in a lot of the music videos I, and the other members of the group, analysed. However we did receive the criticism that our guitarists could have been more convincing, this I take as a fair comment as only one of our guitarists could actually play guitar, this gives us a space for improvement, as maybe if we ever re-shot or started a similar project in the future we could remember to use real musicians.

The next comments weren't quite as in depth the second comment reads 'Really like the video, accompanies the song really well and fits great' This is quite a bit more general than the previous comment but still, positive feedback meaning hat we have achieved the aim, again, of creating a recognisably indie video to go with the song.

The last comment reads that the video is 'really really good' and the viewer picks out the shots from the arcade in particular. The only negative aspect they pointed out was that if one of the guitarists was pretending to be a bassist not to play it with his thumb. However this was never even something that occurred to me during planning. We got three guitars but didn't think about anything else like bass, and the traditional format for a band is at least a bassist, guitarist and drummer. However we left out a drummer as, from what we learnt in our initial research, tdcc play multiple instruments each but never really include drums in their videos as its none of their main instruments. This again is linked with the fact that 2/3 of the actors can't actually play the instruments and is maybe something we should have researched or considered more, to improve.

The differences in the comments relate to Andrew Hart and his theories. Hart said “Texts need audiences in order to realise their full potential for meaning. So a text does not have a single meaning but rather a range of possibilities which are defined by both the text and by its audiences. The meaning is not in the text, but in its reading.” This shows us that our audience will pick out different things from the video, each individual will interpret it differently, picking out different aspects of the meanings we created depending on their personal experience. I have created a video containing a set of symbols and motifs based on the conventions of the indie genre and the narrative within the song, but it is up to the audience to interpret these, and as I said they will interpret them differently. For example, The youtube commenter did not pick up on the use of the weather as an ironic pathetic fallacy and this was down to his perosnal experience and the things he noticed when watching it. However another viewer might pick up on that.

Evaluation - Question 2

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

Our media products link strongly. The ancillary texts and the main product link very obviously visually as they use the same images. The front cover of the digipak and the image used in the advert are the same and it is taken from the same shot in the video. This is the shot at the start of the video, the one that shows us the titles for the band and the song. This creates a visual link for the audience to identify with and means that the ancillary texts are directly relatable to the main product. So without knowing what it is, anyone who has watched the music video will recognise the poster and digipak and vice versa.

There is also a set colour scheme across the products. The use of yellow was established in the video and this was another use of irony in its connotations to happiness and the sun, despite the lack of these things within the context of the video. The purple/blue and blue tones within the rest of the text connote the true emotion of the context of the video and the lyrics of the song. This contrasts against the yellow and will intruige the audience as the two colours are pretty much exact opposites. The two opposite colours also link to the use of the two locations, the two sides of the story. One the happy memories and the other the sad reality of the lead singers current emotional state. The font, as I have already mentioned, was taken from the bands previous albums and this means that it keeps in uniform with their previous releases, meaning that any fans would recognise any of these products without having seen the other, widening our audience further. This is also important as it the band aren't pictured on the front of the digipak or on the advert and this means that the font is the only signifier of the product being theirs without actually reading it, so using the font they have always used was important as it means they are recognised without their physical presence. This is lacking as it is a convention of the indie genre for the band not to be pictured as it fits with the whole 'its all about the music' style.

However the band are featured inside the digipak and this is challenges some of the conventions because in some cases the band aren't pictured at all on their digipaks, the same for other bands within the genre. But instead of having them plain as day visible we placed the images of the band stood infront of the beach huts across the inside and covered them with the blank shot of the hut doors over the cd's lining it up perfectly so that the band are only visible when the cd's are removed, hiding their presence, still not promoting their image but more the music. Almost like it says 'play the cd to see me'. Its still putting the music first. Another thing that shows the music being put first is the information present on the bottom of the advert and the bottom of the back of the digipak. This includes the record label logo and information about the record label and links to various social media sites relating to the band and the label allowing the audience to look into the band and their music even more.

Evaluation - Question 1

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

The video starts by using an establishing long shot of the beach, this is following the conventions set by the band in several of their music videos and one set by other artists in the genre, including bombay bicycle club. This actually closely mirrors the style set in the original video for 'Sun' and the their is a direct link between the visual image of the beach and the opening lyrics, paired with the title displayed on screen this helps the audience to connect with the media product.

The title font is also representative of the convention the band have set in which they use the same titling for their videos frequently. This is something that signifies from the start who the video is by and something many fans would instantly recognise.  The use of the yellow set against the background of the beach connotes summer, the lyrics also do this too. However this is set in contrast by the blue-ness and overcast look of the beach, which relates again to the lyrics of the song. The song talks about a long distance relationship falling apart, this is obviously a negative thing, and this is represented by the contrasting blue-ness of the setting just like the context of the lyrics contrast with the imagery used. 

The shot rotates 360 degrees back to where it started but now the band are stood in place. They are stood together with their instruments as if ready to perform, this foreshadows the live performance element of the video which is something that the audience will expect as it is a common convention of the indie genre. The use of this isolated location links with the style of genre. The indie genre promotes individuality and originality. The use of the isolated location suggests its a place not many people go, a place where only the band are and this emptiness reflects the exclusivity of the genre. Most of the shots in the music video lack any presence other than that of the band or the narrative character. Steve Neale argues that pleasure is derived from 'repetition and difference'. During the video their are several shot types that are used more than once. We constantly return to these shots, for example the shot with the lead singer walking along the river of the one set against beach huts. But you can also see that their are compositional similarities to these shots. The beach hut shots and the stone wall shots are set up very similarly following the rule of thirds and resigning each band member to their third in a similar fashion, thus making them easy to cut between smoothly and providing a visual match for the audience to follow. 

This brings me to the narrative, the convention of narrative inclusion in the music video is very common in the indie genre and something very present in tdcc's existing music videos. The narrative focuses on a relationship between the between the band a girl. The girl is aways shot as if the camera is the person she is talking to, so a POV shot. This removes the identity of the person who's relationship is with the girl. However the lead singer also has a lot of camera time where he is singing directly to the camera and this creates an unspoken link between the two.  Also, even though their is an obvious connection between the band and the girl there are no shots with them both in, this leaves the exact relationship to speculation and allows for audience interpretation, this means that they will relate to it in the way they best can and this widens the number of audience members who will relate personally with the video. 

The band are never pictured without their instruments and this links with the convention of the importance of the music and the lack of sexualised images in the indie genre. It is common for the most important thing in genres such as indie for the most important thing to be the music. Unlike the pop genre, where the main focus is normally the aesthetics and glamour of the artist and not the integrity of the music. The focus on the music is obvious throughout, like them always having their instruments, and even the cuts between the shots are timed to the beat and rhythm of the music, exaggerating its importance. 

I feel our video doesn't challenge the conventions of the indie genre but it does take some of them and develop them. The narrative is a key aspect of the video and this and it is taken directly from the lyrics of the song. The use of the two locations is representative of the distance in the relationship and the darker, gloomier shots of the lead singer contrast the lighter shots of the girl, this shows that one side of the relationship is unhappy and that the shots of the girl are the lead singer remembering the good times, they are untainted by his current mood. There is also the clear irony in the fact that the there is a lack of sun in the video despite that being the title of the song and this irony is representative of the fact that even though the song is called sun it isn't about anything happy as the audience might initially interpret from the name. 

Final Poster

Final Digipak

Final Music Video

Shooting Schedule

Risk Assesment Forms

Release Forms

Location Scouting

York
Our first location is the centre of York, and in particular down the river. The song has a lot of nautical themes in it and we wanted to keep a visual link with the water. Also the narrative in the lyrics are of a long distance relationship breaking up. So we thought that using two location would work nicely to iterate the two separate places the relationship took place.

We also decided to film in the Museum Gardens under the arches of the ruins. This gives the video a triptych feel and will link with what we have planned at the other location. If anything the decision to film here is mainly compositional and ties n with the fact that it is filmed right next to where the narrative filming will take place along the river. 

Scarborough

We also decided to film at scarborough, due to the nautical references in the song lyrics we felt a seaside location was appropriate. Because we will be visiting scarborough during November the beach will most likely be empty and the weather overcast. This is good however because the song talks about a break up and declining relationship so we want the mood of this part of the video to be bleak and lonely, and an empty overcast wet beach gives this impression in just the way we want. However there are positive moments in the song during the narrative of the video the relationships good times are being remembered and so we can capture some nicer lighter moment possibly in arcades and at some areas along the beach.

           

                               

We also found these huts, again this follows the triptych compositional idea of having the three members of the band in these three separate but visually similar places. I feel that this links the two locations visually as we are going to cut between the two, so the band will be present at both times of  the narrative, as if they are spectator to the relationship the entire time.

                                           

Digipak Planning

The Digipak is going to consist of shots from the video, or relating too the video. The Album is a deluxe version of the band's second studio album so on the front we will have a landscape shot of the beach with the text in a similar format to the text on the original album. This means that the styling will keep in line with the previous products released by the band but still be recognisably different.

The inside flap will then have the same shot but with the band standing in the frame of the shot this time. Making it seem the same but with that slight change. This kind of visual match is pleasing to the eye of the viewer, and though the band don't usually use images of themselves on their products they have so more lately and this is in keeping with their growing image and popularity, making them instantly recognisable to new and old fans alike.

On the back there will be another beach photo, however this one will contain the female character from the video, this video is the main video released with the album and this gives a visual link to the narrative, again giving that instant recognition to anyone who has seen the video but not necessarily listened to Two Door Cinema Club.

The inside will contain a shot of the band standing under three multi coloured archways, however when the cd's are over the slots it will appear as if the band are not there, so the outer two band members will only be visible once the cd's are removed.

Storyboard

Final Pitch

Artist
We are going to be producing a promotional package, including a music video, CD and DVD release digipak and an Album Poster for the Digipak, for the band Two Door Cinema Club. We are producing a music video for the song Sun, taken from their second studio album Beacon. Due to this the digipak CD and DVD we will be producing will be a re-release of the album Beacon as a deluxe edition. We chose this because it is their most recently released album, and with the release of their new EP on a new record label (Parlophone), we feel that re-releasing their last album and adding in a plethora of additional content will keep fans entertained during the long wait for the band's third studio album.

CD & DVD Digipak
The album CD will include the entire original album plus a load of additional acoustic songs and a bonus track. This is our tracklist:

1. "Next Year"  
2. "Handshake"  
3. "Wake Up"  
4. "Sun"  
5. "Someday"
6. "Sleep Alone"  
7. "The World Is Watching" (with Valentina)
8. "Settle"  
9. "Spring"  
10. "Pyramid"  
11. "Beacon"
12.   "Handshake (Acoustic)"
13.   "Sun (Acoustic)"
14.   "Spring (Acoustic)"
15.   "Changing Of The Seasons (Bonus Track)"

This will also be accompanied in the Digipak by a Bonus DVD. The dvd will contain their live performance at Brixton Academy on their 2013 tour after the release of Beacon. This will also be downloadable as an Mp3 album. So really the audience is getting two albums, one of them live. Allowing many fans, who may have never been able to see them live, to gain a glimpse of what they sound like playing their music live as this is always different to studio recording. Also many of the fans of this kind of music are large on their live music and so this gives them an alternative way of listening to the band and possibly reminiscing the times they may have seen them live.

Audience Research- Interview

Audience Research

<iframe src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/46637469" width="425" height="355" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC; border-width:1px; margin-bottom:5px; max-width: 100%;" allowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="//www.slideshare.net/lazyloo123/survey-analysis-46637469" title="Survey analysis" target="_blank">Survey analysis</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="//www.slideshare.net/lazyloo123" target="_blank">Eleni Zachariou</a></strong> </div>

Two Door Cinema Club - Band Information

Two Door Cinema Club are a an Indie Rock band from Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland and were formed in 2007.

The band consists of:
Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths)
Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals)
Kevin Baird (bass, synths, backing vocals).

Discography
The band's debut album is titled Tourist History and was released on 1st March 2010 by Kitsune Music ( a french independant record label) and on 27th April 2010 in America where the band are signed to Glassnote Records. Before this, during the early years (January 2009), the band self released an EP titled Four Words to Stand On, this received interest on a number of websites. The following year the album was selected for the Choice Music Prize, Irish album of the year (2010). Two Door Cinema Club's second album was called Beacon and was released on 3rd September 2012, reaching number 1 in the Irish album chart and number 2 in the Uk album chart.  Jacknife Lee, responsible for producing artists such as U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol and Bloc Party, produced the album.

Inspiration

Two Door Cinema club, although Indie Rock use elements of electronics in their music, giving it a twist and making them different to alot of bands however their music is reminiscent of bands such as Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand. Though this is not how the band started out. In this interview they talk about their beginning and in particular how when they first joined together as a band it was in a Rock band. The boys were all school friends and on discovering they had similar music tastes and could all play guitar they formed a band, playing rock covers of other well known bands such as Biffy Clyro, this is explained in further detail by the band in the interview below:

Record Label History
Two Door Cinema Club were first signed to Kitsune Music, a french independent electronic music label created in 2002 by Gildas Loaëc, Masaya Kuroki and the London-based company Åbäke. It was on Kitsune that TDCC released both of their studio albums, and they have so far been their main label.
On the 15th July 2014 Alex Trimble announced in an interview that the band had left Kitsune Music to sign to the former EMI subsidiary, Parlophone Records. Parlophone Records, is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon.  The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone Records". It is parented by the Warner Music Group. A previous subsidiary of Time Warner which is now owned by Access Industries, a privately held, American conglomerate holding company founded in 1986 by its chairman, Len Blavatnik. Soon after this the band released their latest EP, the Changing of the Seasons EP and announced that they were working on their 3rd studio album, with hopes to release it in early 2015.
This shows that the band have worked with a multitude of record companies to produce their music, moving from a smaller independant label to a large American label that allows their music to reach further than it has before. This is a signifier of their success and the fact that they have a growing fanbase, their music reaching charts on an international level.