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

Throughout our campaign, I believe we have maintained a clear image and theme. Our main aim was to create an indie, gritty, working class product what had a clear influence of the 80's, The Smiths therefore were an ideal band and made this concept work and flourish. Our images within the photo-shoot were taken within the bike sheds of our college, this produced a set of urban, working class themed images what we could then use throughout our digipak. We used the bike shed shots on our website (the header and footer) as well as our CD cover, inside and out. The theme of the bike sheds and working class culture stretched right across our project and was really a grounding for our work. All the images were made to look vintage throughout the work of photoshop, having the same effect on each and every photo created continuity and a definite professional feel to our digipak. Our CD cover and website have both subtle and clear conventions, from the imagery to the fonts, we used the same fonts throughout the whole project to show each piece belonged and was part of a wider campaign. The theme of vintage, retro, indie, working class culture has definitely been evident throughout the project, our target audience I believe is reached throughout our whole work and we are proud of what we've both achieved.

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

I speak from the start till around 4:12.

Enjoy!

Question Three: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

To gather audience feedback, we made both peers and strangers watch our film, we then asked them to fill out a questionnaire which aimed to gather a clear view of what others thought of our film (see above).  The general feedback was positive, people spoke of a clear and effective narrative which complimented the performance. People also seemed to be fond of particular scenes, the shots in the pub and certain aspects of the performance, this was great to hear and we were really happy happy with the general feedback. The general criticism's were that there was little variety of shots within the performance and there was also a distinctive lack of transitions, these points are fair and understandable however we did avoid transitions to fall into any cliches and keep our video professional. Another issue was with the lighting, people seemed to think it was dark and unclear, this was a fair point and we have took this criticism on board. Unfortunately the final product was final and therefore once we had completed it we had met the deadline and were unable to change our production. Meaning we couldn't apply our criticisms and create a better/more appealing film what would meet the desires of our peers. However I don't think we would have changed much anyway as we are both very happy with the outcome of the video. I find the audience feedback fair and understandable however I do not agree with everything what was said (lack of transitions), however everybody is entitled to their own opinion and overall the learning experience and genuine fun during the creation of our media product was worthwhile and useful.

Elliot - 4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? (Filmed)

Here is the filmed evaluation for question 4. My part starts around 4:12.

Elliot- 3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We gathered audience feedback by giving people in other groups a feedback form (see above), with which we could gather audience opinions and see what we did right and what could be improved. From what we gathered the audience really enjoyed the narrative side of our video. They thought it was funny and held their attention throughout the video (a particular favourite was the POV shot when the chav tries to get served at the pub). They also thought the performance side was very good. However, they did see some issues with the lighting (it seemed to be a little dark and unclear at times) and the performance is out of sync at some points (which personally I disagree with). A general complaint was the lack of effects and transitions throughout the video. However, we wanted to avoid using effects and transitions for the sake of it as we knew it would look cheesy. We also knew that had we used them people would have complained about our transitions and effects! Apart from these minor issues the audience enjoyed the video. I agree with most of the issues raised, however seeing as we did this exercise after we had finished the video there is really nothing we can do about it. The criticism was fair and we took a lot on board.

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

In my opinion we have maintained a clear image and theme throughout our campaign. Our focus has always been combining the suburban grittiness of indie with the retro, vintage feel of the 80s, which is appropriate as this is when our chosen band was active. Our photoshoot was set in the bike sheds of our college. This was a stroke of genius as it allowed us to keep the urban theme while also adding a touch of class with the bicycles, which is most prominent on our inside CD cover. We kept the vintage theme by using Photoshop to give all our photos a vintage hue. This was consistent on both the CD cover and the website. I think the video, digipak and website are all very effective at selling the band and targeting our audience. Our clothing choice of checked shirts in the performance was appropriate to the genre and gave a working-class look to use while still looking "dapper".  Our theme throughout the "campaign" has been urban yet classy, and I think with the mixing of modern and retro we have achieved this effectively.

Feedback for Question 3