Rough Cut

Rough Cut

Having audience feedback on our music video is important to our production as it allows us to make the necessary changes and improvements we can make. Whether the feedback on the music video is positive or negative, they are both just as important as each other in knowing what needs to be changed or kept the same and how I van go about making the changes to improve my music video and make it look more professional. Feedback is given from the audiences POV and the music video is created in order to appeal to the audience and for there entertainment so therefore, receiving feedback from the audience on their reactions to the video allows us to make it more relatable and conventional to them or if the feedback was positive then what to keep and we then know what we have done well with so we can use it for future reference or for when we make final changes. This will then allow us to adapt our changes to our audiences needs and have a clear idea of what our target audience wants to see. Creating a rough cut before finalising the complete music video is also essential to carry out as if we have made any mistakes or included anything that isn't relevant or our audience doesn't like then we can go and change them at a later date and start planning what we can now include, in what order so it still looks conventional and professional. Audience feedback comments and a rough cut therefore correlate with each other as we can make our video better from this. Creating a rough cut and having these audience feedback comments also gives us a better understanding into the elements that go into the music video such as the camera and editing techniques, mis en scene etc and the comments will show us what particular elements are relevant to the indie genre and how we can change them on final cut and camera work. 

We received audience feedback on a number of different platforms and in a number of different ways both pre production and post production, to give us both an indication as to what our audiences want to see and expect so we could go out and film it and include it and also the feedback of our rough cut and the necessary changes we need to make based on their opinions. We firstly created a questionnaire for our audience with a series of questions that related to what techniques they will expect to see in terms of camera, editing, mis en scene etc and also what styles of musk do they like and want to see and how we can interpret their views and ideas on the indie genre into our video. The purpose of this questionnaire feedback is that when a media product is being planned or created, one of the most important questions the creators have to consider is 'who are our target audience' and 'dos this have an target audience we can make the product best suited for. If not their is no target market or audience that will buy the songs or listen to the artist and the artist will not be a success with no real direction therefore their will be no point in making our music video and we won't know what conventions and content to include. These questionnaires also included creating vox pops and forming a focus group in order to ask these questions we have planned out to create our music video and have the answers in different formats so that we have lots of different feedback we can work with and not just plain and biased answers. The purpose of the vox pops are to record what the audience say and then to be able to analyse what they say at any time because I can watch it back and understand different parts of their answer. Also It gives me a more detailed answer to my questions because they are speaking instead of having to write down an answer so it is on the spot and what their initial ideas are, therefore making it easier for me to include their feedback into the music video. Focus groups are also helpful and useful for benefiting my production as i would have a number of different opinions and answers from an audience who we are targeting at who know what they are talking about in terms of creating a successful music video and interpreting this into my own video. Vox pops and focus groups also benefit major record label companies and are used frequently within the music industry as ways of keeping up with modern trends and and expectations of the public so those creating the music video have a good understanding and platform of what can be included into the video. Another way we took audience feedback, post production was youtube comments. We uploaded our rough cut of the music video on to YouTube and had an audience comment on the video with a positive comment and negative comment so we knew what we had done well and what we could improve. This helped us and also benefited our production as we knew what changes to make when creating the final product and allowed us to go and film anything we needed to include and add specific editing techniques and transitions in order to make it more professional and look conventional to the indie genre and the concept we were hoping to achieve. YouTube is not only a platform for fans to comment on their favourite videos and watch their favourite artists music videos but it is a way of expressing their opinions and allowing them to interact with the artist and music industry so it is used as a good form of feedback for them and a way to keep fans happy and interact with them and allow them to voice their opinion. As well as all of these forms of audience feedback, we also had a screening of our music video rough cut to two professional artists who come to watch the video and give their opinion and feedback on it. This was very beneficial to our music video as by having a professionals opinion, no matter what genre they belong to, we know it will benefit the video and make it look more successful and they have a good knowledge and understanding on what needs to be included in a music video to make it look realistic and know a lot about the elements included such as cinematography and editing techniques. We also took on board any criticism they had and they showed us specifically what we could change so having them present and having a screening showed us how to make the changes if we didn't already know how to or if we didn't know how to improve it. 

YouTube Comments

Three positive comments I had on my rough cut were from YouTube and they gave me an idea on what I done well, what they specifically liked about it. One thing we have to remember however when reading the comments and applying them to our video is if they come from our target audience, if they are relevant and they do not give the opinion of the majority and just that specific person. The fist positive comment I received was how the person 'loved the narrative that is clearly evident', 'the editing is effective matching the emotions of the artist'. Reflecting on the comment, this allowed me to go back and look at my rough cut and highlight how the editing myself and my group done on the video was effective and successful and changes to the narrative in terms of editing won't be necessary to make as it had a clear positive impact on my target audience. It also shows that we have shown a clear and good understanding of our artist and achieved the representation we wanted and had an relatable impact on the audience as this aspect of the video appeals to them. Another positive comment I had on the was that there was a 'good use of effects'. This shows that the effects we applied to the video on final cut when editing the video were successful and we used a good series of relevant and conventional transitions, filters etc that we had planned to create and that our planning had paid off. This therefore means we no longer have to make any changes too the effects or add anymore as it already has had an impact on our audience. The other positive comment I had on my music video was that it has a 'good use on cinematography and a good use of fast paced editing to add to the suspense of the narrative'. This shows how not only our my editing techniques successful and conventional but so are my camera techniques and that what we planned and wanted to achieve in terms of this effect paid off. 


The three constructive comments I received on my rough cut music video from YouTube were all primarily based on the editing of the video that could be changed easily on final cut. The first constructive comment I received was to include the name of the artist and song in my video at one point to make the video have the familiarisation between the song and the artist. Having received this comment, I included a text title of the artists name and name of the song 'panic cord' at the beginning of the video during the transition of the clouds and made the typography and font conventional to the indie genre whilst making sure it looked professional with the background. The other two constructive comments I received was to add a transition at the end of the video after the filler memories and to fade out the final shot and also to include more performance based shots. I was able to input these comments into my work as we already had a number of different performance based shots filmed already and I found parts of the video they could go into and I faded out the song and final shot as a effective transition to end the video. Other ways I received constructive criticism was by receiving audience feedback from my class in a focus group. Some of the comments I received from them was that my video lacked professionalism at times and the camera shots and techniques were blurry or shaky. To improve this I added stabilisation to some shots when editing the video and also added features such more transitions and editing techniques to give it that professional and realistic look. This improved my video as by making it look more realistic, it made it more conventional to the indie genre and something that would be expected of a high standard and level and something indie artists could create. My audience would also be able to appeal to my video more if it looks more realistic as then it will become more relatable and have more conventions to that audiences want to see and demand in order for it to receive more views and give my artist a bigger profile. Record labels and the big names in the music Industry apply audience feedback and constructive comments in the same ways and improve their videos by doing this as they give the audience what they want and what they expect to see.

I took on constructive feedback in a number of ways depending on the importance and nature of the comment. For example, if my comment was on my editing techniques or how i could improve my editing then I went away on final cut pro X and added more editing techniques and styles to make it more conventional to the indie genre and appealing to my target audience. For example I received a comment mentioning how I should include more transitions so I added more flash transitions on the end of the montage scene and fade transitions on the end of the slower and more relaxed scenes that showed the couple in happier times. This will improve my production specifically as it makes it have more complex and detailed editing techniques that improves the flow of my video and how realistic it is. Despite the comments we received being from some of our classmates making similar music videos and having the same production, we also had a classroom feedback session were we all watched each others music videos and gave our reviews and opinions on them. From this feedback lesson I received both positive and negative feedback, one of the comments I received being that I used a good variety of camera techniques. From this i then learnt that I had a suitable variety of shots and did not need to film anymore or edit any more in. I also learnt from this classroom feedback that my music video did not have enough content and that it needed to look more professional and realistic so I done more research and planning of other indie music videos to take more inspirations such as the slow and transitions of birdys music video for 'wings' and filmed more scenes for our narrative such as the bonfire scene and London filler memories. These changes I made based on my classroom feedback helped to make my video more successful as it allowed me to include more conventions of the indie genre and have people with a good media and indie knowledge have an impact and say on my production so It is now more appealing to them and the people in my class belong to my target audience. The music industry and professional record label companies and artists use audience feedback to also improve their music videos and music from similar platforms such as youtube and feedback sessions and ultimately make changes based on the most popular opinions and demands from the millions who watch and listen to their productions. This allows them to keep up with modern trends and demands from their audiences and stay in touch with the public and ever-changing music industry. 

In conclusion, the overall benefit of receiving audience feedback is that allows me and people making music video productions to constantly stay in demand and popular to keep in tack with their target audience and constantly create conventional and successful videos and music. It allows me to brand and publicise my artist more and better as I know what the general public and my target audience are looking for, keep up to date with the conventions of my genre and stay one step ahead on my competitors. 

Indivudal Digipak Analysis

Individual Digipak Analysis

I created my own Digipak album for my artist 'Kerry Boyne' as part of the process of creating my own artist profile and music video. A Digipak is an advanced and bigger CD that artists produce for fans which contains more content and 6 sides rather then an standard 2 side CD. For my Digipak, I created 6 sides for the Digipak including a album cover, back cover, CD, message to fans and to sides of artist pictures. I have created my own individual Digipak for my own artist in order to make my artist look more professional and realistic. This is because Digipak's are created by major mainstream indie artists and in order to give my artist the same representation and take inspiration from them, I created a conventional indie Digipak. I also created the Digipak as it gives audiences and fans a more in depth and further representation of my artists character and music as by having 6 pictures and edited sides, I am able to give them an insight into the album and what to expect from my artist and the emotions she is expressing. Before creating my Digipak I looked at and took inspiration from other indie artists Digipak's that have a similar representation style to my artist. These include Ed Sheeran, Birdy and Lana Del Ray and I looked at the colour schemes, conventions of the genre and layout and structure of the Digipak's and took inspiration into creating a Digipak which looked similar and still conventional to the indie genre. Some of these inspirations included similar images and fonts to Lana Del Ray's Digipak and a similar colour scheme and artist representation to Birdy. By taking inspiration from these artists and implementing these ideas into my own Digipak, I was able to create a more successful and realistic Digipak which audiences will be able to relate to and appeal to more.

For the first slide of my digipak, my digipak and album front cover, I have used a close up image of my artist as the main focus and feature my cover. The photo shows my artist Kerry pulling a natural, simple facial expression which represents her as a suspicious and natural artist. She is wearing a purple jumper which matches the colour of the fonts and titles I have used across my whole digipak and it correlates with my colour scheme well and blends in to the background. The photo has been cropped out and enlarged for dramatic and editorial purposes and is conventional to the indie genre as it shows the artist as her natural self and she is not putting on a fake expression or making her look like something she's not, something Indie artists are known for as they are more focused on sharing their talents and creativity. As well as this I have also used faded photos of memories of the artist and her boyfriend as a connotation of 'memories' and to give the audience an insight into the album and the more personal side of the artist. The audience will also be able to relate to my artist through this picture as they will see the artist as a normal person who is just like them and is not afraid to open up or be herself. The colour scheme I have used for my front cover remains the same throughout the whole 6 sides to show it has a similar link and to make it all look realistic and professional. the first colour I have used is purple and this is to match the artists jumper in the photo and is used to fill in the title and names of my songs etc. The colour purple is a connotation of wisdom and passion, two traits my artist represents in her character and throughout the album so it therefore matches the concepts of my digipak and the indie genre. It also blends well with the clouds in the background and the glow around the main title is helps to make the purple title burst out and make it look more professional and appealing to the audience. As well as this I have used the colour grey as a background colour by darkening the clouds as it represents darkness which is a connotation of herself and some of her music. For my typography I used a bold and sharp font to make the titles stand out and as a connotation that the artist is bold and strong and its a stand out digipak. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists often like to remind audiences of the names of their songs/albums by having them bold and indie looking to add extra emphasis and dramatic effect on the audience. The artists name is shown as the largest feature by being shown expressively as the top of the digipak with 'memory lane' shown underneath it as a reminder on the album name and a hint into music. As well as this it features a 'LR' logo which is the initials for my record label company 'Lanyard Records', to give it that professional and realistic feature and to ensure audiences of their work and that it is the real deal. I have used all of these features noted on the front cover of my digipak on the actual CD side and CD for my digipak in order to give it the same realistic and conventional aspect as my front cover and so it has similar connotations and correlates with the rest of my album. The differences between this side and my front cover album is that the CD has copyright detailed information of the bottom of the CD as every other CD has this in the industry in order to show its professionalism and to make sure no one copies or takes the music for themselves. The name of the artist and album name have also been compacted to fit the layout and size of the CD and are instead shown across the artists face. For my back cover which displays the song names I have used a photo of my artist Kerry sitting alone in a field on a wooden tree swing with the tree branches appearing onto the cover helping to create an mysterious and in a way eerie feel as to where the location is and what the digipak's music is all about. It helps to represent the artist as natural and someone who wants to get away from everything and be herself and therefore shows how it is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists are often in their own worlds and minds and like to keep themselves to themselves. The fonts and typography of my back cover are different to the front cover in that the name of the album is displayed in a lighter and more friendly, innocent font to shed light on the fact it is a innocent and pure picture which therefore correlates with the concepts of the music and artist. The song names and the main focus and feature of the side and are in the same bold font as the album name and artist on the front cover to help them stand out and have that same dark, meaningful portrayal that makes the audiences think about what the songs will be about and creates that conventional indie feel towards it. There is a barcode displayed in the bottom corner to give it that professional and realistic feature as well as the pictures background with the clouds and hill correlating and matching the rest of the digipak. This is conventional to the indie genre as many indie artists tend to have deep and effective settings which aren't always glamorous or high end but more to give it a dramatic feel. The audience will be able to relate to this more as they will be more drawn into the emotional side of my artist, her music and digipak rather then the settings and features that don't support my concept. For my fans message side, the main feature I focused on was my fans message. The photo I used for this side was a picture of my artist Kerry sitting on a fence in an open field, gazing into the sky with the fan message surrounding it. I used this photo as it correlates with the theme and setting of the field that I used in all of my other side pictures so it creates the same dramatic feel for the audience. It also matches the concept of the 'fan message' well as her facial expressions look like she is thinking and in deep thought creating further emotional impact on the audience. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists often portray deep thoughts and convey a lot of emotion. For the typography and language of the fan message, I put it inside a thought bubble to show it as a clear representation of the artists thoughts and used a happy and light-hearted font to match the style of the language and so the audience and fans reading it take it in more and it means more to them. Other features I included in this fan message side include the name of the album which is seen in the back cover of the digipak, however I have faded it behind the artist and at the top of the side. This allows the audience to focus on the fan message more and get drawn in to the emotional concept of the digipak. One of the picture sides of the digipak is a picture of my artist Kerry standing alone in a field with her foot resting on a tree with the sun beaming down on her creating a reflecting shadow on the tree. She is also wearing a conventional indie costume of trainers, tights and a denim jacket and t-shirt. I chose this as I feel that the setting and background of the image creates a good backdrop for picture that primarily focuses on the artist, allowing the audience to witness a conventional and relevant indie setting that is seen in my music video and in other aspects of the digipak. I feel this picture is conventional to the indie genre as her expression of being unsure, thoughtful and deep and emotional is often common with indie artists and they often potray expressions and themes of deep and meaningful thoughts in their work, whether it is about love like mine or another deep moment.

In conclusion, I feel that my Digipak conforms to the conventions of the indie genre as I took inspiration from many mainstream indie Digipak's. I also focused in detail of many aspects of my Digipak including using indie colour schemes and pictures by choosing settings for the pictures that indie audiences would relate with. I also used settings and conventional iconography etc. that can be seen in my music video and applied them into my Digipak in order for it to look more realistic and have that artist and genre link towards it. I also feel that my Digipak appeals to my target audience as it features a number of different images of my artist portraying different emotions so they can relate to her in a number od different ways and appeal to her as she is an open artist who has many different sides towards her. I also feel that my Digipak appeals to my audience as it looks professional and realistic so the audience would be more likely to pick it up and buy it if they saw it and not just fans of the artist so it appeals to a wide audience.