Music Video Evaluation

When researching and planning for our final music video, I analysed two other John Mayer music videos. This allowed me to get an understanding of his work and what type of things John Mayer includes in his music videos. This led me to notice that John Mayers videos are all quite simple. They have simple locations, simple storylines and simple editing styles. This is why we chose to film our music video in woods. However, I did notice that most other John Mayer music videos were too simple and so we can came up with the idea to include flashbacks to show two different time periods which mixes it up from other John Mayer music videos.

There were not any texts included in our music video. This was because we felt that texts would have ruined the mood of our music video. Our chosen song is a slow song that has a serious storyline and not a fun storyline. By adding text we felt that it would have made the music video seem more fun. We also felt that texts in a music video should be included in an upbeat song which will help contribute to the fun side to the song.

I was unable to upload this video to facebook which I used to gather feedback for my digipak and advert due to the length of the video. However, I showed and emailed this video to some of my friends within our target audience and gathered some feedback from them. Overall, people liked our main idea and felt that the storyline was obvious and people were aware of the different time periods however some people felt that it was it not so obvious in the flashbacks. One person said they were unclear about the relationship in the panning shot when the couple are getting changed. She said she was unclear what was meant to be going on there and this made her unsure about whether the couple were together or not. Our idea for this shot was to show the gap between the two and the lack of interaction between them when they are in the same room. This was clear to some however some were unsure. Another said he was unsure about the shot where she is twirling. He said it was a bit ‘choppy’ and that it was a bit unusual how she goes running through the woods to standing still and disorientated. Our ideas for these shots were to have her run through the woods and then stop and begin spinning to make her look disorientated. However, when practising this shot, we decided against it as it did not look right to have her run, stop and then spin so we did the shots separately.

When constructing our music video, we used three main media components, a video camera, a tripod and a laptop. The video camera was used in order to shoot our music video and the laptop was used in order to access Final Cut Pro. The video camera allowed us to successfully film our music video and with the help of the tripod, we were able to shoot our shots steadily and neatly. Final Cut Pro allowed us to edit the shots we had shot for our music video. We practised using Final Cut Pro when we created our animatic and so we were able to use the program. This also allowed us to add effects to our music video such as one shot fading out and another shot fading in.

When researching our music video, we used YouTube in order to research previous John Mayer music videos to find out about his previous work and what common points about them were. We discovered that John Mayer always has a female as one of the main characters in his music videos. So we decided to use a female as the lead in our music video. We also had a male in our music video however he was only shown in the flashback scenes and so was not the lead character.

And we also discovered that John Mayer uses very common places to film his music videos. For example, his music video for Clarity was shot mainly at the beach and the music video for Daughters was shot with a plain background. So we took this into account when deciding where to film our music video which we eventually decided to film in the woods.

When planning our music video, we firstly created a storyboard in order to gather our ideas and have them in one place. The storyboard also allowed us to discuss possible camera movements and allowed us to order our shots and rearrange them. The media technology used for the planning stage was again a laptop so we could access Final Cut Pro. We used a camera to take photos of our storyboard and then we created an animatic. This meant that we could try out possible camera shots and see if they worked. If not, we could use Final Cut Pro to find a shot that would work. This meant that we didn’t have to worry about shots when filming as we already knew what shots we were going to do. This saves time on the days when we actually shot our music video.

When evaluating our music video, the only media technology used was a computer in order to access blogger so we could upload our final evaluations.

Final Music Video

Overall, we stuck to the storyboard so that we would not have to waste time in finding shots. However, we did add on shots if we thought they looked good on the day. As there was only two of us, we took it in turns with both directing and filming so that we could both get the feel of both sides. As me and my partner are friends, we were able to communicate well and did not argue. This helped us get an overall successful product.
Shot one is a straight shot of the female sitting on a pontoon. This shot was taken using the tripod as we did not want the shot to be moving while we took it. We did this so that everything was caught on camera and the focus was not pulled away. As this shot was taken outside in the day time, we set the white balance to outside so that the background was not too light. This shot did not involve a lot focusing. We set it to manual focus and focused the shot before we started filming.
Shot two is a high angle shot of the female sitting on the pontoon. This shot was taken using the tripod so there was no unnecessary shaking while we filmed. The white balance was set to outside as we were filming outside and we focused the shot before we started filming.
Shot three is a straight shot. This shot is different from the first two as this shot starts as a mid shot and then turns into an extreme close up as the camera zooms into the female’s engagement ring. This is so that the viewers are aware of the engagement ring. This was filming inside so we changed the white balance to inside. We used a tripod again so that we could successfully zoom and aim right. We set the focus to manual focus so that we could focus the camera as we zoomed in.
Shot four is an over the shoulder shot. This was so that we could see her clearly in the mirror whilst at the same time not getting the camera in the mirror. This was shot without the tripod as the tripod was noticeable in the mirror. We kept the camera still by putting it on my shoulder. The white balance for this shot was set to inside and manual so we could see everything clearly.
Shot five is a long shot. This show was taken using the tripod so that once the female had left the bed; you could still see the male. We did not want any unnecessary shaking. The white balance and the focus were set to manual.
Shot six is an establishing shot. This was filmed in the woods using an outside white balance and manual focus. We filmed it using the tripod so that nothing would take the focus away from sun. With shaking, people would be less focused on the sun.
Shot seven is a tracking shot. We did not use the tripod for this but instead held the camera on our shoulder so that we could run along with the female. This took some rehearsing as we had to make me and the female running run in time. This was filmed outside and so the white balance was set to outside.
Shot eight is an establishing shot. This shot pans the lake to show the loneliness she feels. This was taken using the tripod so that we had a smooth pan. The white balance was set to outside so that all the detail of the lake and the woods surrounding were captured.
Shot nine is of the female running toward the camera. This was to show her eager to get away. This was filmed with the tripod so that her running was smooth. From this we can clearly see the lake and the woods surrounding her so we can get a sense of her loneliness and insecurities. This again was shot with the outside white balance to capture the detail of her surroundings.
Shot ten set the scene at the start and then we see the female. This shows her looking around and we wanted to get the sense that she is disorientated. At the end she runs which starts to show her anger. This was filmed with a tripod so that we didn’t loose the sun in the background or loose any of the path she’s running on. At the end of this shot, it fades out and into the next shot. This was so we could show she is still running but cut down the time.
Shot eleven is a fade in shot from the previous shot. This cuts down the running time but also shows that she has been running for some time. This shot starts off by panning with the female as she runs past and then watching her as she continues running. This is so we can see her desperation to get away. This was shot with the outside white balance.
Shot twelve was shot using the tripod so that we could make it a clean pan. This shot also sets the scene and also shows the distance between the couple. This shot was filmed using the inside white balance however the shot is a bit too dark when we see the male changing.
Shot thirteen shows the female emerging from the woods looking lost. This was to show more of her disorientation. This was filmed using the tripod and the outside white balance.
Shot fourteen zooms out from the previous shot so that we can see her surroundings. This shows she is alone and that she feels lonely. This was shot using the tripod so that we could get a clean zoom as well as keeping the shot still. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot fifteen is of the female running. It was shot using the tripod so that we didn’t loose the path she’s running along and don’t loose the surroundings. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot sixteen is a point of view shot. This is coming from the female’s point of view as she becomes more and more disorientated. This was shot handheld and I held it into my stomach so that I was in complete control of the camera. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot seventeen is then of the female spinning. It then zooms out to reveal more of the female and so that we can see the confusion on her face. This was shot with the tripod so that we didn’t loose focus of the female and so that it was smooth. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot eighteen is of the female running towards the pontoon. This was shot with the tripod so that the path, woods and lake were kept in the set up shot and so that we didn’t loose and of her surroundings. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot nineteen is of the female standing and then turning. This is a straight angle however it’s slightly higher up on the ground. This was shot using the tripod so that we could focus on the surroundings and the female at the same time. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot twenty is of the female taking off her shoes and walking to the end of the pontoon. This was filmed with the tripod so that we could capture the female without difficulty. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot twenty one is a long shot of the female sitting on the pontoon. This was so that we could feel her loneliness and the emptiness of the lake. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot twenty two is a shot of the female looking sad and lonely putting her hand in the water. This shows she’s deep in thought and struggling to no what to do. This was shot with the tripod as the female fills up the screen and nothing is a distraction. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot twenty three is a pan of the previous shot. It shows her loneliness and that the lake is deserted. This was filmed with the tripod to get a clean pan. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot twenty four starts as a high angle long shot. We then slowly zoom into the female’s face so that we can see her emotion and that she’s been crying. This was filmed using the tripod in order to make the zoom clean and easy. This involved both of us as one had to turn and the other had to zoom. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.
Shot twenty five is the final shot and is of the female walking towards the woods. We made this shot so that she appears at different stages in the field. This was because the shot was too long and needed to be cut down. This was shot using the tripod to make it clean. This was filmed using the outside white balance and a manual focus.

Or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrDQMBavz3A

Unused Shots

This video if of all the clips that we rejected from our music video. They also show us practising using the camera.

Shot one is of the female walking past the camera. The idea was to video her feet however we were unable to use it as the camera wasn’t pointing directly at her feet and we only saw her legs walk past.

Shot two is the same shot however we managed to film the female’s feet. We did not use this shot as the shot was too short. We did not get a long enough shot of the female’s feet and so placing it in our music video would have been pointless.

Shot three was meant to be a panning shot of the female walking. However, due the amount of mud that was on the ground, we were unable to turn easily and get a smooth pan. Also, at the end of the shot, it is too light and we are unable to see the female very clearly. The camera bag was also caught in shot which meant we couldn’t turn fully. To get this shot, I knelt down and held the camera into my chest in order to keep it still however the ground being muddy meant this was not possible.

Shot four was a second attempt at shot three. We removed the bags so that I was able to pan fully however the mud still caused a problem when turning. It was also rather hard to keep up with the female walking so we did not use this shot. Again, at the end of the shot, it is too light and we cannot see the female very clearly.

Shot five was a third attempt at shot three. This was the most successful however at the end of the shot the female was not fully in shot and the bag also appeared on camera. This was our last attempt at this shot and we decided to re-film this shot on a different day and in a different place. The reason being that the ground was too muddy and it was difficult to turn without falling over and was difficult to successfully have the female in shot.

Shot six was unsuccessful and unused as when the female was running, she slipped and this was not something that we wanted. This shot is also a panning shot and the pan was successful as we were not kneeling down and so the mud did not cause a problem to us.

Shot seven was unused as the female was not already running when we started filming. We wanted the female to already be running so that we did not show her standing still and then running. We wanted it to look as if she had been running for a while.

Shot eight was unused due to our own faults. We were that the camera bag was in shot and so we could not use this shot due to that reason.

Shot nine was not used as we felt that the female was spinning two fast and it looked unrealistic. We also noticed when playing it back on the laptop that the females face was difficult to see due to the sky around her.

Shot ten was meant to be a shot from the female’s point of view. We wanted the viewers to understand that she was disorientated and we wanted to show the viewers what she was seeing. This shot was unused as it did not look as if she was disorientated as the shot was just of turning. Another reason was because it was very difficult to spin as the ground was very muddy and uneven so I was unable to spin for very long. To get this shot, I held the camera pointing up and held into my stomach so that I had control of the camera.

Shot eleven was a second attempt at shot ten. However we felt that this shot was too similar to the previous shot and so we decided to re-shoot this shot in a different location and at a different time. We decided that we would film in a different location so that we could find somewhere where the ground was even.

Shot twelve was our final attempt at shot ten. We decided that we would both hold the camera together so that we could also look at where we were going. However, this proved unsuccessful as the path was too narrow to both spin and hold the camera and we both tried to go different directions which meant we came to a stand still. To get this shot we both held the camera with our hands and held it at arms length so that we did not accidentally capture out faces in the shot.

Or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKo-C_yxGNc

Advert Flatplans

This is my first idea for my advert.

There are three main colours on this advert. Green, brown and white. These greens and browns will make up the back ground which will be a photograph of woods. The white will make up the path which will be covered in snow. The girl in the photo will be wearing a white dress which will compliment the colour of the path. This will mean that she will stand out as she will be against the woods.

The advert will include quite a bit of writing. The artists name, single title, the release date and what will be included in the album will be presented on the front cover. I chose these pieces of information as they are the essential pieces of information. Any more information would have over crowded the advert. All font on this advert will be the same font and will be the same font used on the album covers. This is to give both the album covers and the advert one look and to make it memorable to viewers. All pieces of font will also be written in capitals to make them large and noticeable. I have also chosen a font where are the letters in a are close but not quite touching. This is so that the font doesn't dominate the page but is still readable. Because I have written the writing in capitals also means that the writing is not unreadable.

The image on this advert will be the same photo used on the album front cover. This is so that people have a connection to make when looking at the advert and the album cover. Without a connection, people won't no what to look for. The image, however, is not exactly the same as the one on the front cover of my album. I chose to only have one female on the advert to make her look lonely which is the look I wanted to create. This matches the song title of 'When You're Dreaming With A Broken Heart'.

I positioned the artist name and the title of the single at the very top of the advert so that people no straight away who and what this advert is advertising. I place the female in the image slightly to the left of the image so that there is enough space for the writing to be written. However I didn't want to create huge gaps in the image so I placed her so that she creates a kind of barrier to the writing. I positioned the other information such as the release date and what is included in the album in the gap left by the image. This filled in all gaps and meant that there was not any unnecessary gaps.

This is my second idea for my advert.

I decided to make this design very simple as it meant that there would not be any distractions or that the advert would not be over crowded. I decided to give the background just one colour, black. I chose the colour back as it would simplise the feelings given with the song title. These feelings being depression and sadness. I then decided to make all the writing white. This would make the writing noticeable and would mean that it is the only thing on the advert to be noticed.

The writing on this advert is the only thing included. The writing dominates the advert. The writing is written in the same font as the writing on the album covers. The reason behind this is to create one overall look and a link between the two. The artists name has been written in the largest size too make it the most noticable and draw people towards the advert. The artist is the thing that sells products. People who like certain artists will continue to buy there material as they associate their name with material they like.

I decided against at image for this design. I decided that I would like to design one very simple advert to. The reason behind this is because I wanted to show that very simple things do work and have as much effect as a busy and complicated advert.

The artists name has been placed in the centre of the advert. This is so it is the first thing seen and what draws people to the rest of the advert. Written directly below it is the single name. This is because we read from top to bottom so directly after reading the artist name, we read the single title and people no what they can expect. Written in the bottom left corner is all other information needed to let someone no what is to come and when. This is essential information however the artists name and the single title are the most important piece of information so should therefore be placed in the most obvious place. I have made it so that the other information is noticeable however, it's not as noticeable as the artist name and single title.

This is my third idea for my advert.

I decided to use very simple colours on this design. I decided to make the whole background one colour, black. This is so that the more important things are noticeable on the advert. The writing is written in white to make it stand out from the black background and the image included.

All the writing on this advert design is written in the same font as the font on the front cover of my digipak. This is to create an overall look between the two. All writing is written in capitals which makes it clear and easier to read. All the writing is written in a font that makes the writing both spaced put but close together. The letters are close together and almost touch however that they are spaced out enough so that they don't dominate the advert and is clear and easy to read.

The image I included on this advert is of part of a females face. It clearly shows that the female in the image is crying which relates to the single title and the music video. The females hair in the image is a deep red which gives the image and the advert a splash of colour but not enough that it pulls the focus.

I decided to position the female in the top left and corner and decided to only include part of her face to make is clear that she is crying. Making it look as though someone is crying is hard to show up so by only positioning part of her face, we can clearly she she's crying while at the same time that there is a sense of a lack of identity. I positioned the artists name and single title together just below the image. I chose to do this as the piece fit together and create frames for each other. At the bottom I have placed what will be included on the product. I positioned it at the bottom so that when people read down, they can notice this piece of information. In the top right hand corner I have positioned the release date of the product. This is away from any other writing so that its visible and does not get lost in with the other writing.

Advert Evaluation

When planning and researching for my final product, I used GoogleImages to research previous John Mayer adverts. I researched both album posters and tour posters to find a conenction I could use. This led me to notice that all posters, both tour and album posters, had a photo of someone, if not John Mayer then someone else. So when taking photos for my final advert, I chose to use a female who could be on the front cover and asked her to wear a white dress in order for my to link this advert to my digipak and my music video. I also researched other adverts for other bands within my chosen genre and discovered that colour was important. The We Are Scientists advert used a variety of reds, oranges and yellows to create an attractive background so I decided to use white. However, I didn't feel that white on it's own looked very good so by changing the filter on Photoshop to difused glow, I was able to create a look that suited the final product. I also looked at a John Mayer tour advert which used red as it's main colour. The red created a frame for all the information and make it stand out. As I wanted to use an image on my advert, I placed the writing around the female in the image which made it stand out.


For my advert, the text was the most important part as it gave the audience the details they needed to no about when the album was coming and who the album belonged to. In the top left hand corner, the artists name and the single title are placed. Although I have placed them there, they are made noticeable due to the fact I have placed them directly above the female in the image. The writing is in the same font style as the writing on my digipak's and is also written in white as this gives both the digipak and the advert the same look. 'John Mayer' is the largest to all the writing as people need to take notice of this first. This is because he is the artist and what draw people towards buying the album. The date of the album release has also been written underneath and this is because we read from top to bottom so directly after reading the artist name and single title we automatically see the release date. The release date and artist name have been written in bold to make them stand out from the rest of the writing. In the centre of the final product is the female used on my digipak covers. She is still wearing the same clothes and the dress is white. Using Photoshop I changed the filter to difused glow which made the white dress and the snowy white path in the background look as if they are glowing. This is a look I wanted to go for. The glowing whiteness of her dress is the first thing we notice when looking at this advert. This then draws out attention to the writing above and the writing which is placed towards the bottom right hand corner. This writing is written in the same style and colour as the other writing above. However, this information is not as important as the artist name and release date of I have not written it in bold.


For my advert, the feedback I received was all positive. People commented on all the different pieces of white and commented on the female in the image who one person discribed as a 'ghost like figure'. The comments written on my facebook page, which I chose as it's the social networking site most popular to my target audience, were all about the colours and how they fit with the overall look. If I was to improve, I would arrange the writing a little differently so that it's not all in large clumps.

To construct my advert, I started off by using my camera to take photos I wanted to go on my advert. I then used Photoshop to edit my photos to how I wanted them to look and add the relevant text to the advert. Photoshop is program I am familiar with so editing my photos was esay for me. Photoshop allowed me to gain the white theme I wanted to have. Photoshop also meant that I was able to edit my photos at the same time as creating my final product.

When doing research for my advert, I mainly used GoogleImages to find other examples and found out what were the main components included. I then used GoogleImages to research other John Mayer adverts in order to see what each advert had in common so that I could include this on my advert and give all adverts one look. This allowed me to get an understanding and get familiar with previous John Mayer adverts.

When planning my advert, I used GoogleImages to research other John Mayer adverts and discovered that all John Mayer adverts include himself. As I was unable to produce my own picture of John Mayer himself, I decided to put a person on the advert to continue on the fact that all John Mayer adverts have a person on them. These examples show John Mayer adverts for his tours.

When evaluating my advert, the only media technology needed was a computer which I needed in order to access blogger in order to upload my evaluation.

Final Advert

Digipak Evaluation

When planning and researching for my final product, I researched and analysed a Travis album and a Killers album. This led me to notice that colour played an important role in the overall look. On the Travis album cover, browns were the main colour theme and The Killers album cover also included a brown theme. The Killers album is also set in the woods which is why I chose to analyse it. From analysing these album cover, I got the idea to create a colour theme and chose to use white as my colour theme.

I used white in most aspects on my covers. The snowy white path, the white text and the filter I used on Photoshop. However, I didn't want to make my final product hard to follow like the other covers. With the Travis album cover, the band is included however they are not very noticeable and are hard to notice. The Killers album cover is complicated and a little opposing with its woodland setting and glamours writing. I wanted to create a simple album cover that did not confuse people.

On my final front cover, there is not a lot of text included. The only text on this cover is the artists name and single title. This is the only writing I felt was needed to be included. I placed the writing in the corner of the image in between the two females in my image. This meant that all the focus was pushed to the writing. I also chose the colour of the writing as white as this matched my final product of a white theme. The image used on my front cover included a snowy white path which I emphasised using Photoshop.

On my back cover, a lot more writing is used. The writing on the back cover includes song tracks, websites and writing about copyright, all things that you would expect to find on a back cover. I decided to create the same effect as the one on the front cover so I created another mirror image and placed the writing in the middle to draw attention to it. The white theme is also continued on the back cover to give my final product an overall look.

My inner left panel does not have any text included on it. This was because I wanted to set a scene and so only included a picture of the woods. I also made sure to include the snowy white path so that white theme continued on.

My inner right panel includes song lyrics from When You're Dreaming With A Broken Heart. The white theme is continued on however I chose to write this text in italics as it gives the overall inner right panel a calmer feel to it where as the front and back cover make more of a statement.

For my front cover, I was happy to see that I received mainly positive feedback. From this I learnt that people thought the mirroring of the image was effective and commented on the fact that the two females made the focus be mainly on the centre. This is where I placed the artist name and single title. From this feedback, learnt that using other points of an image to draw the focus to a certain point is easily done and can be very effective. This is a common aspect of John Mayer covers which can be seen in the example below.

Each square on this cover draws the focus to John Mayer himself.

I also received mainly positive feedback for my back cover. People commented on the use of mirroring again and also commented on how they liked how I filled the space. However, one comment suggested changing Includes When You're Dreaming With A Broken Heart Music Video into italics as she was confused thinking it was a song title. This is something I would have down differently to avoid confusion.

For my inner left panel, the comments left were pretty vague. This was down to people not knowing what to comment on as there is not a lot going on in this image. From this I have learnt that I would need to use and fill the space better to draw attention to it.

For my inner right panel, comments were left saying the only improvement needed to be made was to the writing. They said although it was a good size, they said they found it quite difficult to read. From this I have learnt that I need to make sure that all writing can be read by all and not just myself.

When constructing my digipak, the two main components used were my camera, to take the photos that I would use on my covers and Photoshop, which I used to create the final product. I found using there two components very simple as I have used them plenty in the past. I decided to use Photoshop as i have used it in the past and no my way around the program. This meant I was able to create my final product to the best of my abilities and I didn't have to worry about learning how to use the program.

When researching other digipaks, I used two main websites to gather examples. I used GoogleImages to gather random examples and I used cdcover.cc to gather specific examples. GoogleImages allowed me to gather examples from all genres whereas cdcovers.cc allowed me to gather specific examples for my genre. I found cdcovers.cc more useful as I was able to gather specific examples from bands and artists I knew were in my genre.

When planning my digipak, I used the two websites mentioned about to find out what the key features were that were included on digipaks in the same genre. With this information, I designed 3 possible final products to that I had a variety to chose from. I also used the Internet to research previous John Mayer album covers so that I could gather pieces that all album covers have in common and include some of there in my planning work. This gave all John Mayer album cases something in common.

When evaluating my digipak, the only media technology needed was a computer as I need one to access blogger to upload my evaluation.