Evaluation: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

There were however, responses towards the music video that were not so positive, but were constructive. The audience felt that the way to improve the music video was the way the band interacted throughout the video along with their image. The audience felt that the artists interacted with the audience on occasions when they were moving around acting ‘Mad’ but did not do it enough in this school environment. They also felt that even though they could tell who the artists were in the band, they felt that the artists could appear more like a pop star, as that is the image they received from the bright colours.

Evaluation :What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From my audience feedback I have learnt many things on how to improve my music video. This is because we used people from our specific target audience, featuring teenagers aged 14-18, to maximise the quality and usefulness of the feedback we received. Some of the comments that were made were positive. For instance, the audience appreciated the change in colours when Sheriece was singing during the music video. The audience felt that the colours suited the style of the music and the tempo because it is a quick, energetic song, similar to the feeling that bright colour of pink and green make. Another positive of our music video is the use of opacity during the shots of the recording studio. The reason why the audience liked this effect is because it allowed for a constant image to go through whilst other parts of the footage changed. The audience also felt that the use of the opacity and overlays helps the music video flow from shot to shot which contrasts to the music and the sharpness of the lyrics.

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

Another way in which the media package has combined effectively to create the image of the band is through the themes within the music video. For instance, I carried on the theme of the chequered squares in the ancillary tasks with a chessboard on the back of the DVD cover. Another theme that was carried through from the music video was the idea of shadows. The idea of using shadows in the music video and the ancillary tasks is that it connotes that the band has modernised the genre to the point where it is only a shadow of the past. However, I have not developed the idea so much that it reached the point where the music was also a shadow of the genre and that the band have created an entire new genre. This is an example of excellent and effective combination of the music video and ancillary tasks. This is because I have used the idea of shadows in both the music video and ancillary task to show that it was not just a random idea in the music video, but a symbol of the modern Ska band that still plays the same style of music. This was shown simply through the combination of the music video and ancillary task, not just through the shadows, but also through the female band and through the use of colour. Overall, my main product has effectively combined the music video and ancillary tasks.

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

This philosophy of being different has been portrayed through the use of colour. This is because the Ska genre typically does not use a great deal of colour and focuses rather on the music than the image of the band. We showed this but through the use of the colour. Using bright colour is in our music video and ancillary tasks have reinforced the idea that the band is all female and it suggests that the band is more interested in the image rather than the music. This is what we wanted to create through effectively combining to use of colour in the media package. This combination is effective because when they see the band and its image they see it is modern compared to other bands of the same genre, however, through the same package we have exaggerated the idea of colour and feminism to the point where the band are ridiculing critics and conservatives of the genre for judging them on being femine and the stereotypes related. This combination of colour has therefore proved to be effective in creating the image of the band in a different and unexpected way.

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

The idea of a digital pack features both a music video and ancillary tasks that all revolve around the band and their image. The combination of the two is difficult to achieve, however, through the creation of the music video prior to the ancillary tasks, I have created many ideas that could feature as the image or the symbol of the media package. Firstly, within the music video the idea of female artists helped create a starting point for the ancillary tasks as I had to portray the fact they are female, because that is the image of the band. Doing this helped combine the music video with the ancillary task because it linked the fact that the band are female with the music video and the work they are doing, to the publishing, which was effectively what the ancillary tasks were doing. It was important to combine the idea of the band being female within the music video and the ancillary tasks because it creates a message that the band takes risk. This combination is effective as it shows the band is willing to take risks and is also effective because it demonstrates the bands philosophy of being different and not caring, which has also been captured through the music video and ancillary tasks in a different way, the use of colour.

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

My media product has also challenged conventions of the Ska genre through the music video because we did not show the band performing as much as there has been in the genre or as much as Madness’ version of ‘Baggy Trousers’. Instead we experimented with animating the lyrics so that the bands perform the exact actions or events that the lyrics say. We also experimented with the idea of stop animation which has never been used before in the Ska genre. This is not only breaking conventions, as we did not do what the genre traditionally does, but also developing the genre as it offers a foundation for future Ska bands to something different to similar to our band, continuing to reform the genre and expectations.

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

Another way in which my media product challenges conventions of the Ska genre is through the image of the band. This is because although there have been female members of Ska bands before, such as with the Skalars, there the genre has never featured women on a mass scale due to the dominant presence of males. Therefore, we tried to break this idea by using an all female band within the 2-Tone Ska genre. This would modernise the genre and continue to break conventions as it is expected for a male band to feature with that style of music. This breaking of conventions through female artists relates to the bright colours as women are often stereotyped to prefer the ‘feminine’ colour of pink and purple that feature in my music video and ancillary task. This is developing conventions of the genre because it features an all female Ska band that would inspire others to do the same and completely re-shape the image of the genre, reforming it.