1) In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and
conventions of real media products?
There are many ways that have been used to represent our video which match real media
products, to begin with the platform which our media product has been placed on. CD
format/Online social media, many artists who release music tend to use social media to
allow their work to be reached to others, we used one main social media which was
YouTube. This platform has allowed our work to be shared to various people from across
the world and allow them to understand the message we have put out, YouTube is
something that world renowned music artists use with over 4 billion views on YouTube per
day according to Google. This is the perfect platform for individuals to learn and engage in
the other 'side' of the media narrative. We have conformed to some conventions including
the use of real life situations which some videos are about, raising awareness of current
situations and life matters e.g.. Newspapers. We also used the small segments which had
CD's of other artists which can indicate that they had influence of the style of our video. We
did however challenge forms of real media products by not having one set storyline.
Generally most videos are about Love stories, relationships, lust etc. nevertheless we went
completely against this convention by using a situation that we feel so passionately about,
the best part of this idea was that it was for the sake of knowledge and educating people,
which is rare in mainstream music and the industry as they tend to specify on one
general ideology. Our storyline did change as at first we conformed to the idea of one raw
storyline which was evident throughout, however we soon realised it was very difficult to
generalise Islamand Muslims by having one set of actions and views alone, thus we resulted
in having numerous evident storylines throughout our video which could be applied not to
all but most Muslims, the general idea was that the message conveyed a sense of humour
through education. In conclusion to this question we developed a lot throughout our
experience of producing our video, as explained previously we started of with a very typical
love story with forms and conventions relating to a media product, however we challenged
this idea when we came up with the idea of choosing a video with such a personal meaning
and message. The whole video was effectively put together with a good message which was
successful especially with the feedback received which generally was positive and many
agreed with the message, a lot of fellow Muslims enjoyed us voicing our opinion as coming
from an ethnic minority and being Muslim was a very brave step to take. The ancillary task
was a big hit with the audience especially the DigiPak as it seemed very genuine according
to audience feedback and something they can imagine seeing in stores etc, This again shows
conforming to the media product conventions of having a realistic approach with
merchandise etc. The music poster had mixed reviews as a lot of people asked if they could
have seen more detail/images. Others said that it was good as you can easily identify the
match between the album and video, they all compliment each other.
2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
Our combination for the product was overall effective as many people were able to
distinguish between the three elements of the product as there was an evident match. we
used a simple colour scheme and had the focus on images, as we know 'pictures speak a
thousand words' this is what we wanted to achieve we hoped that the images spoke for our
work and gave away some of the message, if not they would be intrigued to learn what it is,
the images are captivating and the editing has a lot of long and mid-shots which shows us
standing up for what we believe in and the idea that we want to be established and follow
our dreams just like anyone else in this world. On the front cover we used a monochrome
tone to the image as the editing shows a angel/devil contrast this also relates to the idea of
KKK and ISIS, they both do similar acts however the media deems KKK as innocent or even
hides what they do so the focus is more towards ISIS. This links in with the theory of Laura
Mulvey and the male gaze study where men associated certain terms to women and saw
them in a particular way. This goes back to representation of Muslims and the Media and
how we are consistently misconstrued and seen in a certain light. Our whole project goes
against the stereotypical view of Muslims being labelled as terrorists and how they are
actually just normal people living their lives and trying to make something out of ourselves.
Collectively our video and ancillary show a good effectiveness in the role of giving another
perspective and narrative to what the Media shows. The audience feedback also shows how
many people were easily able to distinguish between the album cover, DigiPak and
Magazine advert.
3) what have you learned from your audience feedback?
Our feedback developed drastically throughout the making of the
production, from the publics opinion the message of the video was not
very clear from the start as there wasn't a clear storyline or character,
most of the shots were very similar to one another and did not show
much experimentation skills, therefore they didn't find the video
interesting, there were some shots which were longer in length that
many people we asked said it meant that they lost interest in the
video. The colours were something that the audience enjoyed and felt
like it kept their attention. The final video had a much better response
as we worked through out feedback to improve and better it.
For our final video we conducted interviews and surveys, this relates
to the reception theory conducted by Stuart Hall and the role of social
positioning in the interpretation of mass media by different social
groups and reader response, how different people have different
interpretations on various means of media. The evidence for this is
shown through out feedback in the surveys we conducted, the results
are as shown below and also a video of interviews which were
conducted. The questions asked were:
1)What are your first impressions of the video?
2) Do you think we portrayed the idea of the video correctly?
3) Do the Digi Paks fit in well with the video?
4) What part of the video stood out to you?
5) How effective was the editing?
6) Does the video link with the target audience effectively?
SURVEY RESULTS (https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-
YSMBLSDR/ )
Feedback
We have overall learnt from our feedback that the video has a clear
message with some very strong camera shots which keep up with the
pace of the video, Our media production had a comical approach to it
which showed how we challenged the stereotype which Muslims are
seen to be. The message was clear for most people and showed the
lives of Muslims living in the west, the Digi Paks were very strong as
they gave the video a stronger and professional look to the overall
product. The part that stood out for most people was the clip that
showed a woman dressed in hijab with post it notes across her body
with the 9/11 playing in the background this showed how labels are
still being attached to individuals even in todays modern and open
minded society. The editing was sharp and precise it matched the beat
of the song and flowed nicely, the shots that were used were clear and
there was a large variety. The video linked to a wider audience than
we initially decided as many people believed that it was a source of
education for all, which everyone including hip-hop/RnB lovers can
enjoy as the message behind the video is very strong.