Evaluation
Research
'Just Can't Get Enough', by the Saturdays. Conventional pop video; includes artist and special effects. For example, at 1.07, music notes come out of the artist's trumpet. This adds fun to the video. Also, at 30secs, the lyrics are written on the screen as they are being sung. I assumed that this was done to allow interactivity with the audience; it enables them to sing along and involve themselves in the music.
'Sweet Dreams', by Beyoncé. Conventional R'n'B video. Features the artist, no narrative, the artist, if female, featured wearing very little, dancing provocatively and singing. If male, the artist is usually featured wearing expensive clothes and singing. 
'Naive', by the Kooks. Conventional indie/alternative video, different to pop/R'n'B. Still features artists, yet seems to made on a much lower budget, no special effects. Contains a narrative, so it may appeal to the audience more, as it would draw them in. 
Dance videos usually feature a narrative at the beginning, and end up in a club scene, with flashing lights. This is because it would appeal to the audience, as this is the kind of atmosphere the majority of the audience would enjoy. 
Planning
Idea 1 - Film one of the members of the band throughout the day, e.g. getting up, going to sixth form, going out with friends etc. would give an idea of the band's personality, positive  representation of teenagers. 
Idea 2 - film the band playing the song in different locations in Norwich, e.g. the Cathedral, 'Welcome to Norwich' sign. Shows the band is local, and shows the audience a hint of their personality, for example showing places they like to go. There will also be shots of the band playing on stage at a studio called 'The Garage'.
Idea 3 - film the two members of the band running through and past different locations in Norwich. Would give the video pace. 
Originally, I settled on my second idea. However, after explaining my idea to my peers and considering the feedback I got, the band and I decided that we should change adapt the idea, as people thought that the idea would not hold the attention of the audience, and would be boring, as there would not be much action going on. We decided that, instead of having the band just standing there and playing, we would show them having good, clean fun in the locations around Norwich. Examples of this fun are; playing hopscotch in the park and laughing and joking with each other. I believe that this will be more interesting, as it is more unpredictable and fun. I will still include the band playing at 'The Garage'. 
Target Audience
The target audience will be from around 13 to late 20s, but I understand that there will be people from outside this specific audience group that will be interested in the video. I am targeting both female and male audiences. The reason I am targeting the video at 13 to late 20 year olds is because the artists are 18, in the middle of the age range, and also because the video is targeted at younger people, who would enjoy the fresh, fun, spontaneous action in the video more than an older audience would. 
Conventions
Conventions of a music video:
Features the artist(s).
Sometimes a narrative.
If no narrative, it is usually just the artist(s) featured singing/dancing.
Lyrics are usually visually linked to the video, through semantics.
The visuals are linked to the music, either complimentary or contradictory.
Featuring characteristics specific to the genre

I have met the majority of these conventions. My video features the artists, video is visually linked to the lyrics in some parts of the song, and there are specific genre characteristics throughout the video.
The only way in which I did not meet the conventions of a music video is that, although I featured the artists, I did not feature either a narrative or the artists singing /dancing.
Theories
How can Uses and Gratifications theory be applied to the video?
The theory states that audiences will consume a media text fo many reasons:
Form of escapism
'Pure' entertainment
To relate to, emotionally
For social reasons, e.g. to talk about with friends

How can Goodwin's theory be applied?
It's specific to music videos. States that for a music video to conform to the theory would have:
Lyrics that have a semantic link to the visuals,
Either contradictory or complimentary liks between the visuals and music
Some characteristics specific to the genre
Maybe some intertextual links to other media texts.

I also looked into the theory behind UMV-ers - Unofficial Music Video makers - and what their motivation may be to make unofficial music videos. A media theorist, Millstein, states that UMVs are made to 'create, blur genres, contradict ‘pop’ meanings, and revitalise what has become a slowly dying, ever greedy, talent-lacking industry'. UMV-ers pose a challenge to the mainstream, official video business, as the makers have no reputation to keep, no conventions to follow, and can therefore be a lot more creative with their products than companies can. 
Representation
I wanted to show a more positive representation than what is in the media nowadays. For example, there is very little positive news in the media about young people, compared to how much bad news there is. I wanted to show them having good, clean fun, to be spontaneous, happy, friendly, respectable etc.
Mise-en-scene
Costumes: The band's logo features purple and white, these are the band's signature colours, so their costumes are based on these - Sophie wore a purple top and Marcus wore a white shirt. I also decided to not have any designer clothes featured in the video, as I wanted the band to seem approachable and identifiable. 
Band Logo
The signature colours for the band are purple and white, as I think these colours are not gender specific and because the target audience include bother males and females, I believed these colours are suitable. I chose a bright purple, as I think that it would appeal to my target audience, as it represents the freshness of the age of the audience. I decided to have the name getting bigger towards the 'O', as the word 'Crescendo' is a musical term, which means 'a steady increase in intesity or force'. 
Shots - I decided to use a range of shots, including long shots, close ups and aerial shots. I did this to give the video variety and make it more interesting to watch. 
Props - the majority of the props featured in each of the scenes was used purposefully, for example, the scene with the football table, the table was used purposefully to show the couple having fun.
Locations - each location was specifically chosen to show the band in their local environment and to show them having fun. For example, I shot the two having a snowball fight at the top of St James's Hill near the Prison, as anyone from Norwich would recognise the location, and the band may appeal to them more because they are local.
Ancillary tasks
DVD cover 
Advertisement for DVD's release
Inside of DVD cover
This is the research I did into DVD covers before I planned mine. I did this to find out the conventions of a DVD cover. I found that the conventions are: 
Band name
Title of the DVD
Band logo
A barcode
A recognisable image to represent the values/ideology of the band
A track list
Band website/other information
This is the draft of my DVD cover. I made sure I included all the conventions of a music DVD cover that I'd found through annotating the Scissor Sisters' DVD. 
This is my final DVD cover. I did this on Microsoft Word, as I found it easier to cut and paste images and pieces of text, and to move them around. I featured the band's signature colours (purple and white) so the DVD cover would be automatically recognised by fans when it is sitting on the shelf. I met all the conventions of a music DVD cover; Band name, title of DVD, images that represent the band (in this case, images of the band itself), band information, special features, and reviews of the DVD. 
This is the inside of the DVD cover and, together with the front cover, will make up the Digipack for the DVD. I decided to put the band's tour dates inside the front cover. I understand that the dates will only apply for a certain length of time, and that was why I gave the audience information about where to find more dates and information. I also wrote a short biographical piece, as I think it would show audience members where they're from and give them a taste of how they came about. I also think that it may inspire other young bands to follow the path that Crescendo followed.
This is the advertisment for the DVD's release. I decided to use very similar imagery to that of the DVD cover. This is so, if the target audience saw the advertisment in a magazine, they would recognise the DVD cover in the shops. The advert would be placed in a music magazine, for example Kerrang. 
Feedback from Blog
'A throrough analysis of conventions' - miss brown
'Good research and hopefully all of these aspects of a DVD case will show on your own DVD case' - marcuswiseman1991
 
Feedback from blog
'Like the continuos theme throughout all of your products, the film strip idea !!!! The colours again will really stand out against normal boring DVD covers!!! I look forward to seeing your digipack !!!!!' - marcuswiseman1991
Feedback from blog
'Great storyboards they really show the main plot of your music video !!!! =) - marcuswiseman1991
Feedback from blog
Rosie, I really like this idea and think this really shows the ideology of your band much better than your first idea !!!!!!!! - marcuswiseman1991
Feedback for blog
'Some good research here rosie, however in some locations you may need to explain why you have chosen them. You have gone into a lot of detail when expalining your photos' - marcuswiseman1991
'I look forward to watching the final product' - Lee "I have no idea" Payne
Feedback from blog
'Effective logo. Have you considered using exclamation mark(s) at the end? May signify excitement.' - sewellparkcollege
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 
How effective is the combination of your product and ancillary tasks?
I think that the DVD and the ancillary tasks compliment each other very effectively. This is because the signature colours, purple and white, are a running theme throughout the film and ancillary tasks, featuring in the band's clothes and in the DVD cover and advert. Also, both the DVD cover and the advertisement feature screen grabs from the video, which links the two together effectively.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Feedback from blog 
'Great colours!!! Furthermore I think you have chosen the best screen shots out of your video to use here, this will enable to audience to have a sneak peek into your video which is brilliant !!!!!!' - marcuswiseman1991
I learned that my target audience needs a fun, energentic video, which I was not giving with my idea of having the band just playing in different locations. The audience feedback has had quite a large impact on my video, as because of it, I had to change my original plans. Also, the feedback on my blog reminded me of some things I should have added, for example, on the post for my advertisement, one of my peers asked me where I would place the advertisement, something that I had forgotten to state. Please also see both the planning section, and the 'feedback from blog' boxes.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
I used four different media that I have never used before when researching, planning, creating and evaluating my music video and ancillary tasks. 

When researching and planning for my production, I used new media technology. For example, when uploading location shots to the blog, I had to use a digital camera to do so, and also scanners and uploaders, which I had no experience in before now. I also had to upload storyboards and drafts for my ancillary products that were drawn by hand using a scanner.

I used Adobe Premiere Pro to upload and edit my music video. This affected my final product, as I found different special effects that I have never used before, for example, the scene where I show Marcus and Sophie playing in a park, but it is played backwards. In my planning, I did not intend to use this effect, but when editing I found it and it added variety to the video and made it look more professional. 

Also, the way in which I kept my work together was new to me; on a blog on www.wordpress.com. I have never used a blog to this extent before, but found it allowed me to keep all my work together and organised, and also allowed peers to comment about what they thought of my work. 

I used www.youtube.com to post my final video to the internet. This allowed a lot more people to view it, more so than if I just sold the production on DVD. I also used Photoshop when producing my ancillary tasks, which allowed me to cut and crop screen grabs from my music video and to keep the picture quality whilst doing so. 

I used both the blog and www.prezi.com when evaluating my product. I had never used Prezi before now, and had to get to grips with the new technology. However, it allowed me to make my evaluation more interesting, as it's more colourful and interactive.
This is my final music video for Crescendo, Long Goodbye.