'I kissed a Girl' Music Video

Website

http://www.all-saints.bardaglea.org.uk/media_cw/Katy_Perry/Welcome.html

Here is the Katy Perry website we created.

CONSTRUCTION-Album Covers

EVALUATION - MTV Show

EVALUATION: Write up- Alexandra

Ways in which our media project uses forms and conventions of real media projects is through the common  motifs used. One of the motifs we used was ritual celebration. This was the central part of our music video as it was set at a sleepover/party, with drinking and dancing which would appeal to our target audience, as they are teenagers and young adults, therefore representing teen culture. Another motif we used was sexual objectification,  which nowadays takes over a majority of music videos as you can't really turn over to a music channel, without seeing girls represented in a provocative way. Women are seen as sexual objects which in some way they are seen as that in our video. In addition we used intertexuality, this is when art is recognizing themselves as art and in turn involving the audience into whatever is going on in the music video which we do when Sam (Katy Perry) winks at the camera.  It is drawing the audience into the music video and making them want to see  what happens next.

Furthermore, we made our video short enough that the audience wouldn't get bored but long enough for them to  understand the narrative and to make a lasting impression, as it was found that the average persons waits 7 seconds before changing the channel.
Ways in which our music video challenges the conventions and forms of real music videos is through the narrative, which is about a girl kissing another girl which can still be seen as a controversial thing in the music industry today as it is still seen as a sensitive topic in society.

The combination of our main project and ancillary texts is very effective. For the album cover we used a vary of colours including purple, Blue and red to portray that  fun girly image of Katy Perry. Just as in the music video we added a coloured effect to some of the clips which links the to the album cover . One of the album covers is of lips obviously linking to the song and another is of Katy Perry kissing a mirror representing the narrative of the music video. In addition the webpage uses a lot of colours to show the fun side of Katy Perry. Here is a print screen of one part of the website.
In addition we also made a radio spot, showing just how popular Katy Perry really is. Also by making a radio spot it increases her fanbase.



From the audience feedback I have learnt that the favourite part of the Music video was the 4 screen part, which we used twice in the Music Video, once when showing different aspects of the girls putting on Makeup and another when Katy Perry was singing. The audience probably enjoyed this part of the Music Video because it is was quite imaginative. Although we did find that at one point the narrative was quite confusing for one member of the audience, therefore if we were to make a video next time we should ensure the narrative is not too complex. We also learnt that people like special effects such as slow motion as it draws their attention to the Video. However It was apparent that we could have added more special effects, as although we added slow motion and the audience liked the reverse at the end, especially when they saw the writing disappear ,we could have added more effects to make the video more interesting. In addition we did appeal to our target audience as most of the feedback we got was positive probably because there was ritual celebration which teens like to see. Most of the audience would have recommended this video to their friends apart for one because it was not the type of music they would listen to. All together the feedback from the music video was positive, and has taught me to ensure that a music video is eye catching and always appeals to the audience.

How did you use technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
To edit the music video we used Adobe Premier which allowed us to add special effects e.g.(when we added slow motion and a cloured effect to some of the clips, to portray the image of Katy Perry).  Other programs we used to make the music video were Adobe after Effects to do the green screen. This allowed me to import the wanted background and then import it into the music video. In addition, PowerPoint was used to show how the album cover was made and website etc. The program used to make the album cover was Photoshop. To plan how we were going to do filming and editing and what was going to be needed, for the projecct, we used the master catalogue which allowed us to add what characters were going to be in the Music video and props and calander to organise our time efficiently. Prezi was also used in  many stages of the project. Adobe Premier was also used to edit the Evaluation MTV Show.

EVALUATION write up- Samantha

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

My media product this year involved me making a music video for our chosen artist. The song we chose to do was 'I kissed a girl' by Katy Perry. Having learned beforehand what a good music video consists of we tried to incorporate a range of different media conventions relevant to our music video in order to portray a modern and quirky image that would appeal to our target audience, but also reflect the image of Katy Perry.

In our music video we have used a variety of common motifs seen in everyday music videos such as fragmentation of the body. This includes the eyes, legs and lips, most which are associated with makeup and applying it. Fragmentation of the body was used in our music video, as it is a form of showing sexual objectification as well as drawing the audience in and maintaining their attention. Since the music video featured all girls, it was important to display signs of sexual objectification without being inappropriate or unsuitable. Other motifs also included ritual celebrations. The music video is set in a house where four girls are at a sleepover/gathering. Typically there is alcohol, food and make up; the main aim was to portray we were having fun and enjoying ourselves. This way our audiences will enjoy watching the video. The music video also features intersexuality, which is art recognizing itself as art. Several times in the music video Katy Perry will look directly into the camera as though she were looking at the audience, or she will look in the mirror. This is effective because it highlights that the artist is aware her surroundings aren't real and that she is in a music video while involving the audience as well.

We have developed some of these motifs in the sense that the music video is about two girls that 'get together', which pushes the boundaries of sexualisation. This is also a way of challenging it as well. Modern audiences are more used to seeing same sex couples in music videos however controversy is sometimes still associated with these images. We have therefore challenged the norm for that reason. We did this because it makes the music video more interesting and less predictable. By doing things that are unexpected we hope that our target audience will admire this and stay tuned into the music video.

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

With our main product being the music video, we have combined many other aspects of ancillary texts to improve the effectives of our company and the promotion of Katy Perry. We produced a radio spot using garage band that is available to hear on YouTube. As well as that there is a website we designed which showcases many different things about Katy Perry, i.e. her bio, pictures of her, twitter account etc. The website is a very good reflection of Katy Perry's image because of the layout and style of the website. We wanted to maintain a fun, bubbly and girly image so used bright, fun colours like pink, purple and blue. Consistency was very important which is why tried to use this theme throughout our media product.

In addition, we made a blog, which all the work we do goes on. This is very helpful and practical because it aids in the organisation and management of all our work. We are able to keep track of what we have done using the blog especially because everything is in order and can be posted accordingly. 

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

After we had finished making our music video, part of our project required us to ask members of our target audience to view it before releasing it and putting it on YouTube. This is also known as a test audience. We asked two girls and two boys to watch the full length of the music video. We then interviewed people individually; asking them a series of questions about what they thought of the music video and how it could be improved. From the audience feedback we learnt that our green screen could have been better, perhaps if we had used an animated image in the background instead of a still one. This would have made the video more interesting and of a higher standard.  Our test audience said they understood the narrative because it was easy going and related well to the lyrics of the song. Although one member did get lost in the narrative at one point but managed to grasp the meaning in the end. Some of the test audience did mention some problems with the lip-syncing and that it could have been more in sync with the music. However they did like the four-screen image of Katy Perry because it was unique and fun. Our audience also noticed the special effects. They commented on our use of slow motion and increasing the speed in some of the clips, which we did to add to the effect of the music video.

How did you use media technologies in the research/planning, construction and evaluation stages?

During our research/planning stage of our media product a majority of our information was gathered using a computer. We used a number of different sites to research information about Katy Perry and her music; this helped us decide what song to choose. Part of the planning process required us to make a master catalogue and a calendar using a software called Celtx. The reason why we made a master catalogue and a calendar was to help keep the group organised so that we could manage our time efficiently. Making our music video required using a camera which is what all our filming was done on including, vlogs, interview and podcasts. As you can see the use of cameras has played a huge part in the construction of our music video, as without it we would not have been able to make our music video. The process of editing the music video was done using a mac computer, and the software we used to do this was Adobe Premiere Pro. This software was very assessable and easy to use having used it during AS.

w did you use media technologies in the research/planning, construction, and evaluation stages?

Samantha Eneli

EVALUATION Write-up - Lauren Wright

Fragmentation of the body

My media product can be compared to many real popular music videos as it incorporates common motifs that from conducting research I found were popular amongst my target audience. My music video includes a party scene, as the majority of favoured music videos contain ritual celebration. However, I challenged the conventions of real music videos by adding controversial motifs my own video. The first of these being sexual objectification, this is where people within the video are seen as sexual objects  and portrayed in my music video as the artist is frequently acting provocatively in front of the camera. Examples of this would be when the artist is laying on the bed or when she pulls herself towards the other girl as though they are about to kiss. This aspect in particular challenges conventions of real media products as there is an insinuation that there is attraction between the two girls. Another technique I used was fragmentation of the body; these are close-ups of the artist’s body parts, such as a close-up of her lips when she’s applying lip gloss or of her legs when she is putting on her stockings. This adds to the controversial side of the video due to fact that she is singing about kissing a girl whilst presenting herself in a sexual way which stands out when compared to current music videos.

Bright, feminine design of the website

Pop art effect of the album cover

In my opinion, my main product and ancillary texts work effectively alongside eachother. I believe that the main media product is complimented by all the other pieces of coursework as they are all influenced by the image that we initially wanted to create for the artist. The image we were looking to create for her was a feminine fun-loving attitude with a cheeky, controversial side. We incorporated into the website details such as bright pastel colours and a ‘girly’ cloud theme in order for it to fit in with our ideal image of the artist. I presented the cheeky side of the artist in the cd cover I created by using an image of the artist with her finger covering her lips insinuating that she has a secret to keep, this works well with narrative of the music video where the artist is attempting to hide the fact that she has kissed another girl. Within the video we have used editing techniques such as a pink tint and a pop art effect; these mirrored the effects used on the images for cd cover, which creates a professional ‘house style’ amongst the different texts.

Ritual celebration aspects in the video, favoured by the audience

From the audience feedback, I have learned the importance of a strong narrative. After carrying out research prior to making the video, it was clear that the majority of people asked favoured a narrative in a music video. Therefore, I thought it vital that a narrative was included in my music video and from the results of the audience feedback, it was clear that this was necessary as the responses show that the narrative was one of the most popular aspects of the video.  Another popular aspect in the video was ritual celebration, initially from the results of the research; a party scene in a music video was the most popular motif. Within my music video, the scenes including ritual celebration were a factor which kept the audience interested. On the other hand, I feel I included too many shots of the party scene and if I were to be given the opportunity to improve the video I would replace some of the party scenes with scenes that added to the video’s narrative to avoid the audience losing interest. One of the questions in the initial research found that controversy was a popular motif within music videos, so I included an ambiguous narrative, keeping the audience unsure as to whether the artist was sexually attracted to the other girl. This unusual narrative was seen as controversial by the test audience; however they also said that this was a good addition to the video and kept them watching the entire video. The test audience finally stated that they liked the website, cd cover and music video all portrayed a feminine, fun image of the artist which meant I had achieve my goal of create that image through my media products.

Adobe Photoshop

The radiospot in Adobe Premiere

The media technologies used in the planning stage of were mostly the computer, this was because I had to conduct a large amount of research on past music videos, controversial music videos and about the artist that I chose, Katy Perry. Therefore, I had to use many websites to gather information that would be useful when creating all of my products. When planning my music video, I created a storyboard to distinguish between different scenes and shots, in order to transfer the storyboard onto the blog, I used a scanner to scan the images onto the computer. Also, another part of the planning process was to create a master catalog and calender, I used Celtx to do so and due to the fact that I also had to create these items for my AS Media last year, it was much quicker and easier to make this year. As part of the construction stage there were many technologies used. To create the website, I used the programme iWeb on the computer as I found it was the programme to use easiest use. To construct the music video and the evaluation video, I used video camera to film all the clips, in order to edit the clips and merge them all together to form the music video, I used Adobe Premiere. For the radiospot, I used Garageband on an iMac to record and edit it. Then, to export it, I transferred it into Adobe Premiere and made it into a video.  Finally, to create the album covers, we used cameras to take the images of the artist and then to edit them and construct the covers, I used Adobe Photoshop. For the evaluation, I had to produce many podcasts explaining the products, and discussing any problems that I had occurred throughout the process, to do so i used Photobooth on an iMac.