Uses and Gratifications Theory

The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out media to fulfil specific needs. 

In 1948 Harold D Lasswell suggested that media texts had the following four functions for individuals and society:

• Surveillance
• Correlation
• Entertainment
• Cultural Transmission

His argument was that when media texts were used it was usually to fulfil one of these four functions.

In 1974 Elihu Katz and Jay G Blulmer expanded Lasswell's theory, stating that individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes:

• Diversion
• Personal relationship
• Personal identity 

I believe that my music video fits the entertainment function, as I want people to enjoy watching my video. I have chosen a young band who are energetic and have a fresh vibe about them, which I believe makes them appealing for an audience to watch. My use of bright colours, fast paced cuts and effects makes it eye-catching and interesting to watch as it draws in and keeps the audience's attention as the cuts and effects prevent it from becoming boring. I chose a genre that is becoming increasingly popular at the moment, and therefore people are more likely to watch it for entertainment due to the genre, as well as the above mentioned. Finally, my talent are real, young, people which, to an extent, gives my video a natural element as it is clear that they are normal people who are enjoying themselves and having a laugh together. I feel this in particular makes it clear my video has been created for entertainment purposes, as it is enjoyable to watch young people enjoying themselves doing what they love.

Post-modernism

Post-moderism is a late 20th Century movement in the arts and architecture. After learning about it in several of my Alevel subjects I decided I would like to include some of its concepts in my piece.

Hyperreality
I have, in a sense, used hyperreality in my video. Although my video is realistic as it is a band playing and it is a natural location, my use of colours, effects and choice of editing techniques create a hyperreal atmosphere. This means that although my footage is realistic my effects, such as the mirror, aren't, and the combination of blending the two could make the audience question which is reality and which isn't. However, this wasn't something I intentionally set out to do, it was just something I noticed when watching my video back. I don't want my audience to be confused, just perhaps questioning parts of my video.

Brian De Palma
A big part of my video inspiration came from Brian De Palma and his film adaptation of the Stephen King novel Carrie. Brian De Palma is probably one of the most post-modern film directors of the idea as his ideas were so different and controversial to what people were used to. Carrie included several split screens in the climax of the film, which added to the build up of suspension and tension; a technique he later became renowned for. He also plays around with film conventions, being creative with his choice of camera shots in order to give his work more tension and suspense or create an atmosphere in a way the audience won't expect. I feel that my video pays homage to De Palma, as I have taken his use of split screens and made it more creative by using different, bright colours, creating a different effect to De Palma.

Intertextuality
The final post-modern technique I have used is intertextuality. I chose to recreate some of the footage from the original video to include in my own. I was originally planning on using it as a parody of the original, but in hindsight it is more of a homage as it isn't an over the top copy. I feel this was particularly effective, especially opening my video with some of it, as people will instantly recognise it and see it was a funny element to include. Another example of intertextuality was having my talent perform in a theatre, as some of my audience feedback told me it reminded them of The Beatles' video for "Help", in which they are recording in a studio, which has a similar layout to mine. Although I had not seen the "Help" video before I created my own piece it is still classed as intertextuality as members of my target audience have picked up on it.

Alongside these, I also feel I have used smaller, but just as effective, elements of post-modernism. For example, instead of having a unified narrative throughout my video I chose to be more creative and go for a montage anchored by music. I believe this has made my piece more effect as it is more fun and upbeat, as well as ideal for my target audience. I have also given my piece a professional sheen, making it glossy and appealing to the eye, rather than leaving it grainy or purely sticking to the footage.
I am glad I chose to use post-modernism in my video as, in hindsight, it has made my piece a lot more effective, and without it I believe my piece would be quite boring to watch.

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

Throughout my coursework I've used a wide variety of technology, both new and familiar. At the time I didn't realise how dependent on it I was but in hindsight none of this would have been possible without it, as I used it in every aspect of creating my pieces.

Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro was huge in the editing of my music video as it is the software that I chose to use. It's not a programme that I have a lot of knowledge about and so I was outside my comfort zone using it. However, I found it easy to pick up and halfway through my editing I decided to become a lot more creative, which FCP allowed me to do. I feel that a lot of the effect packages that came with FCP were ideal for my genre, but some definitely were not, and therefore a more advanced editing software would have been beneficial. However, a lot of my edits, such as split screens, were done by myself, so therefore for me FCP provided everything that I needed to create my final product.

Pixlr
We were briefly taught how to use Pixlr last year and I immediately found it straightforward to use and so decided to use it for the editing of my final photos for my digipak and magazine advertisement. I found I was lot more confident using it this year than I had been last year and was willing to be slightly more experimental. As all of my products are focused on the use of bright colours and effects I didn't feel the need to edit my photos heavily and so I didn't use Pixlr to its full potential. However, I still found it incredibly useful in creating the effects that I wanted, and it gave me ideas that turned out too good to not make it into my final pieces.

Google Chrome
Google Chrome was the browser I chose to use at home as it is the one I am most confident in using. I find it incredibly fast to use, which is particularly useful when you are downloading things for your coursework from websites such as Urban Fonts. Google Chrome enables you to have several tabs open at once and so I was able to have my blog, YouTube, and several Google windows open all at the same time without having to worry about the risk of it crashing.

Safari
Apple's Internet Browser is Safari and fortunately, having an iPhone, I am well equipped in how it works, particularly seeing as it is slightly different to Google Chrome. I used it for exactly the same circumstances as I did Google Chrome, only in school, and it is safe to say that without Internet Browsers I would have struggled immensely when it came to researching and blogging.

Google
I used the search engine Google throughout my research and found it incredibly useful as without it I wouldn't know a vast amount about my chosen genre or the type of music video I chose to create. Google is the search engine I have also relied on and so I know my way round it very easily. This was beneficial to me seeing as YouTube and Blogger are part of Google themselves and so I was able to keep track of everything all at once.

Blogger
Using Blogger was one of the biggest parts of the course as we had to use it to record all of our findings and thoughts throughout. I had previously used it for AS and so knew how it all worked and I feel that my blog this year is significantly better than last years now I know how and what to document. I was able to access Blogger at home and school and therefore I could post whenever I came up with a new idea or found some interesting research.

Urban Fonts
It was important for me that I used the band's own font in order to keep with their house style as well as my own. In order to do this I had to go onto Urban Fonts and download "Arctic Regular". Once I'd downloaded it I was able to use it in my digipak and magazine advertisement and keep the feel of the band in my pieces.

iPhone 5
My iPhone was hugely useful throughout my coursework as it enabled me to get in contact with my talent efficiently to arrange days to shoot with them. It also ensured that if some of my talent was going to be late they were able to let me know either through text, phone call or the Facebook app so that I wasn't standing around waiting and stressing.

iPad 2
I downloaded the Blogger app on my iPad, as I tend to carry my iPad around a lot more than my laptop. The app allowed me to blog whenever I thought of something off the top of my head that may come into later use. I found the app a lot harder to use than the internet page but that didn't prevent it from being beneficial.

Apple Mac
Nearly all of my project work was done on an Apple Mac at school, and this year I felt a lot more confident using one than I had been last year. This allowed me to be more creative when it came to my editing and try things outside of my comfort zone as I already knew all the basics. As well as using them for editing my music video and photos for my digipak, I also blogged and researched things such as the history of music videos. Using a Mac was really beneficial to me as it enabled me to get the information for and create my final project to a professional standard due to its software. I don't have a Mac at home but there was always time for me to go and use one in my frees in order to carry on editing my video, so I never had to panic about getting it done in time. Macs are renowned for having high quality resolution which allowed me to see exactly how my finished products would look, as well as enabling me to pick up on smaller details and get my products as close to perfect as humanely possible.

MacBook Pro
Due to spending so much of my time in school editing my video I did begin to panic about getting my ancillary tasks finished in time. I am fortune enough to have a friend who owns a MacBook Pro which she was willing to let me borrow at weekends to ensure I got everything finished in time. This is what I used to create my magazine advertisement. I chose to use a Mac over my own laptop as I feel Macs produce a much higher standard of work, which is what I was after. Using a MacBook enabled me to create my magazine advertisement at the standard I wanted from home.

Cameras - Olympus SP620UZ, Canon 550D, Lumix G10
Due to all the different angles and shots I was planning on squeezing into a short amount of filming time I needed as many cameras as possible, and, in my opinion, I was able to get my hands on three of the best cameras around. The Olympus is my own and the Canon and Lumix were a band members, so it worked out very well for me. I already knew how to use all the cameras, as the other two were very similar to mine, and so I had no problem in setting them up and shooting. I also used them to take my photos for my digipak and magazine advertisement. I found that in both cases the cameras produce photos and footages to a very high standard and they really brought out the contrast between my coloured lights and black silhouettes. I went against using a video camera for my filming as after some draft filming I did with one I found the quality was disappointing, whereas my Olympus footage came out much better. The fact they were my own cameras or members of the bands enabled me to shoot whenever I wanted to and as much as I needed to as I didn't have a curfew on getting them back into school and there wasn't a limit on how much battery space I could use - I used a lot! It also enabled me to shoot any last minute fills that I needed to without the panic of having to run into school to get one and it didn't pressure me into having to shoot on certain days. For example, if there was temperamental weather or some of my talent couldn't get there I was able to rearrange on my own terms.

Pages
Pages was the programme I used to create my magazine advertisement as I find it produces work to a much higher quality than that of Microsoft Office Word. I was taught how to use it last year and find it incredibly easy to work with and I am always pleased with the end result. 

YouTube
YouTube was huge in enabling me to research into current and past music videos to compare my own to and give me ideas. It also allowed me to research into Brian De Palma films, which inspired me into using split screens in my piece. My favourite YouTube feature if the fact you can share your own or other people's work through an embed code. This enabled me to post music videos on my blog that related to what I was saying, making it more visual, and allowing me to compare my music video to videos currently on the market.

Tripod
The theatre I did my filming at provided me with three Velbon CX 686's. I found the tripods incredibly handy as they made sure my cameras were still at all times and I could focus them and level them exactly how I wanted to, knowing they were securely fastened and unlikely to fall off. 

Prezi
Prezi is the software I used to create one of my evaluations. I used Prezi for the same reason last year and so was a lot more confident in using it this time round, although at times it does still confuse me! It is time consuming but it creates a fun product which is enjoyable to look at and easy to follow. It also breaks up heavy blocks of text as you can split if off into several different sections which makes it more visually appealing. 

Vimeo
I had serious copyright issues uploading my videos onto YouTube and so I turned to Vimeo instead. I had never heard of Vimeo before it was recommended to me and so I had no idea how to use. After sitting down and playing around with it for an hour I'd cracked it and after that I found it straightforward. No one's really heard of Vimeo which put me off a lot as I wanted my video to get as many watches as possible, but the most important thing is that my video is online so that it is available to watch. Vimeo was useful in allowing me a wide range of security options for my video so that I can ensure no one will take it and credit it as their own.

Creating my music video was when I was the most dependent on technology, as I needed it in order to keep the ball rolling. Without the use of a Mac, Final Cut Pro, cameras, tripods, YouTube, Vimeo, Safari and Google I wouldn't have a finished piece. It was heavily involved in research and planning for my piece, as I needed to know what was on the market and more background knowledge into music videos and my chosen genre, and then in creating the final piece itself due to the Mac's amazing software.
I used technology the least when it came to my magazine advertisement, as our coursework at AS, and having been a GCSE Media student, I already knew a lot about magazine advertisements and what kind of things worked well. Therefore, the main thing I needed to do was focus on creating the piece, as I didn't need to worry too much about anything else.
I've learnt how to use some new technology throughout my coursework as well as improving my use of others. I've found it incredibly beneficial using such a vast range of technology as it will benefit me when I need to do similar projects in the future. I'm no longer afraid of using a Mac or having a shaky camera as I know more than enough about how to do it and what to do to prevent it. Although technology can be stressful it's more beneficial than anything as it allows you to create, research, plan and compare, all of which are crucial in creating a professional product.

What have your learned from your audience feedback?

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

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

When I started planning ideas for my music video I didn't think of what conventions are associated with the rock genre. Therefore, when I was creating my video it wasn't intentional whether or not I followed or refuted conventions, it was just a case of me doing what I thought looked best and would be most appealing to my target audience.



Follows:
I followed the typical convention of having a close-up of each band, particularly the singer. This is something that is common in rock music videos as they like to focus on the whole band in order to show the importance of the band, the music, and "musicianship". They feel that the focus shouldn't be on anything else, and this is something I agree with, which is why I chose to follow it in my own product.



As you can see in Green Day's American Idiot the camera rarely moves off the band or a band member for more than a few seconds which emphasises the fact the video is about the band and the music.

Rock bands tend to perform wearing smart casual clothing, which I commented on in a much earlier costume post. This is something I was definitely going to follow as I wanted my band to be able to move around comfortably to ensure they performed naturally. I also feel that the look my band went for, and the look rock bands go for tends to be smarter than that of pop artists and I wanted my band to look smart and clean as I feel that is a significant factor when watching a music video.



In this video Don Broco pair a polo shirt with jeans and trainers. It not only looks smart but allows them to move freely when they're running and jumping around enjoying themselves. I think it is key that you can tell the band are enjoying themselves in a music video because it makes the viewer enjoy it more as well, which is why it was something I wanted to portray in my video.

It is a typical trait of rock videos to be edited to the beat so that the timing is exact. I feel that by doing this they make their videos a lot more exciting due to the fast pace cuts, something which I recreated in my own video. I also think that editing to the beat makes the video more exciting, as you wonder what will come on the next big beat and it leaves you full of anticipation.



Although this song is slower it still fits to the beat. For example, at the beginning there are four drum beats and of each drum beat you see a new band member, which creates a contrast by speeding up the process before it slows down again.

The final convention I chose to follow was to have my singer "performing to the camera". I decided to keep this convention as I feel it makes the audience relate more to the singer, as it is as if they are singing to them. Therefore it creates a relationship between the two, as they have a direct link, which may make the viewer relate more to what they are singing.




The viewer fells like a part of the action as it is almost as if Fall Out Boy's lead singer is singing to them as if they are there with them.

Refutes:
I chose to use bright colours in my video to create black silhouettes. Bright colours in music videos are usually associated with pop and the more synthesised music, whereas rock is associated with darker colours such as blues, purples, blacks, and greys. I chose to refute this due to the fact that the song I chose is very upbeat and therefore I didn't think dark, moody colours would work. It is also common lighting wise to have a strobe light. I refuted this again as I thought it would be unnecessary in my video and not add anything extra to it.




The lights on the band themselves are sepia and grey which doesn't give the effect I wanted to create, even if it is typical rock.

Rock videos also tend to be set in abnormal locations or derelict sites, such as an abandoned warehouse. I chose for a theatre as it just looks like the band are performing on an average stage, as they would be if they were doing a performance. I think that over the top locations take away from the song itself as they usually don't quite match up.




Starlight is set on an abandoned boat in the middle of the sea, you can't really get much more abnormal that that.

The final convention that I chose to refute was including a heavy amount of second footage to my video like the majority of those above to. Although I have included some car footage it's not a 50/50% mix like most rock videos appear to be nowadays. I personally believe that, particularly with rock, the video should focus on the music, and not other things going on around it. Therefore, I decided to refute this convention as it is not one I agree with. 

Final Music Video

Finally, here is my finished music video. I am very pleased with the final outcome as I believe it looks very professional and is to a high quality standard.



Looking back on my first draft it's crazy how far I've come and how much my video has improved since. Although it was only small changes I had to make it is amazing how big an impact they can have on a product; the different between it looking professional or not!
I feel I have stuck to the conventions of my genre well, using fast pace cuts and lots of different camera shots and angles to create an interesting and enjoyable piece. I'm pleased I chose to create a performance video as it allowed me to be much more creative with what I did, and I feel that I would have struggled to create another type of video, particularly with it being the rock genre.
I believe my use of edits have make my piece more enjoyable to watch as my split screens make it modern and interesting and my mirror effect is a complete contrast to what has gone in the rest of the video. My video doesn't follow a particular pattern and so you can only guess what effect is going to come next which makes it more fun and appealing to watch as you don't know what is round the corner.
I'm so glad I decided to use coloured lights as I feel the silhouettes add a new dimension to my video and make it very exciting due to the use of different colours. The bright colours portray a fun, happy element, which is interesting seeing as my genre is rock. This is why I decided to darken them ever so slightly, as I felt they were too poppy and I feel this edit has worked in my favour; making the genre more obvious. 
To improve, I would focus more on my lead singer as in hindsight his close-ups looks very effective and so I should have included more of them in my opinion. I would also add a fade to black at the end as I feel the ending is too abrupt. I did originally try to add a fade to black but it doesn't exist on Final Cut Pro!
Overall, I am incredibly proud of my final piece as I have included everything that I wanted to and I feel it all ties together well to create a fun, upbeat, professional product that anyone can enjoy watching.