14. Ancillary Task 1 Existing Media Analysis 1

This is an interview about video game packaging, Ross chose Metal Gear Solid 5 as he is a huge fan of the MGS series and he knows a lot about them. Below is an image of the game which Ross analyses.

Who are the institutions responsible for creating the text?

The game was developed by Kojima Productions and produced by Konami. Kojima Productions are famous for developing the rest of the Metal Gear Solid games. Konami are famous for producing series such as Silent Hill, Castlevania, Zone of the Enders and Pro Evolution Soccer. The packaging was made by Sony.

How does the institutional context impact on the audience, representations and use of conventions?

Konami is a well-known Japanese game publisher so there audience know what to expect with their games. Conventions used in these games are strong narratives, resemblance to anime and they produce a wide range of games for everyone. Konami don't typically treat women equally in their games as they are overly sexualised to entice their primary audience which is teenager boys. Konami’s recent split from Kojima impacts the audience because Kojima’s name.

13. Main Task Existing Media Analysis 3

We created a voice over analysis of Red Dead Redemption which is a video game that was published in 2010 for both PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The game is set in western times and includes your stereotypical cowboys and saloons. The game is targeted for a more mature audience who enjoy westerns. Below is the actual trailer used to advertise on television and we used a Dictaphone to record the voice over.

Red Dead Redemption Ideas

• Brief introduction stating games release, Genre and synopsis of plot
• Target audience = Fans of Western, strong narratives and maturity.
• Ad features Cowboys, horses and gunfire. Things found typically in Westerns.
• Cinematic feel suggests strong emphasis on narrative.
• Mentions platforms available on
• Americans are being represented during the time as being gunslingers
• Reckless drunks
• Gun nuts
• Vicious
• Brutal
• Severe conditions
• Outlaws
• Abuse of guns and alcohol
• Developers gravitate towards violence as that is the market

12. Main Task Existing Media Analysis 2

11. Main Task Existing Media Analysis 1

10. Moodboard

Ross and I created this in Adobe Photoshop to give an overview on what we're going to include in our work. As you can see we have included images of kids playing video games, different platforms our game can be available too, Evil Clutches as that's the game we are making an advert for.

9. Coursework Brief Final Choice Initial Ideas

Coursework Ideas - Main Ideas

• Video game advert - I made my own game using game maker called Evil Geniuses which is an old arcade game.
• Overview of the game is that its two dragons, you control the left one and you can only move up and down whilst pressing space to shoot fireballs at the other one. You have to shoot the baby dragons that the other dragon is firing at you and you get points for each one you kill and the objective is too survive as long as you can.
• For the advert we are going to use some actual game footage. 
• We will use lots of editing effects and camera shots when recording.
• We will use adobe premier or Sony Vegas pro to edit the advert.
• There will be people playing the game and we will use close ups to show the players facial expressions so the audience know that it is good fun.
• The game will be available on PC, Xbox and PS.
• We will create a logo in Photoshop for the game and include it the advert.

Ancillary Analysis 

• We are creating a video game package and magazine advert for the game. 
• We have analysed 2 game packages already which are EA Sports UFC and Metal Gear Solid.
• Our video game package will include a age rating, logo, platforms its available on, large text showing the name of the game,with a main image of actual game play footage.
• Our magazine will include similar features to the examples shown below but it will be based on our video game.

First Idea for Evil Clutches Adverts

Two characters walk on and seem quite mopey. Then have a general chat about college etc. All of a sudden a dragon comes in the background and scares them. They run of set as the screen fades to black and the title Evil Clutches appears. We will need a Green screen in order to show the dragon and some curtains which the dragon will jump out off. Also a Nikon will be used to film the commercial. The commercial will feature no game play footage as it is only a teaser and will build up to our second commercial which will feature actual game play footage.

8. Franklin Start Evaluation

What have you learnt in each of the four areas?

I have learnt many new things analysing documentaries, music videos, video game adverts and regional magazines. The one I found most interesting and entertaining is video game adverts as I have a passion for playing video games. I have learnt a variety of new skills for example with video game adverts I have learnt about typical codes and conventions used. They are used to portray a specific image or message to the audience. An example for a video game advert would be a narrative or voice over some game play footage; this is done to make the game look more interesting by giving extra detail on what's happening. Call of Duty are well known for using this particular technique as they like to create a new story each year with their new games so players can connect with the characters. I have also learnt about how video game adverts have changed over the years. In the 80’s and early 90’s video games were seen for just children so the adverts used to be very energetic with a person playing the game having the best time ever. However, people nowadays aren’t as easy to persuade as there’s so many games available now to play. Modern adverts use mainly game play and cinematic to persuade people to buy the game as we have the technology and software to do it compared to the 80’s.

For music videos, codes and conventions are used throughout to set the mood of the video, for example if the genre is sad they would use a slow beat rather than a fast beat as that's typically used for upbeat and happy songs. The editing would be much different as well because with sad songs they would use slow and long transitions with slow motion camera shots of the person or band singing, an upbeat song would have short clips and constant scene changes to make it seem fast pace.

I have learnt the basic elements for creating a successful documentary, the most important element is to keep the audience interesting, and this can be done by making them interact with the topic or by giving interesting information and statistics. Professional documentaries usually have a very well-spoken presenter to keep the audience engaged, so the sound quality of the microphones and cameras needs to be clear. Each documentary is different as they have different purposes, some are educational, and others are entertaining.

Lastly, regional magazines was the least interesting area I covered as I don’t read magazines, this is mainly because they cost money to read and there’s plenty of alternatives to get information like YouTube and social media sites. I learnt about the codes and conventions used on front pages and double paged spreads, for a tourist attraction magazine there would be a lot of secondary images showing the area and text organised in columns with promotional details.

What could you improve on in each of the four areas?

I could have definitely improved in all areas of my work as I made many mistakes and if I were made to do it again I would make a lot of changes. For video games advert I could have spent more time looking at examples which were similar to what I was planning. Looking at a wide range would have helped to be more creative, but looking at similar game adverts would have improved how professional mine would have looked because I would use similar features and techniques. The documentary we created received peer feedback which included some positive points like, it was very informative and well edited however it received a lot of negative comments like, the voice over was boring and monotone, very little use of own recorded footage, used too many archive clips. I was familiar using the Adobe Premier software so I knew the basics already which gave me an edge over my peers. I listened to all the feedback and if I were to do it again I would definitely make those changes suggested. Creating the regional magazine was very fun as we did it in Adobe InDesign, to improve the magazine I would look at tutorials on how to use the software as I had never used it before. I would also spend more time planning what I wanted to put on the magazine before doing it so I could be more creative and professional. Similar to video game adverts, I struggled with music videos as you have to be unique and creative when there's so much competition already. I would research and analyse similar examples to mine and then plan what to include.

Based on your experience, what task would you like to take forward into coursework and why?

Based on my experience learning the four areas, the task I will be taking forward into coursework is creating a video game advert. The main reason why is because playing video games is a hobby of mine so I will enjoy analysing different adverts and creating my own. I have also already created a video game of my own in another subject so I could create an advert for that game. Doing this will make it stand out from all my peers, I created the game in Game Maker and it’s an old arcade game. My other option would have been creating a regional magazine for video games however I thought creating an advert would be more entertaining as I don’t like or read magazines anyway. For an ancillary task I will be creating a magazine cover for the game anyway. I enjoy the video games adverts topic the most as it’s something I would like to do in the future. I will learn new skills editing and recording footage as well, I also have the freedom to experiment on what I’m doing.

7. Regional Magazine Front Cover

I created a magazine front cover using Adobe In-design. The codes and conventions of regional front covers helped me apply features to my own front cover. The conventions work should be shown in the previous blog post, we annotated them before doing this and I made sure I included some of the features. The features I used are headline, text and main image. We all had to do this work individually so everyone should have a different front cover.

Pros

There are many pros creating a magazine because you have a lot freedom to create what you want, also there are many types of software people can use to create a magazine for example adobe Photoshop and adobe digital magazine. It's less time consuming compared to creating a video game advert and documentary so it could probably be done by a single individual whereas a documentary requires a full team. Using bright colours can make a magazine stand out from others however all magazine editors know to do this so it doesn't stand out as much.

Cons

Potential cons with creating a magazine is that you are limited to what you can create for example you can only use images whereas an advert can use any type of media. Making a magazine front cover stand out and look original just by glance can be difficult as each person is different and they might not find it interesting. Also creating a professional looking magazine which is full of information can be difficult to do as it requires a lot of research especially if you want to keep the reader's attention.

6. Regional Magazines Conventions

Below are some regional magazine front covers that have been annotated with the features that have been used. Some examples of features used are the headline, columns and main images. I analysed the covers with Ross so he should have the same images as me which I took on my phone and uploaded to Google Drive.

5. Video Game Advertising

This is our video game advert where we analyse the features used in adverts and seeing how it could help us when creating our video game. The video game examples of adverts we analysed were Metal Gear Solid, FIFA 15 and Super Mario Bros. We used a wide range of games that are available on different types of consoles so that we had a better understanding on how adverts are presented, it will help us create our video game advert. The diverse range will benefit us as we are undecided on what video game we can make an advert for at the moment. I worked with Ross to complete the video game section so he will have the same video uploaded as well.

Script

The conventions of advertising include the product, the price, people and places where you can purchase the product. In relation to video games, you see a lot of the game being shown and occasionally see the price and the place of purchase.

This Super Mario Bros/ The Legend of Zelda advert was done in the mid-1980s and during this time video games were viewed as something for children. The exaggerated reactions shown by the characters in the advert come off as being quite humorous. This therefore will entertain a child and make them want to buy the product. Close ups of the people are shown in order to express how much enjoyment they are getting out of the product.

When Metal Gear Solid was released in 1998, the stereotypical gamer had changed and this meant that the publishers had to change their target audience. Gamers were now more mature and this meant that games such as MGS would thrive and sell well in comparison to games aimed at children. The advert revolves around a soldier training in the military which suggests the man is an adult. The maturity of this advert is shown through its game play as some of the guards seen are carrying firearms.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was the second sequel to the much beloved Metal Gear Solid (previously seen). The advert capitalizes on fans of the series by including everything that made the original great and improving the game play and visuals as seen here. The trailer also negated to include any live action sequences instead opting to go with scenes found within the game. Snake Eater James Bond like story and characters also make it appeal to fans of that franchise. MGS 3’s advert focuses mainly on the game's narrative mostly including cut scenes over game play.

In 2010 Red Dead Redemption was released and its advert and again this advert focuses more on narrative than anything else as it involves many cinematic. The Western theme is really shown as cowboys can be seen.

FIFA 16 involves people playing football. The game is basically the same as all of the previous installments just with updated graphics and updated rosters. Non- diegetic sound can be heard during the advert as well as a commentator in order to show realism.

Pros

There are many pros of making a video game advert, the main reason why video game adverts are used is to give the viewer an idea of what the game is like and to persuade them to buy it, the developers and market team use many different features like cinematic's and actual game footage to do so. Creating a video game advert is dependent on who you are targeting your game to for example if its for kids then most adverts will have a kid playing it with his friends looking like hes having a lot of fun. Some pros to creating an advert for a video game is that you have a lot of freedom and creativity making it. It can also be created with many different types of editing software. Most successful game adverts use humor to make it more memorable.

Cons 

However there are many negatives to creating a video game advert for example being original and creative with very little time and experience will result in it not being professional. Being original is the most difficult task as there are thousands of video game adverts already. Also with the lack of experience and equipment we are limited to how good it is. We will be using Adobe Premier to edit clips with and we will be using the Nikon cameras to record footage for it, video game companies will have an entire production team making the advert and higher quality equipment. The equipment we have is fine to meet standards.

4. Documentary Evaluation

As a group we received a lot of feedback from our peers. We received a mixture of positive and negative feedback, mainly positive which means it was good. However, the negative points suggested kept being brought up which means we did something wrong which we need to change as it was a popular opinion. These negative points were "the script and voice over weren't very good as it was presented in a monotone voice", because of this we lost the interest in our peers. Also someone suggested the length of our documentary was much longer than everyone else's as we used a lot archive clips. Reading this feedback has improved our knowledge so next time we will be more prepared by doing better things like including more interviews and debates from our group instead of using so many archive clips. Some positive points made were that the editing was good in comparison to everyone else's as we prioritized more time doing that. If we had the opportunity to do it again I would have definitely spent more time on making the documentary more creative with different clips our group could have created. With the editing we could have uploaded the clips we used and done it in our spare time so we could have more time creating new ideas.

This is a silent debate/mind map we created in class on a A3 piece of paper. In our group we had to mention typical features that appear in a documentary, we came up with lots of ideas as you can see in the image below. Some examples are camera angles, special effects and voice overs.

3. Documentary Video

This is our documentary video we edited using Adobe Premier Pro. The video shows the different codes and conventions used in typical documentaries. As a group we all participated and helped create the video. The documentary included examples like archive clips, interviews, voice overs and different camera shots. We used a variety of equipment like the Nikon cameras and a Dictaphone. I did this work with Ross, Jacob and Jack and we have all uploaded the video onto our blog.

Pros

There were many positives when creating our documentaries. Interactive documentaries are the most successful as they engage with the audience keeping them interested. When creating the documentary we had a lot of freedom upon choosing what we wanted it to be about. We used a script so we knew what to say, also with a script you can’t ramble off topic and theirs less chance of using fillers as you know what to say so it sounds more professional.

Cons

However there were many negatives like using a script, it can sound very boring reading off a script and you are limited to what you say. Another negative is the sound quality and editing, it doesn't compare to professional ones seen on TV as they have a lot more resources and time. Finding original ideas and recording footage is difficult to do as there are thousands of documentaries already made. Research is also very important in most documentaries because the majority use statistics and facts to make back up there points.

2. Music Video Pros and Cons

Pros

There are many positive and negative uses for music videos. The 4 primary types of music videos created are, surrealism, performance, parody and narrative. Each type has its differences, the artist or director will decide which type is best matches the song. If a music video wants to be successful it needs to be unique and stand out from every other. An example of a successful music video would be PSY's - Gangnam Style which is the most viewed YouTube video ever with around 2.5 billion views. It is successful due to it being extremely weird and different, the song itself isn't the reason for its success. The video boosted its popularity and downloads however not all of it is positive media, a lot of people disliked the video because it was so weird and random.
Types of lighting used in most music videos, especially for performance videos is low key and narrative is usually high key. Being original is very important to stand out however most music videos feature similar techniques for example a black and white filter used for a dark scene mainly in rock music. Editing is always used for example the speed of edits, action points and filters. Doing this makes the video look more professional. Props are used constantly, a stereotype for rock music would be alcohol, cigarettes, women and instruments, they are used to set the scene so it mimics a real life situation.
There are many different camera shots used, an example would be a close up to show the persons facial expression and a panning shot to show the background and location. A song could have scenes from a film, this will boost sales as people will want to see the film and people watching the film will hear the song making them want to download it. An example of this is the film Armageddon cooperating with Aerosmith’s - I don't want to miss a thing. Songs and music videos can display a deeper meaning which can leave the viewer thinking, most of nirvana's songs leave the viewer thinking.

Cons

However many music videos can receive a lot of hate for being too disturbing or insulting, this can affect the amount of views and downloads the song therefore decreasing the sales as people are offended by it. An example for this is Miley Cyrus's - Wrecking Ball which has millions of views however many people lost respect for her and no longer follow her music affecting her reputation. Make up is always used in music videos on both the guys and girls, doing this can portray a negative image for younger people as they have unrealistic expectations looking like them. Especially with the amount of editing done on them as well. 

1. Music Videos Codes & Conventions Poster

This is a poster we created in Google Drive on the different codes and conventions used in music videos, the examples used are Nirvana and Sam Smith as they show the four types of music videos used in the music industry. We used Google Drive so all of my group could access the document and edit it together. I did the music video work with Connor, Michael and Chloe. We all have this poster posted onto our blog. We all did a topic each and mine was the Parody Video.

What is a music video?
A music video is a short video that is used to accompany a piece of music. They are primarily used to market and promote the sale of music recordings, however some choose to create a music video for purely artistic purposes.

Codes and Conventions

Each type of music genre varies the music conventions that are used but the some conventions that are typical used are.

• The camera
• The style
• Mise en scene
• Editing techniques
• Stereotyping 
• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound

Different types of music videos

These are shown below however in a summarised format these are the one's used. 

• Performance - This is where the band perform either to a camera or an audience.
• Parody - These types of videos either mock an existing video or a topic which is well known.
• Surrealist - It's used to express a movement which shows the creative potential and deeper meaning behind a song using unique images.
• Narrative - Its usually a video with a story line relating to the lyrics and genre of the song.