Link to group blog

This is the link to my group blog - Group 2

http://chchsgroup2a2media.blogspot.co.uk/

Evaluation Problems

After being given my feedback for my coursework, I decided to go back to my evaluation questions and rectify the problems based on the feedback. However I have not been able to improve my evaluation questions due to technical difficulties.

Question 1 was top mark band so I didn't have to make any changes to my question.

Question 2 needed a few changes but I couldn't access the video at all due to iMovie not saving the video on the projects. I searched the internet and couldn't find a way to find my video again so I could apply the changes.

Question 3 needed some work on the voice overs as I pronounced some words wrong and used other media language in the wrong context. However I went onto prezi to make these changes and it would not let me alter the voice overs. Every time I clicked on them it would freeze and crash my computer. This was also the case in the iMacs in sixth form.

In my final question I already had problems with the Video Scribe software and that is why the second half of the evaluation is presented on a Google Drive document. However my free trial expired after I had uploaded the evaluation so I couldn't access my video to make the altercations.

It has been very unfortunate that all of the evaluation questions have experienced problems that are beyond my capabilities to alter. This is something that I have to accept and try to raise my current marks through other blog posts.

'What will happen next? The role of Twitter and social networking sites' Discuss and write an overview of your findings.

Currently social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have integrated into society to become a factor into every day lives. Personally I check my social networking sites a couple of times a day, and this is just due to the generation I have grown up in and the advancements of technology over the past decade. 

I think that the popularity of social networking websites will continue to grow as even people from past generations are starting to create accounts on these websites. You can access them on computers, smart phones and tablets, showing the accessibility of these websites. However a film is due to come out called 'Unfriended' where a girl haunts the people who posted a video of her on Facebook which resulted in her taking her own life. I see this as a warning tale, emphasising the potential circumstances that can take place through social media abuse.

I think that social networking sites will soon become societies main outlet for communicating with friends and family. It will not be long till people stop communicating via telephone as pretty much everyone now-a-days has some form of social media in their lives if not multiple. 

Write an assessment on the conflicting issues involved in the freedom of the press vs the rights of the individuals to privacy given examples from stories in the media in recent times.

In the media in recent times there have been many stories surrounding the subject of privacy. We have seen news stories that have shown big conglomerates such as Rupert Murdoch violating the boundary between media and public in relation to privacy. Murdoch hacked into people's mobile phones to gain access to information that would be unobtainable to them through other legal methods of investigation. This relates to Maslow's theory of the six-level hierarchy of human needs. He ranks security and safety as the second highest need, other cognitive theories show that humans try to maximise stimulation such as exploration and curiosity. This can be used to explain Murdoch's actions despite his autocratic behaviour.

Lee Rigby is a solidier that was attacked and beheaded on the streets of London by two muslim extremists. When the BBC released the story to the public they shown CCTV footage of the incident, this is a violation of the privacy of the deceased. This is because they have shown the footage of his murder for all the world to see and his loved ones have seen this on the news, this is something that his loved ones should only have the access to. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this particular case. This story can be related to the Uses and Gratifications theory as BBC received significant negative press for their decision to air the footage and upset the family and friends of Lee Rigby. Their reactions shows that they have not restricted by their actions and have chosen to openly question the conglomerates decision to air such footage. The link also shows CCTV pictures that were taken which the BBC have also decided to make public. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-25448466#2

Another incident that was massive in British media was the Hillsborough disaster where 96 Liverpool supporters lost their lives at an FA cup semi-final. It was released in The Sun that Liverpool supporters were responsible for the deaths of the supporters and that they looted the bodies of the dead. This article publicly damaged the memories of the deceased, and the names of the people who died was made public. However this story opposes Herbert Marcuse's Effects model, as Liverpool supporters started a campaign called 'Justice for the 96' where they public fought those claims and also claimed a police conspiracy regarding what actually happened that day.

They pleaded for documents to be released which did prove that Margaret Thatcher covered up a conspiracy that was the police's fault that the supporters died. This prompted a release from The Sun apologising for the article they released after the incident. The people of Merseyside fought what the media told them and they prevailed, this has also led to The Sun newspaper being infamous in Liverpool and the people refuse to purchase the newspaper.

Sticking with Merseyside there has been a lot of publicity surrounded the murder of 2 year-old James Bulger. The youngest murderer in British history, Jon Venables has received a lot of publicity regarding the murder. It has been revealed that the government has spent £1 million on four separate secret identities for the murderer. Privacy is an issue with this case as it relates to Reception theory and recognises the audience as active. The public has used the information given to them from the media and have openly discredited the government for hiding the identity of one of the most infamous murderer's in the country. There was also big coverage and even more government criticism when it was revealed Venables was returning to prison for possession of child pornography. It recently came out that Venables claimed Bulger's mother is to blame for the toddlers death because she left him alone. The secret identity of the murderer has been breached more than once (evident through the fact he has had four identities) and emphasises that the life of this man will not be as private as the government would like it to be. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/james-bulger-killer-jon-venables-5038127

Finally one of the biggest British events of recent times is the London riots that arose after a policeman murdered an innocent civilian. This particular case coincides with Curran and Seaton's theory Power without responsibility. This explores the contrast between neophiliacs who welcome the change of new media technologies optimistically, and cultural pessimists who are sceptical to change. It was revealed in The Guardian that the main method of communication to organise the riots was social media. The police discovered conversations on Facebook and Twitter where rioters where organising where they were going to protest. However the main method of organisation was the BBM messaging service for Blackberry mobile phones.

This shows how the neophiliacs have embraced the new media technologies and used them to their advantage to orchestrate one of the biggest British riots in recent times. This relates to privacy as the rioters where actually hindered through their methods of communication as social media and instant messaging services store conversations on their database making it accessible to the authorities, despite reading personal messages being an invasion of privacy the police done so for the protection of the public and local businesses in comparison to Murdoch's motives; representing that there is a double standard dependant on motivation. http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/28/uk-riots-twitter-facebook

I think that there is evidence such as the Murdoch case that suggests that big media conglomerates abuse their power to infiltrate the privacy of the general public. However there is a double standard as police hacked into private instant messaging conversations to stop the riots that were being orchestrated in London. This is because I believe the intentions contrast as the police's motivation was democratic and Murdoch's autocratic however this can change dependant on personal perception. Additionally there is the case of Hillsborough where they refused to believe the stories in The Sun newspaper and protested until they got the justice that they fought for.

Lesson notes - Mr. Dougan

Network Neutrality - This is defined as the freedom to access any kind of content on the web, without the fear of restrictions. It is the principle behind the freedom that web users enjoy online.

Network Neutrality is important for:

• Growth
• Creativity
• Communication

It is not available worldwide as there are countries whose governments restrict their citizens' access for political reasons.

Network Neutrality is possibly in danger because there are companies who have interest in making sure that access to the web is not freely available.

The media is regulated to set limits to freedom which is the most basic principle of democratic societies. General justifications for regulation that help to reconcile it with principles of freedom and democracy.

There are six reasons for media regulation:

• management
• protection of public order
• protection of individual and sectional rights and interests
• promotion of the efficiency and development of the communication system
• promotion of access, freedom to communicate, diversity and universal provision
• maintaining conditions for effective operation of free markets in media services

Press, radio and television broadcasting were subject from the beginning to high levels of restriction. The general concept of social responsibility and public interest lies at the core of the broadcasting model. The main difference between systems that are within public ownership and control and those that operate commercially, but subject to licensing conditions and public scrutiny.

Main reasons for regulation are:

• to ensure universal availability
• to allocate frequencies and broadcasting concessions
• to ensure a wide range of services and access opportunities
• to promote high quality content
• to look after the best interests of the state

The broadcasting model covers two main type of system. One is the public service variant, the other consists of privately owned and financed systems.

The internet is the main new medium of our time. Despite this, for regulatory purposes it is treated primarily under the common carrier model and is subject to no particular regulatory regime of its own. It does not have guarantees of freedom like the press nor content regulations like broadcasting. One stems from its lack of central organisation. It is not owned by anyone, but many users of the same basic technology and infrastructure.

Media and communications regulation are among the most dynamic and exciting legal developments in recent years. The LSE Law Department is the leading edge in these fields.

The media now affects nearly every aspect of our lives. It influences the products we consume, via advertising; our understanding of the world via news and documentary; our leisure via film and broadcast fiction and games; our methods of communication via the internet. It is widely acknowledged that this dominance gives the media huge influence.

Ofcom are a UK media institution that has the responsibility of regulation. They have two areas of control which are:

• applying adequate protection for audiences against offensive or harmful material
• applying adequate protection for audiences against unfairness or the infringement of privacy

Using the three theories give examples using WE media - Mrs. McDonald

The Hypodermic Needle Model is a theory that suggests that all the information delivered through media "passes through the mass consciousness of the audience unmediated". The theory suggests that the audience believe everything that they are told in the media. The main example of WE media regarding this theory is North Korea.

The communist country restrict the amount of media that the citizens are allowed to access, they infamously murdered ten of their government officials for watching South Korean television. Also if you access the internet in North Korea and search the country you will only find positive sites that glorify the nation and propaganda, all negative websites are removed. This allows them to have control over the citizens and you can see how the Hypodermic Needle Theory relates to this country. The video below emphasises the oppression of the country in regards to media.

However the (Blumler and Katz) Uses and Gratifications theory opposes the Hypodermic Needle Model. This theory believes that the audience is active rather than passive, that individuals "use texts in different ways and the audience are no longer viewed as passive receivers". There are four identified needs of the audience that this theory employs and this can be linked in with WE media. If you take football (as it is documented and recorded around the world) you can apply each of the needs. 

The first one is entertainment and diversion this means that the audience view media as a form of escapism and watch football through television to forget the stresses of daily life. 

The second need is personal relationships/social interaction which allows the audience to socialise regarding events and in terms of football there is social media where people can voice their opinions the match or news involving the sport.

The third need is Personal Identity which means that the audience can compare their lives to the lives of characters or situations presented through the media. In relation to football the audience can compare their lives to those of the footballers and they can learn of their lifestyles through their social media accounts and the internet.

The fourth and final need is Information/Education this allows the audience to find out what is going in the world. Regarding football the audience can keep up to date through various methods such as television, radio, internet, newspapers and social media. This need relates to many forms of WE media.

The final theory is (David Buckingham) The Creative Audience. This theory suggests that young people are using the media as a "wallpaper" something to pass the time due to boredom. This theory relates to social media as nearly everyone has either a Facebook or Twitter account or both. They document things that happen in their lives onto the internet for all the world to see and this can be seen as a time passer and something to do because you are bored. 

Buckingham says that "young people use media to help make sense of their experiences". I think that due to the age that our generation have grown up in social media has become a part of our lives and I personally check my social media accounts daily. This video is an insight into the affect that social media has had on sociey.

How has WE media affected the traditional consumption of news - Mr. Dougan

This question heavily varies on age. Different age groups consume the news through their own methods. Traditional forms of news belong to newspapers, television and radio. As this is how previous generations have consumed the news.

According to Ofcom research, television and internet are the two most used platforms that people use to view the news. 48% of the UK population consume the news through television, this emphasises that traditional consumption platforms are continuously used to this day. However consumption of the news via television is declining according to Thomas E. Patterson. He suggests that this is due to the younger generation "moving to a different distribution" and this can be used to explain Ofcom's findings that 38% of the UK population consume the news through the use of the internet.

Internet however, can be partly responsible for the changes for what is viewed as traditional news consumption. The youth of today are a lot more impatient in comparison to past generations. The advancements in technology, such as smartphones, has delivered fast service at the click of a button. 3G and 4G internet allows people to access the internet anywhere they want, at any time showing that the news can be accessed anywhere. This means that they don't need to wait for the news segment to appear on the radio or go to the shops to purchase the daily newspaper. This is a massive factor in the decrease of traditional news consumption.

It can be argued that what is considered 'traditional' news consumption is questionable. Due to the age that we live in, technologies are developing fast and all new advancements are being made frequently. In 10 years time, what is now considered at the unorthodox methods to view the news such as through smartphones and the internet may be considered as the traditional ways to consume the news. 

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4 - Update

I have finished my answer to the fourth evaluation question in which I have used Video Scribe as the platform to present my answer. I am currently experiencing some technical difficulties in terms of publishing my video so I can display it on my blog. Sorry miss for the wait but this is something I have been trying to fix and hope to have the question on the blog by the end of the wait. Thanks for your patience.

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Theorists

Roland Barthes' theory of myth relates to my group tour poster. He believed that there are a widely accepted chain of concepts, throughout culture used to aid understanding of experiences. This relates to my media products as I had to consider this theory when creating the structure of the media product. This because there are certain concepts in the indie rock culture that I needed to apply to my products, to allow the audience to perceive the product as belonging to the indie rock genre.

This also relates Barthes' theory to Reception theory, as the success of my media products is massively dependent on audience perception. Stuart Hall identified three types of audience decoding:

• Dominant/Preferred
• Negotiated
• Oppositional

My products applies to the dominant/preferred denotation, this is because the preferred indie genre concepts need to be evident and visible on my media product to allow the target audience to identify with it. There are indie rock conventions that I ensured were applied to my work.

The Mise En Scene elements which are conventions to the indie rock genre is lighting. The lighting is utilised to enhance the mood of the media product, as the music video is dull and bleak because of the narrative, this is why the lighting is relatively dark.

This is the same with the colour scheme other indie rock artists use colours to represent the mood/theme of the song. This is evident through the black and white theme implemented throughout all of my media products to integrate conventions of the indie rock genre into my work.

There are borders around both of the products so that the text and the images are not too close to the edge of the products. This is something that it used by all designers of media products as it allows the piece to breath and adds depth to the product.

In relation to the camera work a convention of the genre is close-ups. This is to represent the emotions that the song are portraying through the facial expressions of the artist. As you can see on both the tour poster and the CD packaging, because I played the role of the artist I made sure that my facial expressions portrayed the emotions of the song.

Tour Poster and CD packaging Questionnaire

Music Video Questionnaire - For Final Product

Final music video and reasons behind decisions

This is the final music video for our group. We have applied a few minor changes to the prior version and are now fully satisfied, we have done all we can do to make the music video.

Reasons

Black and white theme: The black and white theme is something that we have implemented across all our products. The theme has a symbolic purpose. The song has a bleak meaning behind it and we explored this and found the theme was the best way to emphasise this.

The artist is going through his own personal turmoil and the black and white theme helps make the world look bleak and desolate. So this display of emotion is demonstrated through the black and white theme.

Camera angles and shots:

• Opening shot: This has been chosen as it shows (using an over-the-shoulder shot) the landscape. This contrasts with the artist and makes the artist look insignificant which is a recurring motif throughout the music video.
• First two shots: The long shot of the artist walking away and to the camera was inspired from Ed Sheeran's Lego House music video. As Nathan at the time wanted to do this song we decided that we would gain some inspiration from the music video.
• Bedroom shots: The first bedroom shot was to be directly related to the lyrics "worship in the bedroom" and we thought using one bedroom scene was pointless decided to use another for the chorus. To replace a shot that we were not particularly fond of.
• Church shots: We decided that the church would be one of the main locations for our music video, as it is a place where the artist can take solace and worship (as displayed in the music video). It is also directly related to the lyrics and the meaning we are portraying. 
• Albert Dock shots: We used several arc shots in this location. This is to emphasise the mindset of the artist as he is currently troubled. Also the medium shot of the artist on the bench is used to coincide with the acting to showcase the artists troubled mindset.
• Park shots: The original handheld shots help emphasise the artists mindset once again, as the shaking of the camera highlights that the artist is shaking with fear. The close ups are used to show the reaction of the artist, as well as to keep the audiences attention on the actions of the other actors. The close up when he has been beaten up is used for dramatic effect to show the result of the attack. 
• Finally the medium chorus shots are because we didn't want to direct the audiences attention away from the park. The fact that the artist is not beaten up in these shots was because we wanted to highlight the insignificance of the attack, the fact that nobody but him cares about what has happened.

Meaning behind music video: We have decided as a group to keep the reason that he is being persecuted as ambiguous. In the original music video the actors are being victimised for being homosexual, we decided to stay with this theme as we thought that the theme was an important subject. 

So through the meaning in our music video being ambiguous, the meaning becomes universal. It emphasises that anyone can experience hatred due to religious beliefs and the music video can be seen as embracing religion or challenging the beliefs, and we are leaving it for the audience to decide.

CD Cover Progression

Tour Poster Progression

Group Logo

I have created a logo for my group to use for our social media accounts the Youtube channel. This is something that anyone who follows the accounts can associate our group with.

This logo helps my group establish ourselves as a brand who are going to be marketing Hozier's music video, tour poster and CD release.

The design is simple as we have other things that we need to do, so we decided to keep it simplistic. The design is something that is just bold and says "Group 2" and this will soon be the logo for all our accounts.

My Final Album Packaging

My Final Tour Poster

This is the tour poster that I am going to show the rest of my group. Despite practising I have decided to include only the black and white effect to the image. This is because I personally thought that adding a filter to the image would not suit the style of the tour poster.

After conducting my research I decided to use 'The Vaccines' tour poster for most of the inspiration. As there is a white border behind the image and the text. I also considered changing the text of the venues to make it stand out more but it didn't suit well with the black and white theme.

Also the 'Tinie Tempah' tour poster influenced my decision to include both the logo (Hozier font at the top of the poster) as well as the image to represent the artist. I think that this is the best way to allow your target audience to associate the text with the artist, through implementing it on to all the products and accounts that we create.

The image of the artist has been positioned and sized so there is room down each side of the image, this gives the poster room and makes it look less congested. The same text that I have used on my personal CD packaging has been used so this as well as the logo for 'Hozier' are associated with the artist.

I have also including information for the target audience at the bottom of the poster. From the left is the number that they would have to ring to book tickets, the website that they can go on to either order tickets for gain more information about the tour. 

I have also included 'Group 2' and a copyright sign this is because we are using 'Group 2' as our brand and we are creating the products and music video. The copyright sign is so that everyone knows that the tour poster is a Group 2 production, that is why we also created a logo to represent the brand (check prior blog post).

Facebook and Twitter icons are on the right and this is so the target audience know that they can find information about the tour on both the social media website. The website will contain links to both accounts if they can't find them on their own.

Album Packaging

It is coming close to the time where my group have to produce our CD packaging. So I am going to look at different packaging and then make my own personal decision to put forward to the group.

5" CD wallet

This packaging is very simple where the packaging has a front and back and there is a opening on the side to pull the CD out. 

It is not the most ideal packaging as it is not big enough to  cover a full music album.

However it is lightweight so you can carry it around easily and is the most economically friendly. I don't think that this is the packaging I am going to suggest.

4, 6 & 8 panel wallet

This is the most ideal packaging for albums with more than one disc. It is also environmentally friendly and allows for a more unique design due to the size.

The cardboard also makes it easier for the packaging to be damaged.

However we are using one CD so there would be no use for the extra space in the packaging, so this will not be the packaging I will be using.

4, 6, 8 & 10 panel Digipack

There is a combination of cardboard and plastic to make the packaging modern and environmentally friendly. 

However I am not a fan of the plastic and cardboard combination and think that it is best to go with plastic.

This is a design that is something similar to what we wanted to do and I will consider it, to explore all options.

Jewel Case

This is the traditional packaging for albums and is cheaper than the digipack. I like the plastic look as the traditional style is something that can't go wrong.

It can be some what outdated but this design is something that all target audiences associate albums with.

I think that this is the packaging I am going to suggest to use as it is hard to go wrong with the traditional look that is proven to work.

Final Tour Poster Research

Soon myself and the rest of my group are going to show each other our tour posters, then we will compare each one and then create a final tour poster combining the best aspects of the individual designs.

In order to gain some inspiration in what I am going to try to do, I am going to look at three different styles of tour posters.

The Vaccines

The quality of the image is not great as it would not allow me to access the web page to get a higher quality image.

I like the fact that the image of the band have decided to use in the centre of the poster and has a white border.

The white title of the band also stands out on the black background and is positioned well. The white border around the date and location of the venue also fits in well with the design.

This design can help me with my own design as we are creating a black and white themed poster. I am going to use the borders around the text and the image in my tour poster and go with the same layout.

Tinie Tempah

This tour poster really stood out to me when I was looking through the posters on google images. I think that using the same text that is on the 'Discovery' album helps the audience to recognise the poster as the artists.

I think that the strip across the bottom informing the audience of when the sale is helps emphasise this as important and helps catches the eye of the target audience.

The glow around the artists image helps him stand out and makes him the main focus on the tour poster.

Using a different colour text for the venues where the artist will be playing separates the date of the event and the phone number the audience need to ring to book tickets. This gives the audience a chance to check whether the artist is playing in their local venue before ordering tickets.

I think that this poster is one of the most eye catching and unique that I have seen, and will use this as well as the original to look for inspiration.

Metamorfosis

This tour poster has been designed and approached differently than the prior tour posters.

The lack of image of the artist is a unique approach and they have used a logo to represent them. This makes me think whether I could use a combination of an image of the artist and the logo that we decided to represent him with.

The background and the flowers in each of the top corners gives the tour poster a unique design. This makes the tour poster more eye catching and is a different approach compared to a plain background.

The different colour of text for the band name also helps the band attract a wider target audience as people who have not heard of the band will instantly know what the name of the band is.

However this tour poster is not as specific as the other two. It just states '2012' and does not have any dates or any way of purchasing tickets for the tour. I don't think I will be using this tour poster to help me design my own.

E-safety

As I have created social media accounts and a Youtube account for my group I needed to consider E-safety in order to keep the personal details of myself and the rest of my group private.

The first thing that we need to consider is the content of what we are posting on the internet, we need to represent our group in a respectable manner. This means that we need to read over a post or look over a product before posting it on the internet for the world to see.

The second think I need to consider is privacy. I have created a group email address that is connected to each of the accounts we have created, this ensures that nobody can access any of our personal email accounts. 

I have also included an answer that only my group would know to the security question making it pretty much impossible for anyone to guess the password, and that is the same with the password to the accounts.

The privacy settings on the social media accounts are secure as you can see somebody's personal phone number and people who you don't know can contact you. I have made up a fake phone number so people will not be able to contact us through the number, protecting the privacy of my group.

Anti-virus software is on the computer/laptop of each group member so when we all try to post something from home, there will be nothing that can damage the computers.

Group Youtube Channel

I have created a Youtube channel for my group that we are going to use to publish our music video drafts onto. 

As is stands there is only one video and that is the my personal music video, I also need to create a logo for our group for all our pages (including Twitter and Facebook).

I have done this because this helps recognise my group as a brand and by having social media accounts as well as Youtube it means that we can publish music videos and social media posts as a group rather than on individual accounts.

Group Twitter Page

After creating the Facebook page I have decided to create a Twitter profile so that my group are on both of the internet's biggest social media websites. 

This account is more secure than the Facebook page because I have created it with the email that I created for the rest of my group to access for this account and the email address. We are going to create a hashtag to use for all of the tweets so it is something that the followers can once again associate our group with.

The logo that is going to be created for the Facebook page will also be used for the Twitter account. The link for the Twitter account is here https://twitter.com/chchsgroup2

Group Facebook Page

I have created a Facebook group on my personal account so that our group can post what is happening with our group. I have ensured that my account is locked to people who are not my friends in order to protect my privacy.

As a group we will need to create a logo for the Facebook page so that people who read the posts can associate our group with. We can now reach a wider audience and keep followers up to date on the music video and our other products.

The following link is to the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1533868146867381/

Moodboard for clothes used in music video

This is a mood board of the clothes I am wearing in our music video. 

This shows the theme of the black and white which we wanted to show in the music show with the obvious exceptions of the jeans and the grey t-shirt. However the clothes look black and white when we apply the filter to the music video.

My own personal music video

This my personal music video, I taken the footage that we originally had and added some additional footage to enhance the music video.

The second shot of the actor walking towards the screen was out of sync in the first video, so I re-shot the scene and now it is in sync.

I have also added a scene where he is praying in the bedroom because this directly relates to the lyrics at that point in the song.

I have also replaced one of the docks chorus scenes with one in the bedroom, this is so that we keep consistency in terms of locations in the music video. 

If we have only one bedroom scene in the music video it would make the audience wonder what is the point in the scene being in the video, so with the additional scene it adds the bedroom to one of our locations.

The bedroom is one of the locations that we said that we were going to film in the original planning of the music video. Also I think that it makes the video more interesting to watch as we are introducing them to a new location.

The first scene also allowed me to time lapse from the bedroom to the church through the use of a transition.

When we received feedback from the first music video, one of the comments was the fact that the actor seemed to be waiting for the gang to approach him and attack him. I was personally trying to make it look like the shock of seeing the gang and tried to make this evident through the fact that he stands there frozen.

However I considered the feedback and zoomed in on the gang when they are talking and zoomed out when they approach the actor, which makes the acting look more fluent.