Creating our Digipak

this is our Digipak cover and back, we are really pleased with the outcome, we toyed with lots of different layouts for the tracks but finally settled with this one as it is simply, clear to read, yet still conforming with convention, which we are pleased about. 

Creating our magazine advert

When creating our magazine advert we spent a lot of time deciding on what photo to use, in the end we decided to use the same photo as out album cover so it was instantly recognizable to our band, we kept the same typography for 'dirty paws' and 'of monsters and men', this follows conventions we've seen in adverts that i've analysed previously and was always something jack and I wanted to use when creating our print.

We decided to use a black back ground as thats what is featured on our album, so again, we are giving our brand a recognizable style.

Filming

Jack and I are trying to find a date that we can go filming with both of our actors, we estimate we will go filming on friday the 22nd November

Our Animatic Storyboard

This is our animatic story board, it features rough lengths of shots we wish to use. 

Storyboard

This week we are creating our animatic story board, we are using images from our drawn story board and scanning them into my computer, and placing them over the music and letting the images show for however long we believe the shot will be.

Editing the music

Whilst creating our animatic story board we realised the song didnt kick in fast enough for the type of music video we wanted to make so ive spent sometime editing the song to make it a little shorter and also to kick in a little quicker so the video we make will get underway a little quicker than it did previously making it more interesting to watch. First you must select the razor tool, select the part of the song you wish to cut, delete it, go into effects, audio transitions, cross fade, and it will insert its own way to make the two parts of the song connect

Song lyrics

Jumping up and down the floor,
My head is an animal.
And once there was an animal,
It had a son that mowed the lawn.

The son was an ok guy,
They had a pet dragonfly.
The dragonfly it ran away
But it came back with a story to say.

Her dirty paws and furry coat,
She ran down the forest slope.
The forest of talking trees,
They used to sing about the birds and the bees.

The bees had declared a war,
The sky wasn't big enough for them all.
The birds, they got help from below,
From dirty paws and the creatures of snow.

And for a while things were cold,
They were scared down in their holes.
The forest that once was green
Was colored black by those killing machines.

But she and her furry friends
Took down the queen bee and her men
And that's how the story goes,
The story of the beast with those four dirty paws.

Mood Board

My mood board displays vintage type photos which is the type of video we want to make, a lot of the mood board features wood land which is where we are filming our video as we feel its very mysterious and very beautiful as we want some landscape panning shots in the video. The main colour of the moodboard is sepia as we think it gives it the video a warm vintage feel.

Questionnaire results

Prezi on our questionnaire

The Questionnaire

Digipak Analysis - Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons - Night Visions

Usually in many artists digipacks the band/singer is dominating the front cover but this is not the case with this digipack. This could possibly be because Imagine Dragons hadn't had the globally success that they are enjoying today and so sought no reason to put themselves on the front cover unlike other artists like Rihanna who would be dominate her front cover because she is such a globally star that audiences would buy her album just because she is signing it. Most of the colours on the front cover are desaturated and so this makes the plain white text contrast very well with the background and so makes it very clear to the audience what the name of the album and band is. The Artwork is very surreal, as it shows a young boy standing on a plinth which is surrounded by other plinths which appear to be in the clouds, and so this gives this album a mystery feeling to it. This mystery atmosphere that the digipack creates makes the viewer want to know more about what type of music Imagine dragons create and so will eventually listen to the music.

The back cover of the Night visions digiback is very simple with just a simplistic list of the songs that are included in the album. The songs stand out to the audiences eye because of the contrasting colours used. The CD is very similar to the back cover as it is a very simplistic design with just the name of the band and album name on show. I believe that the band have gone with 'less is more' with there digipack as if they go with a more artistic design for the back cover and CD, they run the risk of overwhelming the audience.

Digipak analysis - Chris Brown

Fame - Chris Brown

Unlike the Imagine dragons digipack, the Fame album front cover is dominated by the artist which is Chris Brown. In the main image the artist is staring right into the viewer and so this makes the audience feel some what intimidated and so forcing the viewer to buy the product. Also the artist has a look of confidence on his face which tells the audience that this album is good. His facial expression is also stern which could be linked to the persona of the artist as having a strong masculine side and doesn't want to be seen in any other way. Also the montage of images that are displayed on the front cover are in a graffiti style drawing which connotes the urban style of music that Chris Brown creates. Also the clothing that the artist is wearing, such as caps and casual clothing, is common with the hip hop genre. What also attracts the audiences attention, other than the main image of Chris Brown,  is the use of colour. The images used are all extremely colourful which makes it stand out on the shelf from other digipacks such as the desaturated colour of Imagine Dragons 'Night Vision' digipack. The saturated colours appeal to the albums target audience which tends to be mainly younger audiences such as 14-20. The typography is consist as it is used on both the front cover and the CD. The title 'F.A.M.E.' stands out even with a chaotic background because of its contrasting colours, but also with its capitalised and large font its hard to miss.

Compared with the front cover, the back cover is much more simplistic with just one image and the track list by the side of it. The back cover is more simple because the artist wants you to focus on the songs rather than the artwork and also if similar images that were used on front cover were used on the back it could become some what overwhelming for the audience. The back cover seems to contrast how the viewer sees the artist as on the back we see him with a much smarter look which could be connoting the idea that with fame comes different perceptions of someone. The artist in the image is also wearing a mask which could give the audience an insight into what fame does to someone and that sometimes the stars don’t want to be in the spotlight and want to hide away. Furthermore the pink background makes the artist (who is wearing black) and also the black text stand out to the audience.

Lastly the CD is also much more simplistic compared to the front cover. There stands an image of the artist which is in black and white which contrasts well with the white background and also connotes sophistication which could be what Chris Brown wants the audience to think of him. There is also continuity within the digipack as the graffiti style font has been used for both the 'Chris Brown' and the 'F.A.M.E.' but the colours have been changes so that it can contrast with the background.

Advert Analysis - Yeezus

The Yeezus advertisement is a really great example of an advert that stays within the conventions of a typical advertisements but pushes the forms in terms of its genre.

Its genre is typically rap but it is fairly mainstream so I’d class it as Indie Rap. The photograph used of the album makes it extremely clear what they’re advertising, the reminder of the fact they’re selling an album and the fact the photograph has a label saying ‘Yeezus’ on it, it is again pushing the album further by reminding the audience.

This is the only magazine advertisement I wanted to use that had colour in as it pushes conventions of a typical advertisement but in such a subtle way that it discreetly attracts your attention to the album name. This is something I really want to think about when creating my advertisement as the entire thing in black and white I don’t feel shows any quirkiness which is what Jack and I are looking to promote in our advertisement.

The typography on the advert is excellent as it gives it a fresh and grime genre like vibe, and pushes the albums artistic side by using paint which is commonly used by artists. The 3 main points that stand out are ‘Yeezus’ ‘Kanye West’ and ‘June 18’ even though they are all the same font they are slightly bigger which is smart as these are what an perspective buyer will be looking at, who its by, what it’s called and when it’ll be released. This advert has more information than others I have analysed but it is still in manageable amounts, there’s not too much there but if there were any more it would be too crowded. I will keep this in mind for when I create mine as the last thing I wish to do is overcrowd a poster as a consumer will lose interest immediately.

Advert Analysis - Birdy

The first thing that you see on the page is the artists name, Birdy, which I really like as the consumers interest is immediately peaked if they recognise the name, the typography of the name is very soft and feminine whilst maintaining a strong feel with the straight edges this mood reflects beautifully in the photograph used.

Her expression in the photo is not one of happiness but quite a solemn one. Your attention isn’t immediately drawn to any part of her face which allows the consumer to take the photo in as a whole, alongside the black and white filter on the photograph. The black and white in this advert as opposed to the Two Door Cinema Club advert I previously analysed doesn’t connote a vintage mood but in fact emphasises the solemn mood and image to make it that bit more emotionally appealing. The use of black and white in our advert is something we should definitely consider as it connotes the same theme as we were going for and also creates what I believe to be a very modern and current looking advertisement.

The minimalistic qualities to the advertisement allows a consumer to not be over whelmed with the information being thrown at them, but instead allows them to actually take in the information presented to them. The typography in the album name ‘Fire Within’ is extremely quirky yet still understandable which perfectly connotes their genre of music, which is Indie Pop, the image of Indie Pop is to be a little bit quirky and different, but it is still music to be enjoyed by all. It also gives the album a sense of individuality.

As I noted in my last analysis this advert is not aimed at a new audience, the minimalistic elements to it show that the creator of this is relying on people to have already heard of Birdys music and her new album release as they are not obviously giving away any details on anything, where to buy the album, its genre, price, nothing. This is something we’d have to carefully consider conforming to when creating our advertisement, what is too much and what is too little?

Advert Analysis - Two Door Cinema Club

The typography for the band’s name is typical of the band its self, this typography is used on all albums/ posters/ tours and any advertisement for the band, I think this is a convention that we should definitely look into using as it gives our fans something that makes us instantly recognisable.

The style of picture they use on the advertisement perfectly complements the style of the band, the black and white slightly grainy ‘vintage’ looking image connotes the sound of the band in an artistic and fun way. The amount of different things going on in the picture will make people stop and look at the poster as it isn’t an image you can absorb in just a glance which is a great advertisement technique to peak people’s interests.

The style of clothing in the photos fits with the fact they are advertising a vinyl which is typically a vintage thing so using the clothing and mise-en-scene from that era will attract those that are interested in that era and/or that style of clothing, the only disadvantage to this image is that it doesn’t impact on the audience there’s nothing to immediately attract you to the poster if you didn’t already know the band already, so they are not really advertising for a new audience but only to their existing fan base.

I personally think there are certain forms and conventions in this poster that I could use on mine but we would need a more exciting background colour to bring it to life, as we wouldn’t be advertising to an already existing fan base, but entirely new fan base which will need to instantly grab their attention when flicking through a magazine.

Advert Analysis - Plan B

Firstly what really catches the eye when a viewer first looks at this advert is the masthead as it is written in large, red, bold letters, which create a huge impact. Also it’s planted at the very top of the advert and so this makes the viewer notice it straight away. What is also very eye catching is the album name ‘The Defamation Of Strickland Banks’ as the choice of having it in bold white makes it contrast hugely with the black background. What also makes it stick out is that each word of the album title is listed separately, which then makes the readers eyes move down the page to the critic review ‘The Multi-Platinum Album Of The Year’ along with other album reviews. The album reviews have been added to the advert to show the audiences how it has been critically acclaimed and so this persuades the viewer to buy the album as they have been told how good it is. 

The main image is of the artist Plan B. The image captures the artist looking across to album reviews and so makes the audiences look at the acclaimed reviews. The image is in black and white and so fits in with the vintage look that Plan B is pulling off with his classy suit and the old fashioned microphone. The black and white of the image also links in with the album title as ‘defamation’ means the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual. Lastly the production companies are seen at the very bottom right of the page and in very small text so that it doesn’t take the focus away from the album itself.

Music Advert Analysis - Lungs

The shock tactic is used in this advert to catch the audiences attention as we see the artist wearing a pair of lungs as a neckless which is not something the viewer would see everyday. Thats also a clear visual link between two main elements of advert, as the image shows lungs and the title of the album is called 'LUNGS'. The adverts typography makes it very clear for the audience to read as the white coloured font of the text contrasts nicely with the dark background. Also using different font for the bands name makes it stand out from the rest of the text. The colour of the font and also the italic font of the album title makes the advert appear sophisticated which matches the older aged target audience that the genre rock/soul pulls in. Furthermore the artist is laying in flowers and this makes the artist seem relaxed which matches the soul genre and also connotes that singing, for the artist, is effortless. The inclusion of the natural colours and natural background makes the reader perceive the artist has a natural voice. This advert follows the conventions that audiences would normally see with an advert as it shows: the artists name, the album name, the release date, how you can buy the album and the artists website.

Music Video Analysis 6 - Applause

I have chosen to do applause because its very unique and the opposite of what i would like to do but still very interesting to watch. What makes this music video very unique is that its 'all over the place' and doesn't have any relationship with the song. As Lady Gaga is known for her unique taste in costumes, it is no surprise to the audience when they see the singer Lady Gaga dressed in many 'different' costumes while miming the words. The video is made up of a montage of Gaga in different costumes doing different things, such as at the start of the video we see the singer standing in a massive top hat and also seeing a frighting green Gaga standing in a human sized bird cage. The song 'Applause' is very fast paced, as its a pop song, and so the video is manly made up of many short takes of Lady Gage singing, which means that there is never a stage where the audience get bored because they are never seeing something for a long time.

Furthermore what also works in this music video is the colour and lighting. Throughout the piece there is a black background and then Lady Gaga is seen dressed in a contrasting colour such as green, yellow and white, also for some scenes the image is black and white but because the singer is showing a lot of skin she is clearly seen contrasting with the background. This pulls the audiences focus on to Lady Gaga throughout the whole piece.

In my opinion even though the shots are strange and unique it still draws the audience in because they want to see what other madness Lady Gaga brings to the music video. It is clear to see that Lady Gaga uses the shock factor in her music video, as we see her head computer generated on to a black swans body... and so this makes the audience keep on watching because it is entertaining. Lastly the miming works well in this video as its all in time but in my opinion it would be a mistake for me to have the main character mime because i believe that it can only be pulled off and look good enough if it is done professionally.

Music Video analysis 5 - Paradise

I have chosen to evaluate Coldplay's hit 'Paradise' as there genre is simliar to that of Of Monsters and Men, which is Alternative. What makes this video eye catching is the fact that there is a person dressed in an elephant costume walking around places like the London underground and Heathrow airport. As Coldplay is one of the biggest bands on the planet there budget would be big so that they can film in places such as the African plaines and tropical islands and so by using many establishing shots, the audience see's some beautiful pictures. This video is unusual because seeing a man dressed in an elephant costume walking around is not something you would not normally see but for this video the 'weirdness' works in its favour because people want to understand what is happening and so will see it through till the end. As the elephant doesn't have any changing facial expressions close ups are very rarely used and so mid shots and long shots are the more frequent seen in this video because the viewer can see how this character is feeling by his body language, for example when the elephant shakes the cage the audience can tell that he is frustrated and wants to get out. Another aspect of the video which works well is the relationship between the pace of the music and the pace of the takes, so when the music is slow and calm the audience see's longer takes and then when the music picks up pace, shorter takes are then used. Lastly what also makes this video a success is that it is aimed at all audiences and so more people will watch and spend money on this song.

Even though the video appears unusual, the audience still understand a story through this 'elephant' which is that he is trying to find love and is going many miles to find it and in the end he does, which would please the audience as everyone loves a happy ending. And so this is similar to what i want to do in my music video as i want to tell a story and not necessarily through the characters facial expression but through the environment and the situation.

Music Video Analysis 4 - High Hopes

I have chosen to analysis this music video because it fits with the idea of a storyline in the music video but also the genre of Alternative is the same. High hopes is a beautifully crafted sad song that gradually builds to a loud and emotionally charged finished.The track is made up of many different montages showing the story between a man and a woman, leading up to both characters being shot by an angry ex boyfriend, who she left to be with this other man. At the start of video the main character tries to kill himself by poisoning himself. His car sits in the middle of a murky field in the middle of winter or autumn time (as he is wearing a jumper and all the leaves have fallen of the trees). This represents a depressing and cold time for the character. The sad atmosphere is built by the constant close ups of the characters as the audience can see the clear emotion of each character. So for example in the first scene there is a close up of the main character sitting in his car with poison coming into his car. The close up shows the audience the blank and emotionless face that the main character has even though he is killing himself, this creates a depressing atmosphere helped by the slow tempo of the music.As this is a music video dialogue can not be used and so thats why cinematography is very important in telling the story and so the two shots, close ups, mid shots etc succeed in doing this. Also throughout the video slow motion is used. The slow motion makes the whole video more effective as the audience get to see the emotion of each character and more importantly the relationship between the two main characters.Another aspect of the video that is effective in showing the love between the two characters is that it repeats certain scenes in which both characters show that they are happy with each other, for example when they are sitting around the table both looking into each others eyes smiling.

In conclusion this song has a major effect on the viewer because of the beautiful relationship between the song and the video. This is what i want the music video that i create to be like as i feel like the use of slow motion and a montage is moving, powerful and will stick in peoples minds for a very long time.

Music Video Analysis 3 - Summertime Sadness

When watching this video I noticed that a majority of the shots are short takes, this gives the video a fast moving feel even though the song its self is slow. This is a convention we will definitely want to conform to with our music video as we feel it will really emphasize the emotion of the song. There is no continuity when it comes to the editing of the video, it is a series of shots strung together to make a vaguely understandable narrative, but the emphasis isn't in the narrative side of the video or the performance side but more the artistic land scape shots which break up the narrative to create the mood of the video, also the filter used on the videos create the vintage and sad lost emotion shown in the narrative sides of the video.

The iconography of the video conforms to conventions by the clothing worn in the video matching the vintage sound and look of the rest of it, this isn't something that we will do in our video, we want it to look more modern but with the sound of an older song, to create an interesting contrast.

There is a lot of smoke used in the video, it is used to cloud the performers face and create a haze, depicting the haze of emotions felt through out the song and also giving it that quirky feel that is a common convention in the indie pop genre.

Music Video Analysis 2 - Your Song

The video begins with short clips with a sepia type filter of things such as feet, a train ticket, leaves etc. these are all filmed with a lower quality, on what I assume is a hand held camera because of the way its been filmed and the camera angles used, the camera is also shown in a later shot. The mix of video qualities gives what's being filmed with them very different emotions, the handheld filtered clips feel more friendly and loving, where as the higher quality clips show every thing for what it actually is, you see the raw emotion in the clips. I think the use of two different clip types is something we could look into but may be difficult because of the types of cameras we have access to.

Just as in the Lana Del Rey video I analysed previously the use of scenery shots is apparent, giving you a warm sense of home as the emotion in this video is the opposite of the last, this is filled with love and the use of the warmer autumn coloured filters awards the video consumers a happy feeling when watching, it gives them a sense of love and calm.

The video shows brief clips on Ellie and a friend, giving the video a vague narrative, but not centring the video around it, i'm not sure whether this form is something that can work in my own video, it depends which emotion we would like our video to show. Depending on the emotion we will experiment with different filters on our clips to see if its something that can work on our video.

Music Video Analysis 1 - Holocene

Bon Iver - Holocene

The video begins with a close up image of a young boy, at this moment there is no music playing, immediately you are given a sense of innocence as he is asleep, and sleep is the most innocent state a human can be in. We plan to start the video with an establishing shot of the grounds of the hotel we plan to film at.

They use lots of different types of light to light the shots, but its all natural which is an element I really would like to use in our video as ours will mostly be filmed outside so we can get beautiful landscape and scenery shots.

The natural light also contributes to the way you view the protagonist, he is shown again as pure and it exaggerates his child like innocence.

The video is all in slowed motion, not so slow it disrupts the flow of the video but it creates a more emotional feel to the video, it allows a consumer to feel as it reflects the speed of life around them

There are many establishing shots of the scenery giving the view that the young boy is so small in comparison to his surroundings.

He is shown running/throwing stones, climbing and playing through out the video but always alone, allowing a consumer to make up their own story about what's happening in the video instead of just giving them a set story that leaves no room for imagination.

Although there is no narrative there is still an emotion behind the video which allows you to remember your childhood fascination and discoveries as he is discovering his.

Possible song choices!

Ellie Goulding - Your Song (remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF_R379mk98

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (remix)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ3UJKxeFco

Mt. Eden - Sierra Leone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16bRiH5zfOY

Research Into Similar Media Texts

For my research i will analyse 3 magazine adverts, 3 music videos and 3 digipaks to see the typical forms and conventions and whether i wish to conform to them.

New idea!

I have changed partners in the project as me and my last partner wanted to do different ideas which we couldnt make work together whereas my new partner and i have very similar ideas and believe we will work well together.

We have chosen a song;

Dirty Paws - Of Monsters and Men

and our concept for our video is a dreamscape narrative with artistic styling, our genre is indie pop so for my analysis i will analyse videos and digipaks and magazine adds that fit with the genre

Initial ideas!

My partner and I are going to be doing a music video along with the digipak and poster! We're looking at two main genres of music but are looking to create similar videos. The kind of video we're going for is a dreamscape with some arty shots thrown in, we want to create a video that is unique and will be enjoyable to watch. The genre of music we're looking at is either current slow music such as Lana Del Rey or Ellie Goulding or house music such as Mt. Eden.