Digipak analysis

Font/Typography: The font is very simple and minimalistic. 'R I H A N N A' and 'L O U D' are in white this could signify the pure imagine she is trying to promote. By having limited writing this does not distract the audience from the bold picture on the digipak. The writing could also be seen as very feminine and elegant which would target a more feminine audience. The word 'Loud' could connote from this digipak that Rihanna is projecting her power and emotion through the image by her body language and facial expression. 

Colour choices/Image: The image on this digipak represents a lot of emotion said power through the colours. For example red signifies love but can also signify fear. Rihanna had just changed her image which could signify she has changed the passion in her songs and the meaning. The close up of her face makes sure the audience is forced on her. Her red hair and lipstick makes her stand out from the crowd and be a bold female much like her real personality. The bold lipstick also supports the conventions of pop music. The CDs have a very elegant pink rose pinted on them to enforce the emotion she is trying to project to her fans with passion and love.

Colour: The colour used in this digipak are different shades of blue. Blue signifies sadness and cold emotions. But all titles are in red which goes against the cold effect being given of as red connotes love or danger. The audience could conclude that James Blunt is trying to represent he is sad because of love? There are also pictures printed in yellow and white. This could be to make the main picture of James blunt stand out more and white is seen as a pure/fresh colour.

Wording: The wording used on this very limited on the front cover "James Blunt, back to bedlam" This is so the audience can focus on James because on the back it is a list of songs featured but still follows the blue, sad theme. Who the album was produced by but the boarder around it also links with the theme. 

Font: The font used on the front of the digipak is clear, simple but indie because the letters are not plain they almost curl. On the back the font looks like an older style of writing this might connote to the audience that this album is targeted at an older audience. 

Choice of Images: James blunt is on the front and CD cover but is seen in a abstract design. There is also a selection of silhouettes this create a indie/arty atmosphere. This would also have a impact on what audience this album is being aimed at. 

Abuse

In our music video we decided to follow a story line which involved the use of abuse towards a women. For example when josh grabs alix by the arm and turns her around. 

we decided to do this as it goes against the original music video even thought he is looking out for her in the origanal the words still reflect our idea because "i wont let go". We have interpreted this in another way. "I wont let go" meaning he physically wont let go of her. From research i found out that women tend to be scared of there partnerer and live in fear of what they will do if they was to leave them. Throughout the whole music video we can see alix is getting abused over time it gets worse and worse.

Josh (our male actor) gets more angry over a period of time not only destorying Alix's life and controlling her but he starts to destoy his own life because he feels as though she is slipping away. 

This is what tends to happen in real life the partner will get more aggressive and make there partner more scared and feel as though they have to stay with them to make them happy. 

At the end of the music video we see Josh walk away all smug as he does get his own way and Alix is still trapped in a toxic relationship. 

Time line of iconic music videos

Before making my prezi i was unable to open my own prezi account therefore my peer (Beth Roostan) allowed me to use hers to make my prezi. Sorry for any inconvenience.

FINAL MUSIC VIDEO

The music video below is our final draft. Filmed, cut and edited.

conventions of a music video

Conventions of a music video vary due to the genre of the song. But in this blog post i am going to be writing about the trypical conventions of a music video starting with the: 

• Camera shots/ Movement: Music videos conventionally use long shots, close ups and mid shots. This is for the audience to establish the location used, what emotions are being represented and what role the artists takes during the song. Close ups are normally used in a music video signify the emotions and reflect the words in the music video and regularly used to identify the lip syncing. Conventionally the camera movement will be focused on the artist to gain full attention from the audience. camera movements regularly include tilts, pans, tracking shots and crane shots.

 
 

• Editing: When it comes to editing jump cuts are typically use. This is because this allows the song to move at various paces. For example if the cuts are fast the pace of the song should be fast unless they are intentionally being unconventional. Jump cuts also allows the music video to move from one location/scene to another. Other conventional editing techniques are fade (tends to be at the end of a music video) cross dissolve to establish two people have a relationship with in the music video. 
• Narrative structures: Stuctures also depend on the genre of the song for example a pop song would usually have a story line to follow where as a garage song might not be concept based.
• Costumes: Costumes are used to signify different characters in the music video and reflect the genre of the song. But the outfit they are wearing will potray what they are trying to represent. for example in katy perry's music video this would be conventional for pop songs because of the bright colours used. But in rap music videos you would expect to see them wearing big gold chains, baggy trousers and black clothing.

• Locations: The location in a music video is to connote where the artits is and  what they are doing. But locations also depend on the genre of the music video much like the costumes. For example if the loctaion was on a beach, a party.These things give a feel good vibe and would full under a hip-hop genre where as if it was in a dark basement this may fall under rock. 

Rough Draft

Contributors release forms

These release forms allow us to use and publish our work as the actors have given us the permission to do so.

Audience feedback

We decided to get some audience feed back.   

Half term.

Over the half term we planned to meet up three times over the week that we had off. But when it came to the days of filming our actor Josh was unable to film due to other commitments. This left us in a difficult position as we need him in every scene. This makes us as a group re think our decision when changing our actor. We have formally spoken to Josh about his lack of commitment. But as we have done more than half of our filming we are unable to change our actor. 

Lip Syncing

This is a shot clip of Josh practicing up syncing before we asked him to be apart of our music video. This was his audition to see if he was worthy and not embarrassed of lip syncing into the camera. This also enabled us to see if he learnt the song within the time we gave him.

Analysising a music video

Fetty Wap - 679 

 

• A mid- shot is being used at the beginning of this music video with Fetty and two ladies walking through to establish where they are going. Fetty walking with two ladies might also connote that he is using them in a over sexualised way (which supports the Madonna whore theory/Laura Mulvey theory because the girls could be seen as a male gaze) or as a trophy. 
• "hey man, wheres your suit man" represents that they are tying to be prestige and that it is an exclusive event. There are also two security guards that supports this. In this music video the security guard are dressing in black which could connote danger/authority. 
• When Fetty and the two girls walk through a mid shot is used and the audience is presented with a house full of people this could support maslows hierarchy of needs because by having a lot of people turn up to your party makes you have a sense of belonging and boost your self esteem. 
• The title "679" has been edited to flicked on screen during the music video for 4 seconds this could be a way if making the pace of the music video faster and seem more chaotic. 
• Low lighting is used in the music video as well which suits the location (a party) but it also makes it seem more mysterious. 
• A shot reverse shot is used to signify Fetty is looking at a blonde lady wearing revealing clothes (Supporting Mulvey- Male gaze) By using this shot the audience can identify that Fetty is focused on this lady in particular. 
• Fetty and his friends are also drinking from the bottle this could represent rebellious behaviour this could encourage Fetty's target audience to follow his actions and see this as something "cool". 
• The 4th wall in then broken by Fetty and the blonde lady this engages the audience and makes them feel apart of the music video. 
• "sipping on some likes of fine wine though" When this part of the song is sung Fetty acts this out the lyrics. 
• Fetty also uses his signature quite "17 38" this is Fetty's trade mark and says this in every video he has produced. 
• "Press Rewind though" editing has been used to actually rewind the music video a few seconds back. This collates with the lyrics being sung and makes it more interesting to watch. 
• "Tell me what you see is it money or is it me" This connotes that all people think about in this music video is money and just how much money they have and could be using them for there money. 
• A long shot is then used to connote 3 girls on a bed with there hands all over one male. The male is also holding a lot of money in this hands the girls are also being very over sexualised with bra and knickers on this may appeal to a male as a women might be offended in how women are being presented in this music video. 
• The male is also wearing red. Red is seen as a sexual colour and connotes love but could also connote danger. 
• Red lighting is also used to set the scene this could link with the red light district. As the girls are also half naked. 
• Flashing lights are used to pick up the pace of the music video. 
• Two people also walk out from the toilet together with the accusations they have just had sexual intercourse. This could be seen as a norm at a party and the right this to do. 
• "Hashtag. Zoo gang" was edited into the music video this could also support Maslows hierarchy. 

James Morrison History

James Morrison: 
James Morrison (born James Morrison 13 August 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rugby, Warwickshire. 

  

James Morrison falls under the music genres of soul, pop and rock. James has been producing his own music since 2006.  He achieved worldwide success with single "You Give Me Something", which reached No. 2 in the

Netherlands and the No. 5 spot in the UK.

Label records James have been apart of Polydor/interscope island/ Universal Republic 2011 - Present.

James currently has 4 albums: 

• Undiscovered (2006)
• Songs for you, truths for me (2008)
• The awakening (2011)
• Higher than here (2015)

As a teenager he started busking when he lived in Porth, Newquay, Cornwall, in a local pub called the Phoenix. After some years of covering other musicians' songs, he eventually started to write his own music. He attributes his distinctive voice to a severe bout of whooping cough that nearly killed him when he was a baby.

According to Morrison, he was influenced by music from a very young age, listening to artists such as Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Van Morrison and Al Green. Morrison said that the first time he heard Stevie Wonder's voice he was close to tears, and has since been fascinated by the way he utilizes his voice. James Morrison has worked with popular artist Jessie J for the song "Up". Jessie J's music tends to be more upbeat where as Morrison creates more soul music with a slow rhythm.   

In 2007 Morrison was nominated for 3 BRIT Awards and won the Best British Male Solo Artist category. 

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Morrison_(singer)

Song choice

Why did we choose this song?

We decided to go with this song because we wanted an element of the pop genre  which this song falls into however we didn't want a song from a really mainstream artist like Rita Ora, Rihanna and Jessie J- James Morrison has more soul to his voice and therefore it differentiates him to other artists. Also, the target audience we would suggest, for the majority of his songs isn't young people aged 14-18 therefore we wanted to take one of his songs, make it more narrative based by interpreting the lyrics in a different way with the intent that we would attract a younger audience because of the issues addressed.

We took into account that because it's a slow song about love and relationships, when we recreate the video with our own take on it, it may come across as cringe-worthy because it's not going to be a professionally made music video. However, with an idea of the visuals we want hopefully we will achieve the desired effect on the audience successfully.

What genre/s does your song fall into?

The song we have chosen falls into the pop/rock genre, this means the song is of a hybrid genre, as well as the other songs that James Morrison has written and sang. By taking a song from this genre it allows us to incorporate a wide range of conventions and elements as well as further challenging them and making the music video unique to our ideas and aspirations. 

What genre signifiers are in the existing video?  

• In terms of camera shots, like in the majority of most music videos, particularly that of the pop genre, there is a lot of close-ups of the artist singing.
• This video contains both performance elements and has a narrative structure running throughout- this is also common in pop music videos.
• in pop/rock videos the clothing that the artist/band wears is usually fashionable but not as revealing as in pop videos, and not as dull and dark as in rock videos. Usually the members are dressed quite casually, in jeans and t-shirt. They usually look quite laid back and you can see by their facial expressions of how passionate they are for their music. This can be applied to the music video above.
• The artist/band normally are seen performing in a studio, stage and sometimes outdoors. The location is usually lit up well via ambient lighting. There are usually close ups of their instruments when they are performing, which helps to show their passion for their music, and also again how natural it all is- this applies more to the rock genre and these images are not in the music video which suggests it contains more conventional elements of pop rather than rock.

schedule

This is a schedule that we wish to stick to as a group in order to get as much filming done as we can while all of our members and actors are free. This Schedule was put together by looking at our school time tables and arranging when we was free out of school hours.

Changing Characters

When making decisions on our characters we thought that our original actor wasn't best suited for our particular music video. Therefore we decided to change them. Our main character is still a male aged 17. But Sonny our new actor looks more of the part. He looks more indie rather then mainstream like our old actor. Our old actor couldn't fit in our filming schedule as he works 8-5 and we would need to film in the day time and various other times. He would also be unreliable and may not do the things that we ask of him for example.

• Lip syncing
• breaking the 4th wall
• Be up close with another character

After changing our character once before we decided to change our character/actor again, as when we got audience feedback from what they think of our music video and what ideas they thought we should do. Our audience feed back also told us that Sonny (our previous actor) would not be able to make the expressions and complete tasks that we ask of them. 

Lyrics

Lyrics By Chelsie Godfrey 

Draft of story board

This is a draft of our story board. We have decided to use a wide range of camera shots and angles throughout our music video. This is not our final story board and we will be making a final one that is more detailed but for now this is just a rough guide line. 

Strengths and weaknesses of our previous work

In our AS piece we came across some strengths and weaknesses. 

Weaknesses: 

• Some of our weakness were finding a time when all of us could film and making sure our actors could make it. 
• When it came to editing we all edited our piece together therefore we all had to agree on a certain effect. For example some thought we should have the colour fading out at the end of our credits but in the end we agreed to have it in black and white to connote the fear and suspense. 
• Sometimes when filming it would become quite dark and if we had redo some shots we would have to make sure we had the same brightness. 

Strengths:

• No one complained about the schedule once times and dates were finalised. 
• We all agreed on the story line and liked each others ideas and compromised. 
• We used a range if locations in order to keep our audience entertained. 
• We also used a variety of camera shots and angles to capture everything we needed. 
• The music we had running through the whole piece added affect and created an creepy effect. 

Andrew Goodwin Theory

Andrew goodwin theory By Chelsie Godfrey 

Equipment / Props List

In order to produce our music video we will need a selection of equipment and props, these are as follows:

• Camera
• Tripod
• Backdrop (black/white)
• Car for transport to take us to our locations e.g. a field/country lane in order to get shots for the beginning of the music video and conduct a time lapse. 
• Costume items for female actor: baggy t-shirt of a dull colour, skinny black jeans with some form of jumper, jumpsuit, cardigan, loafers, dolly shoes, silver rings to wear on hands, nose piercing 

 

 

 
 

 

 

• Costume items for male actor: denim jeans, tracksuit bottoms grey or black, tracksuit bottoms shorts grey or black, leather jacket or some form of waterproof black jacket, hooded jacket, designer watch, silver bracelet 

Conventions and purpose of a digipak

A digipak is made of card and has several panes with two CD holders. Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD. Digipaks were first created by MeadWestvaco, and their product, called Digi-Pak, is trademarked. However, as the format became more popular and began to be used by more manufacturers, the generic "digipack" came to be used to describe all soft CD packaging. This product normally contains  some information about the CD and pictures of the artists . 

But digipaks do have pros and cons: 

Cons:

• They look nice, and many bands and labels like to use them for aesthetic reasons. The three section digipak sleeves opens up more design options because there is more room. However, they're more expensive than traditional liner notes and jewel cases.
• Digipaks don't crack like jewel cases do, but they will rip and eventually the paper begins to peel apart and separate.
• The trays in digipaks break much more often then in jewel cases. There's not as much protection since the outer portion of made of paper, so the teeth that hold the CD in place crack and fall out easily.
• When the teeth of the tray does break in a digipak, the CD falls out of the bottom of the digipak, because unlike jewel cases, there is nothing to hold it in.

Pros:

• Digipaks can be more environmentally friendly than jewel cases because they can be made of recycled paper. 

Im am going to write/compare two Digipaks. One being Michael Jackson and the other being Rihanna. This will help me when coming to make my own digipak because i will know what to include and what is typical of a digipak. 

Michael Jackson 'THIS IS IT': 

This is a Michael Jackson Digipak that is for the "This is it" album. The main unique selling point of this Digipak is special art work that will attract the most loyal fans. The front cover of the package is very simple but effective with the white background and then the silhouette of Michael Jackson in the middle. This was a special edition Digipak as the was going to be the last tour MJ was going to do. Therefore this Digipak became the last of his career. 

This particular digipak represents Michael Jackson as being the centre of attention. From having his body filled with past events and his concerts, this makes his target audience remember what he has achieved and from having a dull grey back ground on the front of the digipak makes his stand out more. The pose MJ is pulling in both pictures are very classic and original for him as everyone knows they are his original moves. This digipak isn't as original as some as it has pages of photos rather then a standard cardboard flip open. 

But on the other hand Rihanna's digipack is more classic. 

This digipak is a lot more pain but bold. Although the colour represented connote a lovable, sexy and passionate artist. Her eyes are shut in both pictures which could connote she is blind and vunrable to what going on around her but the title goes against this "LOUD". Which leads me on to my next point. The typography is very minimal which connotes that they wanted the attention to be more on Rihanna. 

Target audience

Age:

• 16-24- we have chosen this age range because the content of the video will contain some imagery of domestic violence therefore people under the age of 16 might find the video slightly distressing. there are some theorists that believe that children exposed to violent imagery will be affected negatively however this theory can be seen as outdated as more modern studies have found no scientific evidence to prove this. Additionally, people within this age range are often mature enough to understand the situation that the actors will be demonstrating in our music video. For our video we will be using actors that can get away with being at least 18 as we are unable to access people who are older and willing to take part in our video, therefore this age range will fit our target audience because they will be able to relate to the young adults within the video in terms of life experience, clothing and lifestyle. 

Gender:

• Male and female- mainly female as the female actor will be playing the 'victim' in this video therefore females watching the video might become more emotionally attached and gain empathy with the video because they might be able to relate to the situation, whereas males might find the video angering because it's stereotypical for men to abuse and control women and so they're being portrayed in a negative light. Furthermore, the tone to the singers voice is quite soulful which attracts women more than men, also the a straight female audience might find the male singer attractive. 

Social Demographics:

• C1, C2, D and E- we have chosen these demographics because the majority of people within them are most likely to be young e.g. students at school/college or university which will fit in with our age range. In general, people in a lower social demographic spend more time online using low brow media therefore our video might reach out to these people as well as the topic expressed within the video. We aim to produce a video that is of high quality and provides a unique take on the lyrics which might spark more interest in more people, potentially those in a higher class or even younger people around the age of 14. 

Occupation:

• The majority of our target audience will be unemployed or have part time jobs as they might be in some form of education. These people are more likely to have time to watch our video, unlike those in higher skilled occupations. 

Hobbies:

• Interested in watching music videos and keeping up with the latest trends in music
• Enjoy socialising with friends e.g. going to clubs and bars, going out for dinner and other leisure activities 
• Enjoy exercising e.g. going to the gym, taking part in team sports

Style:

• We think our target audience will have a mainstream style e.g. jeans, t-shirts, jumpers, trainers/loafers/sandals, the colours of the clothing is most likely to change throughout the song as the atmosphere becomes darker. Additionally, because the song is of pop genre and a lot of people listen to this style of music therefore it seems ideal to dress the actors within the video in typical clothing associated with pop.
• The music video will show two sides to the characters, particularly the female character as she will start out with natural, noticeable make up and towards the end of she will have barely any on to signify her depressed state. Therefore, the people that watch this video can either be people that take care in their appearance or those that aren't so bothered.

• 

Theory:

• When relating our music video to Young and Rubicam's theory we would put our target audience in 'The Struggler' category as well as 'The Mainstream' category. This is because 

  Strugglers live for today, and make few plans for tomorrow, others often see them as victims, losers and wasters - aimless, disorganised people with few resources apart from their own physical skills, they are heavy consumers of alcohol and junk food. Visual impact and physical sensation are an important element of their brand choices and they often seek escape. Therefore this audience category links well with people who are interested in experiencing parts of life that aren't there own. Furthermore, it will suit a mainstream audience as the elements included within the music video will be everyday occurrences for people as well as the controlling element of it as domestic abuse and depression is becoming more common nowadays with one incident of abuse being reported to the police every minute. 

Questionnaire

What is  your gender?      Male/Female

How old are you?

Who is your favourite music artist?

What is you favourite genre of music? (Circle one)

Hiphop          R n B         Rock

Indie             Pop           Rap

Other

Where do you tend to listen to your music?

at home      in school      in your bedroom

with friends     in the car    at a party

Other

What attracts you to a music video?

the artist    the music     the promotion

the music video

What is your favourite music video? (State name of song and artist)

How often do you listen to music?

everyday    a fair amount    mo often

never

Who is your favourite artist?

Ed Sheeran  James Blunt   Nelly furtado 

Sam Smith  Ellie Goulding 

Have  you ever heard of James Morrison?     Yes/No

If so, name a few songs which he has produced

Stars and their identities

Skepta:
Skepta was originally a DJ from Tottenham-based grime crew 'Meridian Crew'. He then began searching for something new after the Meridian Crew broke up in 2005. Skepta, and his brother JME, joined Roll Deep for a short period of time before becoming new members of Boy Better Know in 2006. In 2006 he clashed Devilman for the DVD Lord of the Mics 2, remembered as one of the biggest grime clashes. This clash created a long running dispute between the two MCs starting a war with dubs being exchanged in 2015. The album Greatest Hits was released on 17 September 2007 which featured 'Boy Better Know'. 

Skepta self-released the first single "Rolex Sweep" in September 2008 and reached number 89 on the UK Singles Chart. Skepta then released the album Microphone Champion on 1 June 2009. He then also released single "Too Many Man" with JME, Wiley, Frisco and Shorty, which went to chart at number 79.
Boy Better Know is an English grime group and record label. The group was founded in North London by JME alongside his brother Skepta in 2005 as an independent record label and a means to publish their music.

Skepta falls under the genre of grime and rap. This type of music may attract a younger audience (13-18 years). Boys are more likely to listen to this music as it is usually more violent and abusive. Although girls could enjoy this music and feel socially accepted and feel part of a group. Rap music doesn't normally have a melody but more so a beat. 

Skepta sung with another famous rapper Kanye West. Who is also well known for his violent, loud and disruptive music. 

Skepta's locations for his music videos tend to be in estates with a group of people rather then just on his own. This could connote he has a big fan base and big group of friends. His audience might aspire to be like him and surround them selves in a big group. Even though a lot of people are present in his video there is no dance routine, the group of people are just standing around Skepta keeping him safe. But he also stands out from the group of people he is standing around with clothing. e.g in the 'Shutdown' music video he is wearing white when everyone around him is wearing black, Skepta is also above them by sitting on a wall or standing.  

Much like in his music video 'It ain't safe' he has surrounded him self with a group of people.

From watching his music videos and knowing his music he tends to cover up his identity this could make the audience feel as though they shouldn't trust anyone other then his friends and not tell anyone your business. 

Not only is he famous for his music but has also created his own style. He has had some iconic style moments, too, and has been extremely vocal about why fashion plays such an important part in his life. "I've been into clothes since I was a kid," said Skepta in a recent interview with Dazed, "going to garage raves and seeing all the Tottenham gangsters wearing Moschino and Versace; I just always had a passion for it." (http://uk.complex.com/style/2014/10/skepta-style-moments/)Boy Better Know is an English grime group and record label. The group was founded in North London by JME alongside his brother Skepta in 2005 as an independent record label and a means to publish their music.  The crew and label were established by Jamie Adenuga (born 4 May 1985). "Boy Better Know" also has a clothing line, and had a mobile network from 2011 to 2013. BBK (Boy Better Know) have also featured on songs by other notable UK artists, such as Chipmunk, John Eric, and Tinie Tempah. They feature on the remix of "Stay" by Jay Sean. They have also remixed N-Dubz's song "Na Na (Boy Better Know!)" etc.. But these artists also have the genre of hip-hop, grim and rap.