Draft of digipak

here was our first draft of our digipak:

DIGIPAK draft

This was our first draft of the poster:

Photos from the shoot day

We chose to have limited lighting with spotlights so that it created a more secluded atmosphere around the band members. Additonally, we had a routine of the lighting changes and when a button was pressed on the lighting monitor, the spotlights would alternate on and off. When setting up the lights, we made sure that the spotlights were in a position so that the individuals could not be fully seen but rather strikes of light lit them up.

Our idea was very conceptual and so we experimented with the use of slightly absurd and random props. Therefore, in this picture, Jamie (our drummer) played the instrument with a rose and club (which got thrown in the air at the point the photo was taken). Having these quirky alternate revealing shots will create an artistic edge to our music video when edited. We wanted to focus on what is revealed in the dark with the minimal spotlights and felt that showing the randomness of what we shot would be a good way of presenting this.

In this photo, the band members have changed roles and we used this as a way of playing with the audience's mind because when edited, it will be cut quickly so it looks as if there are multiple drummers, singers, bassists and keyboardists. Ryan is the singer in this photo but is actually the keyboardist. It also gave the band members a chance for them to change what they had been doing because the chords needed to play the instruments were very simple. I felt that the idea worked well and it showed an original concept.

Diary of shoot day

9:00-10:00 : set up lighting, making sure that each spotlight is exact in the positioning and that it lights up the individual band member exactly. Set up camera in a fixed position so that everyone can be seen

10:00-11:30 : band comes in and we begin shooting with light sequence -when filming use full length of song in the background-

11:30-1:00 : individual band member shots

1:00-2:00 : lunch

2:00-2:30 : use props and shoot conceptual shots AND shoot band members in different positions (e.g: drummer move to bass)

2:30-3:00 : extreme close ups (keep band in the same positon)

analysis of an album cover

Analysis of a digipak

EELS...further research

Eels are an American Indie-Rock band and their music is used regularly in films, an example being "I need some sleep" which came famous from the animated blockbuster, Shrek. The majority of their songs focus on the singer's generic voice and are usually quite quirky-giving us the inspiration to go down a more conceptual route. However, unlike 'Baby Loves Me', songs such as 'I Need Some Sleep' and 'Mr E's Beautiful Blues'

It is clear that there is a difference in the type of music between these particular songs and 'Baby Loves Me' and that is the fact that the band has experimented with technology more in 'Baby Loves Me'. However, a recurring theme within all of the Eels music is that they continue to make sure their lyrics are meaningful and that they discuss topics that can be identified with the target audience such as loss, love and deceit.

Searching for the music tabs

In order for the band members to know completely what they are going to be playing I wanted to give each member of the band the tabs for their specific instrument. I made sure that in order to quicken the search in Google and limit the unnecessary excess of information I used quotation marks to focus on the search as a whole.
However, no matter what I typed into the search engine, there were no results for guitar, bass or piano tabs on 'Baby Loves Me' because although it is from the Eels who are relatively well known, that particular song is one of the few that is much less well-known than others. Therefore, in order to give the band members something to help them rehearse, I sent them all the track that they could use to determine the basic chords needed to play their instrument because although they will not be heard playing the instruments we want it to seem realistic. 

Codes and conventions of a digipak

A digipak is an essential part of creating a musician's image as it helps determine who would buy the product and what the band/artist represent in terms of their music. It is a modern approcach to CD packaging and often looks similar to this:

For our band, our brand image is alternative/indie rock and that needs to be conveyed on the digipak, so I researched into different bands simialar to what we want to portray and it was clear that they did not focus on the band members the images used were slightly obscure and usually related to the title of the album, such as 'Science and Faith' by The Script

It is important that on the front of the Digipak there needs to be the name of the artist in large clear font, which is evident in The Script's album cover; the font needs to be the same throughout the digipak to keep it cleaner and easy to read for the buyer. Additionally, the font reflects the type of music produced and also becomes a recognisable symbol of the artist, for example Metallica are a band that produce metal music and that is why they chose to have this particular font in each of their digipaks:

On the back of a digipak

there needs to be a promotional sticker to help draw attention to the recent tours or special features in the album, production information regarding the copyright, the year of production, web address, record label and the band/artist's logo. It also NEEDS a list of the tracks within the album. The colour scheme is VERY IMPORTANT and needs to echo throughout the digipak in the same way the font does. Overall, it should only use a maximum of three colours and must create a visual link with the way the band wishes to be advertised.

The inside of a digipak is where the band/artist usually place their acknowledgements to those who have helped or inspired their work and another list of the tracks with more specific detail indicating who is playing what instrument in what song.

The advertisement for the band/artist needs to reflect the same colour scheme, font and graphic design as the rest of the digipak but it must include these essential details reffering to the band:

• release date
• artist name and album title
• image of digipak
• tour dates
• review quotes from magazines and newspapers
• record label logo and website

Casting the band

After several of our band members dropped out, we were only left with the drummer and so had to search for new members of the band that could play the specific instruments. In order to minimise our search for our lead man (whom we decided would play guitar as well as sing) I took the inititive to note down a list of all the people doing guitar and singing lessons in the school. We compared the list and found that an AS student called Kyle Foreman took up both, so once he confirmed he would like to be part of the video I sent him an email, with the song and the lyrics so that he could learn the chords before the rehearsal..

I chose Ryan Heenen in AS as the keyboardist based on his talent and the fact that I knew he would fit into the target brand image we are looking for as he usually wears similar things to what we want the band to wear.

James Troughten was also chosen because he was a good basist and like Ryan related to our target audience.

The main problem with our casting was that they all look significantly younger than we were hoping for and together they unfortunately look similar to a boy band. However, this was a cause of limited casting after our initial band members were unavailable on the day of our shooting, so we were forced to create an image similar to the one we were looking for originally and when putting them together we realised they looked like a band together so decided to keep it the way it was.

email to dave parsons

We had to ask permission to use the band practise room and so I sent this email to the Head of Music in my school:

Hi Dave,
I was wandering if it was possible if we could use the band practise room to rehearse our pop music video. We are not definite on the day for our rehearsal but the times would be:

Monday: 2-3:20
Tuesday: 3-5:00
Wednesday: 2-5:00

Thanks,
Emma, Anoushka and George

Influenced by...

When developing the concept of our idea we researched a lot of music videos to help inspire us and influence our work. One of the most significant music videos that helped us decide that we wanted a conceptual idea was "Can't Stop" from 'Red Hot Chilli Peppers' which unfortunately has disabled the embedding link, but here is the link to the YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/BfOdWSiyWoc

One of the main reasons as to why we were influenced by this particular video was because it was very conceptual and used a lot of slightly random effects edited in time to the beat of their music. Additionally, they also use a lot of bright colours and suprise elements which we would like to include in our own music video.

Asking permission to use track

To DreamWorks record company, 

We are a group of A Level students working on an A Level project for a qualification in Media Studies. We are writing to request permission to use the following track as part of this project:

'Baby Loves Me' by The Eels

With your permission the track would be used as the accompaniment to a short form video that is made purely for assessment purposes and will have no commercial usage. The video will be viewed only by members of the school community and the assessor of the examination board.

The artist and the copyright holder will of course be fully recognised in the pre-production and evaluation material that accompanies the project. We can also include a full copyright notice if required both in the planning material and on the video itself.

Yours sincerely


Emma Styles, Anoushka Babur and George Spooner
Hurtwood House School

Target audience for music video

Typical audience member for music video on Prezi

Costume

They will be dressed in a similar thing to what we are using as the brand image:

Checked shirts
Bold and wacky T-shirts
knitted and coloured jumpers
Skinny jeans
Coloured chinos
Vans
Converse-coloured and high tops

Artist's Brand Image

The artists brand image is quite specific but also fairly modern in the way we want to portray them as a band.

The style that we are focusing on is "geek chic" as it reflects our target audience and links with the alternative style of music that would be played by our band. Weird and wacky T-shirts with coloured logos or references to comic books on them indicate a stereotypical "nerdy" style that has become increasingly popular with the youth of the modern day. Additionally, they will also wear coloured chinos and skateboarding shoes such as Vans or Converse. When thinking about what we want our band to look like, I thought of Seth Cohen from 'The O.C':

As you can see, it focuses on those who are not mathematical/science geeks but those who are interested by comic books, music, guitars, skateboards, space.

The brand image contrasts to the brand image given to other bands such as 'One Direction' or 'Metallica' both of whom have been constructed by the media in order to grasp the likes of their target audience.

'One Direction' are a typical teenage boy band that include a different looking boy for each type of girl to fancy. Additionally, their music reflects on their image, as is evident with their latest single: "What Makes You Beautiful"

Whereas with 'Metallica', also an all-male band their brand image is this:

We wanted to portray our band as a much more generic band that focus on their music but are slightly quirky and alternative, allowing their target audience to identify with them

Storyboard

This is the storyboard for our music video, it includes the time frame as well:

We want to regularly return to the shots of the band playing their instruments. However, because of our idea and the fact that we are only ever going to see a limited amount of the specific thing revealed the shots of the instruments will be close-ups and from obscure angles.

props

props on Prezi

To be provided by school:

• Red electric guitar
• Black keyboard
• Drum kit
• Electric bass guitar
• Wooden small square kitchen table
• Wooden dining chair
• Handcuffs
• Gun – modern pistol
• Old material sofa – brown
• Microphone on stand
• Noose – thick white rope
• 3 x black side tables or stools (drama studio)
• Silver tipping trey
• Medium sized silver mirror

To be provided by:

Anoushka:

• Long white candle x2
• Pink bubble gum
• Skittles
• Newspaper articles on unemployment

George:

• Plastic rubbish bin
• Colourful balloons
• Bill/receipt
• Basic wall clock with second hand

Emma:

• Religious cross on necklace
• Candle stick
• Skittles

Developing the conceptual idea

Keeping with the conceptual idea, we felt that in order to develop the music video further we needed a slight narative within the revealed images. Additionally, we felt that the concept parts of the video needed to hold a deeper meaning, therefore, create narratives to reflect what the audience are seeing and so felt that a more interesting idea would be to have a story following a man who wants to commit suicide, thus, have shots using the lamps of a man turning rope, a knife, a chair and potentially the man could be in the corner looking up in a sinister way.

We also decided to have a man think of himself as a magician and these different shots would indicate the bizarre world that we wished to created through the conceptual idea. The different shots will show different stages of a magic trick and have chosen to use a YouTube video of a man doing a card trick as our inspiration:



I particularly liked the idea of the cracked Ace of hearts card because it gave it an unexplained and eerie atmosphere. Additionally, as a continuation from the conceptual idea, we wanted both excerpts to be slightly obscure and random but to make the audience think of it afterwards.

Change of idea

After pitching the idea and discussing it as a group, we realised that our idea needed developing and in order for it not to look too cheesy we would have to make a complete background story for the couple but make the story-line within the video simpler with more cinematic shots. Therefore, rather than swaying from our original idea that we had with the narrtive of the couple's relationship we decided to change our idea to a more conceptual idea.

As a group, we decided it would be interesting to use different forms of lights as our main theme in the video and so chose a song that would work best with the general idea of something slightly obscure and that can look interesting with lights and so we chose Baby It's You by The Eels:

We felt that in keeping with the theme of wierd conceptual lighting, we thought it would be interesting if we used 100 Watts desk lamps as our main form of lighting, they would be turned on at different times to reveal something within the dark.

Target audience for MY idea

Target audience for my music video on Prezi

My Group's Pitch

George Spooner:

He came up with the idea of having a break up and the development of a relationship with the events in reverse. It would start in a bar with the band singing and her walking out of the bar and go through the various emotions effected within their relationship with a montage inspired editing of different shots at different stages of it. He wanted to use the song, Walk by the Foo Fighters. Here is the original video:

He wanted to keep with the concept of having him walk whilst singing and experiencing an unlucky day.
I liked his idea a lot and when discussing as a group we liked the idea of having the events experienced in reverse but there is the problem that it could become confusing to the audience member.

Anoushka Babur:

She had two ideas, both of which would include a lot of time in after effects but are both original. Her first idea was having the narrative of a couple in the style of a comic book and had inspiration pictures of the Archie comics,

Her second idea was very different and included three generations of couples, having a boy and girl in a park (her original idea was in a war shelter but after discussing it, decided it was not relevant to the rest of her video), a couple getting married and an old couple sitting on a bench watching the sunset. At the same time, the woman will enter into the shot of each one. The song she wanted to use was 'Open Your Eyes' by Snow Patrol. 

Pitch for Music Video

Here is my powerpoint presentation that I used to pitch my idea for the music video for Snow Patrol's 'RUN':

However, after listening to the feedback and looking back at my presentation I have decided to adjust my idea because it was too complicated and would be particularly confusing for the viewer. Instead of having a woman running away, the woman is going to be dead and it does not necessarily have to be shown with the actual car crash but rather the seperate shots will be of:

• him at a graveyard-the audience will not know that he is at a cemetary until the end

• Home video montage which will be on the tv in the apartment of what was their wedding, so I no longer want to have the concept of a ruined and burned down wedding because I felt that the tone and lyrics of the song was focused more on the loss of someone and having the man in his apartment watching his marriage, it is clear that he misses his ex-wife.
• Similarly, I will have the man packing away his memories of his relationship with her to indicate he is trying to move on but still misses her

There was also the idea of getting rid of the band because the slow pace of the song contrasts to the image given with the use of a band and so the man going through the loss will be the one singing at certain points in the video-when the lyrics are key

I need to consider the editing of the music video and remember that the song is slow-paced and so it cannot be quick cross-cuts between shots.

Snow Patrol's use of the media

Here is a screen grab of their front page of their website:

They have references to Twitter, Facebook and have a YouTube video from their YouTube page giving an indication that although part of their target audience is older, they are trying to get broaden their music through modern technology and the media, making them appealing to a younger generation. Additionally, having them on Twitter or Facebook allows fans to become 'friends' with them and 'follow' them and their lives. Additionally, the use of the blue background neutralises the gender and the focus is clearly based upon the music as there are no photos of them posing, suggesting that they are a band purely focused on their music. Once you have reached this page you then click the button that says: "CLICK TO CONTINUE TO SP.COM" and it will take you directly onto the main site:

The set up of the website is focused on their music and about the band to inform fans of concert dates etc. Additionally, the photo in the background gives the impression that they are all friends and having them surrounded by instruments with some of them practising indicates their passion for music and that they make music because they love it.

Further research into Snow Patrol

By choosing a song by Snow Patrol, an already well-established band, I had to further my research in them and their target audience.

The picture of them is an indication that the band is only men and that they are serious about what they are doing, linking to Adele's image also as with Adele, they are wearing fairly normal clothing to establish that everyone can relate to them.

One of the first places I went to look was their website, here is a screen grab of their homepage and main page of their website:

Similar artists include bands like Coldplay and Keane, both of which are listened by the likes are aimed at an older audience. However, through my video I hope to also attract a younger audience as well.

Coldplay

Both bands have a soulful atmosphere to their music with meaningful lyrics that can be relatable to a younger audience as well as an older audience.

Another song idea...

I went on YouTube and determined to find a song that would go perfect with a music video similar to the one I had in my head...I found 'Run' by Snow Patrol. It is about a man distraught over  losing a loved one either literally or emotionally.



The original music video is very different to my more narrative idea including a huge emphasis on mise-en-scene and cinematic shots. The original video has the singer as the core focus as he walks up the hill with a motorbike and then once reaching the top throws it on the ground, symbolising the relationship that has just ended. However, I liked the idea of having the band playing at a burned down and wrecked wedding altar, all wearing black, it would then cut to a shot of a girl in a torn and tattered wedding dress running away crying with a champagne bottle in her hand. However, the main focus of the song is emotionally depressed but also telling their partner that they will still love them and that will be the role of the groom, sitting in the studio which will be set up in a similar way to a house packing away old photographs and memories of the two of them together.

I think that this video would attract both genders and the audience will easily be able to identify with it because the topic of broken relationships and lost emotion is very common with everyone. Additionally, the man will be upset and good-looking, making him likeable and attractive to a female audience. Similarly, the woman will be attractive and although she will be crying, having her holding a champagne bottle and running clearly shows independence and strength making her appealing to a male audience. The music is something everyone would listen to.

Ideas for music video

Here are a couple of basic ideas that we came up with whilst discussing our music video:

• use acoustic version of song
• war--could have it set in a war zone or a shelter
• wrecked wedding altar--have the band playing in a burned down wedding altar
• have a woman in a long white dress holding shoes walking on a beach slowly
• have the studio filled with wine glasses filled with water and then when the beat kicks in have paint thrown and the paint and the water with end up on the walls giving it an artistic effect
• having somebody standing still or sitting still on a bench amongst everyone else edited in fast motion

I like having the idea of a narrative within the video because videos such as 'Love the way you lie' by Eminem featuring Rhianna has the performance element with the two of them singing and their close ups but it also includes a clear story of a journey of an abusive relationship.

Negus-putting his theories to our music video

Negus is the person behind the two paradoxes for producing music videos, they are:

1. synthetic--artist that is manufactured by record company
                    controlled
                    usually based around one album which is based on a mass-market (a fad)
                    create short term profits that help the longer projects

2. organic--original
                  natural sounding
                  authentic
                  long-term projects
                  record companies nurture their talent
                
HOWEVER...both paradoxes are commercialised, use advertising to sell the music and shape the way in which the artists' images and careers are developed.

SYNTHETIC - Cheeky girls --> one hit wonders

ORGANIC - U2 --> have been making and selling music for decades that is their own

I want to create an organic look for the band and video that I am going to create because people nowadays are beginning to prefer the sound of the music rather than the image that is created. However, having said that, there is a combination of both today and artists such as Justin Bieber have been constructed by the media BUT are selling millions with original music and was found on YouTube, giving the understanding that a combination is key for a certain target audience, specifically young teenage girls in terms of Justin Bieber.

How I will incorporate Dyer into my music video

Richard Dyer is the man behind the theory of star image and from that has produced the concept that in order to sell an artist's music, you first have to sell the artist and their image. Star image is designed to:

a) appeal to a specific target audience
b) advertise through the mass-media

Different artists have a different image depending on their type of music and whether or not they want the audience to identify with them or if they want to have the distance. Two contrasting examples are Lady Gaga and Adele.

Lady Gaga has become known for her outlandish outfits and inhuman dances that she performs in her videos and concerts. In a similar way to Madonna, Lady Gaga is used as a representation of someone who does not care what anyone thinks and although the outlandish regular audience would not necessarily directly copy her ideas of style and interests, they still look up to her and follow her movements on the ever-growing website, Twitter.

She also creates controversy, noted with her music video, Telephone with Beyonce which at one point was even taken off YouTube until an edited version was soon uploaded in users personal accounts as a replacement.



However, Adele is someone that the record companies wish people to focus on her voice but to also look at her and feel they can connect with her on a more personal level because of the 'normal-looking' clothes and make-up that she wears.

Within her videos, there are usually a lot of close-ups of her face, and specifically in her music video for the song, 'Someone Like You' it is of her singing at the Brit Awards giving her a dual personality of ordinary but at the same time extraordinary from her talent. Additionally, having her performance as the music video is the record company's way of informing the viewer that she is 'raw talent' and loves performing. Other videos that she has are also focused on the artistic approach which I find particularly interesting, for example 'Rolling In The Deep'.



I want to incorporate the concept of the star in the video appearing normal but at the same time extraordinary because I want to use the idea that the audience feel they can identify with the artist on a more personal level because of how they are perceived. 

Music Video Ideas

When coming up with ideas for a music, I chose music with lyrics that meant something to me and would have an impact on the audience if they saw it. Additionally, I also researched this further by YouTubing their music videos. The song and video that I was most taken with was 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran started off by recording in 2005 but wasn't truly discovered until 2010 when his song 'The A Team' went to Number 3 in the UK Charts. It is a song that deals with problems that many people don't usually like to discuss such as prostitution, over-dose and abuse, thus focusing on a niche audience. Other artists such as Jason Mraz, James Morrison and Example are usually associated with him because of the type of music and meaning they wish to portray.

Jason Mraz

Example

James Morrison

I also looked at Snow Patrol as a genre to focus on because we could use their songs and adapt it into our own. I like the idea of having someone potentially sitting still on a bench whilst the rest of the world is continuing in a sped up and edited version to show life continuing without and around him.