Digipak Analysis 2 – Tinie Tempah

This digipak is of Tinie Tempah and this album is called discovery and was released in 2010. The style of this digipak is different to what is usually seen and due to the fact this is completely the opposite of my genre therefore I will not be influenced in any way by this, however as a digipak I do rate it highly. I fell that the colours and the use of effects on the images are good as it shows Tinie’s personality which is nice to see for audiences.

 A close up of the artist which is Tinie Tempah is used on the front cover as he is famous and therefore attracts the audiences who already know him and like him as an artist.

The colours used are quite bright, for instance pink, purple and blue. They are also put against a black background which increases how the bright colours stand out and therefore help gain audience’s attention. 

Text is placed in the top left corner of the cover so that it does not cover up the image of the artist and is next to him to show the person on the cover can be visibly seen.

The artist is seen to be wearing glasses, a watch and a bracelet, this works well as it shows the artist personality etc.

The watch and the bracelet as well as the urban area edited onto his jacket relate to the rap genre. Since he is actually a rap/pop artist I think that the visual codes do their job well.

Font is easily readable and looks rather professional and whilst the image on the cover is used to get the audience’s attention, the back cover is used to present any necessary information. 

The image on the cover has been edited very well and professionally. The effects seem very advanced and are appealing.

The image/colours on the cover clearly link to the back cover showing good consistency.

Digipak Analysis 1 - Rihanna

As Rhianna is a well-known and famous artist there have been close ups of her faced used on the album so it is instantly recognisable as catches people attention. This digipak is therefore effective as people who already know and listen to her music would be more influenced to but it but seeing her face dominating the face of the digipak.

This digipak inside is made up of 3 different panels which has been carefully layed out across all off them so the picture is created in the three different sections which gives the digipak a more professional look. The colours used on these panels are reflected on the outside of the digipak along with the image of the artists and the colours contrast together.

They have used a clear font on the cover of the digipak which contrast as the white font although is quite thin is easily visible and doesn’t not cover much surface area of the digipak. The use of the angle used on Rhianna makes her come across as quite as an elegant and agile artist. The size of the font is a reasonable size but is slightly on the small side as it is a bit too thin, but still can easily read.

The Male gaze theory of Andrew Goodwin maybe reflected though the use of the picture on the front of the digipak of Rhianna as you can only see her showers and bare skin which suggests that she is actually nude, which may have been used to attract in the male audience opposed to females. There is no use of clothing shown to been have used on the artist and a distinct red colour scheme used with the red hair and red lipstick.

I will take the idea of using a one picture to pan across the 3 panels of the inside of my digipak in my own work as I think it looks quite effective in terms of outlining the flow of the music and what the artist is trying to get across. On the other hand I do not like the thin font they have used as I do not particularly think it looks appealing and is not bold enough.

genre Textual analyis - Cheryl Cole

Cheryl Cole - Fighting for this love music video analysis:

There is a clear representation of gender within the video as it is quite female dominated in some parts and the main person ‘Cheryl Cole’ is also female, but there is a mix of both male and female dancers within the clip.  Age is also evidently represented as all the actors within the clip are mid aged people, which has probably been use to represent the lyrics as during the song is about ‘fighting for love’ and break ups is most common in this age group.

This video has not got much of a storyline but is mostly a performance about Cheryl which makes her come across as innocent such as the white clothing she is wearing. Also there are lyrics and writing shown on the walls and just splattered on the screen to express Cheryl’s emotions though these words and lyrics. Also there is a red and black colour scheme used for some parts of this writing such as a red background which looks like blood and could represent the heart and then black writing. This could represent a type of a ‘love’, ‘hate’ relationship which links into what the performance and storyline is about. The dancers have been used as a type of prop to mimic Cheryl Cole to show she is the main character as they are presented more in the background and follow the dance moves she does.

The genre of this music video is R and B as well as the genre of the artist ‘Cheryl Cole’, as the most pf the tracks she produces are all R and B tracks. As it being and R and B there is expected to be some sort of emotions to be shown throughout the video. There were some unexpected actions within the video such as the number of males that were represented with the clip, as well as when Cheryl Cole is hugging another man as it completely contradicts what she is trying to do with this video.

Textual analysis from our genre - Cold Play

Textual analysis from our genre

Narrative

For this section the narrative isn’t as straight forward as it seems as there isn’t a noticeable narrative other than there is man walking down the road which is brightly lit. However, there are aspects of ‘Props’ theory which relates to whether there are recognizable characters as I do not think there are.  The theme that is noticeable throughout is ‘night’ as throughout the whole music video it is dark/night time and he constantly looks like he is making his way back home or on his way to somewhere as the way he is walking suggest he is on a mission of some sort. The generally overview of the story line is that the character is singing whilst he looks like he is making his to a certain place and then there is a twist as he’s actually running to a concert to perform in front of a large crowd which creates a twist to the video but we did not know this at the start.

Genre

I am going to analyse Coldplay – fix it using the different areas as listed below. I know from this being in my genre that this music video is alternative rock therefore I didn’t have to investigate this. There are connotations of alternative rock seen throughout this video as within alternative rock videos the lighting tends to be rather dark which is seen throughout this video. In alternative rock videos the camera tends to be free hand most of time as it sometimes in videos it follows the character around to create a confused/exciting atmosphere which is actually seen in most type of rock genres.

Visual codes

It is set in London and I know this because within one of the shots you see a rail sign which says ‘Kings Cross’ which is a well-known place in London as seen as I live close by it was easy for me to see. Also, it is set in the arches underneath the rail station which you tend to see in London but is seen everywhere. There is a colour that is seen a lot within this music video and that is black, this colour is usually affiliated with death and the fact the song is called ‘fix you’ could suggest that they are talking about someone who might be close to death or maybe ill.

Audience

This music video is different from ones I usually analyse as I don’t think this music video is directly aimed at a certain group of people this is because I know it is liked by people of all ages as I know a lot of people who listen to this song, ranging from my dad and my granddad who are in their 50’s and 70’s. The key signifiers that indicate this is that there are no codes and conventions that fit into a certain age group. By this I mean that in teenage based music videos there tends to be bright colours whereas in this one it is rather plain which suggest it can be liked by all age groups. However, I believe that only an adult would be able to listen to the lyrics of the song and understand what it means which connotes that the audience is adults of all ages.

Technical codes

Camera shots and angles are used effectively in this video as they make it look professional and aesthetically pleasing to the audience. The first one which I think starts the video off is an establishing shot which shows the setting of where most of it is filmed and the main character and gives the audience an idea of where they are (London). Another interesting shot is the use of the low angle which is in the middle of the clip and is used to make the character seem dominant/ powerful which is stereotypical because men are usually the dominant gender and this is proving that this may be correct. The editing that is used throughout is rather slow which fits the pace of the song which is also slow therefore it shows consistency. Transitions aren’t very frequent and they aren’t constant which also adds to the slow pace of the video. The effect of all of this to create a miserable atmosphere which links in with the name of the song.

Research into chosen genre

Research into chosen genre

 

 

For our music video the genre we had chosen was alternative rock. The actor that we used for our music best suited this genre stereotype due to his physical appearance and the way that he acted. Alternative rock emerged in the 1980's by the independent music underground and became much more popular following into the 1990's and then was more widely known in 2000's era. Even in this modern era, although alternative rock is not nessaccarily a mainstream genre but still features big names performers such as the 'Artic Monkeys' and 'The Strokes' . These performcers have gained great success on attracted audinces towards the alretaive rock genre.

 



Example of an alternative rock music video:

By looking at the image it shows one of the 'Artic Monkeys' most popular videos and is very popular within the UK. Due to our genre not actually bieng mainstream comapreed to some other genres it is hard to find well knoiwn artists and songs assoiated with alternative rock.

The target audince for this type of genre is much more different comapred to mainsteam ones such as R&B and hip-hop etc. This is beacuse by looking at the stereotypical view of alternative rock listeners they are normally assiated with bieng quite 'hippy' and odd.

Notes on real media texts you may take inspiration from

History of music videos

 
history Notes on real media texts you may take inspiration from

First ever music video was Bessie Smith Saint Louis Blues.

1940’s – Walt Disney released Fantasia and at this stage of the history of music duke box’s started to appear but faded away through the war.

1950/60’s – started filming people just dancing, no set dance had to be performed. Now Scopitone jukebox’s became present and they were found in places like cafes and all you had to do was press a button and on the screen would appear people dancing along to a piece of music .

1960’s – Beatles first major motion picture – people now started to make specific videos for their music, so the music video would relate to the lyrics making it more enjoyable for the audience.

1970’s – this was the turning point for music as now the whole piece was shot and edited on videotape. An example is Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Also in the 70’s top of the pops started.

1980’s – MTV was launched and the first music video was to be aired. Also within this era ‘softer’ music became apparent for the older generation. Moreover, Peter Gabriel used special effects and animations in his music video.

Music video audiences

Music Video Audiences

Music videos are aimed at:

·           Fans

·           Give the audience something to look at

Music videos are also a way for companies to make money, the Eminem music video took over £500m in sales.

Create their music to suit their target audience and they are also promotional tools/devices to promote the artist. Moreover, music videos are now having to be censored e.g. Miley Cyrus videos are having to be censored because it is not suitable for viewers.

Furthermore, most people think that music videos are designed for teenagers/young adults however this is a big mis-conception as there are also videos for the older generation.

How do we consume films?

We consume films through a variety of different methods, for example; TV, Phone, and YouTube etc. moreover, artists are presented to be attractive, empathic, narrative and abstract.

Eminem used synergy in his music videos, created a film which he then promoted himself as an actor rather than an artist.

Lip syncing and its importance

Lip syncing – what is it and what is its importance

Lip syncing refers to when the lyrics of a song go in motion with the movement of a person lips and music. This is done by miming the lyrics of the song with the music, which will mean they should be familiar with the lyrics of the song so that they can get it perfectly in time with the music. This will in turn look professional if they mimic the lyrics accurately opposed to if it looks unprofessional as it would ruin the music video as the miming will not be in time. The importance of lip syncing is as explained above, is so that the music video looks professional as if the lyrics did not go in time with the lyrics nobody would take the video serious and it would not look effective or appealing to the target audience. Also it has to look like the singer is genuinely singing the song otherwise the audience can tell that it’s not in sync, so it is important that everything run smoothly when trying to make the miming in time. Also the character need to match the genre and stereotype of the song otherwise it will not fit the song type

Importance of lyrics.

Importance of lyrics:

Lyrics are one of the main important parts of a music video. This is because within the music video everything else usually revolves around the lyrics of the song such as the visuals normally link into what is actually going on within the video from what the lyrics are trying to get across.  Lyrics also help the target audience engage and relate to the doing through what they lyrics actually say and mean, such as a love song could represent someone relationship with someone at that time.  Lyrics can also provide a narrative to the music video which helps get across to the viewers the storyline of the music video in the background and show them what is going on from what is said. Lyrics can also convey a message such as if the song is about love then the lyrics could tell the audiences what is going on and the morale of the story. They also help set the scene and atmosphere for the audience depending on the type of song.

Analysis of James Blunt magazine

Analysis of James Blunt magazine

I have chosen this magazine advert of James Blunt of his album 'All the lost souls'. The advert cover consists of ‘James Blunts’ name written in various different fonts and in bold so it makes the name stand out. This further portrayed as the font colour is red which stands out of the black background the album name is all shown in smaller letter underneath this also with a red outer effect, this makes it very clear to the target audience who the album is by and the name of the album. Due the text be bright and contrasting to the rest of the advert, this will be the first thing the audience will look at.

I will try and reflect this in my own piece of work as I think this is an effective way to promote our magazine advert as the main features to designer has tried to make stand out are clearly promoted to the audience. The clear contrast between dark and light colours also work well with the overall look of the advert as his face is been placed directly in the middle in line with the text so the whole advert flows together nicely.  

Brief Analysis of digipak

What is a Digipack?

A digipak a special use of packaging that have been specifically used for CD sing and albums. These hold the CD or DVD discs inside. These have an outer binding of either a book style or paperboard/card stock. These are normally made up of between 4 to 8 panels depending on how many disks are going to be held in the digipak. The purpose of a digipak is to hold and promote the cd and DVD by the use of the design of the digipak such as the text and images used on the digipak as will include relevant information of the DVD which will appeal towards its target audience and gain media attention. This is also a form of merchandise for fans although music now is more commonly downloaded from the internet. These help promote both the artist and the album if it has been presented effectively which in turn can help boost sales and increased popularity of the company.

The purpose of a magazine and a digipak

Digipak and magazine :

Digipaks are used to help promote a film or music album to help get it across to their target audience and help raise more revenue for the music companies. These digipaks have both an inner and outer binding which displays image linking to the song or film. These normally held by plastic trays which can hold music CD’s or DVD’s. These digipaks normally are made out of cardboard or book style paper to attach on the inside and outside sleeves for the plastic DVD or CD covers.

The use of CD cases designed with digipaks became popular to artists and record labels as a form of promotion in the early 2,000’s. An example of this is The VERVE digipak which I have shown below. Within a magazine, an advert would typically take up around half the page or depending on how big the CD is could take up the whole page. This magazine for ‘The VERVE’ takes up the majority of the page within a magazine which would be an effective form of promotion as when people are reading through the magazine it will catch their eye, the 
refore attract in their target audience.

The purpose of a music video

The purpose of a music video

There are different types of music video types depending on what the theme of the music it as who the music video is aimed towards. These include:

—  Concept – concept videos are based around a certain idea.

—  Narrative – The narrative will reflect the storyline – Most of the time with have some sort of link to the lyrics of the song.

—  Performance – This is a performance of a particular artist in the video such as a rock band performing on a stage.

There are many purposes of creating music videos such as gaining more media attention to a particular song rather than just doing a song by itself. This is because it will reach out to a wider audience as the music video can be directly aimed to be targeted towards the stereotypical viewers of the song. One of the main purposes of actually creating a music video is to create more revenue for the producers of the song including the artists themselves as if they did just the song they would not generate the potential amount of profit they could with the music video. Also within the music video it has a purpose to boost artists careers such as been able to display other talents such as dance moves and will make them a more well-known individual thus making more money.

An example of a music video that was highly successful was Wiz Khalifa – See you again. This was because it was linked into a popular films starts death (Paul Walker) and received over 1 billion YouTube views.

What makes a good student music video?

Student music videos need to be created so that they fit the genre of the music whether they are for a music company or for a school music video like the one we are going to make. In addition to this, our student music video needs to meet a certain criteria so that it can be entered

·         Video that is created fits the genre that you are aiming for

·         The clothing they use needs to fit genre

·         Setting also needs to consider, for example if you are making an army film then their costume needs to also be army to make it look realistic

·         Casting should have been considered

·         Characters are thought and fit in with genre etc.

With student music videos the small elements within the piece make up the most of the video therefore it is vital that these are complete to a good standard. Like I have said above, if the theme is ‘army’ then the costume needs to also link to army. The use of the colour brown/camouflage will also play a vital part in a student music video that is themed army. The costumes should be brown and the props use should be guns, grenades etc. all these conventions need to be considered.

Analysis of student music video 1 - Champagne

Genre

The genre of this student music video is a type of ballad due to the slowness if the song. The genre is shown through the generic conventions. For example, the shots of the artist playing the piano of which are in black and white are typical of music videos for ballads. This is seen in professional music videos of Sam Smith. Moreover, there are many close up shots of the artist which are conventions as a close up shows the characters expression and emotion on their face.

Target Audience

The target audience for this piece is difficult but from my point of view I would say it is aimed at people between 20 – 30. This is due to the high key lighting and use of effects which tells me that it is not aimed at anyone older than 30. In addition to this, it is clear that the video is selling marketing the artist as being attractive for women/men depending on their sexuality. The fact it is trying to sell the artist to women I think that it is aimed at young women as its showing the male of to be ‘sexy’.

Technical Codes

The technical codes used within the video are the uses of editing and the change between black and white shots for the artist. Also, the low-key lighting of the shots which show the party section. Editing is used very effectively within this video and most of the video is slow motion creating a different effect for the audience. In addition to this, the switch between the black and white shots and colour shots helps to separate the different sections which shows a contrast between the two. Although transitions could be used in order to ease between the two different looks but however at times the transitions were not very effective and jumped a little.

Iconography

The main iconography within this video is that of a party. This is shown through the use of props and the equipment. For example, the balloons and the flashing lights are a convention of this. However, this iconography would usually be seen in a pop video which shows that they haven’t been considered thoroughly. The lighting that has been used within this are the usual low key and high key lighting but mainly high key lighting was used to create unease and make it uncomfortable for the audience.

Britney remake video

This our own class remake of the music video 'Hit me baby one more time' by Britney spears. We carried this task out as a class to give us an insight into the different edit ring and camera techniques used when filming a music video, and helped give us a understanding of how to carry our own group task.