Digi-Paks

Below is a few examples of digi-paks.

I like the insert for this digi-pak with the collage of photo's. I like that the same font type has been used throughout as this keeps it consistent. The album cover is fairly plain but with a simple idea it shows the audience exactly what they're getting.

I like the back cover for this example as i like the idea that the colour is black but that Rihanna's outfit is white. It stands out and immediately draws the attention of the audience to the artists. I like that the letter 'R' has been used and i like that it has a razor sharp feel to it as this keeps in with the fierce theme that Rihanna is trying to create.

My favourite part of this digi-pak is the CD as i like the colours that have been used. They are bold and bright. The CD , font of the title and the outfit all seem to have swirls within them.

This is my favourite digi-pak from the examples. The images are all really clear and clean cut and are really bright. The title of the album is bi-on-ic and the images that have been used are half robot and half human, i think this is a really creative idea and i think the designer has done well to take the title and use their imagination to link the idea. The lips on the CD have a really striking and bold red which stands out. If for example you had CD's in a CD wallet and you were flicking through not sure what to listen to, you would probably go for this one as it would jump out at you for the image.

Filming

So basically my friends boyfriend who was going to be the other main character in my music video decided at the last minute, let's make that second that he didn't want to be in the video anymore. I thought i would manage to either talk him round or get someone else to be the lead male character. However my plan a didn't work and my friend didn't want to film with someone who wasn't her 'real' boyfriend and i couldn't even find a guy who would be in it. After a lot of thinking i have decided that my video will have a home made style about it and i will try and make it look like parts of it are being filmed by the boyfriend. I do still have a small amount of footage which he was in before he opted out.

Filming

Filming seems to be running along nicely, had a few hiccups along the way such as the main actor being ill and not wanting to film on a few organised dates. However in my research and planning i thought there would be things that would slow the filming process down so i have made room for this within my action plan. Everything seems to be on track.

magazine advert feedback

So i asked a few people to look at my magazine advert today and give me some feedback, both good and bad points. Everyone said that they liked the image i used but thought that maybe i should include a star rating to grab the audience's attention even more. Some said to experiment with the layout of the font and the colours. I also personally want to add something else in my final one.

magazine advert

below is the first idea for my music magazine advert. i have used an image i took while shooting for the footage of my video and i have used the same font in bright and bold colours to grab the audience's attention. also i haven't written too much so it doesn't cover the image.

Mood Board

I created this mood board of some photo's of my friend Emma who i will be using as the female actor in my music video. I think she is the perfect person for the part as she doesn't mind experimenting with different styles. I have also included some photo's of Katy Perry as i would like to re-create her style on Emma and wanted to look into the different ways Katy wears make up. She always wears very bright and bold lipstick, big fake eye lashes that are very thick and sometimes a bright coloured eye shadow.

Digi-Pak

For part of my ancillary task i have to create a digi-pak. The above image is the template which i will use to design and create the product. It will fold into a booklet style and included song lyrics, song titles and still images as well as a main front cover.

Deadlines

Main task to be in Friday 28th January 2011

• Upload audience research 24th Nov
• Publish location idea's / costume idea's 26th Nov
• Write a more in depth treatment (including camera angels etc) 29th Nov
• Film the music video and edit it and make any final adjustments 1st Dec - 28th Jan

Ancillary task to be in on February 18th 2011

• Research into already existing digi-pak designs and magazine adverts 31st Jan
• Get feedback from audience 2nd Feb
• Design the digi-pak 2nd Feb
• Design the magazine advert 4th Feb
• Create the digi-pak 7th Feb
• Create the magazine advert 9th Feb
• Make any final adjustments 11th Feb-18th Feb

Record Label

I used the search engine google to find the name of the record label that Katy Perry is signed too. I managed to find their website and an email to contact them on. I thought that it would be a good idea to email the label and ask for their permission to use the song for my music video. Here is a copy of the email that i sent. I will hopefully get a reply which i can add to my blog at a later date.

Eugene Riecansky

Eugene Riecansky is a multi-award winning designer, animator and director, with over twenty years of experience in the music, fashion and youth branding industries.

We had the great opportunity of him coming in to visit us at our school and listen to how he started in the industry and how he worked up to where he is today. It was extremely interesting to find out about all the famous and high profiled artists he has worked with, including Madonna.

Audience Research

So my plan of action in regards to audience research is to conduct both a filmed interview type thing and also to create a questionnaire which will be for the people that don't want to be filmed. I shall then put the results in a graph so it will be easier for me to look at my results. I have started thinking of questions that will be good enough to make the person give me an answer that will be useful and will give me a variety of information.

Digi-pak / magazine advert

So i've sat down and started thinking about idea's for my ancillary tasks.  I've decided that i will write down random words/phrases that come into my head rather then think about exactly how it will all fit together at this stage.

Fields
Steamed up words (written on a mirror)
Scrabble letters
Broken heart pieces as main image?
Funky font
Couple holding hands
Itunes toolbar

Narrative

Narrative looks at how stories are structured.

My basic story for my music video:

A young teenage couple believe they have found 'the one' and are madly in love, spending every possibly second with each other until something goes wrong and cracks in their relationship appear and the journey and twists of the emotions felt begins as the 'perfect' couple learn that love isn't all it seems.

Tzveten Todorov

In media terms, narrative is the organisation given to a series of facts. The human mind needs narrative to make sense of things. We connect events and make interpretations based on these connections. In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end.

Todorov's theory of narrative:

1. State of equilibrium (all as it should be)
2. Disruption of that order (by event)
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
5. A restoration of a new equilibrium.

He argues that narrative involves a transformation. The characters or the situations are transformed through the progress of disruption.

Born March 1, 1939. He published 21 books.

Katy Perry

As my music video is a song by Katy Perry, i have decided to do some research into her as an artist. I would like my main actor to have the same sort of style of Katy herself.

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson was born on the 25th October 1984)and is better known by the stage name Katy Perry. She is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California,and raised by Christian pastor parents; Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. She released a self-titled gospel album in 2001 as Katy Hudson which was deemed unsuccessful due to the closing of its record label that year.

She became known for wearing unconventional style of dress, often combining bold colors and vintage fashion. Her sophomore album, Teenage Dream, was released in August 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album included the hit singles "California Girls" and "Teenage Dream", both of which topped the charts on the Billboard Hot 100 and several other countries. She married Russell Brand on October 23rd, 2010.

Location

So today i spent a bit more time looking into different locations. For my final area's i have decided on the River Tiffy in Wymondham as this is close to mine and my friends house so we can quickly get to it, the area is fairly quiet so shouldn't be too many people that i would need to take into consideration getting into my filming. It also is close to the Wymondham abbey which would look nice in the background of my filming. Also i have chosen Riverside in Norwich, this keeps a running theme throughout but is a change of scene so that my film location wont become boring. Also i have chosen to do some filming at my house.

Location

I have closely looked at they lyrics of my chosen song to help me think of suitable locations to be included in my music video. The location is extremely important because it can change the feel of the emotions set out in the video and is visually a key part as it portrays a certain atmosphere.

Some idea's for locations :

Outside the school gates ( flashback to the part 'summer after high school when we first met)
Girls bedroom for the main part.
Streets. (chorus bit)
Along the river

History of the music video

Definition of a music video : a short film or video that accompanies a piece of music. Modern music videos are usually made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of the music track. Although the origins of music videos date back much further, they came into importance in the 1980s. Prior to the 80s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", film", or "promotional clip".

Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action.

Important dates:

1967–1973: Promotional clips grow in importance

1980's : The first video to be banned by MTV was Queen's 1982 hit "Body Language". Due to thinly veiled homoerotic undertones plus lots of skin and lots of sweat , it was deemed unsuitable for a television audience at the time.

1974–1980 – Beginnings of music television
The long-running British TV show Top of the Pops began playing music videos in the late 1970s, although the BBC placed strict limits on the number of 'outsourced' videos TOTP could use. Therefore a good video would increase a song's sales as viewers hoped to see it again the following week

1981–1991: Music videos go mainstream

1992–2004: Rise of the directors

2005–present: The Internet becomes video-friendly

In 2010, Lady Gaga's video "Telephone" was banned by MTV. MTV had banned the video claiming that the content could not be shown within their programming.

Audience Research

Audience research is a key part of any project. Without the audience, the product wouldn't be a success and would be pretty much pointless. Each person within a target audience has a valid opinion and all their thoughts should be taken into consideration to create the best product possible. There are many ways in which audience research can be done. This can include creating questionnaires for people to fill out and then graphs can be made to show results. Video's can be recorded of people expressing their thoughts and this can be a good way to keep track of what the target audience would recommend. Audience research is a really good way to get inspiration for the project as it gives you an idea of what people look for other than your own personal vision for it.

Other tasks :

As well as creating my music video i need to design and create a digi-pak which includes a magazine advert for the release of the single and the album cover and inserts.

For the magazine advert i am going to keep it simple but effective. I plan to use my two characters and place the title of the album (name of music video) as well as the release date and some quotes from reviews of it and a star rating and possibly a tag line to entice people to purchasing it.

For the album cover the back page will have a track list and small print at the bottom including the contributors to the album as this is what album covers normally show. I will also include a bar code. The front page of the pack will have the title and an image of the artist. I will research album covers that are similar to what i want mine to look like and maybe make mine into a spoof. I will include some inserts of photos of my artist and a section for information on the songs when they were written etc and a section on thanks from the artist as this is a popular idea artists use.

Lyrics Analysis

Audience Research Results

I decided to create graphs so that my results were easier and clearer to view. I asked a total of twenty people to fill in my questionnaire. As many of them didnt want to be filmed i decided to present my data in this way. I have found this audience research extremley useful and it will be of great value to me in my production work.

Audience Research Questionnaire

Below is a music questionnaire that i designed and created for a select number of my target audience.

1. Where do you mainly watch music videos?
Youtube
Google
Yahoo Music
MTV
Other

2. How often do you watch music videos?
Once a week
2-3 times a week
4-5 times a week
5+ times a week

3. What is your favourite genre of music video?
R'n'B
HipHop
Drum and Bass
Classic
Pop
Rock
Other

4. Do you prefer when the artist/band is featured in the music video?
Yes
No

5. Do you prefer a music video to be more like a short film or not?
Yes
No

6. Do you prefer the lyrics to be relevant to the music video or not?
Yes
No

7. Do you watch a music video more than once?
Yes
No

8. Do you prefer a random plot to a music video or one which is easy to understand?
Random
Easy to understand

9. Do you recommend your favourite music videos to your friends?
Yes
No

10. Does a good music video influence you to buy the song?
Yes
No

Media Research : Video's

History of the pop video:

1950 first colour TV advert
music video's came from MGM
Beatles video for strawberry fields was very influential
1974 music video era was born
music video's bring album covers to life

MTV:

launched in August 1981
first video to be shown was video killed the radio star
MTV is broadcasted in at least 83 countries reaching at least 300 million homes
high production and large budgets don't always mean high quality
Tim Hope
a sense of vulnerability with low budget video's

Fashion in music Video's:

Mary.J.Blige "fashion and make up are very important in a music video"
1985 Robert Palmer "Music video's can be very tedious and artificial" His addicted to love music video was shot in 20 minutes - extremely controversial video - seen to be sexist as women all look the same and are seen as just objects - standing behind a powerful man

Music Video Lyrics Idea

Katy Perry : The one that got away

Summer after high school when we first met
We make-out in your Mustang to Radiohead
And on my 18th Birthday (18th balloons, banners etc)
We got matching tattoos (temporary tattoos)

Used to steal your parents' liquor
And climb to the roof (window seat overlooking)
Talk about our future (flick through a calender)
like we had a clue
Never planned that one day
I'd be losing you (guy disappears from seat)

In another life
I would be your girl
We keep all our promises
Be us against the world

In another life
I would make you stay (girl grabs guy)
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
The one that got away

I was June and you were my Johnny Cash
Never one without the other We made a pact
Sometimes when I miss you
I put those records on (whoa) (girl playing Cd's that remind her of the guy)

Someone said you had your tattoo removed (tattoo gone)
Saw you downtown singing the Blues
It's time to face the music
I'm no longer your muse

But in another life
I would be your girl
We keep all our promises
Be us against the world

In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
the one that got away
The one(X3)
The one that got away

All this money can't buy me a time machine (No) (girl crying)
Can't replace you with a million rings (No) (opens jewelery box)
I shoulda told you what you meant to me (Whoa)
Cause now i pay the price

In another life
I would be your girl
We keep all our promises
Be us against the world

In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
The one that got away
The one(X3)

In another life
I would make you stay
So I don't have to say
You were the one that got away
The one that got away



Using these lyrics i plan to have a female and male character in a typical teenage love story but by adding twists and parts to it that are not expected in this type of video. I choose this song because it is one that i personally like and i believe that i can create a good story line with the song and even though it is by a well known singer it is not one of the most famous songs from her.

Music Video's

This music is fairly surreal. The idea is that of a games board. The first shot we see is of the game box being opened and follows through this idea with Katy being placed on a tile marked 'start'. The editing for this video is of an extremely high standard. The teddy's are animated which brings the game to life. The set of dice are edited into slow motion when they are being rolled. Katy is smaller than SnoopDog and this to helps represent that she is like a games counter. Katy starts by making very slow movements and this gives the idea that she is exploring this candy world. In a part of the music video Katy performs in a scripted dance routine which is one of the mostly used conventions of a music video.I really like this music video because it is so unique and there isn't another one like it. The video is extremely creative and uses a lot of different imaginative idea's to create an interesting and eye catching video. The makers of this video have experimented with many concepts that are really fun and exciting. The mise en scene of the video has had a lot of time spent on it and is very detailed. The costumes have obviously had a lot of time and effort spent on them and are really effective with the relevance to the lyrics.I like that there is a lot of bold colours and the use of the gummy bears being animated is really creative. The video is very bright and light and there are many different camera shots being used so the audience gets to see a lot of different types of levels. The editing has been cut to a high standard.

Music Video - Bruno Mars

This music video is very unique and one of a kind. A lot of creative effort has gone into the piece. The video tells a story and takes the audience of a journey. It is a different approach to a love story music video and the footage is relevant to the lyrics. The colours are kept light and neutral with out the use of bold colours as this would take the impact from the tape feature. There is a lot of light coming through the glass windows which helps to create a happy and vibrant feel within the room. The body language between the couple is very intimate and they seem to be very comfortable around eachother. Both characters are wearing quite relaxed and chilled out clothing and may be used to eachothers presence. They are however still making an effort with their appearence. There is a lot of eye contact throughout the whole video between the two actors and this helps create emotion. The audience is kept entertained by the use of reality and stop motion switching every so often. This helps to stop the watcher from becoming bored. The footage ends nicely by having Bruuno playing the piano in the tape and then the camera going up and Bruno is playing the piano in real life. This is one of my favourite music videos because of how creative it is.

Music Video's

The Only Exception by Paramore.


The video takes the audience through a story as the song plays and the scene's are really relevant to the lyrics. The video is made up of fairly simple idea's but is really effective. I like the fact that the locations used within the video are ones that people would regularly use and that are quite basic such as the lounge, a concert venue, the bedroom and a restaurant.
The video includes many different concepts of mise-en-scene. Each room is decorated differently and this helps to create a different mood in each room. For example in the lounge the colours are fairly neutral palette and this is fairly usual in a family home. There is then a room which has a deep, bold colour and this helps to create a different atmosphere. The video then shows more then one room at a time and the different colours really emphasise this split within the house. The costume that the Dad is wearing is very typical of a middle class man and the costume of the girl (Hayley) is that of a typical teenager of her genre. The middle part of the video is when a lot of tension is created. The camera zooms out of Haley's face to reveal her lying on a pile of spread out valentines cards. All of the cards are hand made which shows real meaning to them and that they are obviously special and important. There is then a flash to a live session of the band and this gives the audience an opportunity to see the whole band and gives a bit of variety to the video. There is a part were Hayley walks through a clothes closet and the clothes are very disorganised and each item is different. This may represent that she is going through a bit of a crazy time in her personal life and doesn't really know what direction she is headed in. There is a light on the table at the restaurant which really emphasises the two actors as their surroundings are dark so the light makes them stand out. In the wedding hall, Hayley is dressed in black and everyone else in white which shows a contrast between the actors. She then runs into a bright light which shows she doesn't really know what the future holds. In the club/concert scene the two main actors seem to not really realise the busyness which is going on around them. At the end of the video Hayley back tracks her steps where she was alone and the end scene finishes with the first scene but with a complete circle made and different emotions shown.

Personality Points:

The points listed below descirbe the typical person i believe would listen/watch my music video.

16-25 years old
enjoys going clubbing at the weekend and socialising with friends during the week
watches MTV music channel and surfs through youtube video's during spare time
has a part time job in retail
likes to keep up to date with the latest fashion trends and celebrity news
lives at home with both Mum and Dad
learning to drive/can drive
shops in high street stores such as topshop/h&m/new look

Points for this Year:

I will stay focused
I will use my time more sufficiently
I will make sure my blog updates are always kept updated and with detail
I will make sure my plan is clear so i can keep on track
I will make sure i make the best of the software i have available

I wont miss deadlines for coursework or blogs
I wont just keep blogging and other tasks to lesson time
I wont keep changing my idea's but stick to one and put all my effort into it
I wont use the same music that i based my work on last year
I wont get distracted

Action Plan

I need to create an action plan as this will help me stay focused and show me what i need to do.

Moodboard:

For part of my research i am going to create a mood board of print screen shots from music video's in which i have got some sort of inspiration for that i could use in my own music video. For example i might print screen a certain location in a video that i could use in my own, or certain ways the video looks for example lighting behind it that i could adapt to an idea for my own. This mood board will help me to start thinking about what i am going to include in my video and it will help me to be creative by looking at all the different idea's that inspired me.

Research:

I am going to spend time researching different music video's that are already available and evaluate them. When evaluating these music video's it will show me and help me understand what works within a music video and what doesn't. I will be able to look and see what components often come up in different video's and what unique points different music video's use to be more creative and stand out from the others.

Audience Research:

I plan to gather some audience research as this will help me to look at other people's idea's and to see what they believe makes a good music video. I will show a selection of people individually and get them to watch a number of music video's and then make comments on the video as to what they liked about it and what they didn't like so much about it.

Plan:

After my research i need to create a production plan that will explain what tasks need to be done for the music video to start being made. The plan will put all my idea's together and will help me make my final decision on what exactly to do and how i am going to do it.

1) Research various music videos and ones from previous A2 students
2) Audience research into what types of music and videos the public enjoy.Possible questionnaire on music for public.
3) Think of possible song choices and look into the lyrics.
4) Post video of vox pop on blog.
5) Choose song.
6) Think of video story line and ideas.
7) Research into what characters/actors we would use in video.
8) Choose the actors we want in video.
9) Research various scenery and theme ideas.
10) Sort out the costumes
11) Start shooting some clips.
12) Edit the video

Research Questions - G235

How did your research into genre contribute to your production work?

I looked at different genres of music for my foundation portfolio from pop music and r'n'b to rock and heavy metal. Each genre of music gives out a different feel and i learnt that the genre of music would influence the lay out of my magazine as the different genres appeal to different audiences so needs to be suitable.



How did your research into audience contribute to your production work?

Audience research was one of the most important parts of my planning as for the product to be successful it needed to appeal to my target audience. I created a questionnaire so that i could gather information and feedback from a range of people.


How did your research into institutions responsible for the production and regulation of the media influence your production work?



I looked into different institutions such as NME and IPC media to look at the different concepts and idea's that go in to magazine production especially more of the behind the scenes processes. The research i carried out influenced my work because i tried to follow the structure of magazines that are actually already available.
What pre-production planning techniques did you employ (scripting, storyboarding, shot-lists etc.)? How effective was your planning – how did it help you in the production phase?
In my planning i decided what locations i wanted to use and how i wanted the set up for the images to be. I created drafts of my article and mock-up's of how my magazine would look and where things would be placed in it.

What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?


I learnt that planning is extremely important and needs to have a lot of effort put into it, because without the planning then the rest of the production wont run as smoothly as it could do which results in deadlines not being met and the product not being as good as it could be.

How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?


The feedback from the audience research was very valuable and i always referred to it when i was working through my portfolio. Without the customers the magazine wouldn't work and so it is very important to always be thinking about what appeals to the audience and what their idea's are for things to be included.

Creativity Questions G325

Planning (looking back at last year)
What features of your work would you say are original to you?


There were parts of my work which were was original such as in magazines the editors normally place the photos either in between the text or make a collage on one page however i decided to put my images in a film strip to make it more original and unique.


Which media texts and producers have influenced your creative decisions?
 When i created my media portfolio i looked into many magazines that are already available such as mixmag, NME etc. The layouts of these different genre music magazines inspired me to be creative with my own idea's for my project.

How successfully does your work engage its audience and provoke its interest?

I believe that my work is very engaging to the audience for many different reasons. For example, i advertise a competition on the front of the magazine which automatically appeals to my audience of late teenagers. There is a bold heading which is very eye catching and the font is appropriate. The image covers the whole of the front page so it stands out and gives the reader an idea immediatley of what genre the magazine is.


Consider some of the creative choices you had to make during the course of your production – how to use cameras, lighting, dialogue, colour etc. How did you make these decisions, and how did these contribute to the final production?

 My images were taken at a live concert and so i did have difficulty in that i couldnt control concepts such as lighting, however i made the best of what i had and used the camera to the best of my ablity, with using different settings on the camera to get the best quality photo. I spent time researching colours as i believe that colour is really important for a magazine as different colours give different feels and creates different moods.

What is Creativity? G235

Planning:
Creativity can be described as using lots of different idea's and many methods to create a piece of work. It can describe someone who uses many different concepts to achieve a piece of work such as a painting.

4 characteristics :

• imagination
• purpose
• originality
• of value

'imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value '



Imagination with a purpose : I try out lots of different ways to do things and solve problems for example if a piece of work isn't progressing well , i will stop and overcome the problem by trying to look at the work from a different way. Also i can create things in my mind so for example when i am writing an essay i have to plan it in my head and work through the essay before i actually write anything. I try and see in my head how the essay is going to go.



Value: I can make observations about value of others' work, so i can see how other people work differently to achieve their purpose. For example when revising i look at how other people revise and this may also be useful to me to help me remember work better. Also i can review my progress, i stop and think about how i am doing in my work. For example in an essay, every so often i will pause and look at what i have done so far so i can see if i am on the right track and if not then i can change it.



Originality: I am interested in discovery and i like finding out about new things and new ways of doing things as i believe that sometimes you can find a better way of helping you do well in a piece of work so should always be looking for alternative methods to help you. I think that i take risk and that i am prepared to try things out even if they may not work as even though it may not work you may learn something new from it even if it is how not to do something.

G325

G325 is a written paper in the Summer. It is called a synoptic paper as it draws everything together we have learnt. Section A is devoted to production work (g324) from AS and A2.

In relation to your AS Foundation Portfolio, describe briefly:

1. Research tasks carried out (including audience research/research into similar media texts)

The research i carried out when planning my magazine was that i created a mood board with different ideas including things such as colour schemes. I also looked into different magazines that are already available, to see how they are presented and to get layout ideas for my magazine. I made sure that these magazines were music ones so that i could easily compare them to the idea of my own one. I spent a lot of time and effort with audience research so i could get points from my target audience of what they would like to be included so that my magazine would appeal to them.

2. Planning activities undertaken - including scripting/storyboarding/actors' notes.

I did a preliminary task to give me an idea of how the final product would turn out and what adjustments there would need to be made to make my product better. I created a school magazine for this task. It gave me the opportunity to learn and experiment with the camera and the editing software avaliable. I also did mock up pictures so i could change points such as lighting to give me the best product i could.

3. Challenges which arose during post-production - including editing/layout design.

At some times during my portfolio the software was not working properly which meant that at some tasks i was behind the deadline so needed to work faster to catch up. I wanted to use a suitable font for my magazine but some of the computers would not let me download the appropriate font.