Magazine Advert Final

Digipak Final

Original Plan for magazine advert

Magazine advert analysis from our genre - Kings Of Leon

Magazine advert analysis from our genre

 

The magazine advert is from the band Kings of Leon, they are an alternative rock band that are popular throughout the UK and overseas. The album ‘only by the night’ was released in September 2008. The idea if brining out this magazine advert was to attract the target audience. It allows them to get an insight into the album and the songs within this album before it is released. It is usually targeted at the ‘fan girls/boys’ as they can’t wait until the album is released.

The image that is displayed is rather indie/rock and has been cleverly constructed. The use of a man’s face and then what looks like an owl that has been embedded within the image makes it look alternative rock as it doesn’t follow stereotypes. It shows a close up of the man and the owl which shows their faces and the upper body/shoulder. The use of a close up it to show the owl that has been embedded within in. Also, the image used is strange in the sense that it looks like the man has two sets of eyes. For example, this cold connote that he is ‘two faced’ which would show that he isn’t as innocent as he first seems to be.

The colours used are quite broad as there are many different shades such as blue, red, yellow, white, cream, brown and black. This use of variety of colours connotes that the band may have many different personalities. For example, white may symbolise purity/innocence and the bright colours such as yellow and blue connote their ‘wild’ side of their personalities.

 Moreover, the typography that is used is rather short and doesn’t tell the audience a lot. The magazine advert displays the usual band name, album name and a few different sponsors etc. at the bottom. The titles vary is colour as the band name is displayed in a bold white colour white small blue lines below it to make the title bright and stand out to the audience.

 

Music Magazine Advertisement Analysis - Rihanna

Music video advertisement analysis

 

Rihanna – Russian roulette

 I will be analysing the music magazine advert by Rihanna. This was album was released in 2009 and the actual music videos have been censored. This magazine advert was produced as it is a way of her attracting her audience to make sure they know what when the album is released.

 The image we see within the advert is rather rock/indie. The titles are spaced out nicely and can be seen visibly without struggle which is good as it looks professionally. She has stated the name of the album and then there is some more text below that which I think works well as it fills out the page rather than it being plain and simple. The titles are colour coded the same as the image which is predominately black and white theme which is noticeable. Also the expression on her face suggests that she is aggressive which is non stereotypical. Also, the way her eyes are looking up at the camera makes her look suspicious and someone that has something to hide which links to the colour red which is shown as red connotes danger therefore they could be a ‘danger’ theme running throughout this album.

The use of the close up as the main image with this magazine advert is effective as it shows her off as an artist as they want to make sure she is centre of attention as although they want people to know about her new album they also want to create more publicity about Rihanna herself. Furthermore, the hand that is positioned over her face connotes that she is upset/fed up which could suggest her album is all about her life and how she’s fed up.

The image shown looks like it has been hand drawn when you look at the top left hand side as it looks like it has been smudged. This is something that is different as Rihanna usually has very professional/bright magazine adverts therefore this works well as it is something that isn’t seen often.

Music Magazines Advertisement Analysis - Jessie J

Music magazines advertisement analysis

Jessie J

I will be analysing a music magazine advertisement of ‘Jessie J. Magazine adverts tend to appear in magazines when a singer is releasing a new album as it means they can attract their audience and give them an insight into the number of songs on the album etc. also, another benefit of music magazine advertisement is that it's cheaper more efficient way of marketing their product as other forms of marketing are a lot more expensive such as TV adverts etc. on the other hand of advertising in only music magazines is that only people that buy music magazines will see the advert and therefore their audience won’t increase, it just means the current fans get an insight into the new album as people that aren’t fans will not want to buy the magazine necessarily because it has that advertisement inside.

 Within the image, it shows the artist of which is ‘Jessie J’, the clear theme with this magazine advertisement is black and gold. As you can see, she is wearing jewellery of which is gold ear rings. This connotes that she has a lot of money or wealth. The artist is also wearing black and gold which goes nicely with the theme that is consistent. The titles within this are gold.

 Moreover, the actual image of her is a close up, this could suggest that they want to show her off to the audience to show she is the main character and want the publicity to be on her. Also, the close up shows an angry look on her face which is non-stereotypical to see a woman with an aggressive look on their face as this is not an expression women do. Furthermore, the artist’s website is written at the bottom of the advert which shows that she is trying to get more page views on her website or she might sell merchandise on her website which connotes that she wants more money/wealth.

 Within the magazine advertisement, the information that is seen on the advert is limited and there is not a lot to see or read. You see a few titles and the image of the artist on the cover. The artist's name is right in the centre of the advertisement which has clearly been thought through because they want to make her centre of attention. The album name is directly under the artist's name however it does not stand out as much, but this is not a major problem.

 

Plan For Digipak

Digipak Analysis from our genre - The Script

Analysis of digipak in our genre

Below is the digipak for The Script, they are also alternative rock which is helpful for me as it allows me to develop my ideas in order to make mine the best it can possibly be.

Typography

The title that is seen on the front cover is ‘The Script – Science and Faith. This title is bond and stands out in the colour black. This is what you typically see on the front of an alternative rock digipak and this is quite simple but also effective. The image on te digipak links with the album name ‘science and faith’, which shows that it is been clearly thought out and planned to all interlink. On the back cover, the simple/plain theme continues in terms of typography as there’s not a lot to see other than the titles of the songs and the record label ‘Sony Music’.

Setting

The theme that is seen within this digipak is faith/unity and all about being united as one. This is shown within the images as you can see there is two hands that are wrapped around each other and then on the back cover you can see two hands that are held against each other to form one. I think that the way the title links to the images is very clever as it reinforces the theme that is present within this

Colour/design

Again, the colour in this simple, just a plain cream that fades into a bland white colour. These colours have been used due to the fact the hand are white/cream therefore they want to reinforce this by also making the background that colour. Also, the white colour that has been used might be to represent purity/innocence and this can be backed up with how the hands are held unison.  

Images

The first thing you see when looking at the front cover is two hands grasping each other which looks quite simple and something you don’t tend to see, however I think this actually works well because it’s obviously a sign to show that all the members of The Script unite as one when they sing so the thinking behind the image is in fact clever. The image is of two peoples hands when stereotypically you tend to see a lot more than that, usually it will be the top half of someone’s body or their head.

Digipak analysis - Lana Del Rey

Setting
Looking at the two images that show her posing for the camera you can see that its set somewhere near a rainforest, this is due to the fact there are tall trees in close proximity. It’s set in the day time and you can see this by looking at the sky shown in the images. The front cover overall is quite bland as there’s not that many used, for example there’s only white, blue , green and grey. The colour of the sky is blue which matches the title ‘born to die’, which makes me think a lot of thought has gone into this. Moreover, the use of the colour white which is quite significant in this digipak could connote purity or a sense of innocence.

Colour/design The colour used within this digipak has clearly been thought out well. The main colours of this digipak are red, blue and white which can be seen on the front cover and in the images show on to the left. These colours when put together make up the American flag; this could be a sign of her being patriotic. The colours complement each other well and work well together. The white within this digipak could connote purity and this can be backed up with the expression on her face, it is very innocent and creates an image of her to be seen as harmless. Moreover, the red within this from her hair and lips and on the back of the digipak could connote two things. The first being danger and the second being love. By the look on her face and the background colours I believe it’s a symbol of love. The last colour is blue, this colour adds a nice touch to the digipak because it gives it a bit of light and adds to the image that she is sweet and innocent.

Images

The images shown within this digipak are quite plain and the two images we see of her she’s wearing the same clothing and has the same expression on her face. On the back cover we have just a plain red background and then there is a list of the songs on it. This could have been enhanced if there were a fading image of her on the back or something to add a bit of creativity to it.

Typography
The typography used is again quite basic and plain, this theme runs through out and although it doesn’t look very attractive, the theme hasn’t changed and has remained quite plain which actually has a positive effect as it shows they are consistent. ‘LANA DEY REY’ is seen on the front cover, very big and bright which shows the audience they want people to remember the name. Also, it is coloured I white which again supports my point about purity and innocence. However, on the back cover there are names of the songs, the font has changed for this which creates a rustic look to the digipak. Also, the writing on the bottom of the back cover is in black which could connote that is the main song. Moreover, the ‘born to die’ title is centred in the middle at the bottom which looks professional and smart.
 

 

Digipak Analysis - Rihanna

Initial ideas on your own music video

Research into chosen genre

Research into chosen genre

Our chosen genre is alternative rock, we chose this genre as we believed that it would be the best way forward as our actor fits the stereotype for the type of actor that would typically be seen. Alternative rock is a genre that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980’s and became popular in the 1990’s. However, in the 2000s alternative rock became more popular. Several alternative rock bands emerged, including The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and the killers gained success.

 

Example of alternative rock music video:

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

As you can see in the image to the left, it shows a popular alternative rock music video that is very famous within the UK. Due to the fact our chosen genre isn’t very popular it is hard to find songs that are well known.

The audience for this type of genre in my opinion is different to the mainstream audiences such as hip-hop, Rap etc. as alternative rock audiences are usually 'hippy' meaning they look address different to the casual stereotype.

Analysis from our genre: Oasis - Wonderwall

Textual analysis of music video in our genre

 Oasis - Wonderwall

Genre

The genre of this music video is alternative rock as this music video is my genre as I am creating a video that is alternative rock. There are connotations within this music video that suggest to me this video is alternative rock. The black and white colour scheme throughout is one factor and also the medium camera shots which show the characters waist area and the instrument they are playing.

Narrative
This is a simple narrative video and this comes across in the camera shots and editing techniques. The camera work shows a variety of close ups, mid shots and longs shots. The close ups are used as according to Andrew Goodwin's theory, the label record demand close ups to show the artists off. They do this as they want the most publicity on the artists. The camerawork is very simple and doesn't use any fancy camera shots or angles and this is because of the fact it links into the simple narrative of the video. Moreover, linking into the rather simple narrative of the music video, is the editing. The editing used within this music video is mainly the use of simple cuts with a few flashes here and there but this is not seen often. The straight cuts is to make the video more realistic and the flashes are used to make the video more interesting and it fits into the pace of the music beats. The special effects within this video is the black and white contrast and the flashing on the editing side. This is used to keep up the pace of the video to stop it being inconsistent.

Technical codes

There are a variety of camera angles and editing techniques used within this music video which make it a good alternative rock video. The first interesting camera shot which is seen at the start and it shows an establishing shot of where they are filming. The shot is good as it shows the surroundings for the audience and lets them in on the setting. Also, towards the middle of the video, you can see a low angle of one of the main characters sitting in a chair. This low angle connotes dominance within the piece and shows he’s the most powerful.

 

 

Visual codes

The music video is set within a building which has an open area of which they perform in. Due to the fact it is black and white it is hard to differentiate between the different locations if there is more than one. The dominant colour as stated above is black and white, this create an old, rustic look to the music video which also goes well with the song itself as it looks like it is set in the old times. Moreover, there are no use of typography within this video which I like is good as it runs with the music video as in the olden days you wouldn’t stereotypically see titles with within the video as technology wasn’t as enhanced as it is now.

Audience

The target audience for this music video is mainly for people aged between 20 – 45 as I know it has that old theme to it which will be liked by the older audience and then it has the well-known popular performers who will attract the younger audience. The audience can access this through YouTube and iTunes which is the most common way for the younger audience. However the older side of the target audience will probably access it via a store and will buy the CD. This is the most common way of listening to a song for someone above 40 as they haven’t been introduced to the technology that’s around today such as Spotify, sound cloud and ITunes.

Organisation

The record company play a significant role within the music video as they want the most money from the video. Also, sponsors want their brand to be shown off as much as sponsors therefore the use of close ups is important as they are paying the artist to wear/use their product and therefore you have to consider sponsors.

Analysis from our genre: Coldplay – fix it

Textual analysis from our genre

Coldplay – fix it

Genre

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. Also, 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.

Narrative

The narrative of this piece I believe is rather complicated. This is because what is seen is seen within the music video doesn’t relate to the lyrics throughout. There is only way section where he says “lights will guide you home” and then a stream of lights appear to follow him however this is not consistent as it is a one off and therefore it doesn’t link to Goodwin’s theory. However, there are aspects of ‘Propps’ theory which relates to whether there are recognisable characters.  The theme that runs throughout is ‘night’ as throughout the whole music video it is dark and he constantly looks like he is making his way back home. The general storyline is that the character (there’s only main character) is singing whilst he looks like he is making his way back home. Then there is a twist as he’s actually running to a concert to perform in front of a large crowd. This then turns into a performance/narrative music video rather than just narrative.

Technical codes

There are a number of interesting camera shots and editing techniques within this music video. 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. This is good as it gives the audience a small insight into where it is set, the number of characters that are in the video and a generally feel for where they are. Moreover, another interesting shot is the use of the low angle, this was used to make the character seem dominant and powerful which is stereotypical because men are usually the dominant gender and this is suggesting the same thing. Furthermore, the editing that is used throughout is slow which matches the pace of the song which is also slow therefore it shows consistency and shows it has clearly been thought through. Also, transitions aren’t very frequent; they aren’t constant which also adds to the slow pace of the music video itself. The effect of all of this to create a sad mood/atmosphere as the song is ‘fix you’ which could connote someone isn’t very well and therefore needs fixing which is sad.

 

Visual codes

The video is set within London and I know this because within one of the shots you see a rail sign which says ‘Kings Cross’. Also, it is set in the arches underneath the rail station which you tend to see in London but is seen everywhere. The dominant colour within this music video is black/brown, these colours are typically associate with death and the fact the song is called ‘fix you’ could connote that they are talking about someone who might be close to passing away and they want to fix them.  

Audience

Personally, I do not think this music video is directly aimed at a certain group of people this is due to the fact I know it is liked by people of all ages and people listen to this song when they are upset. The key signifiers that indicate this are the everything is mutual or in the middle. 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. Fans can access this video via YouTube or the TV as there are music channels now however YouTube is more efficient.

Lip Syncing - importance

Lip syncing – what is it and what is its importance

Lip syncing is the process of getting the persons lip movement to go in sync with the music. The person who is meant to be singing the song will have to know the lyrics of the song very well otherwise if they are not confident when miming the lyrics it will look unprofessional and will effectively ruin the music video. Moreover, the importance of lip syncing is some of what I have mentioned above but the main importance of it is so everything runs smoothly and so that the viewer can genuinely believe that the person miming the song actually looks genuine. This is where character also comes into as you need to have a character that actually looks like the stereotype that’s seen within those type of videos.

The video below is an exmaple of a music video that A2 students produced, i chose this video as it is an good exmaple of lip syncing and the characters fit perfectly. 

Importance of lyrics

Importance of lyrics

 There are a few main reasons why lyrics are important, the main reason for having lyrics is because it helps the audience to engage with the song, for example for lyrics could relate to a current situation that the viewer is having at that moment in time. This could also help the viewer as the song could be about a breakup and because the viewer can relate it may make them feel better about it. Another reason for lyrics is it helps the narrative, this means that the lyrics help he storyline that is going on in the background, and it helps the audience understand what is going on through lyrics and narrative. Moreover, lyrics also help set the scene, for example in James Blunt’ song called ‘beautiful’, the lyrics at the start help set the scene and atmosphere for the audience. The last reason for importance of lyrics is it help to convey a message to the audience in the sense that the lyrics could be all about love and how it hurts people so the message/morale of the song is not to fall in love.

The purpose of magazine adverts and digipaks

The purpose of magazine adverts and digipaks

 

Digipaks/adverts

The purpose of a digipak is to promote the film and create more revenue for the music company that’s producing the song. Digipaks typically consists of a book-style paper or cardboard outer binding with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside.

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums

Digipak-style cases grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s. Below is an example of a digipak and a magazine advert. The magazine advert would probably take up a whole page within the magazine, this is good as when people are reading the magazine you cannot miss the advert and therefore this should advertise to the reader.

The purpose of a music video

The purpose of a music video

The music videos we are going to make have regulations so that everyone’s has the same chance of making it the best they can. However, the purpose of music videos is to generate more revenue for music companies but also for the artist. It is also meant to leave a mark on the viewer’s so that they remember the song and to entertain the audience and by doing that it allows the performers to show off other talents such as dancing etc.

Therefore, there are three types of music videos, they are:

—  Performance – shows a performance of an artist within the video, for example performing on stage.

—  Narrative – the video of the song tells a story in some way – will most likely link to the lyrics.

—  Concept – concept videos tend to be based around one particular idea

An example of a successful music video is ‘thriller’ by Michael Jackson. It sold over nine million copies in 2009 and also received an honour.

What makes a good student music video?

What makes a good student music video?

 

Music videos need to be tailored to fit the genre of the music whether they are for a music company or for a school music video like the one. Moreover, for a school music video to be classed as it needs to have the following features;

·         Video fits genre of music

·         Characters are thought and fit in with genre etc.

·         Costumes should have been considered

·         Casting should have been considered

·         Setting should have been considered

The little elements to a music video when put together make up the most of the video. These elements need to have been considered in some way to ensure everything interlinks. For example if theme is set in a jungle then costumes need to be tailored to suit what is stereotypically worn when entering a jungle like scenario. This is vital to ensure that you get the top grades. The following images below all interlink and make sense if the piece is set in a jungle/forest. The characters have been considered as they are unshaven due to the fact they do not have access to stuff like razors etc. also, they wear clothes that match the colour of the setting (Brown, greens, yellows etc.) this links and makes them blend in with the background to ensure they aren't spotted by wildlife.

Analysis of student music video

Analysis of past student music video

Genre

The genres for this piece are indie, electronic and pop. The reason for having more than one genre for this music video is due to the fact that the video has connotations of all three genres therefore you cannot just say it has one. The video has a constant repetitive beat throughout and doesn’t go any faster or slower which is good as it shows consistency.

Narrative
within this music video I believe the narrative is evident which is good as it means that people can straight away identify what is going on and what might happen later on in the music video. However, this could also be a negative as some people like to be surprised by narrative of music videos. To start with straight away you can identify that there is two teenage males in a field drinking underage. Then, we see the same males running after a male where they pin him up against a wall and beat him up until he is left on the floor helpless. Moreover, throughout the music video, we see constantly see short clips of another male training in a gym and practicing on a boxing bag which I believe is because he wants to make himself stronger so he can stand up to the bullies. Then towards the end of the video we see the guy who is always beaten up stand up for himself and pins one of the bullies into the corner where he puts his fist to his face however he doesn’t hit him. This shows the comparison between the two characters and how they act. Although the storyline is rather basic, it clearly shows that a lot of thought has gone into it through camera shots, acting, locations, clothing etc. this is what makes it a very good student music video.

Technical codes
In this student music video, there are a number of camera shots and editing techniques that are clearly well thought out. The first one that interested me was the editing at the start where there was use of a time lapse. The camera was steadily filming the sky for a number of hours and then when they edited it they made it go faster so it looked like a lapse in time which was very effective as it showed an array of colours. Moreover, towards the middle of the clip there was a close up of the guy who gets beaten up; this close up was to show the wounds of the victim and to make the audience feel sorry for him. The second camera shot that was effective was at the same time when the guy was getting beaten up. There was use of a low angle on the offender to show the dominance he has over the victim and to make people scared of him.

 

 

 

Representation
The most evident representation in this student music video is the idea that teenagers and people of youth are making stupid decisions and that they are thugs and all they do is commit crime, although that is the stereotype for youths in today’s society that does not portray a true image of everyone because not all young people are like that. Moreover, the part where the young males knew they made a stupid decision was when their body language was very hunched over and their hands were on their head. At that point they understood what they did was wrong and wanted to make emends however it might have been too late because the victim was scarred.

Audience

I would say the audience for this piece would be in males in-between 15 – 20, the stage between being too old to be a teenager but too young to be an adult. I believe this is the age for this audience as towards and the middle of the piece we see one of the characters messing about on what looks like a bike/toy for children. This connotes that the actor is rather childish and because he’s doing things like what teenagers do the audience can relate which suggests that’s the target audience. The audience can access this video most likely through YouTube as this way is easier and doesn’t cost to access the site.

 

Visual codes

The video is set in a number of different locations, the first one we see is in a field where one of the actors is drinking and the second location is a gym where throughout the video we see the actor who gets bullied training on the boxing bag. For the majority of the music video we see two parts of the storyline, the boy who constantly gets beaten up is always seen in the gym working hard and his body composition is upright whereas the bullies are always hunched over with their hands on their head. This could be then showing remorse for what they did and feeling guilty. Furthermore, at the start we see typography which says ‘stuck – canopy climbers’, this is obviously stating the name of the song and the band. This is quite simplistic and looks good as its professional and goes well with the rustic background.

 

Analysis of student music video - Macklemore // can't hold us

Analysis of student music video

Macklemore – Can’t hold us

Genre

The genre of this student music video is Hip hop I would say and the artist is the same. Hip hop generally contains fast paced editing and lots of transitions. A hip hop song called ‘2 chainz – no lie’ has connotations of hip hop genre music videos as it contains lots of cuts, montages of camera shots, follows the characters occasionally which is what is seen within the student video as well.

Narrative

The narrative for this student music video is quite a simple one, however it does have some elements within it that are quite hard to understand. The piece starts off with a business man sat down at a café with his bag and then two old school robbers sit with him and then the business man walks off with the wrong bag. This sets up the music video nicely as you have an understanding of what is going to happen. They end up going on a wild goose chase around London trying to get their bag back as the whole idea of it is they have stolen something, most likely money that’s why they are dressed up as thieves. However, as you get towards the end of the piece they is a massive surprise as when the business man opens the bag, a hen appears which is a nice twist to the video as the audience were led astray by the use of mise-en-scene which was the clothing they were wearing. I would say this narrative links to Todorov’s theory as it does throughout however at the end it is completely different but if I were to say it links to a theory then I would definitely say Todorov’s theory suits the narrative.

 

 

Technical codes

Within this music video, there are a number of different camera angles/shots and editing techniques that make it stand out from the rest. I noticed that throughout the piece that the camera actually helps to tell the story. This is because the camera follows the actors as they are trying to find the business man, the use of the camera movement enabled the audience to follow the piece and engage with it.  Moreover, another shot which was clearly thought out was an establishing shot of the three actors, it was effective as they added a cartoon effect to it to make it look modern and it had some originality about it. Furthermore, throughout the piece there was a constant us of fast paced editing. This enhanced the music video because it kept a constant pace throughout which showed consistency and meant that the audience didn’t get bored at any time because the pace didn’t slow down at all.

 

Audience

The target audience for this music video is young people. This is because the video has different elements that connote it’s for the younger generation. The video is also very fast paced which fits in with the genre of the song and stereotypically, that’s associated with young people who like to go out and party. Also, they filmed within a park for one of the scenes which is typically associated with very young children or teenagers/youths who hang around in parks. All of these signifiers connote that this is targeted at the younger generation along with the fact that the song is actually modern and targeted at young people also.

 

Visual codes

The video is set in a number of different locations and for this video especially because it follows the actors around; there is not a specific location where they are always situated. However, the video is predominately set within the centre of London. Also, they film in a park, a café, a house towards the end they film within a house. Moreover, there are written graphics in this music video, however they aren’t a major part of the video, they are there to tell a story like the one below. Body language of all characters is very upright and upbeat as the song possesses a very fast pace meaning all characters have to be on par with that otherwise it wouldn’t look right.