Analysis of three digipaks

So as you know, my artist is Devlin ft Yasmin -Runaway. The song is from the album 'Bud, Sweat & Beers' , his has different types genre for the album which include :

• Hip-Hop/Rap,
• Rap,
• Rock,
• Dance,
• and House

But the genre for this song in particular is Hip- Hop/Rap.

Runaway EP version

This version of the artwork for the single is very simple, but direct to the point.

 

The album artwork also resembles the single, and is direct to the point, giving an insight to what the album is about.

Here are some more examples of artwork for digipaks:

Plan B- No good, sick to death (single)

The front cover does not have an image of artist, and does not relate to the album title, but the drawing of various figures and the cup (with some form of hot drink) does have a certain appeal to his audience. The font which has the name of the artist also suits the genre.

Dizzee Rascal -Fix Up Look Sharp
(single)

This album is very simple (Just like Devlin's) but very effective. Dizzee Rascal achieves the rule of three, where the viewers eye instantly notices the artist. This is like the second interaction which builds a relationship between the audience ad the artist. The background is plain white, which makes no distraction for the attention to go straight to the artist. The font also represents what type of genre the album is and the font colour is also appropriate for the genre.

Skepta vs N-Dubz
So Alive
(collaborating album)

Skepta and N-Dubz are both well-known UK Hip-Hop / Rap artists, but have different persona's. For them to collaborate a whole album, keep their style original, fresh, separate (but still merge together) in both the songs and ancillary work is very hard for any artist, but they mastered it. The album cover as well as the whole digipak works well with both of the artists. On the front of the cover, you see the trademark font that N-Dubz always use, which shows continuity and the font used for Skepta's name is what is normally used in his album work. The flashing lighting on either side of the figure gives of the electric and hyped vibe that is in the songs for their album as well.

A go at the Digipaks !!

During the next part of the lesson, i understood how a clear visual link between the album cover, the artist and their target audience is vital and if done right, will be very successful.

So for my artist (Devlin)- I must make sure that the persona of the artist reflects the track, the album and is attracts more potential audience and remains appealing for his current audience.

By doing this, image manipulation is vital ! I must make sure that the picture is appropriate in every way possible (for example: must suit the artist, fits the digipak properly, reflects the other panels and is also appealing to his audience and genre)

My class were left to our own devices to use Photoshop and make our own digipak and become familiar with the tools on Photoshop, i would explain how fascinating i found the tutorial was, but to be honest, it was not THAT interesting as my teacher only taught the basics for the class, and as I am also a Photography student , i kind of knew what i was doing.

Here is the outcome of what took 25 mins

I used a simple image from the folder on our Desktop (our teacher had taken the picture, NOT ME :D) . The used the crop tool and the Quick Selection Tool to select the background (which was a little grey and not required for my digipak) and after selecting it, i deleted it and was left with this :

Just the face and part of his shoulder, i saved the image in my own folder, then opened the template of 2 panels that was set-up by the media department. I pasted the photograph into the digipak (which was too big). So using the free transform tool and pressing the SHIFT button, i rearranged the photograph to the correct size making sure the image would not look distorted. I also TEXT button and added the text for the album cover and the song list on the other. Finishing off (and the end of class was fast approaching) i added a code at the bottom of the spinal cord and the name of the artist and album name.

As I said before, as i have used Photo shop before, i am very familiar with these basic tools, BUT will definitely practise and become more familiar with other tools to create some awesome stuff for the near future, even though these tools that i used are elements of Photo shop, the program that we actually used was in fact Photo shop Elements

Expierimenting With Photoshop

MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT A DIGI-PAK 

During the lesson we were given the task to try and create a Digi-pak with images of a media of a Media Dan who's screen name was 'DAN LONDON'.  When creating this Digi-pak I felt it was vital to link the image to the genre of the musician. As Dan looked very Rockish Punky / Retro associated because of his Mis En Scene for example his hair and glasses. I wanted to create a Digi-pak that would appeal to that genre with the front cover. At first I found it difficult getting used to all the different effects that could be used and how the image can be changed in numerous ways which is where I found the effect I found eventually which is almost Cartoon like but also gives off the ruff affect which is associated with Rock. The original image we had to play around was very blunt and boring so affects were need to bring this image to life and I felt I done this well. As you can see in the original photo the framing is not very good as their is a lot of space about the artist's head so when importing the file into Photoshop it was vital it was cropped into the right framing. During our Photoshop tutorial we were told it is essential for us NOT to stretch/expand the image. We were also told to experiment with different fonts and effects but make sure they reflected the artist and the fonts were clear to the eye as some fonts are very fancy and stylish but very hard to read. We also learnt in this tutorial that TEXT should NEVER go across the artist face it is a forbidden rule.

class discussion about cd covers

What are album covers used for?

• For Promotion
• Album art is still used for mp3 files
• To help sell the CD make it look interesting
• Promoton of artist
• Grabs attention
• Gives information of artist direction
• Advertisement
• Recognition creates an identity
• Used for mp3 files (Itunes)

How important are the ancillary to album sales and promotion

• More money to be made
• Its important because without promotion
• gives them brand identity
• Helps build a stronger fanbase
• Reach a wider audience

Digipak & Advertisement Brief

Today in class, we had a discussion about artwork in both digipaks and adverts for an artist and their album.

Why is artwork popular?

• A form of promotion for the artist and their new album
• Grabs attention from a global audience
• Gives information : By looking at the artwork for an album / single, the artwork can inform visually about what the album is about.
• Indication of artist direction 
• Another form of advertisement
• Art identification : to show what persona the artist is portraying or type of genre
• Also used for MP3 Files

How important are the ancillary products to the artists and relation to the music video ?

• Ancillary products are assisting products that help promote the artist and / or the album as well as an increase for sales.
• Without promotion; will never know about the artist !!
• More many to be made as the ancillary products would be advertised globally and on the Internet with digital downloads and posters etc.
• They help keep the artist in the public eye
• Some fans of the artist want more than their songs and etc, so this also gives them a chance to purchase an additional product.

Looking at the relation between the music and the artwork.

Here is the music video of Calvin Harris-Weekend

This is the artwork of the single :

The picture on the album work is from the actual music video and can be seen from 3:32 til the end. The theme of the music video continues to be something significant and is replicated in the artwork.

In my own time, i looked at some other artists just to see how it is the same, here they are:

Madonna- Hung Up

I found a multiple of artwork covers for this :

The artwork for the single



The artwork for the album - Confessions of a Dance floor

Another artwork for the single

As you can see from these 3 examples of artwork that were all used for her song (and also part of the album), there is a vivid theme of the 70's and the mise-en-scene that is used in the video is also replicated in the artwork. The theme of the Hung Up song and music video was a like a disco, with a 70's approach (women wearing leotards, the hair and colour of the costumes, the lighting and setting, also the cars that were use). Elements of the fashion in her 70's-disco-themed album and music video suits the artwork as a disco ball has replaced 'o' in her name, the lighting of a typical 70's disco dance floor is the background and the font is what was popular and seen a lot in the time period. This is one of the best examples i could find to show how the artwork is cohesive with the music video and the song.

Another artist:

Rihanna -We Found Love, Talk That Talk Album

The Album Cover

The single cover

After watching the video of We Found Love, you can tell that there is a firm persona and image that the artist (Rihanna) portrays, it is also shown in the album cover and rihanna masters the rule of framing and the rule of three where our eyes automatically focus on the artist. The cohesive nature from the music video is also replicated on the single cover. 



Summary of Class Discussion

Today we started to get more familiar with what CD's and Albums do for the Music industry and why it helps the artist and to what degree.  For example Digi-Paks are vital for the promotion of the Artist which will make its target audience and members of the public familiar with the artist and tempt them into purchasing the product produced by the artist. Also it grabs the attention of the public as certain audiences may not be interested in this particular genre but the art on the Digi-pak may draw there attention. They can also be used for advertisement which proclaims the quality and advantages of the product which is being sold. Artist identity can play a key role as the Digi-Pak gives the audience some information on the artist additionally the audience gets a sense of the artist's style.

• Indication of artist direction/genre 
• Another form of advertisement
• Art identification : to show what persona the artist is portraying or type of genre
• Also used for MP3 Files 

How vital are the ancillary products to the artists in relation to the music video ?

• Ancillary products are a collaborating product that help promote and support the artist and the album as well as an increase sales and encourage the artist's credibility.
• Without promotion, who will know the artist?
• Ancillary products would be advertised globally as well as the Internet with digital downloads such as iTunes also buses and posters.
• Help keep the artist in the spotlight
• Fans want more values of the artist for example exclusive pictures for example from music videos not just their songs, so this gives them a chance to purchase an accompanying product.
•  Familiarizes the target audience 

 In class we looked at Calvin Harris and how he relates his Digi-pak to his Music Video :

PRODUCTON: FINITO

As much fun it was creating a music video, I am now happy it's come to the end. All I've been thinking is how will our video turn out. We were one of the first groups to finish though we did not rush. We looked for as much ways possible to correct mistakes and alter effects in our video to make it as good as good can be, and  I am very proud of myself and the rest of my group. Though this is not the end. time to get down to business and start creating Digipaks and Adverts :D

I managed to find my advert and digpak I created last year during summer lessons. No worries my final digpak and advert will look MUCH better than this:

My Character In The Music Video

"Shazray Vangogh Dicaprio" he is a British actor who has starred in a couple films such as

• The Cool Kids
• Vamps and Wolfs

and is going to replace Robert patterson for the next twilight coming in the summer

 he has a big buzz surrounding his name right now and is linked to some hollywood directors. Having him make a cameo performance in this video should bring in some more fans and make it more credible

Editing Skill Development

Thanks to the task we did at the end of last year with base tracks i already knew pretty much everything needed for this music video like the base tracks etc.

Audience Task

Name: Tim Keen
Age: 15

• Goes to school but doesn't enjoy it
• Loves to listen to music has his earphones in at all times
• wears hoodies and tracksuits if not in uniform
• Can relate to Devlin because he's English

How Devlin's Website Promotes Him

Favourite Previous Students Video

I think that the "Hero" Video was definitely the best video that we saw because it was the most memorable to be honest. The performance by the singer was very confident and well done whereas with some of the other videos the performers just looked uncomfortable in front of the camera and that made it awkward and unpleasant to watch as a viewer. So that was the key point to make a good video A CONFIDENT PERFORMANCE.

Laura Mulveys Representation Theory

How gender is represented in media and dismemberment

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styles accordingly"

I think what Laura Mulvey means by this is that women are in these videos simply to serve no purpose other than satisfy the male gaze. They are not seen as human beings but glamorous items of lust. Like a car or a fancy watch. Even if the singer is a well established performer she is still subjected to dismemberment and needs to satisfy the perverted male gaze to sell records or gain attention.

an example of this would be Beyonce 1+1 video

This video could be observed as a piece of visual art. But most viewers would watch this and see the stereotypical role of an emotional woman crying. The male gaze would just be praying that the director would let us see more of beyonce's naked body and not care about the music at all. The video is very provokative as it teases the male gazer.

PRODUCTION: Skills development- a brief overview of the new editing skills you've learned during the editing of your music video

The most important and new skills I have obtained during the editing process of my video is using base tracks. I have now understood the importance of base track when creating a sequence. Base tracks gives the music video much more structure. Furthermore last year we were doing an opening of a film therefore edits were not used as much as they were in our music video.
During AS I was not as confident during both filming and editing although this year I was able to understand advantages and disadvantages of using particular effects and how it impacted our music videos. An example of this was using fade outs, after we received feedback from our rough cut we were asked to see what the clips would like without fades and though they are effective our shots looked much more sharper, and we were inputting elements of jump cuts which is conventional in a music video. However having used obvious edits I now understand that they are used in order to grab attention, especially when trying to amplify the lyrics of a song.
One thing that I have learnt about editing and creating a music video is that it takes time and you need to be very dedicated when it comes to editing. Although our music video had a narrative and was illustrative it was stil important to input conventions of a music video, including the importance of lip syncing. As our genre was grime and some R&B it was very important that Denzel our main performer lip synced in time, which he done very well and made it easier for us to layer the shots.

Production Is FINISHED

Sings - Hallelujah '8'

This day felt so FAR AWAY !!! at first, but in due time, we done it, WE MADE IT !!!

Had fun playing in the female part of the song, then being cut off, but most of ALL , working behind scenes making sure my fellow groups members done their thing.

We submitted our video today, and we are .. IN FACT .. one of the first groups to finish AND we did not rush. We looked for as much ways possible to correct mistakes , ask for feedback from different teachers, make sure we were doing things correctly and alter effects in our video to make it the best we possibly could deliver, Now time to attack Digipaks and Adverts

PRODUCTION: Skills development- a brief overview of how you approached planning this production differently to your AS production work

Our music videos have finally come to an end, and after a very difficult, busy, yet life learning past few months I feel ready to give an overall experience of planning this music video. 


Planning a music video was not as easy as I thought it would be and I expected it to be slightly easier than the thriller but I was completely wrong. Planning our thrillers during AS was much simpler because, we were already given a genre therefore we only had to decide on a sub-genre which was not that difficult as we all had the same vision. However deciding on a genre for our music video was very difficult, we all enjoy different genres of UK music and we all know so many which made it even more difficult to decide. Not to mention we had to decide on which approach we would take in terms of Goodwin's theory either illustration, amplification or disjuncture and how it related to the conventions of our genre.
However in order to create a decision we first decided to look at 2/3 videos from different genres that do well in the UK including pop, rock, indie, r&b, grime/hip hop and some dance. We then made a short list of the genres which were indie, r&b and grime and we found a video that merged both R&B and grime which was Devlin ft Yasmin - Runaway. Overall we can say that it was a very difficult process selecting our chosen song however it was much easier thinking about a concept of our video. 


For AS we had a Psychological thriller which made it slightly difficult to think about a storyline which then influenced our opening because there are so many psychological thrillers. Likewise considering our title was Runaway we knew wanted some sort of narrative although there are so many scenarios that are linked with running away. However after asking for advice we decided to stick to a very simple scenario, however our approach to the scenario in terms of editing was what could make it effective. 
From this point we had to think about potential locations, performers, costumes and different shots as well as understanding the artist's gestures and potential audiences for this genre of music. This took some time because we done a lot of 'trial and error' although we came to final decisions and had to plan our production schedules very quickly because we understood how important it was to use as much time as we could filming.

Pictures of various editing sessions

Here are some screen grabs from previous editing sessions.

It was a good thing that we filmed a lot of base tracks as when we imported them into Final Cut Pro and marked where we wanted to cut , the job was easier to complete and less stress. We marked ever bar (4/4) and worked from there.

Final Music Video

Group 14 now introduces our version of ...

Devllin ft Yasmin- Runaway

Here is a behind-the-scene video of the making of the actual video runaway. I decided to add this post because i feel it is useful as it shows how they filmed it, and considering how my group has just finished filming our music video, we can view the difference.

Obviously, there's a big difference in the production of the video, for example :

• we don't have as many camera's
• a MASSIVE production team

But we have in a way filmed our video rather similarly to how they have.

Skills Development

I remember from our continuation to a2 classes, we learnt (as were basically reminded EVERY chance possible of the week )about how important base tracks are and when it came to editing, we made sure that we did use it, good thing because I had seen how other groups has suffered from the lack of base tracks.

Another Editing Session

Today, we continued to edit and our teacher Rebecca came along to check out some of our editing.
These were the stuff she said that we should alter :

• cut the barrier and delete whats underneath
• take off the page peel
• make the end of the second chorus longer so the audience can see a longer shot of the female artist
• use transitions to make the shot sharper
• remove some of the slight gapes
• get rid of the tripod part
• check out the darkness
• Replace by adding split screen

Teacher feedback

WAY too many empty blog posts here..... they need to be filled with lots of interesting stuff before next weekend's deadline.

The Deadline Is Coming Soon

THE DEADLINE IS IN THE COMING WEEK

THIS IS HOW I FEEL :(

BUT WE WILL GET IT DONE :) 

GROUP 14

Filming Day 9 Pics - Location 3

Filming Day 9 Pics - Location 2

Filming Day 9 Pics - Location 1