Evaluation Question 4- How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluating stages?

In order to carry out our research and produce our media product, we used many different media technologies and platforms. Without these, it would have been hard to carry out research, meaning we wouldn't have been able to carry out as much market research prior to making our product resulting in a poor product. Equally, we wouldn't have been able to produce any of the music video or the ancillary texts as in order to produce these the need for media technologies was adamant.

 

The first media technology that I used was Google Blogger. This is quite a new technology, being released on August 23^rd 1999. This was used during all of the various stages, both post and prior to the construction of our music video. I used Google Blogger to display all of my research that I initially carried out, which helped me to understand my genre which in turn gave me a better understanding of my target market. Once I had carried out all of the initial research, I then used Blogger to show my journey, from research to planning. In the planning stage, I mainly used the Group blog, as the planning was a group task. We used the group blog to make posts on things such as location scouting, prop information and auditions. Without Blogger, this part of things would have been very difficult, finding a platform that everyone in the group could access at the same time, enabling everyone within the group to see what work has been done and what work still needs to be done. This was also true for the construction phase, as we had to upload rough cuts of the music video showing how we were moving forward and showing a transition from our initial cut to our final product.

During the physical construction of our music video, we used a Canon HD CMOS pro camera. This allowed us to produce top quality music video as filming in HD gave it the professional look. To work alongside this, we also used a Dolly and Tripod which allowed us to get stable moving shots. We then uploaded the footage from the camera onto Apple Macs which we then also uploaded our music to, which enabled us to overlay the images we filmed in sync with the music, allowing us to produce the music video.

In order to produce the music video, we had to edit using the Apple Macs as specified above. We used iMovie to produce our music video. This was good because it allowed us to do most of the things we required in order to produce our music video. We did play around with Final Cut Express, however due to limited time and inexperience, despite trying to learn how to use the software, we decided against it because it was very advanced and technical, and we didn't have the time to learn how to use it. This would have been beneficial to us however, as it would have allowed us to do certain things that iMovie didn't, for example the colouring of the clips. This being said, in order for us to get this colouration for the final cut of the music video, we did use Final Cut Express, however didn't use it for the majority of the editing due to the reasons specified above.

 

YouTube was an important technology too in the all of the stages of our music video, in order for us to analyse pre-existing music videos in the research stage we used this platform as it allows us to access a wide range of music videos, from all different genres. When planning, we also used the platform as we looked at other student music videos, as we could analyse them and get an idea of the sort of common trends, what is good and bad and how we can stand out from the rest of the students producing music videos. YouTube therefore allowed us to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas unique from any other. During the construction and evaluating stage we used YouTube as we could upload our music video rough cuts and final product to it, before finally putting the final cut up. This therefore could help us to get feedback on our product, before concluding things we need to change and positives in our music video. Therefor YouTube was a very important platform and enabled us to do a lot of things that without it would not have been possible.

 

Evaluation Question 3- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Evaluation Question 1- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products

Final Music Video: Trials of the Past

Digipack: Final Version

This is our final version of the digipack. We have included various different images that we took when on set. We have included both characters in our digipack which connotes to the audience before even listening to the song that there is two main characters. We also include location shots, which enhances the audiences understanding of the music video. We have added in effects to add colouration in making it look purple, adding to the overall theme of our music video. We have also kept a house style across both digipack and magazine advert, as the text in the top left image is the same as on the magazine advert. By doing this it makes it consistent and helps link all the products together.

Magazine Advert: Final Version

This is the final version of our magazine advert. We used images that we took when filming our music video. The image shows the forest along with our main character. We have also included text on the advert which is very important to ensure that the audience is aware what the magazine advert is promoting. We based our magazine advert (text wise) on existing magazine adverts which I took inspiration from during the research and planning stages. Also, based on research we included website addresses where people can go to find out more about the artist, along with ratings, logos and release dates. We have also included twitter and facebook signs at the bottom to make audiences view our music elsewhere.

Magazine Advert 2

This is my second magazine advert. As you can see it is quite different to the last magazine advert that I produced. The reason for this is because from looking at previous magazine adverts that I analysed, sometimes in order to appeal to audiences and attract them to look at a magazine advert, it needs to be simple and to the point. Therefore that is why I have created this particular magazine advert.

I have used red to make the key parts of the text stand out, the trials of the past and artists name is therefore the most obvious thing on the advert, also the font size for this is larger. In the bottom right hand corner and top (centre) I have used smaller black font, which fits in nicely with the background making it seem eary and creepy, which matches the genre and the generic conventions that will be seen in our music video.

Finally I have added a rating to the advert, this is because I noticed that a lot of magazine adverts include these sort of things on them. Also this links in with the uses and gratifications model as they would read and hear about the album being good, and so in order to be entertained they would then want to listen to this single. Also it could tie in with the idea that the two step flow model presents to an audience suggesting that we are influenced by what other people who we admire like. Therefore if someone says it's good, it could persuade an audience to then listen to the single.

Overall this magazine advert was designed in mind of other successful magazine adverts. By doing this, I hope that this magazine advert could be published in music magazines and other types of magazine and inform people of the new single and hopefully persuade them to come and buy the single or watch the music video. Therefore, the magazine advert is important as it is a media product that sells other media products such as the music video, the single, the album and even concerts.

Magazine Advert 1

This was the original version, however after I had posted it on here, I had an idea that I could fade the writing slightly to make it fit in with the image as the image is also slightly faded/blurred. Below is the second version once I had done this.

This is the second version of my music magazine advert is with faded writing similar to background, this therefore helps it fit the specific genre. I also felt that it made the writing in the bottom right hand corner stand out more, meaning the audience would immediately notice this, which would be beneficial as it is telling them that SBTRKT have a new single out. In the bottom left hand corner is the music record labels sign, I included this as it makes the piece look professional and from previous research, have found most posters include the artists music record label sign.

I chose to design it in the way I did because I felt that it made sense and linked back to how I pictured our music video to look. The location of the music video is going to be in a woods and one of the shots shows our artist running out onto a dark lonely road, which links back to my magazine advert as there are forests on either side of the road. This therefore is intertextuality between my two media products, as there is an obvious link between the different media products (magazine advert, digipack and music video). The colours used are also carefully thought about and link back to the music video. The dark and gloomy looking woods and road link in with the music video as the location we filmed our music video in is very dark and gloomy too. Also the red text stands out against the background, meaning it catches the attention of the audiences and therefore makes them read it. The colour red also has connotations to blood and passion, this links in with the eary and strange vibe that we are trying to give off in our music video.

Magazine Advertisment 1- Wretch 32

This is a magazine advertisment from the Music Magazine 'NME'. The idea of it is to try and promote and advertise an artists, in this case it is to promote Wretch 32. This particular advert uses an image of the artist himself. This is known as celebrity endorsment. It is a technique used to help sell an artists. In this case, it is also a good idea to use an image of the artist as it allows people to instantly know exaclty what the magazine advertisment is promoting.

Also the use of iconography with his chains hanging from his pocket and baggy clothing helps target the advert towards his target market. By doing this it helps him to ensure he is branching out to his target market, helping him sell more albums.

Typography is used in this magazine advert effedctively too, it fits in with the common theme of the advert whilst being clear and consice, making it easy to read. it also tell skey information, making it very important. In the top right we can see the artists name, along with the new album name directly in the middle of the advert. This is effective as the readers eyes are immidietly sent to this first, also due to it being in slightly bigger font than the rest of the writing. In smaller text we can also see key dates of the release and othe rartist names, which help persuade people to want to go and buy the album and buy tour tickets, another example of artist endorsment.

The use of colour in this piece is fairly limited, the colours are all very bland. The main colours used are dark, such as blacks and grey. This however alongside the white writing means it does stand out very well to the audience. At the top we can find some blue, this helps as it is some colour, meaning the advert doesnt look boring, however not enough to distract the viewers attention from the main aspects of the advert.

Overall, this magazine advert is very simple yet effective. However I do think it coul dbe improved as it isn't clear whether it is advertising and promoting Wretch 32's new album or whether he is releasing tour ticket dates. Therefore this could od with being clarrified to make it a better magazine ad. Also it will ensure that the audience doesnt get confused.

Magazine Advertisment 2- Drake

Unlike the previous advert, this immediately shows what the advert is promoting. It is promoting the release of Drake's new song, 'Nothing was the Same'. By doing this, it allows audiences to immediately understand what the advert is promoting. Also it allows for audiences who are just quickly scanning through the magazine to notice the advert and take in the key bits of information, without paying to much attention. Also it may grab there attention, and make them stop and take there time to read it. By keeping the advert simple, it allows people who are in a rush or even people who maybe aren't Drake's biggest fan to still take an interest as it is quick and easy to read and understand.

Also the large font size shows the release date of the song. This is in white text colour, which is a complete contrast to the background making it stand out and become very obvious to the audience. By doing this it ensures that the audience does notice the release date. In turn, the artist will then hope the audience will remember the date, and upon release date, go out and buy the track. This will then make money for the artists, being the overall aim of this advert.

The image used is a side photo of Drake and another image of a younger looking Drake. They are facing each other, making it look as though they are looking at each other. The background is blue and white, made to look like the sky. The image of Drake and the other image are put in front of this and make it stand out. There isn't much to this magazine advert, but it is very to the point and direct in trying to promote the new single of Drake's.

The advert is very simple and to the point. This means that to an audience it is straight away very obvious what the advert is about. It is effective because it means it doesn't take much to understand it, meaning the audience will engage straight away without giving to much thought about it.

It is interesting to see how different artists promote there new singles or albums. By looking at different advertising campaigns it helps me build up a good idea of key things to include on advertisement for my artist and techniques that will ensure the best possible chance of people watching the music video that will be the main end product and aim of the advertisement. Also it allows me to understand things I should avoid using. From this magazine advert, the main thing I have noticed is the simplicity, and is something that I will consider when producing a magazine advert for the music video I am creating. By doing this, it makes the advert very easy to interpret, ensuring my target audience notices and reads it.

Analysis of Magazine Advertisement: SBTRKT

This is a magazine advertisement I found of our particular artists called 'SBTRKT'. The idea of this magazine ad is to make people aware of the artist. This magazine ad was released when this artist first started, therefore is in a very niche magazine, called Fact. The idea of this would to have been to target a specific market, which would of allowed for the artists music to be heard, by people who have an interest in this particular music. Over time, the artist has became well known and developed his image, now we can find magazine advertisements in larger, more well known music magazines such as NME, Q and MOJO.

The image in this advert is of SBTRKT's trademark mask. The mask has various colour on it and also has what looks like straw coming off the bottom of the mask, and is made to look like a beard. Also we can see the shadow cast from STBTRKT's figure, leasing to the words 'The Small Disea' , which is a refrence to an album of his. By having the shadow leading to the first word, it means it makes the attention of the audiences eye go to these words. Also the contrasting red colour stands out against the dark coloured background, again making the words stand out to the  audience.

We can also see alcoholic beverages in the background, it looks like vodka and lime, which could suggest the album may be related to alcohol or just be a stereotype of SBTRKT.

The advert in general is very simple, and leaves a lot to the imagination of the audience. This therefore means the audience can interpret the advert as they like, meaning that when they listen to the album, it may lead to varying degrees of satisfaction, as it may not have been what the audience expected, or equally could be more than they expected, leaving the audience happy. Overall, I think that this advert could be improved, however I can take some ideas from the advert.

The Positives:

• It is simple meaning that it is easy to follow and understand, this connotes that the music on the album may also be quite simple and relaxed.
• It uses artist endorsement, this is something that me and my group could consider doing on our magazine adverts.
• The shadow leading to the album name is a clever idea, and something we could use in our magazine advert.

The Negatives:

• Very basic, could maybe do with a little more detail to make it clearer to the audience exactly what it is that the magazine advert is advertising.
• The album name isn't the clearest, could do with being in a larger font as after all, this is the main purpose of the advert to make people aware of the new album so that they are aware of it and in turn go and buy it.
• There isn't any other important information, regarding the release date of the album or where it can be purchased.

Digipack by Our Chosen Artist: SBTRKT

The Digipack once it has been unfolded. The CD sits inside the two covers.

Another image of SBTRKT's Digipack.

This is an example of a pre existing digipack that the artist produced and used when they released the SBTRKT album. It is very simple and uses SBTRKT's trademark mask image, along with a dark background that makes the image stand out. On the back of the digipack, we can see white writing on a black background, again a very simple process, however it stands out and makes it easy for the target market to read and understand. The CD itself is unique and is the reverse of the colour scheme, instead of the writing being white, it is black on the CD and the CD is white. This stands out and makes it unique to the digipack. Overall, it is a very simple digipack, but an example of how simple ideas can be used to good effect.

The font used is very basic and simple to read, yet effective. It matches the genre of the music and connotes how the music is going to sound. It looks as though it has been very carefully thought about, and therefore helps the way people initially interpret the album and in turn I feel it helps them know what to expect from the album. Therefore, this shows me that when creating my digipack it is important I carefully think about the font type that I use on both digipack and magazine advert, as these are what people will look at and get an initial idea and base the sort of  music they can expect to hear on. 

The visual imagery that we can see on the digipack is effective as it gives a sense of creativity to the audience. This in turn has a knock on effect and makes the audience consider what it is and what it might be connoting, helping engage the audience with the music they will later here and the digipack itself. The colors used on the digipack are also effective, as the bright yellow and blue stands out against the black background, again helping catch the eye of the audience and get them interested. Overall, the visual imagery is very effective and very unique to anything I've ever seen before on a digipack, therefore I feel it works well and I feel this could be something I could do on my digipack to help it stand out among the crowd so people pick my digipack up before other digipacks. 

By analysing this it allows me to look at some of the generic conventions used which will allow me to get a better understanding on the genre, and therefore what I will need to include on my digipack. Also by looking at previous digipack's from my chosen artist, it can help give me ideas and help influence the sort of product that I produce. Overall it will allow me the best chances to produce an industry standard digipack which will make the product look realistic and give a sense of realism.  I feel like I will take away some good things from this digipack, for example I will ensure the use of bright colors on my digipack, or ones that stand out from the background as I feel this works well in catching they eye of the audience and getting them initially engaged with the digipack. To then keep there attention, I think a unique and creative design is key to ensuring they don't instantly put it back down after the initial excitement. 

Plan for Digipack 1

This is my first design for our digipack. In order to make it I used Photoshop, Word and Paint. The design is very similar to the actual setting of our music video. I did this because I felt it would give the audience an initial feel of the song and music video from just looking at the digipack.

The front cover (bottom right) is of  multiple trees of which sun light is protruding through. This gives it a tense feel, and gives the target audience an idea of what they can expect straight away. At the bottom I have the song title in a dark writing to fit in with the general feel of the image and overall digipack. This is in a large font however in order to catch the eye of the audience straight away. In comparison to this, I then have the artists name 'SBTRKT' going down the right hand side in red colour and large font. I used the colour red as it connotes blood, which again adds to the tense feeling that I am trying to connote to the audience. Overall, I have considered how colour will effect the audience and how I can use it to my advantage to enhance my digipack.

The back cover (bottom middle) is very simple. It is a black background, which looks faded by incorporating white and grey pixels on it. This gives the feel that its old, making it seem creepy and tense. To the left hand side of the screen is a human like figure, this fits the bill as it is similar to what we are going to try and make the music video look like, with our main character always being slightly more illuminated than the background, in order for it to be easy to see what's going on, while still giving the scary and tense feel to the piece. In the top right of the back cover is the specific single/song name 'Trials of the Past'. When  I wrote this on Photoshop, I then smudged it using the smudge tool, which makes it look faded into the background, this is also a general house style that I would then use across both digipack, posters and magazine adverts. In the bottom right is the bar code which every digipack has.

The other two images (bottom left and top right) are the inside of the digipack, which both have the song name and artist name on it. This is because it is simple, basic and means that it is obvious to the audience when looking at the digipack what song it is and who the artist is. The general images are again very dark, and both have forest links to them, which is where our music video is going to be set. Therefore the common house style throughout of the images links back to the music video itself, which is an example of convergence between two of my products.

Pitch Idea Based on Lyrics

The song that we chose to use as a group is 'Trials of the Past' by SBTRKT. SBTRKT is a British music artist who is signed to the record label 'Young Turks'. They are based in London. He released his first album on June 27th 2011. The album was called 'From Arctic to Alpine'. This album included the song we are using for our music video.

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So young, so how were you to know, know, know

You're a carrier, a carrier, of the light inside of you

Glows green in the pitch black night, night, night

Can't tell anyone, anyone, it's hurting you So hold it in, cover up, pull up your sheets, your sheets

A torpedo cruising in the ocean, and soon it's due

So I got to sit up, sit up, oh, up

For my heart to come down, down, down, down, down

So I got to sit up, up, up, up, up

For my heart to come down, down, down, down, down

The ghoulish entities, they come floating through the walls.

Ghostly enemies, they come floating through you door.

And the ghoulish entities they come floating through the wall.

From the past from the past and they'll summon right before you like The Ghost of Christmas Past.

I was always floating around the cit-t-ty.

Going with the flow without ever knowing where I wanna be.

So I got into crazy situa-a-tions.

A loyal soldier who acts who acts who acts. But never asks.

Why am I flying on my back my back?

With the moon looking down, down, down, down, down.

Where's my band? Where's anything at all all?

And why's the ceiling going black, black, black, black, black?

The ghoulish entities they come floating through the walls.

Ghostly enemies they come floating through you door.

And the ghoulish entities they come floating through the wall.

From the past from the past and they'll summon right before you like The Ghost of Christmas Past.

No, that hurts[?] and anything's coming unless you go,

And you can't break the chasing ghosts ghosts ghosts.

So much so. When they come back but never ask.

At your side, at your soul.

When they come back but never ask.

The ghoulish entities they come floating through the walls.

Ghostly enemies they come floating through you doll.

And the ghoulish entities they come floating through the wall.

From the past from the past and they'll summon right before you like The Ghost of Christmas Past.

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1) The word young makes me think that I could have a character in the music video that is a young adult or a younger individual. This would mean I could set a narrative around a younger person.

2) The words here talk about the night and how dark it is. This could mean that the setting for my music video could be in a dark location, making it relevant and linking it in with the lyrics. This will make it easy to follow as an audience. Also I could do it in a creepy way, maybe in a woods or forest, where naturally it is very dark.

3) This area also could link in with the scary/creepy theme. This is because I could link the images with the lyrics and could have the young person laying in there bed, acting scared and worried, and then with this you could see them pulling up there covers which is stereotypically seen when someone is scared. Also the lyrics say 'hurting you' so at a later date I could, in images, show the person being either physically or mentally hurt.

4) Talking about ghosts and ghouls which make it sound stereotypically scary. Therefore the continuous theme throughout would be this. At this point, I could start to reveal more to the audience so that they fully understand what has happened and why the young person is mentally hurt. This would be a good narrative because it should mean the audience are interested and intrigued as to what is causing the young person the hurt.

5) At this point, the lyrics 'crazy situation' we could reveal exactly what had caused the mental hurt. The mental illness could be that the young person got physically abused when they were younger and therefore now have nightmares about it.

6) At this point the audience would understand the persons life and therefore understand the narrative. However, to keep it interesting it would then flashback to real life with the young person being asleep and then a cut to a scene where the young persons bedroom door is slowly opening. At this point we see a large black shadow of a man. This will get the audience thinking and the idea behind it is that everything the young person was just having a nightmare about is going to come true. This will add some emotion to the audience.

7) This lyric will link with the man who just come through her bedroom door, the word enemy will link with the man because he is the man who conflicts all the pain on this young person with domestic violence. Therefore as he comes through her bedroom door, he is an enemy to the young person.

8) We flash back to the dream and we see the young person having pain conflicted on them. The lyric no that hurt makes this relevant as the younger is being hurt by the man.

My main idea would revolve around a young person laying in there bed due to being mentally and physically hurt or scared. Due to this they have nightmares and therefore we see the person having a dream in which they re-see all of these previous events that hurt them mentally. By the end, we then go back to real life and reality, where we go back to the young persons bedroom where we have a long shot of the young person asleep in bed. In the background we then see the bedroom door open and we see some light enter, with this we can just about make out a large figure that looks like a man. As this progresses we realise this is the person that conflicts the pain on this young person.

By analysing the lyrics, it allows me to build up some ideas based on the lyrics, which I could then potentially use for my actual music video. By basing my ideas on the lyrics, it makes it easier for the audience who are watching it to understand it, as they can make links between the music and the moving images.

Lyric Analysis and their Importance

Lyrics are used to help portray messages and meanings. By using lyrics it can help engage the audience and help them understand the narrative behind the song. They can also link with the moving images, of which we may see in the music video. This links in with Andrew Goodwin's theory that suggests that lyrics should go with and back up the moving images that you can see in the music video. Lyrics help to tell a story, and therefore produce and aid the narrative that may be more obvious through the use of moving images in the music video. Audiences can then hopefully relate to the lyrics and in turn like the song and connect with the piece of music. This can help link there emotions and feelings with the piece of music helping them remember the song. Lyrics can also set the scene and convey a message to the audience. 

Lyrics can be literal, for example the music video for the song 'Friday' by Rebecca Black. They are to the point and literally tell an obvious story, regarding her day and life. The music video for this can be seen below: 

These sort of lyrics are every straight forward, and the moving images of the music video then match this. However lyrics aren't always so literal and sometimes have deeper meaning to them. This can be seen below, in the Craig David 'Seven Days' analysis that I carried out. I started by getting the lyrics and analyzing the lyrics, based on what they say, to try and build up an idea of what I would expect to then see in the music video.

The image above are the lyrics of a Craig David song called 'Seven Days'. I carried out a task where I would try and analyse the lyrics, then once I had analysed them and tried to work out what I could expect from the music video for the song, watched the music video itself. By doing this it meant I could get an idea of how song lyrics influence the music video (or don't) and how the lyrics can be a good way of creating a narrative that the video can then show in moving images. 

However, I found that after trying to analyse the lyrics to as best of my ability, when I watched the music video for the song, it turned out my analysis was quite different to the music video and not what I expected. Some parts of my analysis were close, however other parts were completely different. Below is the actual music video for the song. 

Overall, lyrics are very important and can help to construct a narrative, which can make it more interesting for audience viewing by telling a story. However, sometimes lyrics can make no sense to some people, or at all anyone and have a personal meaning to the artist. This also helps us use our imagination, and can be a way of trying to get more creative ideas that we can then use in our actual music video that we are going to produce. 

Initial Notes on Music Magazine Advertisement

This Jessie J advertisement is promoting her new album 'Who You Are'. Unlike other adverts, this one is unique as it uses very dark colours. This could connote a darkness, potentially suggesting her songs have strong feeling and meaning to them. The white and gold text however stands out against the black background, making it easy to read and eye-catching. She uses an image of herself which makes it obvious to the audience who the advert is promoting, also helping drawer in her target markets attention.

This advert uses colour to help catch the attention of the audience. It is predominantly red in colour. The colour has connotations to love, passion and similar to the Cheryl advert below could suggest the music on the album is quite mellow, relaxing and passionate. It is promoting her new album that Rihanna is releasing called 'LOUD'. It also gives a date, allowing audiences to know when they can buy the album.

Cheryl Cole Magazine Advert. Uses an image of herself. The main color on the advert is red, which links her lips and the text together as they are all red. Also the color red has connotations to love and passion, suggesting the new album '3 Words' may be very relaxing, loving and quite passionate. 

Justin Timberlake 20/20 world tour magazine advertisement. This doesn't have particular dates on it, instead it is a way of getting his audience excited in anticipation of him releasing the tour dates and places. The advert is very simple, a black and white image of him, with text next to it. The text stands out as it is in gold, in a large font, making it obvious to the audience. 

Bastille Bad Blood Tour Dates Magazine Advertisement- This shows audiences dates throughout February and where the artist is performing. They have used the artwork from they're album, making it obvious to Bastille's target market what the magazine advertisement is promoting. 

In order to carry out this task successfully and to be able to understand the sort of things artists do in order to advertise themselves effectively in magazines, I had to do lots of research on many different music magazines, both well known ones and niche ones. This market research lead me to multiple main findings.

1) The first is that on the whole, most of the artists music magazine adverts use self endorsement to help attract audiences. By this I mean they use images of themselves to help catch the attention of the audience. By doing this it can help people see what the artist is advertising, in turn hopefully making the consumer buy whatever it is the artist is selling. From looking at some of the magazine advertisements, woman tend to use very airbrushed images which make them look 'perfect'. This can make audiences want to be like them and therefore find them inspirational and can be a way of making audiences buy whatever it is they are promoting. This is often a way of attracting a female audience. Also woman often use explicit images of themselves, often where they aren't wearing very much, as a way of appealing the male fan base. Male artists often use photos of themselves as well, sometimes they may use topless photos as a way of endorsing they're product, however usually use images of them looking smart in suits. However, from the research I carried out, I found this is very much dependent on the genre of music. This is because certain genres may advertise very differently.

2) The genre determines the way the artist is advertised/ promoted. For example I have found that rap artists have a tendency to where baggy clothing, snap backs and chains. These are all iconic things that you would expect from this genre, otherwise known as the stereotypical iconography of the genre. In contrast to this, in a pop song, you could expect to see very different things, such as more casual everyday clothes and trainers. This is because the way we perceive different genres of music is different, and usually this is also apparent with the sort of people who listen to the genre of music too.

Initial Notes on Music Artist Poster

Posters are used as a promotional tool, the idea is that they can inform audiences of something that the artist is doing, whether it be releasing a new song, new tour or just to get people aware of the band. They can be very effective if done well and are well thought out. Below are some examples..

Very simple yet effective. The poster is advertising Taylor Swift's tour called 'Red'. The color theme matches the name of the concert, which helps the audience remember the name of the concert. Also in the background we can see the rough outline of Taylor Swift and it is made to look as though she is performing, helping inform the audience that the poster is promoting her upcoming tour. 

This poster is very different to the one above. This particular poster is promoting a specific song of Kayne's, called 'Stronger'.  The image shows Kayne West showing his arm muscles with the speech bubble saying 'Stronger' in capital letters. This makes it clear to the audience the song and the artist and what it is they are promoting.  Some song lyrics can also be seen at the bottom. This is a more specific poster with is directed towards the promotion of a particular song, opposed to a tour or concert. 

This poster is promoting Led Zeppelin. The first thing I noticed about the poster is the British theme that it had too it, having connotations to the fact they may be targeting a British audience. Other than this it could connote that they are proud to be British and like to show off the fact they originated in London, England in 1968. This particular poster isn't that clear and as an audience viewing it, it isn't clear exactly what they are promoting. Instead it could just be a poster promoting the band as a whole. 

Similar to the first poster of Taylor Swift, although it isn't as clear, this Eminem poster is advertising either an up and coming tour date of his or a release date of a song called 'Not Afraid'. The poster uses two images of Eminem himself so it is clear in that respect of who it is that the poster is promoting. The typography is good too however it doesn't tell the audience exactly what it is the poster is actually promoting. Overall the poster is okay, but could be improved. 

Notes on what a digipack and magazine advertisement are and their importance

Digipacks:

A digipack is a type of packaging for CD's or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs'

They are important as they often have artists artwork on them and/or credits, song titles and sometimes images of the artist.

Some examples of digipack's can be found below:

Arctic Monkeys Digipack

Magazine Advertisement:

Magazine adverts are designed to promote a product. In terms of music, a magazine advert may be used to advertise and promote the release of a new single or album, or even just marketing the artist, and make people aware of them or up and coming tours. Overall the main objective of a magazine advert is to promote something that the artist has produced, and in turn motivate and make people want to go out and purchase the product. The main aim is to then sell the product, which makes money for the artist.

Magazine adverts are important as they are a way of marketing there music and products, which is what makes the artist money. Without magazine advertisement, the artist wouldn't be able to present there products to there target audiences, which would mean the audience would never be aware of the artists new product.

Recently however, it has increased in popularity for artists to market there products in different ways. With social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter being the main one, as they can specifically target certain people. Other ways of marketing music products are billboards, posters, websites and TV. These are all other ways that artists can use, however TV can be expensive so only mainstream artists use this as they can afford to do so. This means in recent, the dependence on magazine adverts has decreased, however is still a key way of artists showing the world there music.

NME Music Magazine

Q Music Magazine

Above are two examples of mainstream music magazines that artists use to have there adverts in to promote there products.

This is an example of a magazine advert. This was taken from the online edition of the Q magazine. It is a prime example of how music artists, in this case Devlin, has used Q magazine to promote his music.

 The advert above was taken from Q magazine. It is very simple and to the point, including the artists name, name of the single and release date. It also includes the album name and official website address. Overall, this is an effective advert as not only does it inform the audience that they can listen and download his new single on the 8th August, but it also informs them that at a later date, he will be releasing an album but keeps the audience in suspense by not revealing an exact date.

Carrying out this research was very important as it allowed me to get an insight into what the uses and main aims and objectives are of using digipacks and magazine adverts. It helped me understand how these two items should work in harmony with each other, and in turn should help to sell the music/music video. It is important that both these products are effective in order to catch the audiences eye and make them want to go out and buy the album or watch the music video. Overall, it has made me see why producing professional standard digipacks and magazine adverts are so important and how they can help to influence they way the audience perceives my product.

Notes on Cultural Effects Model

The media is very powerful and can influence the ways that people interpret media texts. However audiences are very diverse and initially all interpret information very differently because of past experiences and different backgrounds, and this is based on factors such as their class, gender and ethnicity.

In this theory, the media does not see the audience as passive. When people watch media products, they consume the information in very different ways. However, the producers of the media products expect people to interpret the information in a certain way.

The cultural effects model is a long term process, meaning that audiences don't feel the effects straight away, instead it is over time as they consume more. It can be seen as mesmerising the audience to believe something.

How is it used in Music Videos?

In music videos the media can portray there view on things, making the audience feel this is how they should be. A good example of this would be that in order to be happy and confident, woman must have a body like a model. This would then be backed up in a music video by seeing lots of woman being shown in this same way, making them look good and making others wants to be like them. 

This is why music videos are so powerful, because they can influence the way people behave and the way people want to be. They can sway the way the audience see certain things and therefore play a big role in society and he way the world is today.

This post is beneficial to me because it allows me to understand how the Cultural Effects model is used within the media, and the roles it plays on the audience. Therefore, it is important that if you are trying to connote something either within the narrative of the music video or just at certain times in the music video, that this is very clearly planned out and carried out, and that it is either going with or against the general stereotypes or conventions of this type of music video. If it isn't clear, it can cause the audience to not understand the music video, or not be able to relate to the music video. 

Lip Synching- What is it? Why is it important?

Lip syncing is a technical term for matching lip movements with music. The idea is that it looks as though you are singing the lyrics in a song. It is otherwise known as miming.

Lip synching first came around during the 1980's, when MTV first started playing music videos. The idea is that then artists could just use a pre-recorded version of the song and then just edit the music video to fit in time with the accompanying images and with the lip synching.

Also it is sometimes used when artists have live performances that are based around heavy dance routines. This allows for the artist to be able to focus on the dancing. Other than this, sometimes a pre-recorded version of the song will be in the background at live shows, and then they will sing certain parts of the song over the top, whilst some may still be mimed.

This has both positives and negatives:

Positives:

- It means the artists can concentrate solely on the music video rather than having to sing at the same time.

- It can allow the artist to have full on, extreme dance routines in music videos.

- It allows for the song to always sound how it should- regardless of whether its a live performance or music video.

Negatives:

- If editing is poor quality, it can stand out and look very obvious to the audience that they are pretending and in fact have lip synched.

- At live shows, it means audiences may not get a live performance.

This is an example of where lip synching has gone wrong, it was in 2009 during Britney Spears live show. Fans were walking out on the performance before the end of the concert and therefore meant that she has left fans unsatisfied.



This is another example, this time using a previous students media work. They tried to reproduce a One Direction song and attempted to lip synch over it. However, due to poor editing it is very obvious and meant the end result was it looking poor quality and not very professional.



Therefore it is important, if lip synching that it is done with great care and ensure that it actually looks realistic. Otherwise, it can make a music video look very poor quality and lose the validity and verisimilitude of a piece.

Analysis of Music Video using Goodwin’s Theory: Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball

This music video is from the pop genre. It was released in August 2013 and was the second single from the album 'Bangerz' to be released.

This music video initially led to a lot of controversy, as the media compared Mileys new video to Sinead O'Connor's music video 'Nothing Compares2U'. Cyrus said that this reference of intertextuality was inspired by O'Connor's video which led to O'Connor's sending Cyrus an open letter regarding how she thinks Cyrus has been 'pimped' and exploited by the music industry.



This is Miley Cyrus's music video for Wrecking Ball, which starts very similarly too Sinead O'Connor's scene at around 15 seconds in.



As you can see, there is an obvious comparison to O'Connor's music video close ups as there is to Cyrus's close ups at the beginning of her song.

As I found out from a previous blog, Goodwin's theory suggests that there are certain things that can be found in music videos that are used in order to sell a song or music video. Nowadays, record labels purposefully use this in order to sell an artists song or music video as they know its been tried, tested and has been successful and therefore there is no reason to go against the generic conventions, not to say some music videos don't go against this.

Goodwin’s Theory suggests that in music videos, lyrics will match the visuals that we as an audience can see. This is visible in this music video. The music video is a performance piece in a variety of locations. It has a simple narrative to it, although this isn’t consistent throughout. The visuals often match the lyrics of the piece and this therefore allows the audience to be able to understand the music video better. By doing this it means it is very simple to follow and makes the audience link the lyrics with the images they can see, helping engage the audience better. An example of this in the music video is where we see Miley swinging on a ‘wrecking ball’ and at this time we hear her sing the lines ‘I came in like a wrecking ball’. This therefore shows an obvious link between visuals and lyrics and makes it obvious to the audience what it is she is singing about.

This is Miley Cyrus on the Wrecking Ball, at this time we also see her lip synch the lyrics 'I came in like a wrecking ball' which is an example of when her lyrics match the visuals.

Also we can see lots of cuts throughout this music video that match the pace of the video. This helps the music video flow, and gives it a mellifluous feel.  

In order to sell the artist as a star, the record label uses lots of close ups on Miley. In order to do this, the record company include slots of shots of Mile partially dressed, or doing provocative poses. By showing off her body, Goodwin’s theory would suggest that this is voyeurism as the female body is on display. This is for the benefit of the male viewers, and therefore links with the male Gaze Theory by Laura Mulvey.

A prime example of the Male Gaze Theory. This suggests that the camera is the males eyes, and suggests that men objectify woman to be sex objects.

Intertextuality is the final point in Goodwin's theory, it suggests that music videos may have intertextual references that link them to other media products. As mentioned previously in this post, in Mileys video she has intertextual references to O'Connor's music video. This helps the audience link one media product to another, and should help promote a music video. Another good example of intertextual references in music videos is  Robbie Williams' 'Millennium' music video. We see Williams dressed like James Bond, which is an intertextual reference to the Bond films, also an example of cross media convergence.

Close up Shot from Mileys music video.

Close up Shot from O'Connor's music video, showing very similar shots and to an audience, this shows how Miley has used intertextuality in her music video to link it to O'Connor's.

This post has helped me to understand how music videos are all very similar, in terms of things that they actually have within them. It has helped me see that most music videos are very similar in terms of the process of producing them and ensuring that key generic conventions are within the video, however the narratives or storylines are all very different.

Research Into Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin was the creator of 'Goodwin's Theory'; which was named after himself. He said that music and music videos always include 6 main areas/stages. When creating my music videos I can use Goodwin's theory to help ensure that my music video fits and is in line with what Goodwin's theory suggest makes a good music video. The stages of Goodwin's theory can be seen below: 

1.            Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop). This is also known as iconography

This video shows the band AC/DC performing there song, demonstrating genre characteristics. In different genres we will be able to see different generic conventions as this is what makes a music video able to get categorised to a certain genre. 

 2.            There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.

3.      There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.

In this music video by Ed Sheeran to his song 'Give Me Love', the lyrics are very reflective of the images that we can see. This helps the audience to understand and feel the emption that is being portrayed in the music video. Also it helps connotes Sheeran's thoughts and feelings behind the song, maybe helping others relate, potentially also linking in with the Uses and Gratifications Theory which suggests people watch things for 4 reasons, however in this case it could be for Entertainment, which has links with emotional release, which could be reached here with this music video.



4.      The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

 The main reason for this is because the record labels not only want to sell the music, they also need the artist to be sold as a 'star'.

5.      There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

In this video, we see the camera using very long distinctive close up shots of Miley Cyrus. This linking in with Goodwin's theory of the camera focusing on the female body. This is known as voyeurism. As the music video progresses, at around 34 seconds we see a long shot of Mileys legs, before cutting and going to a shot of her leaning against a wall with a mallet in her hand. As the music video continues, we see long shots of Miley wearing very little clothing, before seeing her swinging on a wrecking ball, wearing nothing, and then seeing her licking a mallet. All of this linking to the idea that Goodwin suggested, that the camera frequently shows off the female body, also linking in with the Male Gaze theory by Laura Mulvey.


6.      There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc)

As Goodwin suggested, in some music videos they may make references to other media products. In this music video by Robbie Williams we can see this. We see Robbie Williams in a rabbit costume, having intertextual references to 'Alice in Wonderland'. This is a good thing to do in music videos, as it can link two different media products together, helping either both have increased sales, or just involving/branching out to a new market that before hand may not have watched the music videos. It can increase your target audience.

 

This post is beneficial as it allowed me to understand Andrew Goodwin's theory, which I can then use to analyse music videos. The general idea of his theory is that there are different stages to every music video (as listed above). 

Music Video Factsheet Notes

The Purpose of Music Videos

The main purpose of music videos in the digital age is to sell products, the most obvious product being the song features in the video itself. In a music video, other products are marketed too. An example would be the album the song is featured on. This being said, by people hearing one song from an album, it may influence them and make them want to hear more from the artist and in turn buy the artists album. Another example of a product that the music video can sell is a film that the song may feature in. This is also a type of cross media convergence. This is effective as it enhances sales for both the film and the song. Am example of this would be the song 'Let it go' which featured in the film frozen. This song also went on to become number 1 in the UK top 40. This shows hiw cross media convergence can help enhance sales for different media products.

Music videos have a very unique type of marketing, this is because when the music video is played, the audience can hear the song that the video is for and therefore can consume the product. This is very unique as if we consider other types of marketing such as an advert for Costa Coffee, they may suggest that there product is desirable, but the audience doesn't actually get to taste the coffee and make that decision for themselves. Therefore, music videos are very important and must be top quality in order for a song to be successful. 

Prior to the digital age, allowing audiences full access to the product was much harder than it is currently. In order to do so, record companies would have to approve media platforms where it could be shown such as shows like 'Top of the Pops'. However now, since e development of technology, it is easier for audiences to access music as they can stream it online on sites like Youtube and Spotify. 

The problem for record labels now is that there artists music came streamed very easily online for free. As a result meaning they don't benefit. To begin with record labels tried to stop there artists music from being put onto these sites, and would try to prosecute those who uploaded videos to Youtube etc. However, this was deemed to expensive and time consuming and meant that record labels have stopped this. To try and counteract this, record labels now allow music videos to be put onto these sites but under stricter conditions. An example of this is Sony BMG who have a Youtube channel which hosts there artists videos and they offer links to sites like iTunes where songs canbe downloaded legally and is beneficial to both the artists and record label. 

Due to the issue of uploading music videos to Youtube, before I chose a song that I wish to use for my music video, it is vital I ask for permission from the record label. This is so that they know what I plan on doing, and to ensure that they don't try and claim copyright against the piece.

Conventions of Music Videos

The aim of music videos is to encourage viewers to purchase a copy of the song features and other products associated with the artist. In order to do this most videos follow similar conventions that work effectively to attract audiences. Although music videos are all very unique and different to one another, they will all follow similar generic conventions (based on genre). 

Movement is essential to music videos and usually complements the rhythm of the song (the movement is often in time to the beat of the song). There are 3 main types of movement:

- The physical movement of the camera

- The movement of people or items within the video 

- Through the speed of editing 

An example of a good music video that relies heavily on the movement to create a sense of excitement to the audience is Justin Timberlake's 'Rock Your Body'. The rapid editing complements the variety of shots that the audience can see, many being less than one second long. 

Another example is Rihanna's 'Rude Boy' music video that uses special effects behind Rihanna when dancing and playing the drums which creates movement that matches the beat of the song. 

Many music videos will have narratives to them. The storyline may relate to the songs lyrics and illustrate what is being said or be independent from the song and tell a different story. Both can help engage the audience with the music video and help keep the audiences interest. 

Most music videos will feature the band or artist in it as they are also a product to be sold. The artist may feature performing their music, either lip syncing or playing instruments in the case of a band. Sometimes the artist may act rather than perform, or the video may feature both. An example would be Plan B's 'She Said' music video. It features a narrative linked to the songs lyrics that the artist acting out as well as performing the song.

Initial Ideas on My Music Video

Before getting our final idea for our music video I had some initial ideas, they are listed below:

1) An idea I had was to film the entire music video in a recording studio. By doing this it would allow us to use the lighting equipment that the studio has, this would then mean that the music video would look professional and bring a sense of realism to it. The main shots would all be quite dark, as this reflects the lyrics and helps match the moving images that the audience will be able to see with the lyrics, relating to Goodwin's theory. Once we had recorded it in the studio, that would be the basis of our music video, but then we would go and film in various other locations, all of which would have connotations of being dark and scary (for example in woods, fields, quiet roadsides). Once we have footage from these locations, I was then thinking we could have cuts from the main shots in the studio to these other locations, showing an array of locations, while also having a narrative, of the man thinking about past experiences, again linking to the lyrics and title of the song 'trials of the past'. By doing this it would make the music video seem spooky and strange, while having a strong narrative to it of which the audience can follow and understand.

The ideal field location, closely situated near is the dark woods, which means we could easily move from one location to another during filming.

The dark wood location would look similar to this.

 

2) Another idea I had was to have the music video very surreal and unusual. By doing this it would make the audience interested and intrigued by the music video as it is unique and therefore would get there attention. In order to achieve this, my idea was that we could film in a field, with a large tree in the background. The tree would need to be an old looking tree (such as an old willow). The character would be sitting on the floor, looking messy, with a camp fire and broken, old looking sleeping bag next to him. My idea would be filming it at dusk, then some shots during the night followed by shots at early morning when the sun rises, with the man asleep in his sleeping bag. The background would consist of mist rising off the filed with the sunrise in the background. The narrative would be that the man is homeless and thinking about past memories regarding how he got homeless, and in contrast we could now see the sad life he lives out in the cold everyday.

Overall, the majority of my initial ideas are all very reflective of the song. This is because I feel it is the only way to portray the lyrics and emotion of these to the audience. To make this evident, I think all the locations would have to be dark and mysterious. This will help connote the idea to the audience. This is why the ideas above are all set in dark locations, as I personally think this will set the scene and make the music video very obvious to the audience in regards to what we are trying to portray and connote to the audience.

As the music video is a group task, it is important that everyone has an equal say in the sort of thing they want to include. This means that I can put forward my ideas and hopefully incorporate them, along with the other group members ideas which should allow us to have plenty of ideas and produce a good quality music video.

By thinking about my initial ideas, it means that I can think creatively and consider a various range of ideas, all of which could be used at a later date in the music video. Short term this task is good because it will mean that it will get me considering different ideas and ways of portraying ideas to the audience, however long term will be beneficial as I can use some of these initial ideas in the actual music video we create. Therefore, overall this task is beneficial in many different ways and will be of good use and a good post to look at when planning and storyboarding our actual music video.