Thursday, 19 November 2009
Conventions of Magazine Ads and Digipak
Conventions of digipaks
Digipaks are collectors items fans can purchase containing items such as posters, bonus tracks and limited edition content. They also often contain behind the scenes and a 'making of' feature. The digipaks are slightly more expensive however fans can own more than just an album. The digipaks can give fans more information on the band, they sometimes contain small documentaries of the bands rise to fame. This way the fans can get to know the band more personally.
There are also more common conventions. Demands require the record labels logo on the digipak also ratings and running time are included.
Conventions of magazine Ad's
The magazine ad is mainly to promote the artist and song. It is to be as eye catching as possible with striking images and wording. It has to attract as much attention as possible. It contains the song title or album title, the artist name, release date, where it will be available on release and the bands website. The main feature of a magazine ad is the image used. It needs to attract attention while containing as much intertextual reference to the band as it can.
Some bands use celebrities ratings to promote themselves, this way the public will be more likely to read the ratings instead of glance over them.
Suede-Lost in tv digipak
The digipak Suede created for there album Lost in tv doesnt follow many visual coventions for digipaks. It contains a large image and the bands title with a list of songs. It does however contain, an exclusive new track, band commentary and a small film by a band member. This does follow convention. It is a large album containing 19 songs, this may be why there arent as many extra features contained in other digipaks.
The artist is represented in a dark way. The image is a strong distorted close up of a microphone. The image on the back is also a distorted picture showing the instruments. The intention of a digipak is to bring the fans closer to the band however the images used make the band seem uninterested.
It may appeal to the audience as it contains special content and never before seen footage. The fans may be interested in seeing the band in an enviroment other then performing.
Milwaukee At Last- Rufus Wainwright magazine ad
This magazine ad follows convention for most magazine ads. It contains the record labels logo, artist website, release date and where the album and digipak will be available on release. Instead of a eye catching image the font of the album name is used to attract attention. It is bold and covers half the ad, with a different color for every letter. This is very striking and attracts attention after a glance. There is also an image of the artist.
Possible
I think this could be a good contender for our magazine advert or the digipack as it is a clear shot of the artist himself, from a shot of the actual music video.
This gives it a strong visual link to the video, and at the same time promoting the artist himself.
This image gives a good representation of genre, the outfit the artist is wearing is a typical 'indie' look, and the guitar he is holding gives a representation of the style of music the audience can expect.
This image could apeal to many audiences, the female audience if they find the artist attractive, along with indie music fans.
Overall i think the simplicity of the image and the idea it givees to the audience would make this image a good contender for the advertisement or digipack.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Possible frames for central image of digipack
In my opinion this would be a good contender for the central image of a digipak, as although it is quite simplistic, and by having just an instrument is a very common idea for this genre, I think it has more attention to detail as we were fortunate enough to find quite a tattered guitar, which adds quite a laidback, unglamourous, indie feel. I also think it would be a good image, as it is easy to see the artist is sat down in a field, which again creates a very relaxed atmosphere, showing the spectator the tone of the video, and the music. I think that it follows the conventions of other music videos of this genre as many are also quite simplistic, and usually include the artist with an instrument, without having really striking and bright, eye-catching mise-en-scene e.g. a big stage performance. I believe this image would attract an audience as it looks quite natural and tranquil and clearly represents the soft indie style of the artist and his music e.g through the loose shirt and relaxed hand positions on the guitar.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Background research-David ford
David ford was born in Dartmore in kent on 16th may 1978. His first big break in indie music came with his indie rock group Easyworld. They released one album then dismembered in 2004.
David Ford then branched into being a solo artist known for the emotion he puts into his songs.
He started playing solo concerts almost straight away after his band split up, fan favourite State of the Union was his biggest known song at the time.
David Ford then branched into being a solo artist known for the emotion he puts into his songs.
He started playing solo concerts almost straight away after his band split up, fan favourite State of the Union was his biggest known song at the time.
He toured america supporting acts such as KT tunstall untill his debut was released in america in 2006. Then after supporting Suzanne Vega on her UK tour, he released his 2nd solo album 'Songs for the road' in august 2007, he toured extensively to promote his album throughout the UK in october 2007 and toured the US in may 2008. His new album entitled 'Let the bad times roll' is to be released early 2010.
Initial ideas for the song
The song is an acoustic based song, most videos for songs of this type feature the artist playing. Oasis- Wonderwall is a song based on the acoustic guitar, it features the artist playing the guitar and is also edited into black and white. We could edit parts of our song to be in black and white as i think it adds emotion to the artist playing.
This would mean our video would be a performance, we could make our story a narrative and keep it a performance. We could do this by following the lyrics of the song to make a story, and have actors play out the story maybe with the male character playing the song.
We could also use split screen affects, other music videos that use this affect use it to display two stories at one time, in sugar water-Cibo Matto stories of two girls are played out on either side of the screen.
The location of our video, if done in a split screen could be broken into urban and rural landscapes, we could have a story taking place in each landscape. The woman in the song could be having a normal day in the city as the man plays the song in a more rural area, landscapes like this could be used in our video.
Using these techniques would add to the emotion of the video. Most of the techniques are steriotypical of the song type however some may challenge the normal conventions.
This would mean our video would be a performance, we could make our story a narrative and keep it a performance. We could do this by following the lyrics of the song to make a story, and have actors play out the story maybe with the male character playing the song.
We could also use split screen affects, other music videos that use this affect use it to display two stories at one time, in sugar water-Cibo Matto stories of two girls are played out on either side of the screen.
The location of our video, if done in a split screen could be broken into urban and rural landscapes, we could have a story taking place in each landscape. The woman in the song could be having a normal day in the city as the man plays the song in a more rural area, landscapes like this could be used in our video.
Using these techniques would add to the emotion of the video. Most of the techniques are steriotypical of the song type however some may challenge the normal conventions.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Group response to peer feedback
We are satisfied with the feedback received from our peers. Taking into account the stage we are at with our filming and editing it is understandable the constructive criticism we received. We feel that it is essential for us to create a shooting plan that will allow us to fulfill the potential of our initial idea. As we have the majority of the song completed and planned to shoot tomorow, it will allow us plenty of time to edit and perfect our music video which will hopefully conclude with a high quality finish.
Teacher Rough Cut Feedback
General Feedback:
There are significant gaps in your rough cut, these must be filled with high quality footage. I would advise you to reflect on the feedback you've received and plan carefully what footage you need to get in order to fill these gaps. You definitely need more cutaways.
Feedback on Representation of Artist:
The selection of your mise-en-scene is strong, your choice of costume and filters is very strong.
Your star image is almost too strong because there are no other visuals other than your artist, this is why cutaways are so important. It almost strengthens the shots of the artist if you use effective cutaways.
This has the potential to be very good, but it is essential that you plan the next stage of your filming carefully. Keep up the good work.
There are significant gaps in your rough cut, these must be filled with high quality footage. I would advise you to reflect on the feedback you've received and plan carefully what footage you need to get in order to fill these gaps. You definitely need more cutaways.
Feedback on Representation of Artist:
The selection of your mise-en-scene is strong, your choice of costume and filters is very strong.
Your star image is almost too strong because there are no other visuals other than your artist, this is why cutaways are so important. It almost strengthens the shots of the artist if you use effective cutaways.
This has the potential to be very good, but it is essential that you plan the next stage of your filming carefully. Keep up the good work.
Peer feedback
Q1-11: Intertextuality
- Very similar to a song by the weepies called the world spins madly on. In this video there is a male and female character. This video is similar to that because of the shots and characters and the genre portrayed
- It is also similar to a film called Babel due to the shots due to the multiple storylines.
- Another film would be love actually, due to the multiple storylines again and the romantic aspect.
Other feedback: We think that the shots containing the male character, he should either play the guitar or look like he is playing the guitar.
- Very similar to a song by the weepies called the world spins madly on. In this video there is a male and female character. This video is similar to that because of the shots and characters and the genre portrayed
- It is also similar to a film called Babel due to the shots due to the multiple storylines.
- Another film would be love actually, due to the multiple storylines again and the romantic aspect.
Other feedback: We think that the shots containing the male character, he should either play the guitar or look like he is playing the guitar.
Peer Feedback
Q1-12 - Lyrics and Visuals
- The lead singer sings the lyrics directly into the camera encouraging the audience to relate to him and his emotions.
- Complementary lyrics and visuals for example when the singer sings about a girl near the cigarette machine you see a girl near a cigarette machine
- The lead singer sings the lyrics directly into the camera encouraging the audience to relate to him and his emotions.
- Complementary lyrics and visuals for example when the singer sings about a girl near the cigarette machine you see a girl near a cigarette machine
Peer Feedback
Music and Visuals(Mr A Winter and Mr T Halkyard)
The music has quite a slow tempo and the footage used and the way it has been edited compliments this well and really enhances the mood of the song. The use of the guitar in the music video also allows the viewer to see the instrument played in the song which is commonly used to give the performance aspect of the video. The singing mostly has been edited so that the lip syncing works well. this is also the case with the guitar playing where, mostly, the guitar plucking has been used well to compliment the music being played.
The music has quite a slow tempo and the footage used and the way it has been edited compliments this well and really enhances the mood of the song. The use of the guitar in the music video also allows the viewer to see the instrument played in the song which is commonly used to give the performance aspect of the video. The singing mostly has been edited so that the lip syncing works well. this is also the case with the guitar playing where, mostly, the guitar plucking has been used well to compliment the music being played.
Q1 08 Feedback
Genre Characteristics
The music genre that was used in this music video was indie, so we feel in terms of costume and props and location it did represent the indie style. However, we feel as in a lot of indie videos there is always a strong narrative reflecting the lyrics of the song and in this video we felt the narrative wasn't obvious enough - so maybe more shots of the girl and boy together would help. The lyrics did relate to the video and there was good shots used to help make this obvious.
Naomi, Sian and Marianne.
The music genre that was used in this music video was indie, so we feel in terms of costume and props and location it did represent the indie style. However, we feel as in a lot of indie videos there is always a strong narrative reflecting the lyrics of the song and in this video we felt the narrative wasn't obvious enough - so maybe more shots of the girl and boy together would help. The lyrics did relate to the video and there was good shots used to help make this obvious.
Naomi, Sian and Marianne.