Digipak advert research

Digipak adverts promote and make audiences aware that a digipak is being released. They tend to stick to the current theme of the artist/band and they continue showing images which are the same, or similar, to the digipak itself. They stick to the genre characteristics and they promote the artist/band in a way that is very similar to the digipak covers.

This Rihanna digipak advert really follows the same theme as her digipak for Loud, as it continues the floral and red and pink colours and theme, which highlights the fact that she is a female artist with a mainly female audience. I think that it's really good to keep up the theme from an album onto the digipak advert because it really makes it obvious who and what it's about.

This Ellie Goulding digipak advert is the same as the Rihanna one in regards to the fact that it follows the same themes as the digipak itself and it really puts more emphasis on the fact that it relates back to the title. I think that both of these adverts show that it's really important to make your advert link back to your actual digipak in order for it to promote the digipak and let the audience know what it's about and it really addresses the target audience.

Audience Feedback from Pitch

After presenting our pitch, the class gave us feedback sheets with their thoughts and critiques. We found that everyone thought that our artist's image was very good and that we successfully showed that our current ideas matched our image. Everyone thought that the overall idea was good, as we were told it was well on the way to success and also that is has potential. We are also proud of our choice with the record label, as everyone else also agreed that it was well chosen and that we were right in choosing it. However, people did want to hear more of the song that we played and they also wanted to know the lyrics more; in order to see if our visuals and music would have a strong relationship. We also expected to have needed progress for our music video as we still haven't made definite decisions on what we're going to include in every shot, and our feedback shows that they would of liked to have known a bit more. Also we did overlook one piece of our audience feedback about the theme of flowers being too girly, but we have decided that although we'll still use the floral patterns, we just won't use it as much.

Music Video Pitch

This is us presenting our pitch to our audience who were about to give us feedback on it. We're happy with the way it went as we feel like we worked well as a team to present equally and to support one another when necessary.

Artist Pitch

This is the pitch we have created for our artist and our ideas and work so far. It sums up all over our previous work and it sells our artist; informing everyone about our artist and how we decided on everything.

Audience Research Survey

In order to make sure whether our audience profile and brief were correct for our target audience of young girls aged 16-26, we created a survey in order to get direct answers from people on the internet.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/jsEmbed.aspx?sm=C8akAS6pPG6tPgovf4X57w_3d_3d

Greenscreen Digipak Analysis

This is my analysis of Rihanna's digipak for Talk That Talk.

Audience profile

We created an audience profile for the target audience which we think is most accurate for our artist. We are currently devising a questionnaire to give to those who would be our target audience in order to confirm that we were correct in our audience profile and to find our extra information about our audience. 

Mood Board

We created a mood board for the artist we developed and we really focus on our genre of indie/alternative pop.

We specifically chose which images to put on our mood board as we wanted the genre to be obvious. Whilst we had really girly elements we also included darker images rather than bright ones and made the image a lot more edgy. 

We chose a purple background to represent that she is a female artist and the floral pattern also contributes to this. We arranged the images and text in a mixed orientation fashion to try and make it look more edgy and a bit like a scrapbook, which makes it look more individual and unique.

We included photos of the artists who inspired us for our own artist and we used specific images of them which we wanted to highlight. For example, one photo of Marina and the Diamonds, her hair is the biggest focus of the image, showing that we definitely think that is a big aspect of pop music, This is also shown in the photo of Ellie Goulding.

We've used more artistic images in our mood board to signify the indie/alternative side to our genre. We added glitter to contribute to the representation of a pop genre artists but we also made all of our text black and bold to make our artist seem more edgy and alternative. We included images that referred back to our brief in order to make it clear what our artist was interested in and how that could relate to our target audience.

Digipak Analysis'

Genre research

Lykke Li - Goodwin Analysis

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone: Goodwin Analysis

As the music video starts, it is made obvious that Goodwin's point about a relationship between the music and the visuals is going to be a big aspect of the video, as we see a woman dancing weirdly to the beat and then as the drums kick in, there is a shot of a woman on the drums. The visuals and the music are completely in sync throughout. However, for the second where there is silence, there is a shot of Lykke Li moving quite fast, which is interesting as that isn't common to see as it usually wouldn't work, however it adds to the eccentric look the whole video currently seems to be like.

There is also an in-sync fast cuts moment when an bell-like instrument is played and the girls head's move along in time with it. This happens frequently throughout the whole video and it makes the video seem a lot more thought out and visually interesting. Again with the shots of the woman banging the drum in time with the music is shown and it allows the audience to see the beat as well as hear it. The video isn't much of a performance video, but it also isn't the conventional pop video either as the dancing featured isn't the type of dancing associated with a pop song. 

As the video progresses we see a close up of Lykke Li as the lyrics really kick in and she is seen looking quite plain, her hair is pulled back and the only noticeable make-up is on her eyes, which goes against many of the pop music video genre conventions, which makes the video seem a lot more artistic and indie. Her facial expression isn't what you would usually expect with a pop music video, she is looking quite sad and expressive with her eyebrows rather than the expected wide smiles and cheekiness.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as she sings "not here but in my mind" and she touches her head. The same shots of women dancing strangely, girls moving their head in sync with the music and woman who beats the drum are constantly used in the whole video. There are shots of other people in chairs clapping along, in time with the clapping in the audio and they dance along with the music. They then proceed to get up and sing the background vocals of the song along with Lykke Li's main lyrics, getting them involved with the music itself. Cross fades are used between shots of Lykke Li's face and the people involved. Stop motion is also used in this video to emphasise the use of the beats in the music. Unlike the other music videos I have analysed, Lykke Li looks much more masculine in this and she doesn't look glamorous at all, especially as she does a boxing stance and her hair is slicked back. 

Overall I think that this video shows the other side to pop music videos as they don't all have to include a narrative, glamorous women and special effects to make them interesting. This video shows a more artistic and editing reliant way of making a music video and I prefer it as it was so in sync and was continuously strange and different. I think that when it comes to making my own music video, I will definitely make an effort to make my shots come in at the same time as the music, becuase it is made clear that having a clear relationship between the lyrics/music and visuals is key for an interesting solo female artist music video. 

Ellie Goulding - Goodwin Analysis

Ellie Goulding - Lights: Goodwin Analysis

Immediately the visuals relate to the title of the song ad the first thing we see are bright spotlights moving around the frame as the intro of the song starts. Ellie Goulding then fades into the frame wearing a black dress and her hair is down and make up is well done. This automatically makes her the main focus of the music video and the audience are attracted to her appearance. As expected with pop music videos, she begins to dance as the beat picks up and she dances in the light. As the song progresses she swings her hair back and forth, bringing attention to her thick hair, showing that it is a big aspect of her image, which is similar to many other female solo artists.

There is a relationship between the music and visuals as she sings "shining when I'm alone" as she is dancing alone in the lights, shining from behind her. There are cuts to her dancing, surrounded by special effects lighting, as if she is creating them. The camera frequently come back to her, showing her dancing in several different coloured lights, each with different designs. This could apply to Goodwin's point and be due to the demands from the record label, showing that she has to be the main selling point and her performance is key.

Her outfit changes a few times into things more exciting such as a glittery dress, which again makes the light reflect off of her, showing that she is the centre of the entire music video. There is no narrative in this music video and there is no other person to be seen, all the attention is on her, her appearance and the lights surrounding her. As the drum beat kicks in slightly, there is a shot of her hitting a drum, which also applies to Goodwin's point of having a relationship between the music and the visuals.

Whilst the music video included some dancing, it could be classed as a performance video, as all she does in the video is perform her song. It also has an artistic element to it due to the amount of reliance on the contrast between the dark background and the many many lights and special effects, which actually makes the video a lot more interesting that it should be. The shots are quite repetitive and we frequently see the same ones, which makes the video become quite boring after a while. As the music and lyrics start to stutter, so does the video itself, showing a relationship and making it look more exciting and visually interesting. The shot of Ellie Goulding actually slows down as the music does too, which also contributes to the previous point. 

Overall, I think that the video could have been made better with a bit more of a narrative and glamour but it was still interesting to see how much the music and visuals related to each other. This is a technique which I would definitely want to include when I make my music video. The video was quite artistic with it's use of lights and how towards the end they looked like paint. I will take this into consideration when it comes to planning my music video. 

Lana Del Rey - Goodwin Analysis

Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans: Goodwin Analysis

Unlike typical pop music videos, Lana Del Rey isn't seen with a cheesy dance routine, but she also hasn't got a live performance. Her music video is very staged and artistic. The opening shots are made to seem like she is underwater which immediately foreshadows the video's narrative ending. The soft movement of the water effect goes well with the violin music in the background and it makes it seem almost angelic.

As the song begins, there are obvious cuts to fit the beat of the song, something that makes the video a lot more interesting. I can already see that there is a voyeuristic element to this music video as there are frequent shots of Lana Del Rey, of her body and close ups of her face. She is seen wearing make-up and her hair is perfected, showing that she is glamorous and is the main focus of the whole video. We see her look up at the camera as she sings "you know you made my eyes burn", which is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.

The whole video is in black and white, showing that the focus was intended to be purely on the content of the video rather than any loud, bright coloured distractions. There is frequently a shimmer of water reflection seen on her face, foreshadowing later events and relates back to the title of her extended edition album called "Born to Die: Paradise Edition". Like the typical solo female artists, as expected, the lyrics frequently mention her admiration for someone and the video has shot reverse shots from her to him, as she sings about him. There are many close ups of her, making her the selling point and showing off her glamorous appearance. (Something I would definitely want to include in my music video for a female solo artist). 

The whole video is quite artistic and doesn't follow much of a narrative other than her loving a man who kills her at the end. However, there are so many glamorous shots of her, even slowed down to emphasise how important her appearance is. There is also a relationship between the lyrics and visuals as she sings "I will love you till the end of time" as the whole video is centred around her fast approaching death by the one she loves.

Overall, I think that this music video definitely proves that when it comes to female solo artists music videos, there isn't that much of a need for a narrative or even anything other than the performance of the singer or the artistic flare which can be expressed more in the editing. Whilst this video lacks some narrative and colour, it is still seen as interesting and enjoyable due to the beautiful performance shots and the artistic element. 

Digipak research

Digipaks from cerenkangal

Cross Media Case Study

Justin Timberlake Cross Media Case Study from cerenkangal

Ryan Adams

Record Labels

Record Labels:

• Manage bands and artists
• Copyright protection
• Distribute albums
• Represent an artist
• In control fo funding
• Talent scout

There are two types of record label:

Major:

The big three record labels are major labels:
Sony BMG
Universal Group

Warner Music Group

Major record labels can at any time represent 75% of the music sold within a year. 

Minor/Independent:
A smaller record label that operates without the funding of the big three record labels.

Many big artists begin their career in a minor/independent record label. 

The artists/bands are more artistic and independent, they have more freedom to do what they want in their music videos and with their image.                                        

Some examples, for a record label such as RCA are, Alexandra Burke, P!nk, Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera.
Also some examples for a record label such as Columbia are, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon, and Editors. 

The All-American Rejects - Goodwin Analysis

The All-American Rejects - Gives You Hell: Goodwin Analysis

As soon as the video begins, it is obvious that it is going to be a narrative video rather than any other elaborate, abstract video or even a live performance video. As the lyrics start, there is an immediate relationship between lyrics and visuals when he sings "wake up every evening with a big smile on my face" as that is exactly what he is seen doing. However, despite the first impression of the music video, it cuts to the band set up in the setting of the video, performing the song and there is a clap which the whole band do in sync with the sound of the clap in the music. The whole concept of the  "gives you hell" idea is put across and expressed in the video, as one man is giving another man a hard time whilst living next door to each other. 

There is another relationship between lyrics and visuals when he sings "where's your picket fence love?" as it shows the more mature, sensible couple in their home, the stereotypical american family couple who live in a house with a white picket fence. When more of a beat kicks in, the shots cut to the band playing drums and are completely in sync with the music. Due to the fact that the whole video has a massive narrative, the two men (played by the same man) are actually singing the lyrics to each other. Small guitar solos are accompanied by a guitarist playing. 

There is a notion of looking in this music video which also relates back to the lyrics when he sings "when you see my face" he looks into a mirror to look at the camera once again, which is one of Goodwin's points in his analysis. The glaring of the mirror onto the other man is also relating to the song's title "gives you hell" as he is quite literally making his life harder.  

The other people in the music video then proceed to sing the chorus through cones to make their voices seem echoed, this is related to the sound of the lyrics and it makes it seem like they all contributed to the song. There are many close ups of the band and especially the lead singer Tyson Ritter to show that they are the main focus of the entire music video, and the fact that there are actually two of Tyson Ritter emphasises the importance of him. 

Overall, I think that whilst having a completely narrative based music video is fun to watch, it is actually quite basic and can get boring. Once it has been watched once, it's been seen but with a more artistic music video, there can be parts missed on the first viewing and it becomes more and more interesting the more you watch it. I think that relating music and visuals is again seen as very important in all music videos and it is definitely something to consider when planning my music video. 

Tribute music video - Goodwin Analysis

Tenacious D - Tribute    -    Goodwin Analysis 

The video for Tenacious D's song Tribute, is seen as two men telling a story (the lyrics) and it shows them going into a booth to create a music video for it. This music video keeps to Goodwin's theory by having a link between the lyrics and the visuals, for example, as they sing "All of a sudden, there shined a shiny demon, in the middle, of the road" a 'demon' does appear. The lyrics and the visuals link throughout the whole video and song, which creates a narrative and takes the audience on a journey, as they tell the story. 

There are also many two shots of the men, showing them singing and playing the guitar, recording their song. This could represent Goodwin's point about close-ups being used in order to market the artist. They are frequently seen playing the guitar, showing that they are the ones telling the story. At the beginning of the music video, there are slight references to other music videos as they say they want to make a video and be like famous musicians/bands. There are close ups of them and also of the demon, 

to show who is singing and it also contributes to the fact that the whole video is telling a story. A complete narrative, the lyrics match the visuals throughout the whole video. 

The video also has a frequent reference to the notion of looking as they are recording their entire song and making the record during the video. The music includes people playing guitars and could be considered a rock song, therefore the fact that you can see them playing, demonstrates the genre's characteristics but it also isn't a liver performance or the usual rock music video because it has a narrative and it does have moments where you can see them singing the song mentioned in the lyrics, rather than the actual lyrics. 

Goodwin's Music Video Analysis

Music videos are a promotional tool to market an artist/band. Throughout the years, music videos have evolved and become more popular ever since the 1920s. The first modern music video was made in 1965 for Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues. In 1970 tv shows started to promote artists and made promos to replace live performances.

 In music videos, close ups of the singer or main performer are predominate and emphasise half of the commodity on sale. Most videos are centred around the artists/band in order to be popular and watched. In music videos fast cuts are used as much as possible in order to make the audience watch the video multiple times. The slower the cuts, the more the effect the video makes on the audience.

 In the last 30 years, CGI created its own style and made the videos more visually interesting. The videos evolved into concept video and made it so it wasn't just the performance by the artists and the music videos could be completely unrelated to the artists. The use of green screen and the advancement in digital technology made it easier and cheaper to create music videos. In 1990s they became more about the video. 35mm film was used. In the 1980s, music videos became standard. 

Goodwin's Music Video Analysis:

• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, for example stage performances in rock video and dance routine in pop videos.
• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals along with a relationship between the music and visuals.
• Demands of a record label will be present in the music video, e.g close ups of the artist in order to market them or develop a motif which recur across their work.
• There will be frequent reference to the notion of looking, such as screens within screens, telescopes etc and also a voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
• There may be intertextual reference to films, tv programmes and other music videos etc 

Music videos are a promotional tool to market an artist/band. Throughout the years, music videos have evolved and become more popular ever since the 1920s. The first modern music video was made in 1965 for Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues. In 1970 tv shows started to promote artists and made promos to replace live performances.