Filming - 30th of November

Filming the concert was by far the biggest and most important decision we made and the most important to get right. The reason for this is because the video lacked a concert which occasionally were seen in other R&B videos which is why we needed to include this to relate it to the genre and to also make it look more like a music video.

We had doubts on how it would turn out because of so many problems that could occur. We were very determined to add this as to the video as it would empathise our creativity of shots used in the video, and also it is a vital scene within the narrative of the video and also performance to maintain a balanced ration between the two. The lunchtime on the day we were able to gather around 60 students from years 13 and 12 and take them to the drama studio to start filming. There were three camera men filming and it was vital that they didn’t get in the shot of the others. Despite a few problems occurring such as people messing around and a broken microphone, we gathered enough footage to use and to decide whether to finalise it into sequences of events or re-shoot it. We were very pleased with the outcome of the footage and decided to finalise it into our video.

Filming - 29th of November

We watched back what we had already put together and there was a noticeable difference in the ratio of narrative to performance shots used which was making the video look less like a music video. We therefore had to try and create unique way of shooting these performance shot compared to the shots already used. We came up with the idea of a concert performance. We agreed that this is just what we needed to fill up the gaps, so we organised a date on Tuesday the 30th to create this concert scene for our video. We also added this idea to fit in with the narrative of the video. We decided to lead the character into a concert where he is chosen by the band to come up on stage and sing. The band realises the potential he has and decide to let him join the band.

This was the location of the concert, in the schools drama studio and we felt that this was the perfect location as it had potential with a few changes to look like a concert. We adjusted the lighting and added some steps to replicate the stage of the concert. I felt that the days filming went well and the addition of the concert performance really added the authenticity we needed to our music video to make it look more like one. 

Ideas for my Digipak

Our first ideas were to focus on the front cover of our digipak and all of our group members had different ideas which we took into account. We felt that the front cover would look professional and there would be clear brand identity if all four of the band members were sitting down together towards the left of the image giving them thinking space and I felt that this made the artists stand out and would emphasise the young generation and message of our music video.

For our second idea we came up with the idea of the four band members standing whilst the main performer and character within the music video is stood in front of the band members to promote this member as a individual and to indicate his leadership and passion towards the band. We thought that the band name and single name should be on both sides of the wall using Adobe Photoshop to create this effect using a graffiti style font to illustrate a run down and poverty stricken environment and to relate this to the music video from the urban area as well.

For this idea we came up with using a mirror effect for the band members facing one another and the reason for this is because the band are reflecting and thinking from each others points of view as well as their own. Although we felt this was a good idea we felt that the audience would not interpret this clearly and may not understand it and the meaning behind the image.

Brand Identity

Brand Identity is a big part of creating a digipak and a magazine advert to go with it. I decided I wanted to use brand identity as I wanted all of my products to match and for people to be able to connect one product with another.

The digipak or CD will always normally have a similar look to the music video. This makes it easier to advertise and easier for people to recognise. When I created my digipak I considered the font, colours and image I used these in relation to my music video. I was certain to keep the same font and colour as this shows brand identity. Similarly magazines share the same continuity and are in keeping with the theme and conventions. Having a completely different magazine advert to CD cover and music video wouldn't work as people wouldn't be able to relate to it.

The identity is assembled by the brand owner, it reflects how the owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand and by extension the branded company, organisation, product or service. This is in contrast to the brand image, which is a customer's mental picture of a brand. The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity.
Effective brand names build a connection between the brand personality as it is perceived by the target audience and the actual product/service. The brand name should be conceptually on target with the product/service (what the company stands for). The brand name should be on target with the brand demographic. Typically, sustainable brand names are easy to remember, transcend trends and have positive connotations. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolises the brand's differentiation from competitors.
Brand identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential consumers. However, over time, a product's brand identity may acquire, gaining new attributes from consumer perspective but not necessarily from the marketing communications an owner percolates to targeted consumers. Therefore, brand associations become handy to check the consumer's perception of the brand.
Brand identity needs to focus on authentic qualities - real characteristics of the value and brand promise being provided and sustained by organisational and/or production characteristics.

Conventions of a magazine advert

Conventions that are typically on a music magazine poster would be:

• Release Date
• Image -> particularly the same as the CD
• Name of artist
• Name of album
• "Includes the single".. information like that
• Record label logo
• Artist website (possibly the record label website)
• Writing explaining that it is out now (possibly show some of the stores it's in).

All of these things are important and provide the right amount of information needed for an individual to buy the CD. However, it is important that you don't fill the poster up with too much information else no-one would pay attention and look. Also, it makes it look unprofessional.

Brief - Magazine Advert

The brief for a magazine advert was to create a magazine advert for our music video.

Analysis of a Magazine Advert

I decided to compare my magazine advert with the 'The Black Eyed Peas' album magazine advert because it gave me a better insight into not just what the RnB/Hip-Hop genre would use, but what the actual band we are imitating use towards a magazine advert.

We met with the convention of using a similar or the same picture as to the digipak. We edited it however so that the background is dull yet the artist stand out with colour.We did this so this image which is used for the magazine advert can promote the artists more than the song because we wanted the audience to know what the band looks like to make them more recognisable.
The colours in this image are plain and bland using mostly white and grey white which symbolises purity and innocence and also they reason white may have been used is because it works well with any colour.

The magazine advert does not provide a lot of information for the audience. The main information that they have included is the title and album name. The font has been made very bold as this is very important information for the audience however there is no additional information about the album such as; release date, availability, website etc.

With regards to the font, it is fairly futuristic and modern which can be interpreted by the audience with things such as a modern band which uses technological devices to help influence and combine with their music.

The last four letters of the word Billboard has been filled in with different colours which symbolises a unique style that the band has and that they are trying to set out being different by how their medium looks.

There is a  website which gives some leading information to the audience if they wanted to know more about the album or the band as a whole and gives the image a  more professional finish. Also the pose in which the band members are standing promotes a powerful and important feel and that they are a serious band. The girl is situated in the middle to promote her glamour and also her importance to the band and that she is just as important as the male band members.

Overall, I think the general layout and appearance of the advertisement works effectively due to the choice of image and colours used. The bright colours help to catch the eye and maintain focus which creates further focus on the other information on the advertisement i.e. the release date, new album etc.

This image shows various examples of conventions of music advertisement. For example, it shows his logo at the top which is his name with the second E backwards and the name of the album underneath. There is also a clear image that represents the album. A long empty road which Eminem himself is walking down, which could symbolise his long road to recovery.

It also clearly shows the release date so consumers would be able to purchase it. The poster also shows record labels and his website. The poster gives names of some of the tracks on the album which include collaborations with artists such as Pink, Rhianna, and Lil' Wayne The colour scheme chosen for this also fits in well with the name of the album 'Recovery'. Dull and dark colours have been chosen such as grey and black. The image of a white cross inside the red circle is very well chosen as it represents hospitals and with the album name being Recovery, people would associate this with getting better.

The way in which the artist is positioned emphasises his road to recovery as the image is of him walking on a road into the distance this could also mean the artist is reflecting and also how to make things better for himself. 

The positioning of the text is on the right side and the artist is on the other, which provides the artist with the positive and new associations that the right side can carry and also makes the artist stand out more. The artists name is in a high position which gives it importance and power. Dull colours are used mostly black and grey which creates a very reflective atmosphere and perhaps something emotional with the artist, even though it is dull it grabs the audiences attention.

Analysis of Digipaks from my genre

The Black Eyed Peas - The End

Iconography - The main icon in this image is a computerised human being  which emphasises the band as being fairly technical with their songs and the equipment they use in their songs as modern and up to date. The close up of this animation creates a mysterious feel to the album as the face does not show any emotions which may be left to be determined by the audience.

Colour - Bold, bright and dark colours of green, white and black create intense emotions and the use of the bright white is used to grab the audiences attention. The bright vibrant colour brings a modern quality to the image which contrasts well with the mysterious use of black in the background.

Typography - The font used creates a informal and creative message to the audience and suggests a confident quality to the band, the different shapes used display a outgoing and fun feeling to the audience.

Composition - The bright white font which overlaps the other elements of the image such as the computerised human face act as a striking salience. The text is positioned in the middle which creates a more prominent feel to the album as the text is just as important as the image on this album cover. The overlapping of the text and image also links the two elements together and creates a integration and has more of an effect on the audience.

Pose and Expression - The computerised image is the key element on the album cover which provides a power and assurance to the audience. The image is quite close up providing more personal and intense qualities.

50 Cent - Before I self destruct

Iconography - The main icon in this image is a young muscular artist which is connoting importance and power. The mid shot creates perhaps a sense of fear as the artist comes across as tough and a very masculine male. The way in which he is sat suggests that he is a fairly laid back male and very confident.

Colour - Bold, dark colours of black suggests the artist is very mysterious, the artist is also wearing black which grabs the audiences attention. The dark colours display a calm, easy going atmosphere which is emphasised by the shady looking artist in the image.

Typography - The font used is very bold and relatively big which connotes confident, masculine qualities. The writing 'Before I self Destruct' gives the image a more personal element and relates to the artist as perhaps being high tempered.

Composition - The positioning of the text is on the right side and the actor is on the other, which provides the artist with the positive and new associations that the right side can carry and also makes the artist stand out more. The artists name is in a high position which gives it importance and power.

Pose and Expression - The artist is illustrated as the key element. The calm open bodied laid back pose exudes confident and calm connotations. The text placed at a slight angle provides the artist with power and assurance. The distancing is fairly close, providing more intense and personal qualities.

 Lil Wayne - Rebirth

Iconography - The main icon in this image is the young, laid back artist connoting importance and power. The wide shot creates a calm and laid back atmosphere as does the lack of icons surrouding him. From his pose it suggest he is casual in the way he dresses, confident, fashionable and perhaps in a cool and trendy value.

Colour - Dull colours of mostly brown creates a very calm laid back atmosphere and perhaps something emotional with the artist, even though it is dull it grabs the audiences attention. The dull colours display a lazy, calm emotional atmosphere.

Typography - The font is bold with bright colours of red and white which creates a sense of happy emotions and contrasting with the image in the background. The large 'Lil Wayne' font connotes bold, confident qualties and gives the image a more personal element. The smaller 'rebirth' font in red displays a proud feeling to the meaning of the word.

Composition - The large bright whites and red of the font overlapping the other elements within the image act as salience. The positioning of the text is in the centre giving it more power and importance. The artists name is in much bigger font which shows his power. The overlapping of elements also links the text and artist to each other and creates a sense of integration.

Pose and expression - The artist is illustrated as the key element. He is sat down, very laid back which draws the attention of the audience, the open bodied pose exudes cool and confident connotations. The distancing is fairly far awau providing a more calm and laid back qualities.


Analysis of the Inside of a Digipak

Here is a image of the inside of the digipak from Eminem - Curtain calls.
















From looking at this image it is clear that a inside cover of a digipak can consist of the artist themselves with either a logo or image displaying the name of the artist or the album.

There are bold, bright and dark colours of green and also white and black which creates intense emotions and the use of the bright white is used to grab the audiences attention. The bright vibrant colour brings a modern quality to the image which contrasts well with the mysterious use of black in the background. Where as on the opposite side the artist can be see with a vibrant red background which suggests a love and passion for his music that he creates.
The artist is illustrated as the key element. The tense closed bodied  pose exudes frustration and anger perhaps in direction to creating a song. 

Another example of a inside cover of a digipak is from the album by The Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business.

The background of the inside of the cover is a house style with a almost antique feeling to it. It is vintage and appeals to people by drawing in curiosity. The monkey is present on the inside reminding audiences the brand itself. The font is consistent and maintains a house style feel to it. The whiteness of it contrasts with the fading background which carries on the theme of used on the front of the digipak.

With regards to the second panel of the inside cover it is a large monkey, this recurring theme constantly reminds the audience of the album name and aims. 'Monkey Business' can mean mischief and the digipak is successful in conveying this.

Analysis of a Back cover of a Digipak

This image is the back cover from the album Curtain Calls by Eminem.

We used all of the conventions we gathered from analysing various RnB/Hip-Hop genre digipaks. The most important was the back cover of our digipak which is where we found the majority of the conventions. The first convention we found and used was of the frequent use of the bar code. I used this convention by having to create my own bar code which gave the back cover a more professional finish. I went on http://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/index.php to create my own bar code.

The next convention we found and met was the use of track listing. we met this convention by editing the track listing onto the back cover using Photoshop to make our digipak look more professional and to show what tracks are on the album and in what order. We tried to develop the font of the text so that it matched with the title of the front cover, however we thought by doing that it takes away the recognisability the title gives out and could create a common and uncreative outlook which could result in it not being as exciting and memorable.
The record label was another important convention we met however we did not choose the same record label that The Black Eyed Peas signed to partly due to the fact that we wanted to add a bit of customisation and not to make it too similar to the actual back cover of the The Black Eyed Peas album.

In comparison this image consists of a track listing in white which makes it stand out more because the colour white works with any other colour. There is a image of roses on the floor which suggests a love and passion for his album and career and also suggests that the audience loves the artists as those roses may have been from audience members.

The colours used are fairly dull and consists of mostly black which connotes a mysterious and perhaps powerful album. There is a bar code and record label which adds to the authenticity of the album and gives information to the audience about the album.