Part of my holiday homework was to create a presentation of 10 iconic music video still or ‘visual child’s’. I picked out ones that I personally felt were more iconic to me as well as ones that were more universally renowned. I also had to do a song lyric analysis of the chosen song I was going to do for my music video to and I’m currently in the process of doing this.
Thursday 28 July 2011
Monday 25 July 2011
Sunday 17 July 2011
Production Diary 17/07/11
This week I focused on 2 main tasks: the creation of my reverse story board and the understanding of the music video equipment I would be using to create my actual video. I started by creating a reverse story board of 2 music videos, I deconstructed and analysed 5 still shots from each of these music videos and wrote about how all its components: sound, mise-en-scene, shot type and camera angle worked together to create an affect. When analysing these specific shots it helped me to realise that each shot s purposeful in achieving something and how when it comes to producing my own music video I need to be just as careful with each particular shot as in professional music videos such as these. It also showed me how everything works together to give an effect and how important other elements of a music video that as an audience we may not focus as much on such as lighting and colour are to a music video. My second task was to begin to understand the equipment we would use in the music video production stage and as part of this research I uploaded pictures of all the equipment we would need to use and gave some brief descriptions of equipment that I didn’t already know what it was such as a visual switcher.
Saturday 16 July 2011
Friday 15 July 2011
Reverse StoryBoard of Music video's X2
The first storyboard I created included stills from the Foo Fighters music video the pretender, I picked 5 stills that used both sound, camera shot type and mise-en-scene and discussed what these reinforce as well as symbolise all together.
The second story board I created included still shots from Lady gaga’s music video you and I, I discussed what they represented and how all of sound, camera shot type and mise-en-scene were linked. I decided to analyse this video because it completely contrasted with the Foo fighters music video as it has more of a background story and focuses more on this than the actual band itself.
This is an example of a long shot and captures the desperation of Lady Gaga running to find her lover. This search for her lover is reinforced by the use of the non diegetic soundtrack in which she repeats continuously the words ‘you and I’. In terms of mise-en-scene the use of location, which is completely deserted and isolated, teamed with the use of Lady Gaga’s black costume paint a bleak picture of the artist’s life without her lover and ultimately enforce her loneliness and how deserted she is without him, the use of black demonstrating negativity, such negativity mirroring her life without her lover.
This second shot is an example of an aerial shot, it captures the whole of the artists body and helps play on the almost mystical theme of the video as well as the various supernatural elements where we are able to directly see Gaga, by means of this shot, yet are unable to fully understand her or her story through the video because she is ultimately superhuman (a mermaid) and therefore we are not given proximity to the action or emotions in the music video, as a close up would have allowed an audience to do. In terms of mise-en-scene the use of low key lighting represents how miserable her life as a mermaid, linking in with the whole of the story behind the music video where Gaga is unable to be with her lover because she is a mermaid and he is a human.
The intensity of this shot is captured by the use of an extreme close up. This makes the shot appear more intimate and passionate because only two ‘characters’ are occupying it and because nothing else is included in the shot such as other props or even the location it makes the audience feel they are personally involved in the romance, being ‘taken’ in the moment as much as the characters are and therefore unaware of all other surroundings.
This is an example of a long shot and captures the artist’s vulnerability at being alone or not with her lover. This is reinforced by the use of positioning as by capturing the artists back it presents her vulnerability whilst her body language suggests she is surrendering, perhaps surrendering to the fact she cannot live her life without her lover. In terms of mise-en-scene such a notion is played upon by the use of low key lighting which gives the setting an element of negativity which once again reinforces the darkness of the artist Gaga’s life without her lover whilst the use of a white costume connotes her vulnerability and innocence, linking back to her arrangement as well as submitting like body language.
This mid shot of the two lovers presents the artists dream: to ultimately marry her lover and live happily with him however because she is a mermaid she is unable to do so. The use of white costumes for both characters represents their innocence at falling in love and being unable to live together however the almost neon tint of the white is used to give the shot a surreal look so as an audience we are aware this is only Gaga and her lover’s dream and can never amount to anything more. The use of low key lighting presents the unhappiness of the artist at not being able to be with her lover and therefore the reality of the situation, the dark location connoting negativity and enforcing the couple’s dismal circumstances.
The second story board I created included still shots from Lady gaga’s music video you and I, I discussed what they represented and how all of sound, camera shot type and mise-en-scene were linked. I decided to analyse this video because it completely contrasted with the Foo fighters music video as it has more of a background story and focuses more on this than the actual band itself.
This is an example of a long shot and captures the desperation of Lady Gaga running to find her lover. This search for her lover is reinforced by the use of the non diegetic soundtrack in which she repeats continuously the words ‘you and I’. In terms of mise-en-scene the use of location, which is completely deserted and isolated, teamed with the use of Lady Gaga’s black costume paint a bleak picture of the artist’s life without her lover and ultimately enforce her loneliness and how deserted she is without him, the use of black demonstrating negativity, such negativity mirroring her life without her lover. 
This second shot is an example of an aerial shot, it captures the whole of the artists body and helps play on the almost mystical theme of the video as well as the various supernatural elements where we are able to directly see Gaga, by means of this shot, yet are unable to fully understand her or her story through the video because she is ultimately superhuman (a mermaid) and therefore we are not given proximity to the action or emotions in the music video, as a close up would have allowed an audience to do. In terms of mise-en-scene the use of low key lighting represents how miserable her life as a mermaid, linking in with the whole of the story behind the music video where Gaga is unable to be with her lover because she is a mermaid and he is a human. 
The intensity of this shot is captured by the use of an extreme close up. This makes the shot appear more intimate and passionate because only two ‘characters’ are occupying it and because nothing else is included in the shot such as other props or even the location it makes the audience feel they are personally involved in the romance, being ‘taken’ in the moment as much as the characters are and therefore unaware of all other surroundings. 
This is an example of a long shot and captures the artist’s vulnerability at being alone or not with her lover. This is reinforced by the use of positioning as by capturing the artists back it presents her vulnerability whilst her body language suggests she is surrendering, perhaps surrendering to the fact she cannot live her life without her lover. In terms of mise-en-scene such a notion is played upon by the use of low key lighting which gives the setting an element of negativity which once again reinforces the darkness of the artist Gaga’s life without her lover whilst the use of a white costume connotes her vulnerability and innocence, linking back to her arrangement as well as submitting like body language. 
This mid shot of the two lovers presents the artists dream: to ultimately marry her lover and live happily with him however because she is a mermaid she is unable to do so. The use of white costumes for both characters represents their innocence at falling in love and being unable to live together however the almost neon tint of the white is used to give the shot a surreal look so as an audience we are aware this is only Gaga and her lover’s dream and can never amount to anything more. The use of low key lighting presents the unhappiness of the artist at not being able to be with her lover and therefore the reality of the situation, the dark location connoting negativity and enforcing the couple’s dismal circumstances.
Friday 8 July 2011
Production Diary 8/7/11
This week I focused on the second part of my ancillary task, to create a magazine advert. I conducted research into 2 adverts I thought were particularly successful, deconstructing such elements and considering which I could use in my own product. I recognised the importance of making the text on my magazine advert stand out as much as possible in terms of the album name and making sure that the background for example did not outshine such important elements. Additionally this week I conducted research into another 2 music videos, bettering my understanding of the elements which create a successful video on the whole and I know feel much more confident in creating my product. I chose to research 2 videos of completely different genres to see the contrast between them in terms of codes and conventions and the different representations.
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Music video research X2
I researched into another 2 music videos in order to enhance my understanding of successful elements of music videos and to help me come up with potential ideas.
I decided to analyse the music video Pretender by the Foo fighters, I believe this is successful because the action builds up slowly and steadily meaning as an audience we are kept on edge, as opposed to everything being thrown at us from the very beginning. It’s also a creative yet fairly simplistic idea in which I could realistically create on a lower scale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjQ9tuuTJQ
•The music video begins with the lead singer walking to the middle of the stage whilst the lights slowly flicker on, the low key lighting which steadily changes to high key as Dave Grohl walks to take his position in the centre and more and more lights turn on is used to symbolise things coming to life with his emergence which links to his dynamic character as well as the lyrics of the song itself in which ultimately neither he or the band will conform to the norm. This connects to Andrew Goodwin, a media theorists, proposition where he stated not only is there a relationship between he visuals of a music video and the lyrics but also videos demonstrate genre characteristics where stage performances are linked to the genre of Rock or metal. As the lead singer gets into place a clever back shot is used, this not only can be seen to represent his vulnerability at not conforming to society’s norms or ‘pretending’ but also aids in projecting the sheer size of the stage, this in some ways increasing his vulnerability, specifically as he is on his own. After this the camera focuses on the lead singers readying himself, in reality this is to play the guitar but within the context of the video this can be seen as readying himself for the later fight at the end. As the other members of the band enter we see the colour of the backdrop- a vivid red and this has connotations of passion and anger whilst the white stage enforces the dominance of the band. Various shots are then used to display all members of the band performing the song, with fast jump cuts to mimic the pace of the song whilst in terms of Mise en scene their costumes reflect their uncaring attitude, this not only being stereotypical of the genre of rock music but also links in with the lyrics of the song.
• The video focuses on the bands stage performance for a while, various camera movements are used to capture their performances such as Pan or close ups and it is at the point where their performance begins to become repetitive that we are introduced to the back of a mysterious man. The fact he is dressed all in black immediately means we associate him negatively and even fear him and as he beckons towards the line we understand he is a soldier of some sort. The black line that divides the stage acts symbolically as a line that divides those that conform and thus pretend and those that do not i.e. the band whilst the fact he is a soldier acts figuratively to represent the negative consequences of not conforming, even the danger. The performance after his arrival becomes more intense and this is demonstrated through the use of repeat close ups as well as frequent shot reverse shots from the soldier to the lead singers and in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory this enforces the binary opposition between characters.
• By the mid point of the song the soldier is joined by several others, pushing the narrative along as well creating yet more friction between characters where such binary opposition creates both suspense and mystery and later events. The performance becomes yet more and more heated as they band defiantly continue and the use of varying close ups enforces such, once again the visuals bare a significant relationship with the events of the music video where each time the artists states he will not surrender we understand this is a symbolic war between opposing sides. A panning technique is used to reinforce how large the opposition are as well as several long shots which capture both the lead singers back and the soldiers, demonstrating his vulnerability as well as the size of the army and their weapons. Suspense is created by means of camera movement, which is timed perfectly to fit in with the lyrics of the song, as we wait for the soldiers to attack.
• When they begin to attack slow motion is used to track their movement and this coincides with the song losing its intensity and suddenly getting more calm and slower and then rapidly, as the song hits the final chorus the new equilibrium is established as suddenly the red backdrop behind the bands turns to paint and splatters the enemy, this acts as the finale of the big build up. Various close ups are used to present the battle, as stated before red has connotations of anger and passion and this signifies the chaos of the battle, but the last shot presents a close up of the lead singer as this demonstrates his victory.
• In terms of narrative the music video does not have a complex structure and alike to Lady Gaga’s telephone follows a linear narrative structure where the story is told in order of the events which happen. While in terms of narrative view point because we are unaware of what will happen at the very end of the video it is a restricted narrative, only knowing as much, or even perhaps less than the characters do. This adds to the success of the video as we constantly wonder which direction the video is going to take and therefore it creates both suspense and mystery.
The second video I chose to analyse was Misery business by Paramore, this music video focuses heavily on binary opposites between characters and the conflicts that are provoked between these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCyGvGEtOwc
• The video begins with scenes of the band performing and therefore in terms of Andrew Goodwin’s theory, the video demonstrates genre characteristics such as the stage performance which are often associated with rock music. The editing during this performance is fast paced and reflects the overall heated rhythm of the song, this continues throughout. As the narrative progresses we are introduced to the main character within the video, her power immediately demonstrated by the use of a low angle camera shot as she pushes past the group of girls, such power is reinforced by the fact throughout the narrative she mostly occupies one shot as the camera tracks her movement down the school corridor. The video moves back to frequent edits of the band performing where various close ups of the lead female singer are used, this not only supports one of Goodwin’s theories about the voyeuristic treatment of the female and her body (specifically her lips in this music video) for example part of the attraction of the female antagonist is her body, but also plays on the idea of binary opposites where frequent one shots of each opposing character are used to reinforce the conflict between characters. In addition to this the setting uses intertextual references, in terms of needing to understand the clichéd American school with all the stereotypes of groups, the antagonist being the typical ‘bitch’ but various stereotypes are also evident within the narrative for example the cheerleaders and perhaps the band Panic present the ‘Goths’ of the school, therefore when considering such conflict and binary opposition these two are in direct competition with one another and as part of the new equilibrium at the end the Goths win against this ‘bitch’. The competition between groups is furthermore demonstrated by the use of mise-en-scene for example the lead singers mismatched costume and quirky make up, which in effect represents the uncaring ideology associated with rock music, opposes the revealing dress and excessive makeup of the antagonist.
• As the narrative pushes on further we begin to understand the antagonists evilness as she begins to deliberately hurt people within the narrative and this once again links to Goodwin’s theory where he proposes there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual material on screen, for example the lyrics state “God does it feel so good” and this is projected by the antagonists taking pleasure from hurting various people within the narrative. As she walks down the corridor her control increases, she dominates the whole corridor but the fact people remain oblivious to her horribleness and the fact she is such a fake character are displayed by the use of colour of her dress, light blue connoting calmness and peacefulness. As the antagonist continues to bully people, the band appears to get angrier and their performance becomes more heated and intense, aiding in building up to the final fight at the end.
• At the end of the music video the band teach the antagonist a lesson where the camera two shot, capturing both characters represents the conflict between them. The lead singer wears all black and her costume, in terms of mise en scene this connotes dominance and therefore suggests she upholds power over the female character. The lead singer purposefully takes away from the antagonist the fake aspects that give her her attraction such as her body and make up and this perhaps acts as a feminist commentary on beauty and how the falseness of exteriors and appearances can be misleading when directly compared to the interior of a person, specifically here a female. Her influence has been taken away from her completely by the end of the narrative, one of the last shots that display her back represents her recent vulnerability as a character and lack of control and therefore in terms of Todorov’s media theory the new equilibrium of the story, where peace is restored, is her characters downfall .
• In terms of narrative structure the music video follows linear conventions, where the story is told in terms of cause and effect, it also follows the conventions of omniscient narratives where we understand as much as the band do, unlike the other characters within the video and therefore ‘side’ with Paramore in terms of the conflict that arouses between characters.
I decided to analyse the music video Pretender by the Foo fighters, I believe this is successful because the action builds up slowly and steadily meaning as an audience we are kept on edge, as opposed to everything being thrown at us from the very beginning. It’s also a creative yet fairly simplistic idea in which I could realistically create on a lower scale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjQ9tuuTJQ
•The music video begins with the lead singer walking to the middle of the stage whilst the lights slowly flicker on, the low key lighting which steadily changes to high key as Dave Grohl walks to take his position in the centre and more and more lights turn on is used to symbolise things coming to life with his emergence which links to his dynamic character as well as the lyrics of the song itself in which ultimately neither he or the band will conform to the norm. This connects to Andrew Goodwin, a media theorists, proposition where he stated not only is there a relationship between he visuals of a music video and the lyrics but also videos demonstrate genre characteristics where stage performances are linked to the genre of Rock or metal. As the lead singer gets into place a clever back shot is used, this not only can be seen to represent his vulnerability at not conforming to society’s norms or ‘pretending’ but also aids in projecting the sheer size of the stage, this in some ways increasing his vulnerability, specifically as he is on his own. After this the camera focuses on the lead singers readying himself, in reality this is to play the guitar but within the context of the video this can be seen as readying himself for the later fight at the end. As the other members of the band enter we see the colour of the backdrop- a vivid red and this has connotations of passion and anger whilst the white stage enforces the dominance of the band. Various shots are then used to display all members of the band performing the song, with fast jump cuts to mimic the pace of the song whilst in terms of Mise en scene their costumes reflect their uncaring attitude, this not only being stereotypical of the genre of rock music but also links in with the lyrics of the song.
• The video focuses on the bands stage performance for a while, various camera movements are used to capture their performances such as Pan or close ups and it is at the point where their performance begins to become repetitive that we are introduced to the back of a mysterious man. The fact he is dressed all in black immediately means we associate him negatively and even fear him and as he beckons towards the line we understand he is a soldier of some sort. The black line that divides the stage acts symbolically as a line that divides those that conform and thus pretend and those that do not i.e. the band whilst the fact he is a soldier acts figuratively to represent the negative consequences of not conforming, even the danger. The performance after his arrival becomes more intense and this is demonstrated through the use of repeat close ups as well as frequent shot reverse shots from the soldier to the lead singers and in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory this enforces the binary opposition between characters.
• By the mid point of the song the soldier is joined by several others, pushing the narrative along as well creating yet more friction between characters where such binary opposition creates both suspense and mystery and later events. The performance becomes yet more and more heated as they band defiantly continue and the use of varying close ups enforces such, once again the visuals bare a significant relationship with the events of the music video where each time the artists states he will not surrender we understand this is a symbolic war between opposing sides. A panning technique is used to reinforce how large the opposition are as well as several long shots which capture both the lead singers back and the soldiers, demonstrating his vulnerability as well as the size of the army and their weapons. Suspense is created by means of camera movement, which is timed perfectly to fit in with the lyrics of the song, as we wait for the soldiers to attack.
• When they begin to attack slow motion is used to track their movement and this coincides with the song losing its intensity and suddenly getting more calm and slower and then rapidly, as the song hits the final chorus the new equilibrium is established as suddenly the red backdrop behind the bands turns to paint and splatters the enemy, this acts as the finale of the big build up. Various close ups are used to present the battle, as stated before red has connotations of anger and passion and this signifies the chaos of the battle, but the last shot presents a close up of the lead singer as this demonstrates his victory.
• In terms of narrative the music video does not have a complex structure and alike to Lady Gaga’s telephone follows a linear narrative structure where the story is told in order of the events which happen. While in terms of narrative view point because we are unaware of what will happen at the very end of the video it is a restricted narrative, only knowing as much, or even perhaps less than the characters do. This adds to the success of the video as we constantly wonder which direction the video is going to take and therefore it creates both suspense and mystery.
The second video I chose to analyse was Misery business by Paramore, this music video focuses heavily on binary opposites between characters and the conflicts that are provoked between these.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCyGvGEtOwc
• The video begins with scenes of the band performing and therefore in terms of Andrew Goodwin’s theory, the video demonstrates genre characteristics such as the stage performance which are often associated with rock music. The editing during this performance is fast paced and reflects the overall heated rhythm of the song, this continues throughout. As the narrative progresses we are introduced to the main character within the video, her power immediately demonstrated by the use of a low angle camera shot as she pushes past the group of girls, such power is reinforced by the fact throughout the narrative she mostly occupies one shot as the camera tracks her movement down the school corridor. The video moves back to frequent edits of the band performing where various close ups of the lead female singer are used, this not only supports one of Goodwin’s theories about the voyeuristic treatment of the female and her body (specifically her lips in this music video) for example part of the attraction of the female antagonist is her body, but also plays on the idea of binary opposites where frequent one shots of each opposing character are used to reinforce the conflict between characters. In addition to this the setting uses intertextual references, in terms of needing to understand the clichéd American school with all the stereotypes of groups, the antagonist being the typical ‘bitch’ but various stereotypes are also evident within the narrative for example the cheerleaders and perhaps the band Panic present the ‘Goths’ of the school, therefore when considering such conflict and binary opposition these two are in direct competition with one another and as part of the new equilibrium at the end the Goths win against this ‘bitch’. The competition between groups is furthermore demonstrated by the use of mise-en-scene for example the lead singers mismatched costume and quirky make up, which in effect represents the uncaring ideology associated with rock music, opposes the revealing dress and excessive makeup of the antagonist.
• As the narrative pushes on further we begin to understand the antagonists evilness as she begins to deliberately hurt people within the narrative and this once again links to Goodwin’s theory where he proposes there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual material on screen, for example the lyrics state “God does it feel so good” and this is projected by the antagonists taking pleasure from hurting various people within the narrative. As she walks down the corridor her control increases, she dominates the whole corridor but the fact people remain oblivious to her horribleness and the fact she is such a fake character are displayed by the use of colour of her dress, light blue connoting calmness and peacefulness. As the antagonist continues to bully people, the band appears to get angrier and their performance becomes more heated and intense, aiding in building up to the final fight at the end.
• At the end of the music video the band teach the antagonist a lesson where the camera two shot, capturing both characters represents the conflict between them. The lead singer wears all black and her costume, in terms of mise en scene this connotes dominance and therefore suggests she upholds power over the female character. The lead singer purposefully takes away from the antagonist the fake aspects that give her her attraction such as her body and make up and this perhaps acts as a feminist commentary on beauty and how the falseness of exteriors and appearances can be misleading when directly compared to the interior of a person, specifically here a female. Her influence has been taken away from her completely by the end of the narrative, one of the last shots that display her back represents her recent vulnerability as a character and lack of control and therefore in terms of Todorov’s media theory the new equilibrium of the story, where peace is restored, is her characters downfall .
• In terms of narrative structure the music video follows linear conventions, where the story is told in terms of cause and effect, it also follows the conventions of omniscient narratives where we understand as much as the band do, unlike the other characters within the video and therefore ‘side’ with Paramore in terms of the conflict that arouses between characters.
Saturday 2 July 2011
Research into Magazine adverts
For my chosen brief I had 2 ancillary tasks, one being to create a DigiPak and the second a magazine advertisement for my album. The following is an analysis of 2 magazine advertisements I felt were particularly good, I analysed these in terms of their formats, colour schemes and conventions:
A simplistic colour scheme of black, red and white is used however this is very effective as the use of such a vivid colour scheme makes the advert particularly eye catching yet not overbearing, specifically the use of red and white for the albums name ‘Mojo’ , this being the most striking thing about the advert. Additionally it is the largest text on the advertisement, this being a generic convention of such Magazine advertisements where either the album or artists name are the largest text while the use of a bold font makes the album name dominant on the page, attracting the most attention as well as the colours used where white connotes supremacy and red passion. The font placement, directly in the centre of the advert also works to make the album name prominent on the page as well as the use of the 3D font which really grabs your attention and our eyes are instantly drawn to this aspect of the advert, second to this the band members who are cleverly placed above the album name. The use of mainly black background means the white aspects of this advert stand out, specifically the album release date as well as the other available ways to get the album such as by download. Also as the advert is so minimalistic attention is directed to the most important parts of it for example such things as the release date, this is successful because it means audiences are not ‘drowned’ in information and only know what’s necessary. The use of two different fonts at the top of the advert (the artist’s names) mean attention is drawn specifically to the artists however though a slimmer font is used here overall a consistent house style is kept which gives the advert a feeling of familiarity and fluency. Additionally the fact it is the artists first studio album in 8 years appeals to audiences as it emphasises its exclusiveness and its value somewhat and perhaps making them more inclined to buy it. The overall look and ‘feel’ of the advert is quite classic and can even be described as ‘1980s’ like-where the font used for ‘mojo’ in some ways connotes this period of time in terms of music- specifically as the band are not modern.
I also felt this magazine advert was successful and quite creative. In terms of the artists’ name, alike to the ‘mojo’ advert the text is the largest apparent on the page and once again a three dimensional technique is used, more so in this advert, to make the groups name stand out. The font is bold and domineering and appears to be carved out of wood, this is quite an abstract technique which coincides with the often elusive, even senseless genre of Indie music which attempts to challenge mainstream conventions as opposed to going along with popular culture. Though the use of a wood like quality for the font could literally link to the material drums are made out of I believe it’s more about as an Indie band being purposefully intangible and meaningless to encourage people to look at the advertisements and question it, rather than passively flicking through it. Additionally the fact the text saying drums on it is bigger than the ’the’ furthermore makes the band name stand out, dominating the whole advertisement. The wood like pattern is kept consistent in the advert, giving it a sense of fluency, as the background of the advert is a wooden dark floor. Not only does this create such familiarity but its dark colour allows the band name to stand out furthermore amid the backdrop. The background also features a small part of a curtain and this links to the idea that the whole backdrop could be a stage, relating to the idea that the band may be getting ready for a performance or any other music related thing, this being reinforced by the faint footprints evident on the floor. The other font on the advert is white and quite simplistic, font such as the day the album comes out and the minimalism of such font means attention is successfully drawn to arguably the most important aspect of the advert- the band themselves however the fact a capital font is used and the white stands out on the dark background means we are also drawn to these aspects of the advert, even if secondly. Additionally the fact the album is available to pre-order creates a ‘buzz’ and makes it feel more exclusive because people that pre-order will be the first people to receive the album, generating an almost ‘hype’. Lastly I really like this advert because its not overbearing like some, its simplistic at parts yet detailed in others and this makes it not too much or too little and therefore I feel like it is a successful product.
A simplistic colour scheme of black, red and white is used however this is very effective as the use of such a vivid colour scheme makes the advert particularly eye catching yet not overbearing, specifically the use of red and white for the albums name ‘Mojo’ , this being the most striking thing about the advert. Additionally it is the largest text on the advertisement, this being a generic convention of such Magazine advertisements where either the album or artists name are the largest text while the use of a bold font makes the album name dominant on the page, attracting the most attention as well as the colours used where white connotes supremacy and red passion. The font placement, directly in the centre of the advert also works to make the album name prominent on the page as well as the use of the 3D font which really grabs your attention and our eyes are instantly drawn to this aspect of the advert, second to this the band members who are cleverly placed above the album name. The use of mainly black background means the white aspects of this advert stand out, specifically the album release date as well as the other available ways to get the album such as by download. Also as the advert is so minimalistic attention is directed to the most important parts of it for example such things as the release date, this is successful because it means audiences are not ‘drowned’ in information and only know what’s necessary. The use of two different fonts at the top of the advert (the artist’s names) mean attention is drawn specifically to the artists however though a slimmer font is used here overall a consistent house style is kept which gives the advert a feeling of familiarity and fluency. Additionally the fact it is the artists first studio album in 8 years appeals to audiences as it emphasises its exclusiveness and its value somewhat and perhaps making them more inclined to buy it. The overall look and ‘feel’ of the advert is quite classic and can even be described as ‘1980s’ like-where the font used for ‘mojo’ in some ways connotes this period of time in terms of music- specifically as the band are not modern.
I also felt this magazine advert was successful and quite creative. In terms of the artists’ name, alike to the ‘mojo’ advert the text is the largest apparent on the page and once again a three dimensional technique is used, more so in this advert, to make the groups name stand out. The font is bold and domineering and appears to be carved out of wood, this is quite an abstract technique which coincides with the often elusive, even senseless genre of Indie music which attempts to challenge mainstream conventions as opposed to going along with popular culture. Though the use of a wood like quality for the font could literally link to the material drums are made out of I believe it’s more about as an Indie band being purposefully intangible and meaningless to encourage people to look at the advertisements and question it, rather than passively flicking through it. Additionally the fact the text saying drums on it is bigger than the ’the’ furthermore makes the band name stand out, dominating the whole advertisement. The wood like pattern is kept consistent in the advert, giving it a sense of fluency, as the background of the advert is a wooden dark floor. Not only does this create such familiarity but its dark colour allows the band name to stand out furthermore amid the backdrop. The background also features a small part of a curtain and this links to the idea that the whole backdrop could be a stage, relating to the idea that the band may be getting ready for a performance or any other music related thing, this being reinforced by the faint footprints evident on the floor. The other font on the advert is white and quite simplistic, font such as the day the album comes out and the minimalism of such font means attention is successfully drawn to arguably the most important aspect of the advert- the band themselves however the fact a capital font is used and the white stands out on the dark background means we are also drawn to these aspects of the advert, even if secondly. Additionally the fact the album is available to pre-order creates a ‘buzz’ and makes it feel more exclusive because people that pre-order will be the first people to receive the album, generating an almost ‘hype’. Lastly I really like this advert because its not overbearing like some, its simplistic at parts yet detailed in others and this makes it not too much or too little and therefore I feel like it is a successful product.
Production Diary 2/7/11
This week I focused on the second part of my brief, the ancillary task and I conducted research into 3 DigiPaks which I believed were successful and I could potentially adopt similar colour schemes, fonts and styles of. I analysed these in terms of format, colour and font type as well as their overall success, pointing out particular features I deemed successful. This research helped me a lot because before I was unfamiliar with what a DigiPak actually was and now I have a better understanding of what I would like to include in my own as well as what creates a successfull DigiPak. This week I also did research into one music video- telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce and though my potential song choice is not pop and the video is too far fetched and complex to create I think it is very cleverly produced and contains messages such as feminist thought that surpass the video itself.
Research into Music Videos X1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoZP1XQbqpI
For this research I decided to choose the music video Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce because I believe it very cleverly structured and though unrealistically I would never be able to create something like this for my own music video product it contains many interesting elements.
• The video begins with the setting of a prison, this I believe physically symbolizes the entrapment of characters at the hand of the patriarchal societies they live in where in terms of Levi Strauss’ binary opposites, from the very beginning of the video it is evident there is a power struggle between men and women- the men being symbolised in the beginning by the transsexual female prison guards. Additionally as she is escorted to her cell Lady gaga where’s the stereotypical black and white prisoner outfit, to demonstrate her captivity but the fact her outfit is ‘subverted’ is purposeful in representing her quirky nature as an artist. She then uses the video to address some controversial rumours circulating about here currently in the media. All other inmates in the prison are heavily sexualised and this I believe demonstrates the power men uphold over women in terms of the negative stereotypes they cast upon them, heavy feminist themes apparent the whole way through the music video. The setting then jump cuts to the prison grounds where Lady Gaga receives a call, this supports Andrew Goodwin’s theory where he proposes there is a clear relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals of a music video. Both extreme close ups and close ups are used in this part of the video which allows us to see both Lady Gaga’s costume and makeup, which present her as a stereotypical rebel. The setting then once again changes to the prison cells again where Lady Gaga and some backup dancers perform a routine, this once again supports one of Andrew Goodwin’s key theories on music videos where videos demonstrate genre characteristics, in this case a dance routine for a pop song while the use of swift jump cuts to the prison CCTV cameras enforces the setting.
• Lady Gaga is then bailed out by Beyonce, the use of low key lighting represents the negativity of the prison setting and this completely contrasts with the bright yellow and pink of the ‘Pussy wagon’. In terms of intertextual references the wagon is from the film Kill Bill. As the video progresses Lady Gaga begins to take pictures of Beyonce, in terms of her costume she wears all black and this establishes her dominance as a character within the video as well as foreshadowing both Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s later actions, black have connotations of mourning. The pictures are discarded as the artists travel to the next setting of the bar, I believe this symbolically represents the idea of female idealistic beauty also being cast off.
• When both women arrive at the bar the rivalry between men and women as binary opposites increases where a chauvinistic rude man acts as a representation for all males on the whole and perhaps acts as justification for Beyonce’s later act: to spike his drink and food with poison. Fast dissolve cuts are used as Lady Gaga makes the poison to kill all the characters, the theme of telephones still evident the whole way through the video as both characters hold them, whilst Lady Gaga has one in styled into her hair. In terms of narrative after the former equilibrium in the prison setting, the video reaches the disruption stage as all the people in the bar die and later as the characters run away together, uncaught this acts as the new equilibrium as part of Todorov’s narrative structure theory where as part of the background sound we hear police sirens and a mock news reporter discussing the homicide. The structure of the video is not particularly complex and follows a linear narrative pattern where the story is told in order of the events that happen, it also follows conventions of an omniscient narrative where as an audience we are aware that Gaga and Beyonce are plotting to poison the people before they do so.
Friday 1 July 2011
Textual Analysis of Ancillary Task- DigiPaks
This PowerPoint document is a textual analysis of 3 digipaks, as part of one of my ancillary tasks I have to create this to accompany my music video. By conducting research into those I deemed successful it gave me useful ideas as to what to include in my own as well as helping me to come up with potential design ideas.
Textual Analysis of Ancillary Task- Digipak
Textual Analysis of Ancillary Task- Digipak
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)