The above left advert is published on a single page of a magazine, whereas the advert on the right is on a double page of a magazine. There is not much of a difference apart from the fact that the La Roux advert has some critics' comments.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Magazine Advert Sizes and Specification.
The above left advert is published on a single page of a magazine, whereas the advert on the right is on a double page of a magazine. There is not much of a difference apart from the fact that the La Roux advert has some critics' comments.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Music Album Advert
As you can see there is not much writing about the album itself, they are all ratings from different critics and such.
The colours are simple and there is a full A4 size picture of the artist with the name of the artist on the top. The picture is a medium close up taken from a side. It starts off dark on the left side and begins to get lighter on towards the right side. It seems as there is a spotlight coming down from the top left hand, just above La Roux's head, to show that she is the upcoming/shining star for now.
This advert only shows the name of the artist so maybe the album is a self named album.
The font used for the name is bold and in white, this makes it stand out and easy for the audience to recognise.
On the bottom of the right side has a little logo with writing above it, this may very well be the institution.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Conventions of a Digipak
Also on the front panel is the name of the artist and the name of the album. A big font is used for this in order to catch the eyes of the customers.
The colour scheme used usually reflects the mood of the album and the genre of the songs on the disc.
The spine(s) of the Digipaks have the institutions and the names of the artists and album. The spine is not that thick so it is not easy to get enough on there, it makes it effective to get little but enough detail on there.
On the back panel there is usually a track listing. It is mainly done in contrasting colours so the tracks are easily readable.
In the inside panels of a Digipak you will find the CD and maybe even a booklet, other than these items there may be information about the album and inspirations for the idea. There could also be quotes by the artists written inside the Digipak.
The CD itself is usually really simple, maybe even just containing the the name of the album and the artist.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Weather Update
In the mean time we will continue our work with the 2 ancillary texts.
Friday, December 10, 2010
6 Panel Digipak
This is an example of a 6 Panel Digipak template. As you probably know, most 6 Panel Digiaks only hold one disk. However, some may hold 2 disks depending on the artist, managers and the realease itself.
This is an example of 2 tray, 6 panel digipak template.
It has the ability to hold two CDs and is very likely to be the same size as the one shown above.
This is the style of digipak that we have decided to create, the CD will be held in the middle so it is the centre of attetion when first opened.
The panels on the sides would both fold inwards, towards the middle.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Digipak Outlines
An 8 panel digipak template would look something like this:
8 Panel Digipaks often fold three times and end up as a square, the area of the CD can vary to either of the slots. A digipak may contain extras, as mentioned in an earlier post. (Information booklets/Lyric sheet etc.)
Sometimes, the Digipak may even contain 2 two CDs one of which may be a video of live performances of the band/singer. Or the artist may have released 2 music CDs at once, a double release. For example the rapper/singer/actor had a double release called Alter Ego. Alter Ego contained 2 music CDs, one on which all the songs were in RnB genre and the other Rap.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Digipak Analysis 2
This is the inside of a Digipak and it contains two CDs.
The Digipak is of Linkin Park's album Minutes To Midnight, I have chosen this image because it shows what is contained in an average Digipak.
On the left side of the packaging we see an information booklet, this usually is the artist's impressions and how they were inspired to release the album with the songs that they chose. The booklets sometimes include lyrics to the songs and the track listings.
The centre of the Digipak holds the main CD
Sunday, November 28, 2010
In Other News.....(Digipak Analysis 1)
So, until we have clear weather I have decided to begin work on my Digipak research.
The first Digipak I am going to analyse is this:
This is the digipak sold for a special edition Oasis CD. It Contains 2 CDs and the pack itself has 3 folds.
This picture clearly shows what type music is stored on the CD. The first thing that a person would see on this digipak is the main image which is guitar shown in a low angle dominant photograph, it shows that the genre contained in this CD is Acoustic and this is also written below the picture.
The main title on this Digipak says "Oasis" this is written in white writing on a black background so it stands out and people know who the artist is of this CD.
On the back of this Digipak it gives information on the track listings and other artists that have featured on this track. The writing stands out in front of the background which is an acoustic guitar, which is used to compliment the main picture on the front of the digipak.
We cannot see the fold out but we can see the CD which looks very plain and has a track listing printed on it. On the left side of the CD, which we cannot see, it is highly likely that the band name is written on it.
The visible spine of this digipak contains nothing more than the information on the front and it is likely that the other spine will be identical to this one.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Our Storyboard
These are just a few of the sheets of our storyboard because uploading the whole thing would be too time consuming.
Friday, November 26, 2010
A Little Change
This should still work well because the whole song links in with the use of choruses.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Locations
We also took some time to get used to the new video camera.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Conventions of the Rap Genre
The rap music genre consists of many things that other genres do not, which makes it unique and recognisable by almost everybody.
Usually ‘rap artists’ are seen as black African/Americans because the genre itself was created by an African American. Nowadays there are many White rappers including Eminem.
Rap songs are sang or “rapped” at a fast pace. Which is iconic of the genre, it is how everybody recognises it is a rap. The beat itself has heavy/deep bass.
Artists in the rap genre tend to use more explicit lyrics than any other genres. One of the most popular explicit terms used is “Nigger(s)”. This term is used because it used to be used by White people back when racism was a big issue in society. Nowadays the term is controlled by Black people not as a sign of racism but more to show their roots and how they were brought up.
The rap genre also consists of baggy clothing and exaggerated jewellery. The clothes show that the people of the black communities will never let go of nor forget how they started, having to buy big clothes which they could grow into because they could not afford to keep buying new ones. The jewellery shows that they now have the money to spend on what they could now afford to buy many a year ago. The same concept is shown through the use of cars in the music videos.
Many rap songs have the rapper as a protagonist and the society, along with the police force, as the antagonist.
Some rap songs are about relationships and girls. Girls along with the cars and jewellery are a sign of respect and success. Rap songs are usually based around a theme this could be; violence, drugs, sex etc. These themes are made clear through the use of acting and the lyrics used. The tone of voice is also a factor which can indicate the theme of the song.
Wealth is portrayed in every rap song through the use of Jewellery and cars as mentioned above and also through the use of branded clothes. Not only are the branded clothes shown in the music videos but also mentioned during the song itself, E.g. Giggs “True Religion jeans matching the Ralphs”.
Violence is also one of the conventions for rap songs as nearly all rap songs mention fighting and weaponry. The violence from the genre is again linked back to life lived by African Americans when racism was a big issue in society. It shows that people had to fight for freedom and to have rights.
Overall, the conventions of the rap genre are there to represent the life, as it was, for Black people in comparison to how they are living now. How everything has changed for them and they are free to live their lives as they wish to. Still though, the rappers have chosen to respect their roots and keep wearing their baggy clothes as a sign rap and Hip Hop.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Costume
For instance, we will need big over sized clothes and baseball caps for one character, along with big shiny jewelery and a big belt buckle.
For the second character we need more fitted clothing, perhaps polo t-shirts and smart shirts, to show that he is a gentleman that can rap.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Our Schedule
November 8 --> Video shoot to be shot and roughly finished.
November 15 --> Video shoot to be fininished and ready for editing.
November 22 --> Video should be ready for editing and the remainder of the time will be used for reshooting what we need to fix.
November 29 --> Continue with the editing and start the two ancillary texts.
December 6 --> The editing should be in the final stages or even finished and the ancillary texts should be finished by the end of the week.
December 13 --> Our video is done and dusted and ready to upload onto Youtube and we should be aiming to finish our evaluations by the end of the week.
December 20-21 --> We will be asking friends and family and classmates for feedback on our video.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Analysis of The Lyrics
Once analysed, they will be posetd onto blogger.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Our Chosen Song and Lyrics
Jazze Pha:
Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen
This, is truly an event
Nelly Nel, Jazze Phizzle, Jazz Phiza-fel
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana) Woooo-eee!
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana) Woo, woo, woo, oh boy!
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana) Oh boy! Ohhh!
Hey, hey hey hey hey hey hey
Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Nelly:
I'm a denver nugget type of fellow I push the Carmello
Yellow on yellow flooded the band and the bezel
Hear me now! Oh, no, did you see the hero?
I took the Phantom to the Opera, same Phantom through the ghetto
Can we leave hurr? Shorty need to make up her mind
I seen them niggaz over there, but they ain't takin my shine
Got 7 niggaz tryin to be me, out here breakin they spine
But they got 7 different levels for they make it to mine
I want you both shorty (oh) go get it crunk shorty (oh)
I see your A-T-L stamp and go' head and stomp shorty (oh)
I got that shake now, and don't be scared now
Cause we can come from the kitchen up to that bed now
Shit it ain't nuttin to a boss, I heat you like air off
It ain't nuttin, they ain't cuttin, they frontin, that's they loss
Cause the, 'Tics is good, and the van is paid off
And I done got so damn cocky I took that Band-Aid off
Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Nelly:
Uhhhhhhhh, picture perfect, I paint a perfect picture
Third album, same focus, my intent is to get richer
I'm with my dirty Jazze Phizzle, he yieldin that instrumental
Youse a cold-ass nigga on the track (SHO' NUFF!)
Man - I'm tired of poppin these bottles, tired of fuckin these models
I'm tired of these menage-a nights - yeah right (PSYCH!)
I was built for it, I got hip for it
I even got a little swagger in my limp for it
I done had, sex in the city plus sex in the country
You know - sex in the zoo di-rectly behind the monkeys
Hold up! Don't get me wrong, I'm lookin for Ms. Right
But tonight ain't the time, I'm lookin for right now
It's two-thousand-fo', I'm in a new home
Threw out the Bentley bought a Double R TO GET SOME GONE
It's like I'm holdin on to permanent mistletoe, I think you been sittin low
I got a driver dirty, he come when the whistle blow
Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Nelly:
(Na-nana-na) I'm smoother than you know
(Na-nana-na) Cadillac do's and bank rolls
(Na-nana-na) I simply go places you can't go
Ain't see me in no Linc', but you know that derrty in Brougham
I be on my (grind-na-grind-na-grind-na-grind)
With my money on my (mind-my-mind-my-mind-my-mind)
Plus I'm still in my (prime-my-prime-my-prime-my-prime)
And we be smokin that (la-lala-lala-lala)
Chorus:
Well uh-huh, well uh-huh girl I'm parked outside
And you know that it's sittin on chrome, chrome (uh-huh)
Hey, I'm just lookin for a pretty young thang
that uh, I can take home (take home)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr - shorty can we
leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
Can we leave hurr (yeah) can we leave hurr (yeah)
(Na-nana-na, nana, nana, nana)
*repeat to fade*
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Our Chosen Idea
Though some do make references to children in the gangster genre conventions they do not have a whole storyline based around them.
So, we asked William Crooks, Andrews little brother, to be our main character. He agreed instanly to this propsal. We than asked his Mother if she could give us consent (as he is only 10 years old) she also agrred it was alright as long as we keep him safe under our supervision.
We then realised that we would need to use a "flashy" car as a representation of the good life. Andrews' Mother then told us that she will let us use her new Audi A4 for some of our shots when she is not using it.
We will also be needing baggy clothes for William to wear, he said that it would be alright to wear my clothes as they are bigger than his and it would save us money to use the resoources we already have instead of buying new ones.
So, upto now we have many of our main character, many clothes for him to wear and a car. We will now be looking into locations for our video to be filmed in and characters to be involved as extras.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Preperation
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Ideas Of Our Narrative
Our first idea consisted of a poker theme. By having the main character playing a game of poker we would be showing the aspects of wealth and confidence. After many thoughts we realised that this concept would not work as well as we thought due to the lyrics and we would not have the opportunity to express the Hip-Hop/ RnB genre.
Another idea we had was based around a training regime with the main character at home or in a gym training. When the main character begins training many extras come in a he breaks out into a performance, this desicion does not seem like a good idea because we could not find the right location for the performace part of the shoot.
We also came up with the idea of a music video showing the main character recording the track in a production booth. This seems like a good idea because of all the fellow Media student we have asked non of them have the same idea, so it would be a unique idea and it would really work well with the track we have chosen.
The final idea was concieved by Me and Andrew to have a child playing the role of a gangstger. Our main character will be shown to be living the life of a well successful superstar rap singer. So we will be using many of the conventions used in Hip Hop music videos.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Analysis Of A Music Video 3
This is the music video for 'I Tried' by Bone Thugs N Harmony (Ft. Akon). The song itself is about the struggle and troubles faced by the artists on their journey to fame.
The video starts with a shot of what appears to be an old, 'beaten up' basketball court that is covered in snow. From this shot we can clearly see that the place is abandoned because nobody can be seen and there are no foot prints in the snow either. The place does look very rough and dangerous, however, in the centre of the frame the sun is shining very brightly and could represent hope in this rough looking neighbourhood.
There are a few more shots to set the diagesis, all containing snow, there is also a pan across a metal fence. In juxtaposition with the snow it shows that the place in which the video is set is very cold. It could also represent the way the artists have been brought up - cold, treated unfairly. Some of the walls used in this opening sequence are graffitied up to support my opinion that it is a rough area. We hear the artists being introduced "Bone Thugs, Akon".
After the establishment of the diagesis we see close ups of the members of Bone Thugs N Harmony, the editing transitions are done in sync with the music. A street sign labelled E.99 and another labelled ST. CLAIR from these signs we know that the video is set in America. We also see a shot of Layzie Bone standing in front of a landmark which says Cleveland, the writing on the monument is shown in focus whereas the artist is out of focus, this is done so the audience can understand exactly where the video is based. Cleveland is also the place that most of the members form Bone Thugs were brought up and raised. So it seems as if they are going back to their childhood and perhaps reminisce what used to be.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Analysis Of A Music Video 2
The second video I have chosen to analyse is "Ruff Ryders Anthem" by DMX. I purposefully posted the clean version of the video due to the explicit lyrics that may offend people.
The main reason I chose to analyse this video is because of the baggy clothes that are worn by the rapper and the actors.
The opening shot is of two people on white motorbikes, on a city street, they are both wearing white T-Shirts. The use of the white colour shows that they are successful. the biker in the front is doing a wheelie to show that he is cool, the white T-Shirt he is wearing has an "R" logo on it, which can be recognised by fans as the Ruff Ryders logo.
The next shot has lots of people on motorbikes and quad bikes, most of these people are, again, wearing white T-Shirts branded with "Ruff Ryders" or the iconic "R" logo.
A few shots later the s people are shown training with weights outside, it almost seems as if they are in a prison, this could be to represent how they are used to the life in prison and have turned it into a lifestyle outside of prison. The fact that they are all male could also back this up.
At 1.22 of the video, we see the Ruff Ryders all stood around, scattered around the rapper DMX. The camera shot is a low angle shot to show the power of the Ruff Ryders in the music industry. DMX is standing on top of a wall, the wall conotates the strength and dominance he has over the Ruff Ryders,he is also higher than everybody else and this shows that he is the highest ranked person in this "crew". DMX is centre framed and all eyes are attracted towards his direction.
The Pit bull Dogs are in nearly all of DMX's videos, this is an icon of the rapper. In all of DMX's videos he barks like a dog and refers to the people he dislikes as cats. The Pit bull, closest to the camera, in the shot at 2.15 seems to be really aggressive while tearing apart a tyre. This aggressiveness could show that DMX himself is really aggressive and dangerous and likes things to be done his way.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Analysis Of A Music Video 1
The first video I am going to analyse is "We Made It" by Busta Rhymes, featuring Linkin Park.
The opening shot seems as if it has been shot from a helicopter, the location looks as if it is New York, we can recognise the location due to the high rise buildings and wide streets. The opening shot establishes the location.
The shot after is a medium close - up of a Louis Vuitton logo which is a big/expensive brand and would represent wealth. The camera slowly pans upwards to reveal a watch with diamonds on the face of it, again backing up the representation of wealth.
The shots are in a shot/reverse shot pattern for a while and the audience can see the non - diegetic writing that informs us who the artists are in the song/music video. During this Shot/Reverse Shot routine the artists are shown to the audience.
The location that is used for the introduction of Linkin Park looks like some sort of abandoned warehouse. On the other hand, the location used to introduce Busta Rhymes looks like a glamorous hotel room. This could show the contrast of the lives lived by people of different races many years back (the trashed up abandoned warehouse) to how they are living now (nice apartments).
After the introduction shots, another shot/reverse shot pattern appears showing the singers in the locations they were in. Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda is playing the piano and Chester Bennington sing the opening line of the song. The first verse of the song is sang by Busta Rhymes who is still in his apartment/room. The shot is a close up with the rapper positioned in the right side of the screen. The left side is empty and dark, this could have been done to connotate the emptiness in his early life and that he still remembers how bad it was.
"We Made It" was inspired by the problems faced by the Rapper T.I The the RnB/Hip - hop singer Akon. The song reflects on how far people of different races have come, from the lifestyle they had started with. The song also reflect on how Bust Rhymes' career had taken off. "See, how a Ni**a survived the worst but my life is glorious." this quote from the song tells the audience that Busta has been through lots of discrimination and is now at the best stages of his life.
"When it all got started we were steadily just getting reject and it seemed like nothing we could do would ever get us respected" - This is another quote from the song which could be interpreted as how people from other cultures and races did not fit in and therefore did not get the break they needed, to become successful, at the time racism was a big issue in society.
Monday, October 11, 2010
LIIAR Analysis Of Music Videos
The cinematography uses lots of close ups of the artist/band to create voyeuristic pleasure for the audience.
The editing is in pace with the music, the shot changes with the beat, which makes the video a lot more effective.
The Mise-en-Scene is everything that is shown on screen, it is usually the artist/s that are shown in the foreground for voyeuristic pleasure, the background and props are usually placed to represent the lifestyle of the artist.
The sound in a music video is the background music and the artist's lyrics being sang. the lyrics can, most of the time, tell the audience what the song is about in general.
The language is used through the use of the technical aspects to communicate with the viewer.
Institution: The Record Labels are the companies/institutions that are responsible for signing Artists and releasing their tracks. Record labels produce, distribute and market the Artists and their products music wise. Record labels can be bought out by bigger record lables and usually become more successful.
Ideology: These are the ideas which the media wants to reach out to the audience, after the Haiti earthquake a lot of charity songs had been released which raised awareness to the public to donte and help the victims of such disaters. K'naan realeased a song about the Football World Cup, which let the audience know that Africa has made it into the tournament.
Audience: The audience are the people that consume the media, in this case it is music videos. The audience can be broken down into different groups, from age, gender, sexuality and mostly genre. Different music genres appeal to different types of people.
Music videos can and do appeal to every body all in different ways, for example; Jay Z released a song about black people being discriminated against, "99 Problems" reached out to many people (not just black) and eventually became a successful song.
Representation: This is the way the artist represents their way of living or even the struggle they have been through to get to the professional stage they are in now. Linkin Park collaborated with Busta Rhymes for a song called "We Made It" in which they sing and rap about the "struggle to the top" and how young singers can be as good as them if they had the right guidance.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
History of Music Videos
Musical short films consisted of a variety of backgrounds and animations and the artist singing in the front.
The first ever music video series was called "Spooney Melodies". Spooney Melodies featured a range of artists vocalists and dancers.
In the 1940s promotional clips were introduced for the "Visual Jukebox" (The Panoram). These promotional clips were usually, approximately, 3 minutes long and were used/played in bars and cafes in big cities such as New York. After WW2 these Panoram videos became extinct due to the introduction of the Television.
The 1960s saw The Beatles release their first feature film to promote "A Hard Days Night" which was one of their upcoming chart hits at the time. A Hard Days Night was a mock documentary film, which had music videos throughout.
A US TV series "The Monkees" which featured the pop group The Monkees also included segments of Music Video to accompany various Monkees songs.
In the 1970s promotional clips became more and more popular, concert footage was being shown on TV to promote national artists and bands to get them recognised internationally.
In 1974, two Australian TV shows had aired, Countdown and Sounds, both of these TV shows, showed music videos all over Australia and even had artists perform on the show to gain popularity for the themselves and the shows.
In the late 1970s, British TV show, Top Of The Pops, began to show music videos.
1981 was a really extravagant year for music video due to MTV, MTV is an American video channel which began the Era of 24 hours-a-day of music videos.
The year of 1983 saw the most successful and influential music video of all time, which was Micheal Jackson's "Thriller" which was nearly 14 minutes long.
Since the year 2005, the Internet has become "Music video friendly" and anybody that has access to the Internet, also has access to any music video of their choice.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Assignment Brief
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the three following options:
- A website for the band;
- A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
- Magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).