Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation Question4

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Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation Question3

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Evaluation: Question 2

Evaluation: Question 1

Evaluation Question1

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My Storyboard

Come Did None Storyboard

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Location shots for video

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Planning for music video

Audience Profile

Lyrics to Come Did None

Started with the sound of silence
Ending hoping words would come
Come did none
Come did none


She held her and kissed her lips
So they grabbed her throat and made a slit
I don't wanna see
This life anymore


They pray they hope the beg they sing
Get sent an angel with broken wings
I don't wanna believe 
This life anymore
I don't wanna believe
This life anymore


And I don't wanna bleed anymore
And I don't wanna please anymore


Started with the sound of silence
Started with the sound of silence
Ending hoping words would come
Ending hoping words would come
Come did none
Come did none


She held her and kissed her lips 
So they grabbed her throat and made a slit
I don't wanna see
This life anymore
I don't wanna see
This life anymore

What the artist has written about the song

Come did none.

I believe all lyrics and songs are subjective and whatever the listener wants them to be. Be it a feeling that they derive from a song or a meaning or a release of some kind. But personally this song for me is something that was triggered by a four second powerful, moving clip from the opening of the brilliant film ‘The Watchman’ .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v34hQQz7GvY In the opening credits we watch a stylised film of parts of ‘American History’ while Bob Dylan’s song ‘Times are a changing’ plays in the background. The first time I watch the whole of the scene I was in tears, easily one of the most powerful and important pieces of beautiful cinematic expression that I believe has impacted me forever. The lyrics of Come Did none came out of the clip at (1:49) of two Homosexual lovers lying on a bed having been killed by a homophobic killer. The image for me is a terrifying and disgusting portrayal of how world was and sadly at times still is, the feeling that someone could think that it was in anyway moral or acceptable to dislike, hate or kill someone because of the sex of who they fall in love with revolts, angers and saddens me beyond belief. And every time I watched this opening, which I frequently did in youtube because I loved it so much, this image made me more and more sad and the sadness grew to this fury that I felt for these two characters, and for anyone that has ever been even looked down upon for simply loving who they love. I found myself writing this poem about to help me release this despair I was feeling. It wasn’t until few months later that I put it to some music and turned it into a song.

So for me this this song is about no two particular people , but a pair of two lovers story of love and despaire that I created in my head, inspired by the watchman , whose love is not accepted in their world. The opening line started with the sound of silence, for me represents the silence and shock that is felt when two lovers ‘come out’, ‘ending hoping…’ is the lovers hope that surely they should and will be accepted as it’s just love, it would be ridiculous not too. But no one does speak up or changes, so they start to think that there I no point believing in this sickening life.
The second stanza is them begging anyone and anything for the hate against them to just end, but the only help they find is not really help at all. ‘Broken wing’ also refers to how they feel that they are maybe ‘broken’ I some way because they feel so different to everyone else.
The third stanza speaks for itself, one of the lovers is killed and so the other doesn’t even want to live any more.

Again I do believe that songs and lyrics are always completely personal with the listener, so I never expect anyone to ever have to be forced into having to believe that this is exactly what the song is about at all!

Evaluation Of CD Cover

How the research helped me in my final product:
By researching different CD covers I could see a wide range of different layouts and styles, some of which were really popular and successful, and others not so much. This gave me ideas of how to do my CD cover. I could also see different camera angles that had been used, for example a low/angle long shot of Michael Buble on his CD "Madison Square Garden", and a medium shot of Beyonce crouching down on her album "Sweet Dreams". I could then see how they had helped the CD appeal to their target audience, and suit their genre of music. Once I had researched these things and learnt more about them I was then able to apply this knowledge to my CD cover.
How my CD cover fits into the conventions of the genre:
The genre of my music is indie, because of this I have tried to make the images individual by making the background black and white and the model colour. This automatically tells the audience that Alexa is individual and has a niche. I have used a serif font for the artists name and a sans-serif font for the album name. Both of these fonts seem quite mysterious, similar to Alexa's music. I have used burgundy for the artists name and song names, and turquoise for the album name. I have chosen these two colours because I thought that the burgundy suited the artists style and genre of music well, and then the turquoise because it is the opposing colour and so they work well together. 
How my CD cover appeals to the target audience:
My target audience is females aged 15-25. To appeal to them my model is wearing a flowery dress with a leather jacket and boots. These items are all fashionable but wouldn't normally be worn together, this gives the impression that Alexa is daring and individual, and she doesn't follow the crowd. Also the colours of the text, burgundy and turquoise, are rather popular colours within my target audince, therefore making the album more appealing to aged 15-25 females.
The editing process:
To edit my photos and turn them into album covers I used Picasa 3 and a programme called Picnik. Using these I cropped my photos to make them the right shape and size for an album cover, and also to just focus on part of the image. I then turned the photos black and white and used a 'reversing brush' to make the model colour again. I then did the same thing with making the background blurred so that the model is the clear focus of the image. Once I had done this I added the text and bar code.
What went well:
I feel that the editing of the photos went well, and helped to identify Alexa's niche style. 
Even better if:
I think that my album cover would be better if the genre of the music was slightly clearer. The audience could mistake the music for rock because of the leather jacket. Also it would be better if the text stood out more.
What have you learnt from this and how will that help with your next task?
Whilst doing this task I have learnt different ways of editing photos, and I have learnt how to use Picnik, the programme i used to edit my photos. I have also learnt different ways of successfully making my product stand out from others and appeal to my target audience.

Final Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert Flat Plan

Final CD Cover

FRONT COVER

BACK COVER

Photos Taken

Photos

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CD Cover Flat Plan

Font ideas for CD cover

This is a selection of fonts I looked at to use on my CD cover and magazine advert. I thought they were all suitable for the genre of music, however I felt the last one matched the narrative plot of the song best. The font is quite 'dark' and scary with the splatter under the letter a. Also I felt that a serif font would go well with the artists niche and quirky style. I only wanted to use this font for the artists name so it could also be seen as a logo, therefore I also chose to use the font above it. I felt these two fonts went well together as they both have a sort of 'smudgy' look to them with the white/faded patches. I also felt that it would work well to have both a serif and sans-serif font.

Having a 'niche'?

LADY GAGA

Lady Gaga came to prominence following the release of her album 'The Fame' in 2008, which was a huge success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". Gaga is now well-recognized for her niche style as a recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her wacky style shows in her music videos and lyrics, and makes her individual and therefore stand out from any other artist. her music and style has been inspired by artists such as Madonna with her dance-pop music, and different stage outfits. However, Lady Gaga has not always been as eccentric as she is today. Before her fame she was signed to Def Jam and used to play different music with just her and her piano in small nightclubs and bars. She was then dropped, but she found Redone and baecame who she is today.

Magazine Advert Research

CD Cover Design Research

Kate Nash - My Best Friend Is You

This album cover is simple and yet very effective. The quirky, colourful image in the middle goes well with the indie/ pop music that Kate Nash makes. A lot of Kate Nash's songs are about love and friendships, which the heart shapes and pictures suggest. The colours red and blue aslo suggest this, they could represent boys and girls, or love/happiness and heartbreak/sadness. 

Beyonce - Sweet Dreams

Beyonce has a different approach to many other bands/artists when it comes to album covers. She tends to keep hers simple with just a photo of herself, her name and the album name. In this photo she is crouched down, hiding most her outfit, with only the studded shoulders showing, and the dark gloves and shoes she is wearing. The writing is also placed over her body which makes her face stand out the most in the black and white image. The colours black, white and gold help to portray her R&B style music. 

 Michael Buble - Madison Square Garden

Unlike many other album covers, Michael Buble's 'madison square garden' uses very nuteral colours. This cover has a very autumny feel to it, as well as the atmosphere of a concert. the image is of Michael Buble stood with his back to us and a spotlight shining onto the front of him, at the bottom there is also a blurred image of a crowd of people. 



Branding - Jusin Bieber

Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber has taken advantage of using merchandise to help promote his music. You can purchase Justin Bieber jewlery, t-shirts, badges, posters, mugs, bags, dolls, headphones, and even Justin Bieber nail varnish. They have all worked to establish a brand identity of him as they all have teh same 'theme', using purple as the main colour and also using a similar font on all of the products. This tells you straight away that his target audience is teenage girls. They are all very successful as merchansise as you will now see Jusin Biebers name almost anywhere, from stationary shops, to clothes shops. These items could be incorporated into a CD cover or magazine advert by using the colours, images and text from them. This would then be advertising his merchandise as well as his music.

THE ONLINE REVOLUTION

The internet has had a massive impact on the music industry and it now plays a big role in the promotion of music. Many artists have now got their own websites and pages on social networking sites where they tell their audience about their music, and some sites also have music players so people can listen to their songs for free. This works well because so many people now have constant access to the internet through things like mobile phones. Many people use the internet to download their music, either through a pirate site or a legal site. This has become a very popular way of getting music as it is so quick, easy and convenient. By using the internet bands/artists can quickly make their music become well known.

ED SHEERAN – Acoustic

Ed Sheeran is an artists that has used the internet a lot to help promote his music. He has his own website where you can listen to his music, get the lyrics of his songs, find out his tour dates, and there are also links to his ‘pages’ on many social networking sites, such as twitter, facebook, YouTube, MySpace and SoundCloud. Using these you will be able to listen to his music and read about his songs and him as an artist. Since 2005 Ed Sheeran’s music has become very well known and popular, and as a result his latest single "The A Team" instantly did very well, entering the UK chart at number 3 and selling over 58,000 copies in the first week.

TARGET AUDIENCE

CALVIN HARRIS – Dance – Target Audience: teenagers and young adults

In 2006, Calvin Harris signed a publishing deal with EMI as well as a recording contract with Sony BMG. His music became well known after he posted it on his MySpace page. He promoted his first album, “I Created Disco” in 2007 by touring the UK in support of Groove Armada and Faithless. In 2007, Calvin Harris worked with Kylie Minogue,  producing and co-writing the songs 'Heart Beat Rock' and 'In My Arms' on her album “X”. Calvin Harris has also collaborated with the Mitchell Brothers and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Calvin Harris claimed, in an interview with Fearne Cotton on BBC Radio 1, that he had turned down the opportunity of working with Lady GaGa because he disliked the demo that he was sent of her music. In 2008, Calvin Harris collaborated with Dizzie Rascal creating the song 'Dance Wiv Me' which went to number one in the UK singles charts. The pair performed the track acoustically at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival, for the BBC. Calvin Harris has also remixed tracks for many different artists such as CSS, Primal Scream and Kaiser Chiefs. All of these things have helped to promote Calvin Harris as an artist, and therefore promoting his music and albums.

KE$HA – Pop – Target Audience: females aged 16-24

Ke$ha used viral marketing to promote her music and make herself known to many people. When her debut single “Tik Tok” was released she offered it free for a month before releasing it for digital download in August 2009. It quickly reached number one on iTunes in New Zealand without radio airplay. Radio stations soon began expressing interest in the song, but RCA/Jive Label Group chairman/CEO Barry Weiss decided to delay its shipping to radio by a month, to October, to let the song continue to build viral support digitally and good word of mouth. To promote her album “Animal”, which was released in January 2010, ke$ha did several performances worldwide and also made several TV appearances.

Michael Bublé – Jazz – Target Audience: females aged 30-50

Michael Bublé uses his website, http://www.michaelbuble.com, to help promote his songs and alums. On here there is a music player that audiences can use to stream his songs, and there is a link to an online shop where you can buy his albums and merchandise, such as tops, shorts, jackets, and dressing gowns. He also puts his tour dates and locations on here, and there is a fan club that you can become a member of. Michael Bublé does many tours before album releases to promote them.  Another way Michael Bublé promotes his music is by allowing his songs to be played on the radio, this way it can be played on stations suitable for his target audience.

How has each artist’s approach to promoting their music differed due to their target audiences?

Both Calvin Harris and Ke$ha have young target audiences who would probably spend a lot of time on the internet and on social networking sites such as MySpace. Because of this they have used a lot of viral marketing to help promote their music, also they have made their music available for digital download. Ke$ha even took into consideration the fact that the majority of her target audience probably wouldn’t have much money and so made her album free for a month before it was officially released for digital download. However, as Michael Bublé has an slightly older target audience than Calvin Harris and Ke$ha he can’t rely on social networking sites to promote his music as these are mainly used by younger audiences.

What do you think is the best way to promote an album?

I think that one of the best ways to promote an album is through the use of viral marketing. This is because the internet has developed a lot in the last few years, and it has now become a part of peoples everyday lives. By advertising on the internet anyone can see or listen to your music and albums. Also people will be able to read reviews about the albums which could persuade them to buy them or even just listen to the songs and tell their friends, which then leads to good word of mouth.



EVALUATION
Camera work- To film our shots we used a tripod, this really helped to get the hight and angle of the camera just right, and it also helped us apply the 180 degree line convention. However it was difficult to frame the shots exactly like the original Britney Spears video, so we took each one 5 times and then chose the best ones.
Setting up shots- Before we started filming we looked at the mise-en-scene, costumes, props and location so that we could decide the best places to take our shots. This was fairly easy as we were already in a school where there are many lockers, props, and costumes, just like the ones in the original Britney Spears video. Once we'd chosen our location and props we just had to set up the camera in the right positions to make the shots as similar as we could to the original.
Editing- To edit our clips we used iMovie on an Apple Mac. This programme allowed us to crop, move, and cut our clips so we could put them in the right order and play them at the same timing as the original Britney Spears video. We were also able to add effects to our clips so they looked more professional and more like the original. Once we'd finished puting the clips in the right order we had to mute the sound on them and add the Britney Spears music on top and make sure our clips matched the sound right.
Working in a group- For this task I worked in a group of four people. This was good as we were able to discuss different ideas and decide what worked best to make our video as similar as possible to the original Britney Spears video. However, it was quite difficult to make sure all of us got a say in how we would do the shots and got a chance to do a fair amount of filming and editing. 
Time management- We did all of the filming and editing for our video in our lesson time. This worked well as it meant that we were all there to help out, and we didn't have to try and find times that we were all available.
Relationship between music and visuals- Because we were just re-making the original Britney Spears video it made it fairly easy to create a good relationship between the music and visuals, we just had to get our shots as similar as we could to the original. Once we had done the filming we had to sync the music with our shots, which also helped to create a good relationship between the music and visuals.
What is the most important thing to remember when making your own video next term?- When I make my music video next year I need to ensure that there is good lighting in the location I am filming at, and if it's not great then i need to make sure I can change it. To do this it is probably better to film outside with the natural light.

'Baby One More Time' Britney Spears Video

Beyonce - Run the world (girls)
Throughout this video Beyonce (the singer) is preforming a dance routine along with many other dancers. This demonstrates genre characteristsics of her typical R&B music. The movements in this routine link to the lyrics throughout the video, moving with the beat and making different hand gestures and shapes to help make the lyrics of the song appear stronger and more affective. The location of the video is suitable for the R&B style of music as it is set in a rural area.

Coursework Brief

I have created this blog to record all of the work I do for my corsework.

My coursework brief:
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video together with the following:
1. a cover for its release as part of a digipack
2. a magazine advertisement for the digipak