Digipak

Synoptic- Linking all the elements of media together. Synergy- How one media product sells another. Intertexual/ Intertextuality- Shaping of one text by another. ·      Your subsidiary tasks need to be as accomplished as your main task; if they aren’t, your mark will come down. ·      You need to make sure that your poster looks as authentic as possible. If you put it alongside another ‘real’ poster, you must not be able to tell the difference. ·      You need to analyse a range of media products and how they relate to one another. ·      It’s therefore crucial that our subsidiary tasks relate to your main task in a logical way that shows you have thought carefully about intertexual elements. (E.g. how they help each other.) ·      Exam- you need to be able to reflect on your production work so it’s important to realise why you’re making the decisions you make now. ·      Make notes on the following points so that you can bear them in mind. Things we should have on our posters: 1.     Pictures 2.     Artist Name 3.     Title of Song 4.     Where you can buy the song (Variety of places.) 5.     A theme of fonts that go on posters and digi packs 6.     Web links (fictional website for Artist.) 7.     Imagery can be the same for digi pack and poster. What will the least fussy poster be? I love the simple chair in the same location, shot. Looking into the cardboard box? Characters need to be on the digi pack. Does the poster need an original photo? Yes, I need to take a higher resolution picture. Jurassic 5 album artwork

Video

Storyboard

Here is the storyboard that we have created to help us while shooting our music video. Each individual shot includes the camera angle, the time the shot will take, actors needed, props needed, and an image to give a general idea of what the shot will look like.               

Our song Choice - 'Lesson 6 by Jurassic Five'

After discussing with my partner, Beth Hawker, which song choice we should make, we decided we wanted to do something a little bit more unusual than your typical Hip Hop music video, shown through Artists such as Kanye West or Beyonce.
The song we decided to choose is called Lesson 6 by the Hip Hop group Jurassic 5. We researched into other videos by Jurassic 5 but decided they were all to typical for us and we would struggle to find anything challenging. This one really stood out to us because it didn't remind us of any other Hip Hop songs we had seen. The song itself doesn't appear to have an official music video, which to me comes to an advantage as it provides a blank canvas for us to do whatever we want with it without the influence of original ideas. The song itself is very much a science based song, with the majority of speech including names of chemicals, and reminded us of a professor conducting an experiment. We like this idea as we feel we could really play around with it and create a unique video that would give off that shock factor that we were really looking to give.


Our ideas for our own Music Video

Me and partner have decided to base our song around this random box that is found by two girls. The two girls approach the box, shine a torch inside and from then on that is where the madness begins. We don't want the video itself to have a clear meaning at all, we want the audience to be able to give their own impressions of what is happening.
Taking the idea of women dancing, we have decided to use two dancers, Hannah Bryant and Amelia Langdon to inspire this idea, however they are not going to be provocative at all, in fact they are going to appear more spooky, with big scary smiles and crazy make-up to shock the audience. There is going to be a science theme running throughout the video with a professor conducting an experiment, yet we want to keep the hip hop theme going by using DJ Decks and a 'gangster-like' character to create an exciting twist to this random video.


Characters/ Actors
After thinking about which actors would be best for our music video, we have decided on the following people to play the following Roles:

Me and Beth will be the two girls at the beginning of the video to find the box.

        Frankie toft will be used to play --> random characters that make our video complete but are not featured very often.

<--------Hannah Bryant will play one of the dancers.




Joe Paul will be playing the character playing on the DJ decks. ----------->



Mr Roberts will be playing the professor. 

Audience Research

To find out about the song choice and the target audience for our own Music video, we created a survey using www.stellasurveys.com.  The following graphs shows the results that we found. 

A graph to show the most popular ages of people who watch music videos. 

 This chart shows the way in which most people watch music videos 




A graph to show the most popular gender of people who watch music videos


This Wordle represents the most popular and least popular genres of music chosen by the people who completed our survey. As you can see, Hip Hop is the most popular here, and  after analysing our questionnaire results we saw that the  people who chose Hiphop as their favourite genre had age ranges from 17 - 41. 

Music Video Analysis - 'Goodlife' by Kanye West

'Goodlife' by Kanye West



Artist: Kanye West

Song Title: Goodlife

Director: 

Year released:

Camera Angles and Editing:

One thing that is apparent throughout the video is the way that the rappers, Kanye West and T Pain are always shown in black and white,but the rest of the video are in colour cartoons. To me, this shows that   the music video has been made to shown in a non naturalistic sort of way for an audience to enjoy and not take to seriously. The image below shows a close up of Kanye's face, but with a cartoon version of a woman in underwear in the background. From looking at many RnB music videos I found that the appearance of good looking females is a popular convention, but by presenting them as cartoons is shows that it is almost as if men can only fantasise about women like this. The way the most of this shot is taken up by the cartoon 'fantasy' side of the video shows that people are more interested in fantasy rather than real life. 

One thing I like about the image below is the way the use of a long shot here really supports the words to song song. One repetitive line in the song is 'Throw your hands up in the sky' and each time this is mentioned a different image of hands is shown. This seems to be really effective for the promotion of the song as when an audience watches it will be an easy way for the to remember it - it gives it a personal motif for an audience to recognise. 

Many hip hop/RnB videos are very much focused on dancing, and appears to be a typical convention. The long shot below commonly occurs throughout the song, showing both rappers dancing. This helps to make the song more appealing as many people watching the video would see the rappers as role models. By making an up tempo song it would mean promotion in clubs, targeting a young audience who would be going to these clubs to hear it.  The easier it is for the song to be played and promoted the more successful the song as a whole will be. 

The image below shows a number of Kanye's own albums being surrounded by him in a 'halo-like' formation. Its almost as if Kanye is using this opportunity to promote his album - if people like this song they are bound to want to buy the album. The Teddy bear featured on the front of the album is a common motif associated with Kanye West himself so this is almost the way of Kanye giving his personal signature to the song. In this medium shot Kanye is pointing towards the camera, almost giving a direct point to the person/people watching that they should go out and buy the album. 

Editing has been used really effectively throughout the whole of this video, because although their is no specific location as the cartoon image keeps changing, the images have still been made clear to set the scene, therefore the audience is aware of all the different locations that are associated with the song. In this medium shot below it shows Kanye looking up with his mouth wide open in awe with the famous 'Hollywood sign' in the background. This one again adds to the theme of 'fantasy', as its almost as if he is looking up dreaming of all these amazing things. All of these things put together link in to the idea of a 'Goodlife'. I really like the image below showing a big stack of money, as Kanye appears really small and worthless next to this big bold stack of money. Therefore, this gives an underlying message to the video that money is more important than anything, also shown by the long shot of the huge shiny gold car that Kanye is sat on. 

It is clear that this video has been filmed in a completly blank from with animations added over the top. I really like the way they have done this as it allows an audience to create their own locations in the head, and think filming in an empty space with a plain background will be really effective. It adds that sense of mystery into the video, and seeing as we want to challenge the normal conventions of Hip Hop videos, adding our own mysterious twists will allow us to challenge them well. 



Music Video Analysis - 'Lollipop' by Lil Wayne

'Lollipop' by Lil Wayne

Artist: Lil Wayne

Song Title: Lollipop

Director:

Year Release











camera angles and editing :

In lil Wayne's music video to 'lollipop', there are a huge amount of things involved that make it stereotypically follow the conventions of an RnB/ Hip Hop video. This over the shoulder medium shot of Wayne looking in this big, grand, gold mirror shows highlights the convention that in the videos these people are very obsessed with their appearance.  This shot is also effective as it clearly highlights the 'lollipops' that are clearly a main motif of the video as the song is based on them. This image also shows a sense of irony, as Wayne appears to look innocent, almost childlike. However the whole idea of this song is far from innocent. 

One shot that I particularly like was the establishing shot at the very beginning of the video. This shows a busy city, with extravagant tall buildings with colour bright lights everywhere. This is conventional location of an RnB video as they are usually located in big lively city's to make the video look even more exciting and appealing.  The great thing about using this establishing shot is that it helps to set an overall theme to the video as a whole. From this powerful image we are able to quickly realise that the whole video is going to be lively, and will probably be suitable for an audience to dance too. The editing technique of 'panning' has been used here to pan across the whole city and quite a fast pace. Moving quickly across the city sets a fast tempo right from the beginning of the song. It also shows the great locations that accompany these Rappers lifestyles, and are shown to give an audience that 'wow' factor. 

The image below shows a  long shot of a particularly impressive car, once again surrounded by these intriguing bright lights. The car, however, has been put in the shadows of the image, and appears very dark. The effective thing about using this dark lighting is that even though the car isn't big and bright, making it stand out, it still manages to jump out of the screen at the audience. This therefore shows that the things these big rappers own are so impressive they don't need to be constantly but in the spot light - they still stand out over these huge flashing lights. This shot of the car has been edited to make it slow down. The effectiveness of this is that it gives an audience time to fully take in the beauty and amazement that is presented with the car, in a way trying to make people envious of the people in this video. This also engages people to watch more of the video, as after seeing the impressive location and car, they want to see what else that video has to bring. 

Another place where the editing technique of slow motion has been used to when women are walking out of the car. The women are barely wearing any clothes - following the convention of provocative women. The use of slowing down this clip has been used to show the way mens minds work - suggesting that the men want this image to last forever and want a longer time to look at it. 

The shot below also follows the convention of provocative women, highlighting the fact that this is one of the main things that men thing about. By showing this medium shot of a pretty women with a lot of flesh showing it helps to target a male audience, as this is what they want to see. However, this could also target a female audience as they see men appreciating what these women look like, so maybe they want to copy it. 

Mise en scene:

In the long shot above, we can see how the director has specially to put the two men in posh suits. These costumes are also seen in RnB videos as a way to emphasise once again the rich lifestyle in which these  celebrities have. However the two men seem to just be an added feature to show how rich they are, as clearly the main feature is the high ceilings and stone work in what appears to be a mansion. 

cards showing lil wayne as 'best rapper'- make an audience want to watch him

showing alchol contrasts with the innocene of the lollipops.

Sound:

One thing that differentiates RnB/Hip Hop music from other genres of music is the use of voice. Pop music includes music very much based vocally on singing. However RnB music is different as the voice is presented in the form of rap, just as is done in this video by lil Wayne. 

Another feature that is effective of this video is the way that Wayne's voice has been auto tuned to make the pitches of different, making the song overall sound a lot more interesting! The auto tune has been used by many Hip Hop artists such as T Pain in Kanye West, and these songs have ended up being top sellers, showing the maybe the audience has a particular interest in Auto tune. 

Throughout this song there is a repetitive beeping noise that becomes a sort of motif of the song as a whole. The importance of having these different, repetitive beats/ sounds in a song is that people grow to establish these sounds with the songs, making them more memorable and in the long run, more popular. 

One of the main things that I want to include from this video is the idea of female dancers. Watching a variety of videos has shown that it is a key convention of a hip hop video. The one thing that I want to change from this is the way the women appear. I dont want them to appear so provocative as in this video, yet I still want them to stand out. I am yet to decide how I will be doing this. 

Music Video Analysis - 'Disturbia' by Rihanna

'Disturbia' - Rihanna

Artist: Rihanna

Song Title: Disturbia

Director: Anthony Mandler

Year Released: 2008

Genre: Hip Hop/RnB

MICRO ANALYSIS

Mise-en-scene :

• One thing that is noticeable right from the begininng of this Hip Hop music video is the harsh dark lighting, which supports the song title 'disturbia', as straight away it becomes aparent that this video has been purposley made to look disturbing. However this dark lighting contrasts with the light that seems to constantly be shining on Rihanna, making her stand out from all of the other people appearing in the video who seem to be put in darkness. The colour red has been used alot aswell to once again give off this disturbing image. One shot shows rihanna stood in up against the window, with a red sky showing through. 

This medium shot of Rihanna is effective as if it almost like she is reaching out to escape from this haunting location. However the colour red isnt often associated with freedom, maybe showing that even past these walls more disturbing things are out there waiting. The colour red is also used showing a long shot of Rihanna being held up being controlled by other people and struggling. However one thing that is noticeable in all images that Rihanna is in is the way, even dressed in dark scary clothing with dark make- up, she is still presented in a provocative way, often with a lot of skin showing. Provocative women is one of the conventions of a Hip Hop/RnB music video, and although Rihanna has been  to look scary and disturbing, she still presents an attractive lady that many young girls watching the video would look up to as a role model.

The colour black presented on each persons clothing works well with the orangy red light shinging in from behind as it is a way to highlight the main idea of the shot, in this case being the people, but still gives off a demonic disturbing sense. 

The choice of clothing throught the video appears to be used to create a shock factor for the audience watching, each item of clothing being especially made to impress the audience as they are shown something shocking that is made to stand out and look 'disturbing'. In the image above Rihanna wears a huge head piece made of feathers, and by using a medium shot is is clear that the director wanting this head piece to stand out. Following the theme of things being disturibing, the unfamiliar clothing is almost a way of making the audience feel uncomforable, and they ask themselves why the person in the video would be wearing something as shocking as this.

In the video, we are unfamilar as to where this location really is, and I think that is one of the things that has been purposely used. By using an unfamiliar location that is unrecognisable it adds to the horror that is already present in the video, and is almost relecting why these characters are 'disturbed' are because they are trapped somewhere but dont know where they are. However, one thing this is noticable is every part of this location is run down, dark and dingy, with metal bars covering the windows creating an uncomfertable atmostphere for both the characters in the video, and the audience.A particulary disturbing image of Rihanna is shown where she is shown through a long shot in a shabby dark room with low ceilings where her hands are tied to the floor. This image shows someone trapped and struggling and creates a particulary unpleasent mood to the whole video.

• Camera Angles and Editing

The camera angles throughout the video has been specially chosen to give off a particular mood to the audience, and make sure that they are engaged in it. At the beginning of the video, a variety of close ups are used to emphasis the emotion of pain and fear, showing closely the emotion on the characters faces. In the image below, there is an image of Rihanna shown with Milky contact lenses in. A close up was the most effective shot choice to use because we can see in great detail the gritted death and demonic eyes, getting an overall impression of what the song will be about. 

One thing that frequently occurs throughout the video is the editing technique 'dissolve' in which two different shots are merged together. This often effectively shows the same character appearing in different states, almost giving the idea that this character may almost have a split personality, which could be a message trying to be put across. This song focuses purposely on 'a disturbance that is so powerful and mentally and physically disturbs one mind.

The image above is what of the main ones that shows dissolving in a way that shows the two characters in the different states. By having the image on the right with Rihanna with red lipstick as a close up, an the one with the blonde hair as a medium shot, it almost suggests that the left image shows the character with more control, as it is a way of showing that maybe here she is thinking more closely and carefully about things. There, this contrasts with the image on the left and almost suggests that she isn't thinking at all, showed by the way she has her eyes closed, and also gives the impression that she is loosing control. The way the shot has been taken tilting upwards to give close emphasis on Rihanna's hand gripping tightly gives the impression that she is weak reaching out for help, or even possibly gripping onto the bar due to frustration, once again portraying the ongoing uncomfortable theme of 'Disturbia'.


One thing that is noticeable  in the medium shot below of Rihanna is the choice of costume that has been made. One feature of the majority of Hip Hop/RnB videos is the use of 'bling' and extravagant jewellery. This shows that although the director of the music video wanted to challenge typically conventions of a RnB music video by making the women appear more disturbing than in other videos, he still wanted to keep some typically conventions, in this case the big shiny gold jewellery.

One editing technique that I found particularly interesting is the way images have been made to appear distorted, as shown in the image below. This makes the music video because puzzling and almost confusing, but helps to reflect the way that we would expect these disturbed characters to be feeling - out of control and unable to understand what is happening to them.

• Sound

At the very beginning of the song, straight away we hear the digetic sound of a screeching noise of a piano. This is almost used as an establishing sound for the beginning of the clip, to set an eery mood straight away even before any actual non-digetic music is brought into the video. Also, a spooky sound of violin string screeching in an unpleasant tone is combined with the piano screeching, getting louder and louder. I think the choice of using a piano and a violin to begin with is particularly effective in establishing the overall mood of the song as these particular choice of instruments are effective in making uncomfortable, screeching sounds. 

One thing that frequently appears in the video is the digetic sound of someone screaming in a particulary frightening way, at some points slightly faint, and others particulary loud. The repetition of this scream almost becomes a kind of motif matched with the song, as screaming is often associated with pain or fear, two themes that have been purposely chosen to fit with this video. The combination of a shot of Rihanna screaming, or other characters tugging at hair and clawing at things looking uncomfertable all compliment eachother in creating the frightening image.

Throught the song there is a constant non- diegetic 'Rhythm' to the song, in which four beats are constantly played repeatedly, at times accompanying other music within the song and the beat is often played with speech of the same tone. This constant beat is played quite fast, making a sound that is easy for the audience to dance to. Many RnB Songs are made for people to dance too, therefore this beat puts an element of dance into this otherwise dark and disturbing song.





After watching this video it is clear that the director has really wanted to add the shock factor into it, through the use of outrageous costumes, dark spooky lighting and harsh screaming sounds. The video isn't doesn't give a clear message, it is in fact quite random which I find entertaining. Therefore, I would like to make my own video shocking and unusual. challenging the conventions of a normal Hip Hop music video.

Music Video Research - History of Music videos

For my A2 coursework I will be making a music video with my partner Beth Hawker bethhawkera2musicvideo.blogspot.com and will aim to have researched, planned, filmed, edited and evaluated by October 2012.

What is a music video? 
A music video is a short film supporting a particular song that is used to promote the sale of music.  Music videos first became popular in the 1980's, when MTV was brought out, focusing on music videos as their promotion of music. Before this, they were known as an 'illustrated song' , 'promotional clip' or 'film clip'.

1894
An illustrated song was a more simplified version of the music videos that we see now, and was made up of a series of still images projected on a screen which was played simultaneously with live music. The illustrated song was the first, basic step toward music videos.
1926 - 1959
In 1926, talkies were produced, which were not music videos as such, although the ideas behind them were similar. They were short films, featuring bands vocalists and dancers. They lasted around 6 minutes and included animations along with the performer singing.
1960- 1967
A visual jukebox was invented in france in the 1960's by French Artists to accompany their songs, which was a big step in music video history.
1974-1980
This time period was responsible for the beginning of music television, specifically in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. In Australia, the tv shows countdown and sounds showed to videos as a way of promoting new songs and artists. A tv music was released by a former radio DJ called Graham Webb which was teen orientated.  In the UK,  the popular show Top Of the Pops was broadcasted and has been successful for the showing of Live Music on tv ever since.
2005
In 2005, the internet became 'video friendly'. The  website iFilm was launched and promoted a variety of videos, including music videos. In 2005 the world famous Youtube was first launched and made watching music videos much quicker and easier. Therefore, surfing the web to look for music videos quickly became really popular. Since it was launched, Youtube is still held as one of the easiest and most popular ways of watching Music Videos.