Magazine and Digipak First Draft Feedback

Digipak:

I gave my peers a questionnaire which asked for their opinion on my first draft of my digipak.

The majority of people said that they liked my back cover and the positioning of the text. But they didn't like that I repeated the same image twice. So I am planning to take some more pictures to replace the repeated image with. 
The main response was that they liked my front cover image and that the font was eye catching. But I gained some feedback from my teachers that I am not meeting some key conventions of a digipak such as a barcode or record company logo. So I have decided to create and add both of these to the back panel of my digipak. 


Magazine Advert:

I again created a questionnaire along a printed out picture of my magazine advert and asked my peers for some feedback. 

I gained the response that using the same image on my digipak and magazine was good as it created a link and would be helpful if they were to purchase the CD from seeing the magazine advert. Also, my peers thought that my advert was a bit plain and needed brighter coloured fonts and more information such as 'available on iTunes' and maybe a social media website for the artist. I will do some more research into existing magazine adverts and add these if necessary. 


Overall I am happy with the feedback I received and will make the improvements instructed by my peers and teachers.

First Edit - Audience Feedback

During our first edit we asked our peers what they thought of our ancillary text so far.

This is the feedback that we recieved:

Lyric Analysis

 To be able to possibly make connections between the visuals and the lyrics we have decided to analyse the lyrics to 'Gangsta'. This song is the soudtrack for the film Suicide Squad. 

This particular song is used to describe the relationship between two of the characters, Harley Quinn and The Joker. 

I need a gangsta
To love me better
Than all the others do
To always forgive me
Ride or die with me
That's just what gangsters do

I'm fucked up, I'm black and blue
I'm built for it, all the abuse
I got secrets, that nobody, nobody knows
I'm good on, that pussy shit
I don't want, what I can get
I want someone, with secrets
That nobody, nobody, nobody knows

I need a gangsta
To love me better
Than all the others do
To always forgive me
Ride or die with me
That's just what gangsters do

My freakness is on the loose
And running, all over you
Please take me to places, that nobody, nobody knows
You got me hooked up on the feeling
You got me hanging from the ceiling
Got me up so high I'm barely breathing
So don't let me, don't let me, don’t let me, don't let me go

I need a gangsta
To love me better
Than all the others do
To always forgive me
Ride or die with me
That's just what gangsters do

*End of song* 

Lyric Analysis:
"I need a gangsta"- This line could be a metaphor that the artist wants a loyal relationship like a gangsta has with their gang. 

"Ride or die with me" - This verb phrase implies that she wants someone who is committed to her throughout every part of their relationship. 
 
 "I'm built for it, all the abuse" - This line demonstrates that she has become immune to all of the abuse and become a tough female in the process. 

"I don't want, what I can get" - She's selective and wants someone unique or special. Also, she has a certain person in mind. 

"That's just what gangsters do" - She sees herself as a gangster and states that is natural behaviour for them to exhibit. 
  
"Got me up so high I'm barely breathing" "You got me hooked up on the feeling" - This could be a metaphor for drug use. Love is often referred to as a drug and that she is addicted to the feeling that love has provided her with.

Inspirations for initial ideas

We have taken inspiration from a number of music videos. Some of the shots in the music videos below are what we would like to incorporate into our own final product.

Permission Email

We have chosen to create a music video for Kehlani Gangsta which is a soundtrack for the film Suicide Squad.

This is the email I sent to David Ali who is the manager of the artist who's song we would like to use requesting permission to use it in our final product.

Initial Ideas

To create my music video I am going to be working with Tammy Harris. We met up to discuss our initial ideas. The mind map below features the ideas that we managed to create. We will conduct some research with our intended audience to find out which idea they think would be most appealing to them. Based on this feedback we will do more preparation towards the idea. 

Target Audience

I am conducting some research into who my target audience will be for my final ancillary texts. By doing this I hope to discover what my audience is looking for and ways in which I can incorporate this into my marketing package.

We conducted research via a questionnaire. Below is a picture of the questions we asked 10 people. 

 These are the results we received. 

 

Theorist - Richard Dyer

Directors Inspirations - Grant Singer

Grant Singer is a director from Los Angeles

He has worked with acts across a broad scale of genres from indie to electro, including Sky Ferreira, Skrillex, Ariel Pink, Foxygen and The Weeknd. His work is defined by its imperfections and the celebration of the mundane elements of life.

Travis Scott - 'Mamacita' ft. Rich Homie Quan, Young Thug

23 million views.

Sky Ferreira - 'I Blame Myself' 

2 million views.

The Weeknd - 'Can't Feel My Face'

622 million views.

Directors Inspiration - Ben Winston

I am doing some research into directors of music video's that I have found interesting or have ideas that I would like to develop into my own ancillary piece. By doing this I am hoping to find correlations between directors and the types of music video's that they create. 

Ben Winston is an English director who has created many films and music videos. He is best know for his work creating One Directions music videos. 

His music videos have won multiple awards.

• He won two awards at the 4Music Video Honours for his work on 'Best Song Ever' (2013) and 'Midnight Memories' (2014).
• At the Brit awards in 2014, another award was won from Winston's work on 'Best Song Ever'. 
• 'You & I' won an award for British Artists Video of the year at the Brits in 2015.
• 'Story of My Life' won Best International Video at Los Premios 40 Principales Espana in 2014.

There have been many more wins for his work at less well known and international awards. 

These are some of the most successful videos Ben Winston directed for One Direction: 

'Story of My Life' by One Direction. This music video has nearly 496 million views on YouTube.

 'Best Song Ever' by One Direction. This music video has nearly 459 million views on YouTube.

Music Video Analysis - Bryson Tiller 'Don't'

Music Video Analysis - Adele 'Send My Love'

To gain a better understanding of music videos I am analysing a number of music videos from the genres of hip-hop/rap and pop. These genres are what I am considering making my music video for. By analysing these music videos I hope to gain some ideas for what I can include in my own music video and what makes a successful music video. Also I am hoping to find out what I think isn't successful in a music video so I can adapt or avoid these in my own ancillary text. 

 I have chosen to analyse Adele's music video for her single 'Send My Love (To Your New Lover)'. This music video is different to any other music video's that Adele has produced or distributed. Also, I really like the simple nature of the music video as it is just Adele in the video; however, this is extremely effective as it is different to any other music videos released into the pop genre. 

This music video is a performance only video with Adele stood preforming and dancing to her own song. 

Camera:

This music video alternates between a range of shot types. The first shot is a long shot of Adele, allowing the audience to view her elegant gown. This then changes with a slow zoom into a mid-shot, a shot often used in this music video. This mid-shot then becomes a close up before a reverse zoom takes the image back to a mid-shot of the artist. This is then repeated into a long shot of Adele. The camera then zooms back into a mid-shot, before cutting to a new angle of Adele, a profile shot. A reverse zoom is then used to go back into a long shot before cutting back into a mid-shot. The audience is then given the longest close up, where Adele delivers heartfelt lines. a reverse zoom brings a long shot of Adele on screen before ending with a mid shot.

There are lots of similar shots used in this video to allow her audience to see all parts of her costume and makeup while she delivers the lyrics to the camera. Throughout the majority of this video, direct eye contact is made with the camera making a connection with the viewer. Although the shots are rather simple and nontechnical the positioning of them during the editing have made them match the pace of the music at times and made them much more dynamic and interesting.

Editing:

The editing changes pace to match with the pace of the music. When the tempo of the music builds so does the speed of editing, also between 2:28 and 2:50 the pace of editing slows down greatly as does the song. Also, the complexity of the music dips at this point and so does the editing. Creating a relationship between visuals and music. 

Throughout this music video there is a build up of overlays of images. The front image of Adele is the most in focus and closest to the camera and as the shots get further away they're less focused and less zoomed in. This build of shots make the video much more interesting to the audience rather than just having Adele stood delivering the lines to the camera, which in reality is what she is in fact doing!

Mise-en-scene:

Adele is styled in a floor length floral gown, giving her a feminine and sophisticated look. Her makeup is rather natural but she has her signature winged eye liner and shimmery eye shadow on. Her hair is in a messy up-do, also adding to the elegance of her styling. To match her feminine appeal Adele has long acrylic nails on which is typical of pop artists as they are always expected to look their best and groomed. However, Adele is wearing no jewellery, suggesting that she is being raw and not flaunting her wealth.

The whole of the music video is focused on Adele. She is always in the centre of the shot surrounding by a black background with a spot light on her, creating, in the words of Goodwin, a star image for her audience.  

Body language is used in this video to express the emotions of the song. She is stood with her hands on her hips and has a sarcastic face expression at the start of the song. All the way through she uses her hands to emphasis words and express her sassiness.  

There is a relationship between visuals and lyrics shown in this music video. The words 'gotta let go' are accompanied by the following action.



Sound:
There are only a few moments that I have previously mentioned that links the lyrics and visuals. However, other than that the lyrics do not match the visuals. Although there is a link between the visuals and music. The music has a strong instrumental beat that develops throughout the song. This is typical of a pop song. 

Music Video Analysis - One Direction 'You & I'

Digipak Analysis - Justin Bieber 'Believe'

Digipak Analysis - Rihanna 'Loud'

Digpak analysis – rihanna from hannahfarmergsa

Digipak Analysis - Nicki Minaj 'Pink Friday'

Music Video Analysis - Labrinth 'Jealous'

To gain a better understanding of music videos I am analysing a number of music videos from the genres of hip-hop/rap and pop. These genres are what I am considering making my music video for. By analysing these music videos I hope to gain some ideas for what I can include in my own music video and what makes a successful music video. Also I am hoping to find out what I think isn't successful in a music video so I can adapt or avoid these in my own ancillary text. 

This music video is very simple and stripped back, which matches the song itself of very little instrumental sounds and a main focus on the artists voice. This particular music video doesn't have a narrative only performance, which contrasts from Labrinth's other music videos which almost always have a narrative approach. 

Camera:
The artist is the main focus of this video and is used to show his raw emotion and create what Dyer would call star image. There are a number of close up and extreme close ups of the artists face to show that he is crying and he gives direct address to the audience, helping them to feel his emotion and build a relationship. 

At 1:20 in the song the emphasis upon the artist is particularly prevalent as his hand is blurred and he face in a sharp focus.  









Editing:
The footage in Jealous is continuous and long and doesn't have any transitions between the shots that do have straight cuts. The length of the shots match the slow pace of the song. The length of the shots work in this video as it allows the audience to see the emotion of the artist but also because the artist is performing it still keeps the video engaging. 

Mise-en-scene:
Plain costuming and setting is used in this music video, which matches the stripped back nature of the song. Labrinth is wearing a plain yellow jumper and very basic jewellery, allowing all of the focus to be on him. The setting of this music video appears to be a theatre auditorium in which the artist is sat, however there are never establishing shots of the location so as the audience you question where he is. 

Sound:
There is a visual link of anger and jealousy that matches the lyrics of the music video. As said earlier the sound matches the editing.

Digipak Analysis - The Weeknd 'Trilogy'

Front Cover

Inside Covers and CDs

Back Cover

Digipak Analysis - Chris Brown 'F.A.M.E.'

The front cover of this album clearly shows a large image and smaller images of the artist; promoting the creator of this album. The main image of Chris Brown gives a direct eye contact with his buyers of the album. Goodwin's theory supports this particular digipak as the record company is trying to promote a star image of Chris Brown. The title of his album is shown in large letters, the bold colour of white stands out drastically from the multicoloured collage in the background. 'F.A.M.E.' is written in graffiti style writing, this is translated into the images in the background. The name of the artist is in smaller signatory style writing in the bottom left hand corner. This a well-known artist so his name doesn't have to be largely demonstrated on the front cover. The choices of colours are very eye-catching and appealing to his audience. 

This CD contrasts with the front cover as the colour choices are completely different. However, this ensures that the front cover is the main focus as it is appealing to the eye and more exciting than the CD. This has an ire of sophistication as the male of the picture is wearing stylish and smart clothing. Also the colour scheme is a more mature choice than the bright colours seen on the front cover of the digipak. Chris Brown is known for his extravagant dance moves, this is demonstrated in his CD cover, however, this particular move is similar to an iconic Michael Jackson dance move of his arms thrown out. 


The writing on this CD cover is the same as the graffiti style writing on the front cover, tying it all together. The colours and size of the writing has changed from the front of the digipak in order to contrast to the new colour scheme of monotone colours. 

The back cover has the same character as on the CD. Yet again the colour scheme has changed, this time to a salon pink and black. The font has changed and is no longer in a graffiti or signatory style but is now basic capital letters. Also, the black writing contrasts greatly with the pink background and produces, again, something eye-catching for the buyers. The large image of the masked character is the main focus when looking at this back cover. 

This is conventional because it has a list of tracks featured on the album, a logo of publishing record labels/websites. 

From analysing this digipak I have learnt that catchy colours are very effective and it is appealing if throughout a digipak there is something that links each side, for example a picture of a male character or a particular font. 

Theorist - Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey has a theory entitled the 'male gaze'. Her theory states that female artists are objectified by the male camera crew; supporting Goodwin's theory of voyeurism. This idea states that males watch music videos of females to gain sexual pleasure. 

Mulvey's theory fits into the genre of hip-hop music videos the most often.

This music video supports both Mulvey and Goodwin's theories. Beyoncé is dressed in tight provocative clothing and the male actor playing her police partner is seen gazing at her body and objectifying her; creating sexual pleasure for the eye and voyuerism.

 

Miley Cyrus' music video shows multiple references to sexual intercourse and has Miley dressed in tight and minimal clothing; creating voyeurism.