Q1, in what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
-Filming:
Digipaks were originally created by a company known as Meadwestvaco in the year 2000. Digipaks are an alternative to the usual Jewel cases that have been popular for years. Digipaks and Jewel cases vary in many ways. First of all the Digipaks are known for having a card stock or heavy paper/cardboard material for their outer packing, where as Jewel cases are known for their clear, hard plastic style. Digipacks can unfold almost like a booklet into three or four parts allowing a huge amount of space for the advertiser to fill, where as Jewel cases stick to the two part cases with little room to fill.
Digipaks have become much more popular in recent years, as artists and films have much more room to add their own style or even information within the space available. This seems to be much more appealing to an audience, with the idea that they get more for their money.
Although Digipaks appear to have much more pros than the Jewel cases, they only appear to be aesthetic ones. There are many cons of the Digipaks when it comes to durability and quality, which should not be expected when they cost much more to produce than the Jewel cases. First of all Digipaks do not appear to crack like the Jewel cases, yet they do eventually peel apart and seperate mostly at the corners, when the teeth of the tray break the CD's or DVD's simply fall out as there is not bottom to hold them in. As well as this, they are seen as environmentally friendly produced yet this does not always happen.
Examples
CD Digipack: Bob Dylan-'Dylan' Greatest Hits
Branding
Definition: The marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products - http://www.entrepreneur.com
Brands work because they can offer us as an audience a form of guarantee. The use of Branding can turn a product into something unique and special, therefore making it stand out. Once Branding is successful with an audience, it can create other adverts that have nothing to do with the Brand, although people are still able to recognize the Brand.
Good examples of successful Branding are those such as Heinz and Cadbury's Chocolate.
Heinz was first established 140 years ago by a man named Henry J Heinz. Over the years he began to join forces with other business men in order to create and promote successful products. Heinz are very well known for their wholesome products, and consistency of good quality. Heinz are popular for more than one or two products and not just in the UK but all over the world, for example; Heinz is best known for it's Ketchup in the USA, Australia for it's Baby food and in the UK the obvious Beans. The most recent Branding Campaign for Heinz was that known as 'It Has to be Heinz', which was launched in October of 2009 across TV Stations, Radio, In-Store, Digital and PR.
1. What type of genre do you listen to the most?
Indie- Pop
Dance
Soft Rock
Pop
Indie
R N B
2. Who's your favourite artist?
3. Do the artists music videos interest you?
4. What do look for in a music video?
5. What's your favourite music video?
6. What do you associate with an indie pop music video?
7. What artists do you associate with indie pop?
8. What age of people do you consider to listen to indie pop and what's your age?
9. What do you associate with Marina and the Diamonds?
10. Do you like this artist, if yes/no why?
Name: Grace
Age: 17
Music
Favourite Bands/Artists include; The Drums, Marina and the Diamonds, The xx.
Lifestyle
Enjoys: Attending gigs, researching new and upcoming bands, dedicated to yearly festivals,such as Leeds and Park Life Festival. Shopping in vintage shops as well as Topshop, Zara and H&M.
Appearance: Very slim, messy looking hair, festival wristbands worn. Lots of vintage looking jewellery,including many rings and necklaces.
Media
Television: Enjoys comedy that mostly appears on E4 such as, The Inbetweeners, Misfits and Scrubs. This is typically aimed at people of Grace's age as well as other channels such a BBC3 and Music Channels.
Other Technologies inlcuded in Grace's life range from her Ipod, mobile phone and laptop. Grace's Ipod is her main use of technology, taking it everywhere she goes and being a great priority. Her laptop is also greatly used in order to listen to the newest bands and to research new music, usually on websites such as Myspace, Spotify and Youtube. As well as this all of Grace's treausered songs are stored on her Laptop through iTunes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJEjbMrW62Q&feature=related
Being successful at getting permission to use the track 'Oh No!' by Marina and the Diamonds, our main focus will be the genre of Indie-Pop. With this in mind I aim to investigate the Music Video 'Smile' by Lily Allen, as I believe Lily Allen is a well known Indie-Pop artist, being also typically Briish. Whilst investigating the Music Video 'Smile' I aim to focus on the typical Andrew Goodwin features, eventually helping our group to stick within the Indie-Pop genre.
First of all as an audience we realise that the Music Video has a storyline, ensuring the Visuals are linked to the Lyrics, such as in the line 'I just sat by myself all day' Lily appears to be unhappy and alone in her flat in that scene. Although I believe the storyline is not completely obvious in the beginning we soon realise what is happening within the Music Video, and this therefore helps us as an audience relate to the song. As well as this there is use of the technique 'Voyeurism', although this is not strong throughout the video, when Lily is alone in her flat we get a strong connection to how she is feeling.
I feel there is a strong relationship between the genre of the music and the visuals, as well as the use of Iconography again being typical Andrew Goodwin features. For example the location of the Music Video appears to fit perfectly within the Indie-Pop Music Genre, the Music Video tells us this by the low key props being included, and the almost grotty, grimey streets that are shown, creating the feel of an ordinary town and an ordinary situation. As well as this we see Lily within her room, and even in this location the Mise En Scene lets us know we are watching an Indie-Pop Music Video. The Mise En Scene included such as the sheet hung up at the window, the dull colours and lack of furniture all interpret this theme. The lighting that is included throughout the Music Video also gives creates the theme of Indie-Pop as many scenes appear to be dull, and in Lily's room the side lighting through the window and the sheet create a depressed feel about the atmosphere. I believe this kind of ordinary, everyday life location relates perfectly to the Indie-Pop genre.
Throughout the music video there is a range of Close-up and Mid Close-up shots of Lily, this is another feature of Andrew Goodwin's and allows us as an audience to feel closer and much more well known with the artist.
Lily Allen is a typical artist who has managed to create her own Star Iconography and we see this very clearly throughout the Music Video. First of all Lily's costumes only seem to change obviously twice, but even then we are shown that her style is huge prom dresses, mixed with the odd choice of trainers. As well as this there is a huge give away in Lily's make-up and accessories used. Lily appears to always be wearing thick eyeliner on her upper eye-lids, either black or neon pink. As well as this we see the amount of jewellery Lily choses to wear, with the huge gold hoops and lots of various chains.
Although there is no obvious intertextual references throughout the Music Video 'Smile', I am fully aware that every other Andrew Goodwin feature appears to present. With this in mind our group must be able to make an obvious relationship between the lyrics and visuals of our Music Video, as well as an obvious relationship between the genre and the music visuals. Another key factor we must keep in mind whilst creating our Music Video is the use of Star Iconography through outfits and appearance. Overall I believe Lily Allens, 'Smile' is a great example of the Indie-Pop genre whilst also incorporating Andrew Goodwin's typical features.
From looking at different Genres and our overall answers from our carried out Questionnaire, we as a group have decided to stick with our initial Genre idea of Indie-Pop. As we researched certain Indie-Pop bands, we decided to email a number of them, asking permission for the use of one of their songs.
One of these was the artist 'Marina and the Diamonds'. We chose this artist as one of the Indie-Pop acts to email as we believe she has a different take on the Genre, and does not shy away from being different. As well as this we all believed that we could come up with some interesting ideas to incorporate with one of her songs. When emailing, we chose the certain song 'Oh No' as it was her newest release and we considered the lyrics to be able to carry out an interesting narrative in a video.
Here is a copy of the email we sent to 'Marina and the Diamonds' record label 679 Recordings, which is a label owned by Warner Music Group.
Hello Sam,
As long as it is just for your use and not for any commercial gain then that's fine.
Good luck with your course work!
Alex // 679
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Sam McMahon
Sent: 09 October 2010 17:30
To: Bean, Alex
Subject: Copyright Permission
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am Sam McMahon aged 18, and I am studying Media at St Mary’s College Blackburn. For my A Level coursework the task is to produce a creative and original music video from the song of your choice, I feel I need an inspiring and influential song to complete this coursework to the best of my ability. Therefore I would be extremely grateful if I was given the permission to use Marina and the Diamonds’ single ‘OH NO!’. This song will be used for educational purposes only, to aid me in my A Level Media coursework.
Yours faithfully,
Sam McMahon
Here is a sample of the song 'Oh No' by 'Marina and the Diamonds' that we intend to use for our Music Video Project.
Whilst investigating the Representations and Ideologies of the Music Video 'Diva', I intend to focus on the image being created and how certain connotations create this. As well as this I aim to figure out if the overall Representations and Ideologies create a dominant or alternative view.
Throughout this video we see clear representations of a 'gangster' theme. Certain connotations such as, Beyonce's body language being almost 'thuggish' and the setting, mainly based around an abandoned, dark warehouse tell us so. We also get the feel of this theme through the certain props included such as the abandoned car and the graffiti scrolled across the bridges outside. We also realise that the video is socially aimed at youg adults as Beyonce is recognized through her usual image as being fresh and unique, being able to keep up with any trends.
From the first time we see Beyonce in this Music Video we instantly witness stereotypical representations of the male figure, through actions such as her heavy walk and obvious chewing of her gum. These certain representations demostrate Beyonce to be dominant and very much in control. Here we are immediately challenged in the subject of stereotype, as we as an audience expect a male figure to posess these habits, and be the dominant and more powerful sex.
Once we join Beyonce in the setting of the warehouse, we continue to see the representation of the male figure and also begin to learn through cinematography that Beyonce is the most important person, as she is placed in the middle of the two other women and appears to be stood much more forward. The use of Cinematography plays a big role, as we as an audience feel that we are closer to Beyonce and we feel we get a clear view of her through the choice of position. We also learn that Beyonce is significant in the video through the use of lighting included, such as certain shots were frontal lighting is included, creating shadow behind her, making it easier for the audience to focus on her solely. Other lighting techniques such as backlighting creates a silouette effect of Beyonce and her dancers, yet she is the first one to move, almost as if the dancers just follow her lead. The fact that the Music Video is set in black and white throughout and that there is much more darkness included in certain scenes, suggests that the use of voyeurism is included. In certain scenes such as the beginning and inside the warehouse where the dancing takes place we almost feel as if we are watching Beyonce in secret. Another technique that adds to the feel of this is certain camera angles used, such as many different canted angles sequenced together and low camera angles, which add the to idea of Beyonce being in charge.
Although this video is set in a grotty deralict warehouse, we still see certain Ideologies of celebrities. Certain scenes show Beyonce appearing in glamorous outfits, alongside her primed and perfect makeup and hair. In every close up shot we realise as an audience that Beyonce appears to be flawless, from her skin to her hair. These certain Ideologies also relate to the target audience, young adults. All young adults aspire to constantly be on trend and wish to be flawless, as these certain elements allow us to fit in.
I believe that this video choses to include an alternative representation of women, as young females may feel empowered by the thought, and realise that Beyonce can create a successful image of this. As well as this, young females may be inspired by Beyonce's glamorous look and aspire to be much more like her, therefore being influenced to buy her records at the same time.
As we have decided to produce a Music Video for our task, we will film and edit a music video and produce a Digipak and Magazine advert for our song. To do this we are going to carry out research and planning for all three products. These are all the posts we will include on our blog.
Research
Introduction
Codes and Conventions of Music Videos
Music Video Investigations x4
Identify song choice
Lyrics of song and explanation
Questionnaire into Indie-pop, as this is the genre of music we want to use
Investigation into Indie-pop genre (maybe include a mood board)
Box Office figures of the Indie-pop genre
Indie-pop music video investigation x4
Profile of artist and record label
Identify Target Audience
Typical Audience character
Institutions and how a music video is produced
Investigation into Branding
Examples of successful Branding
Branding of a song
Ancillary Task:
Analysis of CD covers
Investigation into Digipaks
Investigation into Magazine Adverts
Planning
Storyboard
Synopsis of music video and Brand Name
Equipment and Technology used
Propps and Costumes used
Roles of members in group
Any experiments e.g. green screen
Ancillary Task:
Plan layouts of Digipak and Magazine Advert
Take photographs for ancillary task
Design Digipak and Magazine Advert
Post week updates throughout
