Filming update

Yesterday we re-filmed the performance section of our music video with Jess Cooper. The filming went well; we managed to film a variety of shots with lots of close ups which will be used to create a like-able and relatable artist for our young female target audience.
Today we are going to work on editing these new clips into the narrative parts of our music video.

Time management update

We are planning to re film the performance sequence of our music video on wednesday 19th of December. We have decided to return to our original casting of Jess Cooper to play the role of our artist as she is available on this date and having a actor from outside our group will mean that all members of our group will be able to focus on filming and roles behind the camera.

According to our time management plan we should have finished editing and moved onto to digipak developement. To insure that I do not get behind on work we have finished all editing on the narrative aspects of our video and this week I have made an early start on digipak and magazine reseach. We will film next wednesday then spend that afternoon and thursday editing the new content into the video.

 

Digipak analysis: Eliza Doolittle

The second digipak I am going to analyze is the self titled debut album by Eliza Doolittle, an indie pop artist with a young teenage female target audience.

The image on the front of the CD is very busy and fun with a bright fluorescent colour palette that appeals to a young target audience. The images are very entropic and imaginative creating a fun, exciting artist image. The images make reference to Eliza as an British artist with images of famous London landmarks like Big Ben. These are an example of how the cover is creating a recognizable brand image brand image. The image of Eliza is very entropic with her in size proportion with the buildings. This is presenting her as important with a celebrity status that many record label demand in promotional media products in order to create a memorable brand image. There is a lot of movement on the front cover with Eliza's pose, the blue sky and clouds and the erupting volcano. The collage of so many images creates a really exciting and intriguing CD cover which positive tone would appeal to its young target audience.

The inside of the digipak shows a close up shot of Eliza on the front inside pane. This close up is used to create a strong artist image and to build a relatable relationship between the artist and the audience according to Goodwin's theory. Inside the digipak the bright colours and fun tone has been continued creating a continuous artist and album image. The Cd design is very simplistic with the artist and album name printed in a striking, feminine coloured font. The repetition of the name is making the brand recognizable which is extremely important as this is a debut album. The pink colour and simplistic, striking design would really appeal to a young female audience.

Behind the CD on the rear inside pane there is a stenciled image of Eliza's face. The shot is an extreme close up further supporting and demonstrating Goodwin's theory that close ups are often demands of record companies in order to create a strong artist identity.







The fold out within the digipak contains lyrics in a hand written font which add a personal aspect that greatly appeals to a young target audience. The focus on lyrics and lack of images balances out the close ups seen on the exteriors of the digipak. This focus on lyrics really appeals to a pop indie audience as they like to see that the music is an extremely important and dominant aspect of their artist image. The pastel blue background of the album cover has been continued in the booklet adding to the consitent sense of continuallity.

The rear pane of the digipak shows a long shot full length view of Eliza surronded by the track listing of the album. The image of Eliza places a focus on Eliza's legs making it a quite voyeuristic shot; a representation typical of the pop genre.This is an example of Goodwin's theory that music videos and music media products have: 'frequent references to the notion of looking and particlularly voyeauristic treatement of the female body.'
The varieying black and white fonts surronding Eliza's figure give the image a eccentric and quirky feel that would definately appeal to the target audience. The overall mixture of fonts, images and colours throughout the whole digipak create a brand motif and memorable mise-en-scene.
The CD has extra digital content when inserted into a pc; creating a digital, interactive aspect to a Cd creates a digipak which really allows the audience to interact with their audience and creates a strong appeal for a young technology interested audience. The extra content includes behind the scenes videos, picture gallerys and wallpapers. The behind the scenes videos in particular give the audience an exclusive and important feeling which makes the artist, the albuma the overall brand likeable.

Digipak and CD research: Florence and the machine

 Digipak and CD research of artists in chose genre: Indie/Pop

The first artist I am going to look at is Florence and the Machine and her album 'Lungs'.
Florence and the machine is an indie/ pop artist with a quirky and eccentric artist image.

The front cover of the CD is the same image seen in the magazine advert. This repetition is creating a stylistic motif and recognisable brand identity which Goodwin suggests is often a demand of the record company. Like in the magazine advert the image is extremely entropic with the styling, posing and mise-en-scene which create a very eccentric brand identity. the font is the same as that used in the magazine advert making this another visual motif that would become recognisable and memorable for the target audience.

 The dark colour palette continues throughout the digipak with accents of oranges and pinks as well as glaring stage lights. The image seen on the inside front pane show Florence performing. This image portrays the idea the Florence is an talented and interactive live performer (with the image showing her very close to the audience and her fans) this image and idea would really appeal to the target audience as her target demographic are very interested in live, authentic, un mainstream music. The image on the CD itself is very entropic; it is not very clear what the picture shows. The photo has been edited to look almost like a Pre-Raphaelite painting with the glowing luminosity and gentle colours. This entropic image as well as its intertextual references would really appeal to Florence's target audience because of its quirky eccentric tone and artistic references.

The booklet within the Digipak contains entropic images of Florence. The images are very original and eccentric making them a typical visual convention of the indie genre. WIth the images also come lyrics from the songs on the album, supporting Goodwin's idea the visual reflect and emphasise the artist's lyrics.








The composition of the back pane is dominated by a diagram of human lungs. THis image reflects the name of the album is a visual motif seen throughout the digipak. This is an example of a coherent and consistent brand image being created. The monochrome palette of this pane contrasts with areas of colour in the digipak especially the CD making this the focus of the digipak. A visual technique that suggested the music is the most important aspect of the brand. This focus would really appeal to Florence's target audience as they really care about the quality of the music more than the more visual aspects that are typically focused on in the mainstream pop genre.
At the bottom of the rear pane there are links to the artist's website and instruction that say: 'Insert the disc into you computer to unlock bonus content'. This interactive features makes the artist seem really relatable and the purchased CD very personnal. The digital aspect of the digipak really targets and is appropriate for Florence's young target audience as the internet is such a big part of teenage life. When the CD is inserted into a computer you are directed to Florence's website on which she uses her blog to communicate and interact with fans. This is exposing her target audience to a very direct interaction with Florence and merging to promotional media platforms: digipak and social media into one.

Cd inserted into computer

Print reseach

In my coursework I am going to create a magazine album advert for my artist. I want to carry out some research into similar artists in order to understand how images, font and other features are used to create a genre appropriate advert that will appeal to our artists target audience.

The first advert I am going to analyze is this single magazine page promoting the release of Lana Del Rey's debut album: 'Born to die'. Lana Del Rey in an indie pop artist like our artist Nina Nesbitt. Her image is quirky and retro with large references to old hollywood in the clothes she wears and the way her hair and make up is styled. 

Use of images- The image is very simple with the focus purely on Lana's face. They symmetry of the pose and simplistic framing really draws attention to Lana's beauty presenting her in a slightly voyeuristic manner which is typical in the pop genre. This symmetrical and direct framing is quite entropic making the advert striking. As I have mentioned Lana's look is very vintage hollywood; the styling is very in keeping with this mise-en-scene with the wavy hair and vintage make-up. The look of the advert also has stylistic references to America with the western style  shirt Lana is wearing and the idyllic blue sky in the background. The representation of Lana del Rey in the advert is very redundant as it is typical for her indie/pop genre. The portrayal creates a strong recognizable, beautiful image (often demanded by the record label) that creates a visual style. Establishing this look is essential as this is Lana Del Rey's debut album.

The font used in the advert is very simplistic but striking. All of the text is in capitals and the contrast in colour between the text and the background  really make it really stand out. The central placement of all the text makes the advert noticeable and striking. The colour palette of the text works well with the images. The calm blue and white colour palette creates a calm feel that relates and references the sound of Lana's music.

The text in the advert contains critic quotes which present the album as an acclaimed 'Sensation'. Quotes like: 'The years most eagerly awaited debut album' and 'A sensation' create a clear focus on the music rather that Lana as a personality. This is typical of the genre: Indie/pop. The image of Lana draws attention to her appearance, a very pop genre typical image, whilst the critic comments bring focus to the music a technique used frequently in indie and less mainstream album adverts. This combination of genre conventions creates a artist image that would appeal to a wide audience of different music tastes. Lana's primary audience is young people interested in indie pop music. I feel that the advert would target both men and women because of the focus on appearance. The vintage retro mise-en-scene would also appeal to young people as this look is a very current trend.

The full page magazine advert is an example of Lana being promoted across various media platforms giving the artist a wide spread exposure.  

The next advert I want to analyze is the magazine for Florence and the Machine's album: 'Lungs'.

Like our artist Nina Nesbitt, Florence and the Machine is an Indie/pop artist. Her target audience is young indie/pop/rock interested people. Like Nina and also Lana Del Rey, Florence's vintage image appeals greatly to young women whilst the alternative rock aspects of her music make her brand appealing to a wider, less gender specific audience aswell.

The image is very entropic; the pose (which presents Florence with her eyes closed and face turned to this side) is very unexpected for a pop artist. The unusual styling with the strange lungs in particular also create an entropic image. This entropic, quirky representation is very typical of the indie/ pop genre; it would appeal to Florence's target audience as it is not to polished or mainstream. Andrew Goodwin suggests that close up shots are often demanded by record labels in order to create a strong, recognizable artist image. I feel that this definitely the case for this advert. The lack of eye contact with Florence could have made her seen distant but the close up shot and framing create a more personal, relatable tone. The mise-en-scene and lighting of the advert is quite dark juxtaposed with the feminine and delicate pink flowers. This creates an interesting hybrid of visual style typical of the indie/ pop genre. This look will definitely appeal to Florence's target audience.

The font used for the artist name: 'Florence and the machine' is the font used constantly on Florence and the machine albums, posters, adverts etc. This is an example of a visual brand motif. Goodwin says that record companies often use visual motifs in order to create a consistent and recognizable brand image. The style of the other font is very traditional and varies making the advert look quirky and eccentric. This is in keeping with Florence's image therefore appealing to her target audience and fans.

The text used in the piece is brief with the artist name, the album title, the release date and the ways in which it will be released. The mentioning of various release forms would appeal to an indie/ pop audience especially the inclusion of 'vinyl'. This traditional release is in-keeping with the audience's quirky, vintage and often eccentric interests.

The final magazine advert I am going to analyse is 'The Family Jewels' By Marina and the Diamonds'. Like Nina Nesbitt, Marina and the Diamonds is a pop/indie artist. She also has a very similar target audience of young teenage women because of her quirky, exaggerated vintage and doll like image and combination of pop sound with darkly humorous lyrics. These features of her brand identity really make her an effective and appealing combination of  mainstream pop with a more quirky style and sound make her really appealing to this audience demographic.

The close up image creates a personal closeness with the viewer whilst the unexpected horizontal pose by Marina makes the advert entropic therefore working with the quirky brand image. Close ups according to Goodwin are often demanded by the record company in order to create a recognisable and relatable image. This is something we definitely want to achieve for our audience in order to appeal to our young female target audience.

The image of Marina has been photoshopped quiet thoroughly giving her face an artificial and doll like appearance. This representation is a reference to hollywood and glamour images with the photoshop editing and voyeuristic pose. This kind of mise-en-scene which draws great inspiration from hollywood and americana is a visual brand motif for Marina and the diamonds, with many of her lyrics based on the trials and nature of fame and fortune. This is an example of Goodwin's music video theory that visuals reflect the lyrics being portrayed and used on a variety of promotional media platforms not just music videos. The representation which is so dramatised and exaggerated is also an example of how the advert heightens this pop genre typical representation so much that it becomes quirky and entropic and very Indie.

The floral background is very vintage and antique looking and in keeping with the overall quirky mise-en-scene that appeals greatly to the young artistic female target audience.

The text used in the advert is very entropic with its dominance over the whole composition of the single page. The white, what looks like handwritten, writing is very striking and attention grabbing. A technique typically and frequently used in promotional magazine adverts.

Like the Lana Del Rey advert, this advert also has critic qoutes that present an esteemed and acclaimed identity of the artists music. The quotes used read: 'Sparkling pop with beautiful darkness for a debut album' and 'The queen of maverick pop'. The quotes really highlight the genre conventions of her music with the combination of 'sparkling pop' and 'darkness'. The second qoute really reinforces the idea of a important and respected star image with the use of the word: 'Queen'. This use of idolising vocabularly is used frequently in the pop genre and often requested by the record label to create a superstar celebrity image.

Time management update

According to my time management planning we should be editing our music video this week, but as we are planning to re-film the perfomance aspect we are putting off editing until that is completed. We are planning to film this section on wednesday 12th. Until then I want to begin my print research.

Audience Feedback Focus Group

Today we have done an audience feedback focus group. We asked four people who fit into our target audience to watch our rough cut and to answer the questions we have prepared. Here is the video showing their answers.

We have received positive feedback from the group. They said they thought our music video was appropriate for our genre because: 'It had lots of shots that matched with the music'. This a very positive comment as it suggests that we have created an effective narrative that abides with Goodwin's theory that visuals reflect the music. This is something we definitely wanted to achieve and focused on this with frequent shots which visually represent the lyrics e.g. the glue. THe group also felt that it suits the genre because some of the shots are quite 'entropic', 'things you wouldn't expect' and 'quirky'. This means we have effectively communicated the quirky, light hearted tone we were hoping to portray.

Creating like-able characters and most importantly a relatable artist has been one of the focuses of our music video productions. We asked the focus group if they felt they could relate to the artist and they said 'she looks friendly' and that the close up shots were 'connecting'.

In our video we cast young girls as the characters to hold the lyrics on card. We wanted to do this in order to create a relatable, unified tone for our target audience. Our feedback group have responded positively to this aspect of the video. When asked if they felt our music video appeals to our target audience one audience member said: 'yes because you showed people the same age (as the target audience).' They also felt that the 'girly cupcakes' would appeal to 'that age group and gender'.

We asked our focus group if they felt any improvements could be made. Here are some of their comments and suggestions:

'More performance and more movement in the performance'

'She's mostly just sat down so maybe you could show some different levels'

These comments really focus on the performance aspect of our video. I think it is a good idea to maybe introduce more performance as suggested in order to create a good, even balance between narrative and  performance. It is also a good suggestion to introduce a wider variety of shots in order to create an even more relatable portrayal of our target audience.

Overall our audience feedback focus group has been really successful and useful. It has allowed us to understand our target audience through their response. The feedback has also gave us some really good ideas on how to improve the performance section of our video. We may now have to consider re-filming some of these performance shots.

Rough Cut

Here is the rough cut for our music video. We feel pleased with our first edited video but definitely feel that there are changes and improvements that can be made.
We are going to do a feedback group with people who match our target audience demographic in order to see how they react and receive the video. We hope that the video will allow us to understand our target audience more. We hope to gather comments and suggestions that will allow us to make improvements so our video that will please and appeal to our target audience.
These are the questions we are going to ask.

Why do you think this music video is appropriate for our genre?

Do you feel you can relate with the artist and why?

Do you think the video appeals to our target audience? Why?

Are there any improvements that can be made?

Any other suggestions or comments?

We have based the questions on target audience and genre as we really want our music video to suit these aspects. We have also based questions on ideas and suggestions the target audience group may have as this may be a great opportunity to hear some really original ideas. Developing some of these ideas and comments will also add to the unified tone and the strong audience/ artist relationship we are trying to create.