Image Ideas

Because the track I am using is called 'Your Eyes' I have decided to theme the digipak on the theme of vision and eyes. I will like to cover the front and back cover of a mixture of different people eyes. I will use close up shots of just the peoples eyes. I will also use a mixture of 'famous' eyes and unknown peoples eyes, this will mix up the cover by being both recognisable and brand new for the viewer.Some examples of the shots I will use are below:

Mrs D

Well done for hitting your first deadline. The storyboard has some good codes and conventions of a music promo. However, I fear you may have taken the repeatability factor too far. Can you do a second draft please?

Chosen Song.

Chosen Song

Because the choice of songs to choose from to do my music video was so vast I decided to quickly focus on the mood I wanted to express in the video and a rough idea of what kind of story I wanted to show.

I wanted to do a music video about a love story, but to make this particular love story unique I wanted it to be the boy being hurt emotionally by a woman rather than the other way round that normally happens in typical love stories.

After deciding on this rough idea I thought it would be best to choose a song I know pretty well and also enjoy listening too, I thought this would be the best idea as to how to choose my song as I know I would understand the lyrics more to a song I listen to frequently and the fact that I actually enjoy this particular track will help me to not get bored or loose enthusiasm with my song choice.

The song I have chosen isn’t the most well known song and I feel this will work in my favour as people won’t have any or very little pre conceived ideas of how the video should look as they will probably be hearing the song for the first time and therefore see only my ideas featured in the music video throughout.

My chosen song is called ‘Your Eyes’ and is by the band ‘Bombay Bicycle Club’. The link to the song on YouTube is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UEnZNuxEUA . Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London. The band is made up of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass) and Suren de Saram (drums).

The band was asked to play the opening performance of 2006's V Festival after winning Channel 4's "Road to V" competition. Following the release of two EPs and their debut single "Evening/Morning", the band recorded their debut album, I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose. The album was released on 6 July 2009. The band released their second album, Flaws, on 9 July 2010 and their third album, A Different Kind of Fix, on 26 August 2011. The bands label is ‘Island Records’.

Mood Board.

Copy of Music Video Mood Board on Prezi

Story Board, Moving Image

Product Placement.

In today's modern society the access to music videos is becoming increasingly more and more accessible. It is for this reason that it is vital that I make my product easily accessible, this can be done in many ways. Firstly I think making the music video accessible online is a way to make it accessible to the widest range  of people. The video can be placed on a number of different websites online, some ideas of online placement are; the artists own website, putting the video on the artists own website will give fans of the band instant access to the knew music video and this will keep fans visiting the website and also give them the opportunity to share the music video link on social networking sites, this whole process will not only get the music video viewed by current fans but may also introduce knew interest by individuals who perhaps haven't heard the artists music before. YouTube is also another website that will be a beneficial place to post the music video, making the music video so accessible on such a highly visited website will help the video to become highly viewed and hopefully be seen by knew people. As previously mentioned social networking sites are also a great way of spreading a music video online, this method is very beneficial as it not only can it be viewed but the most important factor about making a music video accessible on a social networking site is the fact that is can be shared and re posted around by millions of people, for example re tweeting a music video on twitter can making it accessible by a whole knew range of people.

Music video channels are still very commonly watched. It is for this reason that I want to create a music video that can be watched at any time of the day, this will therefore not restrict the amount of times is can be played during the day and therefore not restricting the amount of people who can see the video daily. For people who aren't that interested in watching music videos I will have to make sure that the music can be easily accessible through radio stations, some radio stations that I think will be suitable for playing my particular track will be radio1 and Capital, both these radio stations have huge listening rates so this will promote my track to a high number of people.

I will also have to consider effective placements of my DigiPak. Firstly I will have to make sure the design of the DigiPak is both eye catching and effective when  being viewed as a hard copy but also on an online sight. Shops such a HMV will seen hundreds of DigiPaks so I will have to make sure the design is eye catching and is placed on display where it will be seen by many customers. For ssupermarkets who don't focus purely on selling music will be especially important to make sure the DigiPak is placed in a effective way so it will be seen by the high number of customers who come into the shops. Online stores such as Amazon and Itunes will be a great place to sell my DigiPak, but once again it will be important that they can be easily seen and accessed by the customers.

It will also be important that posters promoting the album and the music video of the single will be shown in effective places that means they will be viewed by a high number of people. It will also be important that there is a running theme throughout the poster, DigiPak and music video. This can be done through the use of colour, font and styling of the artist.

Mrs D

This looks good Lauren. You could create a mood board for your location ideas or use prezi to tick the ICT box. Don't forget your research deadline is tomorrow.

Story Boards.

Location and Test Shots.

Copy of Location and Test Shots. on Prezi

Contents&Features of a DigiPak

Below are some of the key features and contents of a CD digipak. All of which are important features I will have to make sure I include in my Digipak.

Band, Song and Record Label logos- This feature is important as otherwise how is the audience going to know whose Digipak this is? It will be important for these logos to be eyecatching and be placed on the Digipak in an obvious and easily viewed place.

Titles - Band, song/album name- This should be made very eyecatching so fans and people viewing the Digipak can easily see whose product this is and which band/artist it's promoting.

Track listing- This is important so people know they have firstly got the right artist and so people who prehaps don't know all the tracks can get a taste for what type of music the artist makes. It is for this reason that it may be a good idea for the track names to follow a theme.

Copyright Protection logos and information (©, ®, ™)- This is a basic feature of any CD Digipak and is done to show they product is authentic and not breaking any laws.

Barcode & Price

Pictures - front, back, middle (inside and outside)- The pictures of the artist is a very important feature of the music video. The images should follow the theme of the Digipak but should also promote the artist in a posative effective way. The images should also be eyecatching so when put on a shelf in a music shop or put on a internet shop website it can be easily spotted by the consumer and therefore purchased.

Production pics or a "Production & Artwork" booklet- Containing this in a Digipak will give the audience something brand new and unseen of the artist. Something like this will entice the fans into purchasing the DigiPak so they can access this new information and images.

4-Sided with 2 Spines- 2 pics outside (front/back covers), possibly 2 inside- This feature will have to be eyecatching so it 'jumps off the shelf' and catches the eye of potential customers of the DigiPak. It will also have to follow the theme of the DigiPak.

Prehaps a collectores item- This feature again will help entice the fans into purchasing the DigiPak.

Real Media Artefacts- DigiPak: Nickelback

Real Media Artefacts- DigiPak: Nickelback

The main focus on this album cover is the picture, which features a vintage looking black car, possibly styled to look like a hearse, driving away from a sunset. I think the backdrop looks as if it's supposed to look like 'hell', as it almost looks like fire with the smoky clouds adding to this particular image. The fact that the car looks like it's moving in a fast speed away from this background could show that the album may be seen to be on 'edge' and 'risky' and this is supported by the title of the album 'All the right reasons', which shows the album was released to please not only the fans but the artists themselves. The name of the band 'Nickelback' is also made to stand out and this is done by the positioning of the text, being in the top left corner is where the eye automatically goes to read. Also the font is much larger and is styled to look like tyre marks, this then links to the image of the car.

Inside the DigiPak, there is a booklet and two CD's. The booklet has the same front cover as the album cover; this is probably done so there is a continuous theme and link throughout the DigiPak. The CDs' are different colours, one being silver and the other black. Both seem to have been designed so they look as if they have been driven over, featuring cracks and a print of a road, this is done so the link of the car on the front cover is featured inside. Although I can't see the images behind the CDs' it looks as if a few images of the band are behind, and you can tell the images have been taken outside, to show that they are independent and 'free' as musicians, and they also seemed to be styled in a rocky way, featuring ripped denim and the colour back.

It's not until the back cover when you can see the entire band with the car. This means that the entire link of the car is taken throughout the whole DigiPak and then featuring the band with this car ties the whole package together. The band is posed looking a little worn out, e.g. one band member is leaning against the car and one is sitting on the ground. This posing represents to the audience that perhaps the band has been on a long 'tiring' journey to complete this album, and the feature of the car represents this 'journey'. The names of the tracks seem to follow a theme of being free and independent, e.g. 'Far Away', 'Follow You Home', and 'Animals' (being in the wild). This theme of the songs names corresponds with the styling and images of the rest of the DigiPak. The back cover also states who produced and mixed the tracks, and because the band produced their own music they probably felt it was something unique that they wanted to stated clearly on the back cover of their album.

Dolby

Lauren, when analysing the digipaks, look at all 4 panes as this is what you need to reproduce. Some good comments on the style and genre of the cover. Look at technical elements such as the shot type and distance and the layout, including how text and images are integrated. Also, are there key details that must be included on a digipak?

Real Media Artefacts- DigiPak: Lana Del Rey

 Real Media Artefact- DigiPak: Lana Del Rey.

When looking at the front cover of Lana Del Reys' album the most eye-catching part is her name, your eye then moves down to the picture of her and lastly you look at the name of the album 'Born to die'. This is probably done so even at a quick glance you will know whose album it is, as not only is her name unique and more memorable but also the styling of the artist is also fairly eye-catching.

The front cover is fairly simplistic and contains mostly pale colours such a white, blue and pink. The lettering of the artists name is white and seems to be in the blue sky, this is probably done to represent clouds and that this artist is 'out of this world' and 'heavenly', and the fact that the picture is taken outside could show that the artist produced music that is more natural and too do with her voice rather than her playing instruments, otherwise she might have been pictured posing with an instrument. Although Lana Del Rey is only wearing a simple white shirt she still looks glamorous with her hair styled in a vintage, big, glamorous way. Her makeup is understated and simple to complete the look. The artist has probably been styled in this way as it will suit her music, not being too out there and load, for example compared to Cher Lloyd whose styling links to her music.

The album name 'Born To Die' is put in a smaller font compared to the name of the artist. It is also in a bolder colour of pink and has been placed on top of Lana Del Reys' white shirt, this helps to make it more eye-catching. The fact that the album name has been placed on top of the artist could represent that this is a part of her and very important to her individually.

The back cover is also simply laid out. Featuring a more posed picture of Lana Del Rey to the left of the song names featured on the album. Most of the songs are only one or two words long, but a few break this pattern and are a little longer named. There is a subtle theme to the names of her songs which is the theme of sadness. The following song names featuring this theme: 'Born to die', 'Dark Paradise', 'Summertime Sadness', 'Without You'. These song names could then suggest to the viewer why the artist is posed in a way that shows more emotion than perhaps other artists album covers/ back covers. 

Textual analysis of a music video- Two Door Cinema Club, What You Know

Textual analysis: Two door cinema club- What you know.

For my second textual analysis of a music video I have chosen to look at Two Door Cinema Clubs’ song ‘What you know’.  I have chosen this particular music video to look at because it is of a similar genre to the song I am going to do my music video on, so looking at this video will give me some ideas and inspiration of things to use in my video.  The song is off the band’s debut album ‘Tourist History’ and the single was released on the 7^th of February 2011. The genre of the band’s music is described as alternative rock.

The whole music video is shot in one studio. The whole studio is white and this is used effectively as many colours are used throughout the video in the form of the costumes and props, this lets the audience focus purely on these rather than the background.  The video contains the band members on podiums playing their instruments; this clearly shows to the audience that they play their own instruments which will be an important part of what the band does. The video contains many female dancers who perform a routine that fits in time with the beats of the music. At the time of 9 to 13 seconds a female on rollerblades hits a drum to the timing of the drum beat, this makes the audience focus on this beat and they will know that the main part of the song is about to kick in. 

When the lyrics start there is a close up on the lead singer, Alex Trimble, singing. This shows to fans and people who may not know a lot about this band that this is the lead singer of the group. There is also subtle story being told between the lead singer and a female. This could show that this music video is both performance based, this is shown through the female dancers performing as well as the band but the video could also be described as narrative as a story is now being told through this contact from the lead singer and a female actor. The colours and styling used of the dancers are pastel shades and not particularly modern clothes, this suggests to the audience that the band is trying to re-create music and sounds from a different era.

There is a repetitive part of the video where a sequence of dance is repeated by a different group of girls. This shows the audience that the song is one that you can get up and dance to and was intended to be enjoyed in an active way. The fact that the lyrics in the song ‘Don’t want to be alone...’ are repeated frequently could then correspond to the fact that in the studio the band isn’t alone and in fact surrounded by many girls. Most of the shots used throughout are long and medium shots, whilst the close up seem to be only used for the different band members and the most important female actor.

Some sequences are then put into darkness and slow motion. This is then a complete contrast of the previous video and probably used to keep the viewer entertained.  The song ends by also going into darkness, this suggests the end of the song as it resembles when the lights go off to end a play in a theatre as an example.

Questionnaire 2 Findings and Analysis

For my Music Video Questionnaire 2 I asked 20 people to complete the questionnaire. Below are my findings and an analysis of what I found.

This result clearly shows that the objective of the band trying to show their image to their audience is done effectively in this particular music video. This result also shows me that it is important for there to be a strong image shown of the artist in the music video.

This result is also important as it shows that the music video effectively shows the genre of music the band produces. It is also something I should bare in mind when creating my music video.

Most of the results collected showed people were between 6-8 on the scale of entertainment. This is a pretty good result and shows that the majority of people asked in this questionnaire were pretty entertained by this music video.

Although the lead singer isn't singing throughout the entire video the acting and other things going on within the video obviously showed a clear enough link to the lyrics.

This result was pretty equal but the high number of people answering 'no' could be down to other factors, e.g. the person not enjoying this genre of music, rather than purely on the music video. 

Mrs D

Your Ed Sheeran analysis is detailed and you explore the construction of the narrative really well. To improve you need to be more technical - what type of shot is used? etc - and link to branding and promotion of the artist and album.

Questionnaire 1 Findings and Analysis

For my Music Video Questionnaire 1 I asked 20 people to complete the questionnaire. Below are my findings and an analysis of what I found.

I choose to ask people mostly between the ages of 17-20 as this is the age of the audience I will be aiming my music video at.

Lukily the gender of people I asked was nearly 50-50. There will be no clear gender that my music video will appeal for so I wanted to keep the questionairre faily equal.

It was fairly clear from this result that most peopel prefer a narrative music video, it is then one of the reasons I have choosen to make a narrative music video.

I found this result pretty interesting as I thought special effects would be more popular in todays very moden society, but the reasons given for people not enjoying special effects or animations in a music video does make sense.

These different aspects as to what makes  a music video interesting for different people will help me to include these simple features to help my music video look my authentic and appealing to the audiece.

There isn't the biggest difference in results to this question but seeing as most peopl do prefer a calm slower music video I can take this view on board when creating my own music video.

The key is wrong on the chart, the darker blue stands for 'professional dancers' and the lighter blue stands for 'the artist themselves'. This result shows very clearly that audiences prefer professional dancers and this is probably because they simply enjoy watching what the band/artist does best (playing music) rather than attempting to dance.

Lyrics and Ideas for video.

Below is a copy of the song lyrics to the song I am going to do for my music video. Beside are some rough ideas that I would like to feature in the video corresponding with the lyrics of song.

Analysis of YouTube research.

For my music video I am doing a song by Bombay Bicycle Club. Their YouTube account is called BombayBicycleVEVO and it contains not only their music videos but also acoustic versions of their songs and footage from their recent gigs. The bands YouTube account then gives access for fans who are interested in seeing a different side to their music and the band members.

The BombayBicycleVEVO Youtube account has 9,845 subscribers and 7,450,499 video views so it is clearly a popular way for their audience and prehaps people who have just become interested in the music they are making to find out more about their music.

The YouTube account also has links to the bands Facebook, Twitter, iTunes, Amazon and their official website. Doing this then gives the audience further access to the band as individuals, through the social networking sites, but also access to purchasing their music, through the links to online shopping websites.

The YouTube channel also has a section for fans to comment. This gives the band the opportunity for feedback and also to promote themselves, for example they can post up coming tour dates on the comment section and canbe seen by all their subscribers.

Miss D

Some interesting institutional/consumption research here on Youtube. Now make it more relevant for the artist that you are doing and look at band website, Fanpages, and other places you may get info as to who your audience is.

YouTube Research

Categories

Music is the most popular category on YouTube with 31% of all analyzed videos, followed by Entertainment (15%) and People & Blogs (11%).

Demographics

By far, 20-to-35-year-old bloggers are the most enthusiastic about embedding and linking to videos (57.3%). Teenage bloggers (13-19) and those in the 36-to-60-year demographic group embed and link to around 20% each. Those over 60 account for just 1.4%.
When looking at the top categories for each age group, we discovered that older bloggers have a higher interest in the News and Politics category. This category is the least favorite among younger bloggers with less than 5% of total links.




The most popular music videos on YouTube:

Top Music Videos

While Michael Jackson is very popular overall, most YouTube videos about Michael Jackson were home-made and did not attract high view count.

1. Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) (Available on ULTRA MIX 2 NOW!) OFFICIAL VIDEO
U.S. rapper Pitbull sings "I Know You Want Me" (Calle Ocho). (97.3 million)

2. MIley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A. - Official Music Video (HD)
Teenager pop star Miley Cyrus sings "Party In The U.S.A." (77.9 million)

3. Miley Cyrus - The Climb - Official Music Video (HQ)
Miley Cyrus singing "The Climb" from the movie "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (73.1 million)

Music Video Questionnaire: 2

Please complete the questionnaire below after watching the following music video. (YouTube link below)

Bombay Bicycle Club, Always Like This.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QKj62RKBrM&feature=related

1.       Do you feel the image of the band is represented in their music?  Yes []            No []

2.       Is the genre of music the band produces clearly represented in this video?  Yes []     No []

3.       On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the most entertained) how entertaining was the music video for you? ____

4.       Did you feel the lyrics corresponded to what was happening in the music video? Yes [] No[]

5.       Did the music video make you want to watch more of the band’s music videos? Yes [] No []

Textual analysis of a music video- Ed Sheeran, Drunk

Textual analysis of a music video.

I have chosen to analyse the music video ‘Drunk’ by Ed Sheeran. I have chosen this particular music video because not only do I like the song but the music video is very entertaining and humorous and therefore very enjoyable to watch. The music video is directed by Saman Keshavarz and the song is taken from his debut number 1 album ‘+’. According to the iTunes store where you can purchase Ed Sheerans music, the genre of his music is ‘Folk-Rock’.

The first lyrics of the song are ‘I wanna be drunk when I wake up’, during the time this is played in the music video Ed Sheeran is holding a can or lager which immediately supports the lyrics as he is probably intending to get ‘drunk’ and this is supported by the first lyric ‘I wanna be drunk…’, this is therefore supporting the first action we see the artist perform in their music video. As the song progresses slightly we see Ed down cans of beer and then the audience then see’s the text on screen which is supposed to be seen as the cat talking to Ed, this whole idea of Ed and his cat communicating supports the idea that he is ‘off his head’ and Drunk. The cat also asks Ed to ‘Pass that beer over, this shows that the plans between the two characters in the video so far is to get drunk and drink together. We then see several short cuts of Ed’s hand and the paw of the cat opening the cans of beers, this adds humour to the video as the cat is performing human actions and is participating in the same actions as the well-known artist. As well as drinking together we see Ed and the cat playing a computer game together, this shows the relationship between Ed and his cat but also shows the audience that Ed is without any human company and is actually lonely and missing the female he used to have in his life and is trying to forget about by getting drunk.

In the video although we don’t see Ed singing the lyrics of the song we do see him playing the guitar. It will be well known by fans that Ed Sheeran is a skilled guitarist and will also be well known that he customises his guitars with an orange paw print and the ‘name’ of his gutair written in the corner. When we see Ed playing his guitar on the bed the audience can see that these motifs are present, this is done so Ed Sheeran can build these quirks as things that are individual to him and his style and will be recognisable by his fans. To also create humour we see a paw strum on the strings of the guitar, this is to support the previous shots we see of the cat taking on human characteristics.

There are also many flashbacks during the music video of Ed and a blonde woman. This adds depth and a story behind the lyrics and you start to understand why Ed appears sad and is wanting to get drunk in the first place; to forget about this woman.

There is a repetition of a sequence of shots when Ed and the cat are in the pub. You see a paw slide a shot glass down a table, then Ed picks it up and cheers looking directly at the camera, to make is seem as if he is cheering with you, you then get a flashback of the woman and then the camera pans round the pub to a close of up Ed looking sad. This is repeated a number of times to show the audience this is happening over a period of time and the fact that getting drunk isn’t really making him feel happier.

At one point the cat goes over to Ed and the word ‘FIT!’ appear on screen, at this point a woman turns round to look at Ed, this suggests the cat is trying to ‘hook them up’. This once again shows that this cat is Eds only company.

When the cat and Ed are chucked out the pub and return home, with some of the woman we had previously seen in the pub, there is a shot of both Ed and the cat drinking. This supports the fact that they are there for each other and that the cat is acting in a human way.

We then see more cats appear and the flat scene turn more into a party with everyone dancing and more drinking taking place. More cats also appear which adds to the humour. During this time we continue to see flashbacks of this previous woman and we also continue to see Ed hold a guitar or see them in the background, this is a constant reminder of who he is an artist and what we have seen earlier in the video.

At the end of the video we see the can say ‘Ed, you know cats don’t talk right?’ and then Ed wake up with a can of unopened beer. This suggests the whole video and the events that occurred with the cat were all a dream. This supports the notion of looking as we, the audience, have just seen into the dreams of this artist.

I would say this music video is mostly narrative as it tells a clear story and very clearly links to the title of the track; ‘Drunk’. As the artist is featured continuously throughout the music video you could also say there are elements of a performance music video.

To conclude, I think this music video is done in a very humorous and unique way. Although the background story could be seen to be fairly sad and depressing using a cat and the behaviour of being drunk the video is made a lot more uplifting and funny to watch. The artist also sticks to their genre of music and continues to be styled in the same way as his previous videos e.g. the personalised guitars.

Music Video Questionaire: 1

Music Video Questionnaire.

 1. What is your age?

12 – 16 []

17 – 20 []

21 + []

2. What is your gender?

Male []

Female []

3. Do you prefer a music video to be…

Narrative (tell a story throughout the whole video) []

Performance (show the band/artist performing their song, possibly at their gig or at a studio) []Concept (no clearly understandable visual narrative) []

4. Do you prefer music videos that include special effects/animations etc?

Yes []

No []

Why? _______________________________________________________

5 .What particular aspects of a music video make them more interesting for you to watch? ____________________________________________________________

6. Do you prefer…

Calm/slow music videos []
Lively/fast music videos []

7. Do you like to see dance routines performed either by the artist themselves or by professional dancers within a music video?

Yes []
No []

8. What’s your favourite music video of all time? _____________________________

Why is this particular music video your favourite?___________ __________________________________________________________________

9. Do you have a music video which you particularly don’t enjoy watching? If you do please specify why you don’t like this video and which video it is? ________________________________________________________________________________

Permission e-mail

Below is the e-mail I composed and sent to the management of Bombay Bicycle Club, the purpsoe was to seek permission to use the track 'Your Eyes', which is the track I wish to use for my music video.

"I am writing to you to seek permission to use the track ‘Your Eyes’ for my media coursework. I am a massive fan of Bombay Bicycle Club and when I was informed on the criteria of my A2 media coursework, to create a music video, I immediately decided I wanted to do it to the track ‘Your Eyes’.

I understand that I need permission from the bands label to use the track on my music video so that is the purpose of this email. If I could get a response as soon as possible so I can start the process of creating the music video.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email, and I hope you respond with a positive answer as soon as you can.

From Lauren Pascoe,

Edgbarrow Sixth Form Student."