Digipak Adverts Analysis

This Digipak Advert is for Ciara's 'New Dawn', and is student made, which
will come in useful for when we need inspiration or guidance on how
to design our own Digipak advert. 

This Digipak Advert is for Rihanna's 'Loud'. 

Digipak Analysis

This Digipak is for Ciara's 'New Dawn', and is student made, which
will come in useful for when we need inspiration or guidance on how
to design our own Digipak. 

This Digipak is for Rihanna's 'Loud'. 

Equipment List

Resources list: (This list is not exhaustive; we may add or take away)

• Camera
• Tripod
• Steady cam
• Dolly
• Speakers/Music
• Actors
• Mac (Editing Software)
• Location (see location list)
• Copies of storyboards for individual references 

Conventions of Music Videos

Conventions Of Music Videos

•     Short shot length. – There usually aren’t any shots longer than around five seconds within a music video as this keeps it pacey and retains the audience’s interest.
•     A performance/dancing. – In the majority of music videos there is a performance of some kind, be it the performance of a band or dancers.
•     Shot types. – Usually there are a lot of close-ups within a music video in order to convey feeling.
•     Editing. – The editing is usually fast-paced, and although this may depend on the pace of the song, this is used to keep the audience engaged at all times.
•     Transitions. – A variety of transitions and shot styles are used in virtually all music videos in order to capture the audience’s interest and focus.
•     Locations. – Music videos usually contain more than one location as this again plays with the audience’s interests and makes the music video more interesting.

A typical close up, used to convey emotion.

    A typical music video performance. 

Interesting locations are used to captivate the audience.

Conventions of ‘Indie/Alt Rock’ Music Videos

•     A narrative. – The majority of music videos within our chosen genre contain some sort of narrative and therefore this is something we will be conforming with.
•     A performance. – Usually but not always there will be a performance from the artist and this is usually intertwined with the footage of the narrative.
•     A cameo. – The artist appears in the video and sometimes takes part within the narrative if there is one present. 
•     Shot types. – There will usually be a usage of establishing shots whenever a new location is shown, of which there will be a few.








  

    A character in an indie music video, portrayed as casual. 

•     Colour correction. – Usually the colour correction will be altered to ensure that it is in keeping with the tone of the music video.
•     Appearance. – Whoever appears within the music video will be seen, more often than not, in casual clothing.  



                   

    A typical performance in a music video of this genre.



  A band's lead singer, appearing in the narrative of a music video.

Research Into The Music Industry

Research Into The Music Industry

How are music videos made?

Firstly, plans for a music video must be detailed and extensive as this would be imperative to making sure that the music video is not only completed, but is as professional as possible. For a band’s performance within a music video, more often than not the music is played live in order to ensure that the band’s performance looks real and authentic. Although this may be dubbed over after, but the producers would usually go to considerable lengths to make sure a performance looks authentic.

In regard to the editing, a lot of footage is filmed and usually it is a vast majority more than is necessary as this allows a final edit to be as versatile as possible. A lot of care is taken with the editing and production of music videos as in some cases hundreds of thousands or even upwards of a million pounds can be spent on the whole process. The time it takes to complete the process can ultimately depend on the type of music video, but if one thing is for sure it is that the process is time consuming yet rewarding for the artist and producers alike.

Who are the companies involved?

There are two main types of company when it comes to the creation of music videos. Firstly there are music video producers who are mainly responsible for not only the filming but the editing of music videos also. As the production of a music video can be a very time and money consuming process, they are really invaluable to the creation. Also separate people such as a director would be appointed on the more popular music videos which is true for the producers of the most expensive music video ever, Satellite Films.

As well as music video producers, there are music video promoters whose job it is to take the music video in its final form and advertise it to the masses. The internet is more readily used for the promotion of music videos nowadays, as well as social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook. YouTube also plays its part as artists can have their own VEVO channels and therefore a combination of social media can be used to promote, and contribute to the success of, a music video.  

Where can you find music videos?

Music videos can be easily found on the internet, mostly on video-sharing websites such as YouTube although they can sometimes appear on social networking websites on occasion. The rather old fashioned way of viewing music videos can be by watching music channels such as MTV but due to the on demand style of the internet these are becoming less and less popular. In addition, you may be able to find a music video from a certain artist on their website which is another way the internet is utilized in regard to this industry today.

What is the purpose of music videos?

There are really two main purposes of music videos. The first of these would be to instil popularity into a song and due to the nature of social media it is much easier to watch and share these which makes life much easier for the promoters. This may not only increase the popularity of a certain song but of a certain artist and certain concept music videos have led to the surge in popularity of their respective artists, such as Ok Go’s ‘Here It Goes Again’.

The second main purpose of music videos would be on the business side of things as a popular music video can spring the sales of its respective songs and this could lead to the artist and their respective label reaping the respective rewards. This could also be true in regard to the long term benefits as a music video could expose a certain song to someone who has never heard the artist before and could provide a windfall of sales in the grand scheme of things. 

Intertextuality and My Inspiration

Intertextuality And My Inspiration

Intertextuality is a reference to another medium, usually paying homage to someone or something and there are many different examples of this. An intertextual reference is usually used to aid the creation or interpretation of a certain text or medium. There are not only examples of this in regard to music videos as they are present in video games, music and films; a few of which I will mention later.

A good example of such an intertextual reference within a music video is Blur’s ‘The Universal’ and the references to Stanley Kubrick’s film, ‘A Clockwork Orange’. This type of intertextuality is called ‘Pastiche’ which incorporates features of another text or medium and directly imitates them in a given text or medium. This could be certain features, like the mise-en-scene for example, or just a rather blatant copy paying homage to the original text. As you can see below there are similarities between the two, but there is another type of intertextuality I am yet to touch upon.

The other type of intertextuality would be best labeled as a parody, which is similar to ‘Pastiche’ but this type of intertextuality would usually exaggerate the features of another text rather than just simply incorporating them into the work. A good example of this would be Fat Les’ ‘Vindaloo’ being a parody of The Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ as can be seen below. With our music video I feel using intertextuality would be a good technique as it could add another dimension to the music video whilst engaging the audience who may or may not be aware to any references we may include.

After viewing many music videos, Nickelback have seemingly produced my favourite style and therefore I will be looking to their videos for inspiration. If we could emulate the narrative style that their videos have taken to heart in our music video then I feel this could work wonders considering The Fray and Nickelback are of a very similar genre.

Furthermore, I have influences that are separate from solely other music videos. The Spanish language, for example, could be used rather easily within our music video for ‘You Found Me’, and this is something that would ultimately add to the sense of mystery which I will want to keep the audience shrouded in. Due to the tone and genre of the song we have chosen, the intertextual references that we use will have to be chosen with care.

I will also be looking to include my other outside interests, such as any films that I have enjoyed, or similarly with hobbies. This may prove to be difficult, again due to the tone of the music video but due to the usage of Adobe After Effects and Final Cut Pro, it may be possible to include what would be best characterised as an ‘easter egg’ within the music video. Succinctly, I will try my utmost to ensure that the music video is personal whilst never detracting from the professionalism of the video itself.

Three Categories of Music Videos

The Three Categories Of Music Videos

Performance Based

This type of music video features the band or artist performing said song through usually the majority or sometimes even through the entirety of the music video. Therefore, this would be the cheapest and easiest style of music video to produce, providing you could find a suitable location. A good example of this would be The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ ‘Can’t Stop’ as throughout the majority of the music video the lead singer and artist. With the rather simplistic style of music video, it could easily be achieved on a budget whilst being engaging for the audience, but I would prefer if our group were to steer towards a deeper narrative based video.

Narrative Based

A narrative based music video contains footage that attempts to depict a story through the use of a moving image. There doesn’t have to be a correlation between the content of the lyrics and that of the music video, but more often than not the two relate in one way or another.  This music video is sometimes popular with movie soundtracks as footage from the movie intertwined with the song. A good example of such a music video would be Nickelback’s ‘Far Away’, as there is a delicate balance between a narrative and performance, which allows the audience to engage and escape accordingly. In our music video we will be looking to intertwine the two elements of this music video more closely. 

Concept Based

This style of music video that is based around a single idea or a concept, with these videos tending to be rather strange or unusual. In addition to this a concept based music video is rather rare, as not only are they rather hard to think up but this is the hardest type of music to create an appeal with. A good example is OK Go’s ‘Here It Goes Again’ as it draws on solely one idea, using treadmills, but it still creates an engaging atmosphere for the audience, which owes itself to the tempo of the song but due to the rarity and difficulty surrounding this type of music video, this is something we will steer clear of. 

Goodwin's and Mulvey's Analysis

The typical performance of
a band in a music video.

The first element of Goodwin’s Analysis of Music Videos states that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. Through the analysis of three music videos from a similar genre I have found that the genre characteristics include the presence of a band and the increased likelihood of a narrative, which are two things we will bear in mind when planning and creating our music video although I feel the former is something that may be too clichéd.

The next element of the theory suggests that there is a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, whether that would be contradicting or illustrative for example. When listening to the song this is something I have thought deeply about and I believe the group should strive to achieve something between highlighting what the lyrics say and something that will interest the audience as to keep it mysterious yet interesting.

Goodwin also touched on the relationship between the music and the visuals. As the song we have chosen isn’t of one set pace this is something we will have to bear in mind. In reality the song starts off slowly but the pace increases as the song continues. Therefore the visuals and shot types will have to be displayed in accordance with the pace of the song, and the visuals will also have to be of a certain type during differing parts of the song.

One planned relation between the lyrics and the visuals.

The first part of the forth element touches upon close-ups, which is something that I would like to have plenty of in the music video. This is where the talent of the actor would come into play, which is something I don’t want to overlook, as I am certain that the talent of the actor could make or break the video. Motifs are also included within this element, but this is something I will touch upon when talking about intertextuality, as a building up on motifs couldn’t happen.

A typical close up, used to
heighten character and show emotion.

The penultimate part of the theory also coincides with Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ Theory. As the actress within the music video will only be playing a minute part, this theory isn’t as significant as it could be but whenever the actress is portrayed on screen we will try to portray her in an almost sexual way to engage our audience and provide both escapism and perhaps even relation while doing so.

The voyeuristic portrayal of a female
in a music video.

Succinctly, we will attempt to create an equal balance between the dominance of the two characters, whilst trying to respect and adhere to the conventions of the ‘Male Gaze Theory’, although we may tend towards the former more often. The last element of Goodwin’s Theory touches upon inspiration and intertextuality and I will address this in other blog post. 

Audience Feedback Focus Group

To sum up: the ratings for the preference of a narrative within a music video were rather positive. This means that we shouldn't have to go out of our way to ensure that the target audience enjoys our music video. Our actual idea was met with some opposition but this was due to some believing that the idea may be too cheesy but this is something we will try our utmost to avoid. Finally, escapism seemed to be the main reason for the participants for watching music videos and we will be using our characters in order to not only provide this, but to provide relation also. We will ultimately use what we have learnt about our audience's habits to create the best music video possible and cater to their needs and wants as close as possible too. 

Target Audience Description

Our target audience would range in age from around 16-25, and in reality it is not gender-specific. This is because there is two sections of an audience, one would be male and one female and this may vary in age but as there is a character from each of these sexes we will try to force them to side with a character. The majority of our target audience would be students or in entry-level positions within jobs and this is something we would like to keep in mind when creating our characters.

Our characters, likely to be the age of university students would likely be lower-middle class and the same goes in regard to a specific ethnicity. The likelihood is that our characters will be white but when possible we will try and be diverse but the reality of the situation is that the majority of our target audience will be white and there is a relation that we would like to make whilst trying to be as diverse as possible.

In regard to ambition, as we will be filming in the centre of London our audience will have aspirations of becoming professionals in a certain field and our location we tap into that. Furthermore we will respect the Utopian Solutions Theory by trying to provide at least excitement from the entertainment that our music video will hopefully bring and clarity from the sense of confusion we hope to create.

In addition to this, we will try and respect Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the same way. Our music video would cover the upper four tiers of the hierarchy with security being an issue with the characters as it is likely they will be shrouded with uncertainty during the music video itself. Friendship and sexual intimacy will also be targeted as this will go hand in hand with the depicted relationship, which can force relation from the audience.

The self-esteem of the characters would be on their minds and since this something that many people in modern society may also be thinking of, there is a further dimension relation that can be accessed here. Morality and acceptance of facts may also come into the equation as relationships, especially the one we plan to depict, can become very difficult and this will be used to provoke relation from, and engage, the audience accordingly.

Finally, I would like our music video to fulfill the five parts of The Uses and Gratifications Theory. If we could somehow inform and educate our audience by perhaps allowing them to discover things about themselves in regard to the relation to the characters and to indentify with them this could go a long way to keeping our audience engaged which will be one of our main aims.

Entertainment and escapism, as found within the questionnaires we conducted, are of utmost importance to the audience and therefore during the planning phase we will have to ensure that we provide both of these elements. Social interaction to a lesser extent, as it may be difficult to provide this but a combination of the mise-en-scene, camera work and a solid narrative will be used to satisfy our target audience in every way possible.