Final Music Video

This is the final cut of our music video for TFI's Cyanide.

Final Digipak

This is our final Digipak

Final Magazine Advertisement

Here is our final Magazine advertisement.

Above is the original size we created it, however we realised that it wasn't industry standard because it didn't fit a whole or half an A4 sheet. Therefore we edited it into the larger version seen below which fits half an A4 sheet.

Evaluation Question 4

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research and Planning

Throughout our construction and research I required mostly the use of the Internet to find the information needed as it provided large amounts of search results in a short amount of time so I could find what I needed quickly, which proved to be very useful particularly in order to keep on track. More specifically I used Google to look for information from various websites and YouTube for videos I used for analysing as search engines for the exploration to aid with my research. As well as this YouTube provided us with the ability to stream our planning and testing videos, such as the lip syncing practice and storyboards, which were created using iMovie and Windows Movie Maker as video editing software.

Construction

For our music video we used iMovie, which is the default video editing software on mac computers, to edit our rough cuts and final movie together. This was an effective program to use because it allowed us to explore a range of editing techniques and gave us quick and easy access to the editing tools we needed to create what we had planned for a final product quickly and efficiently with a good quality final product.  We then used YouTube to upload the video online for streaming, which made the music video easy to access.
For the Magazine advertisement and Digipak we made use Adobe Photoshop in order to edit the images we had taken previously so they would fit the specifications we needed to look like the intended product. Photoshop was useful because it also provided us with a range of tools, which similar programs don't have available at the same standard, so our final product would look more professional and effective.

Evaluation

My evaluation consisted of Windows Movie Maker for Question 1, which was an easy video editing program for me to access at home and simple to use so I could create my evaluation with ease and speed. I also made use of Audacity in order to edit the sound of the video so it would play after scenes from the video were displayed. I then Uploaded this onto YouTube so I could post it on my blog easily.

For Question 2 I used Prezi.com to create a presentation which used animations to present my evaluation visually. It was software which was easy to use and made my evaluation easy to put across.
Question 3 involved the use of Audacity in order to edit my narration so it was clear and fitted with the video. The video itself I edited on Windows Movie Maker so I could combine the sound and video without difficulty.
Finally of course I used Blogger for this question and all the posts of information from my research, planning, construction and evaluation stages which meant I could put my progression across easily and clearly.

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

Evaluation Question 1

Plans for magazine advertisement

These are the magazine advertisements created based on the album, music video and my research.

The first features the same punk-like font for the album name as that of the album. The band's name is shown in their own logo's font and in the background the skull on the album CD holder is graffitied on the wall of the tunnel featured in the music video. On the floor of the tunnel are some apples which highlight the use of cyanide. The album itself is then shown in the centre of the advertisement.

The second uses the same album name and band logo font in different positions. The background shows the wall on the side of the tunnel with the skull/apple of the other album design's front cover over it. All the text and images are graffitied or drawn onto the wall to reflect the punk convention of anarchy.

Magazine advertisement analysis of our chosen genre

As our band didn't already have one, I created an analysis of a poster from an artist of the same genre in order to know specifically what was included in posters of this genre. this would help me create my own one so it looks appropriate for our artist and genre. I chose to analyse the advertisement for the album Neighbourhoods by the punk band Blink 182.

Text and font
The text uses quite an abstract, unconventional font including backward or misshaped letters which relates to the generic convention of punk being to go against the rules. A larger font has been used on the most informative text, in this case it being the album name, artist and release date. In a smaller font is additional information such as the song featured and website address.

Colour
The overall greyscale colours used suggest the album's music will have quite a dark and depressing theme to it, which it does. The text uses a white colour which contrasts with the black background so the text is clearer and more eye catching for the viewer.

Images
The main image displayed shows a sketched out areal view of a city with a large section of buildings in the centre of the image shaped like the band name. The cityscape has been used to relate to the album name, Neighbourhoods. Other images shown in the advertisement include the band logo and record companies, all in white to follow the advertisements style and contrast with the black background.

Plans for digipak

These are the digipak designs I created based overall on my research into other digipaks, our song's genre and our music video.

My First design features the bands instrument (the guitar), a scientific flask to reflect the chemical theme of cyanide, an apple (where cyanide comes from) and a pint glass of beer like the one featured in the music video. The front cover includes the album name in a classic punk-like font and a group of hands which are shaped to form the letters TFI in between them.

My second design incorporates a more rebellious style to emphasise the idea of anarchy. I used a graffiti cartoon of an apple which a skull looking face reflecting how cyanide comes from apples and is featured in the video. Other references to the video are the beer pint glass with a skull over it and the smashed pint glass after being drunk in the video. The spray paint can has been used to symbolise anarchy by its use for creating graffiti. The band members are also seen on one of the panels in a line as silhouettes facing a crowd of generic looking people who look towards the viewer. This is meant to symbolise the idea of being an individual and not following the system, as punk is associated with.

Analysis of digipak of our chosen genre

Because our band didn't have a digipak I decided to analyse one from a band of the same genre. I chose to analyse the one for Green Day's Greatest Hits 2 digipak. This will help me when it comes to designing our digipak to make it look more appropriate for the genre.
The front cover contains the three band members stencilled onto a wall which connotes a gritty urban setting, which is strongly associated with that genre. Their faces are coloured in white to highlight them more to emphasise their importance. The band's name is clearly displayed in a large bright font which contrasts with the dark background. on the bottom of the front the album's name is displayed over a banner held by an eagle. This signifies their American origin and connotes patriotism which contrasts the way punk is generally very anti-patriotic.

The back cover uses a background of a stencil of the back of a man carrying rucksacks. There is little significance for the use of this background however it follows the urban graffiti style theme the album uses overall. The font of the track list uses a stencil looking font as well. Also it has been placed at an angle to mirror the generic gritty style of punk.
The rest of the album contains mostly photos of the band, emphasising their importance and that it is their album.

The digipak is made up of 3 panels and 6 sides and folds into thirds. Two of the inner sides are used to hold two CD's and the third is used to display what would be on the booklet.

Pitch idea based on lyrics

Once we had decided on TFI (The fake imposters) as our artist, we read through the lyrics for their song Cyanide, which is the song we chose to create a music video for, and discussed ideas for the video's narrative based on them. We each analysed the lyrics individually so we could think up more unique ideas then exchanged ideas together. Here is the analysis I made myself:

I came up with the idea of a couple who end up in an argument because the male has cheated on the girl with her friend and he leaves. The girl working at an inn has to serve the man who is now dating her friend and decides to put cyanide in his drink to kill him. The links between the lyrics and narrative portray mostly literal representations of them, including the inn, the cyanide pill in the drink, walking out the door and the couple having dinner.

Lyric analysis and importance

The lyrics in the song being used for the music video have a very large effect on what happens visually throughout the music video. The lyrics will help get across a message to the audience and engage them with the video. They can also aid the narrative and set the scene of the video by explaining what is happening or why. The video can follow the lyrics meaning literally or use them to create a hidden meaning within the video and in some cases the video can have nothing to do with the lyrics at all, but this is uncommon.

In order to understand how this would work I analysed the lyrics for Leave Right Now by Will Young which I hadn't seen the music video for before and planned my own music video based around the lyrics then compared it to the actual thing. This would help me by allowing me to test how the lyrics can be adapted to create an effective music video so I can apply these skills to my own chosen song and music video.

I ended up creating a very symbolic literal representation of the lyrics which involved the artist falling into a pool and sinking. Then the heart shaped pool cracks in half and they fall downwards before landing in a giant hand and is wet and trembling, a girl then walks over to him and he stands for her.
This turned out to be a much more exaggerated portrayal of the song's lyrics to how it did in the official music video which features a POV view throughout the video facing the artist who sings towards the camera.

Foreverly magazine advertisement analysis

I analysed two magazine advertisements for albums based on their aesthetic look. From this I mainly found text varies in font size and colour depending on its informative importance. I will use this knowledge so my own advertisement  shows the key information clearly to its viewer.
Text and font
The advertisement has used the big and bold font from the original album cover to highlight clearly the names of the album's artists and the album title 'Foreverly' in a white and yellow coloured font which contrasts well with its background so it stands out from the rest of the advertisement. Other text included is what the album is about, its release date and the artist's website. The most useful information is highlighted in yellow font instead of white to draw the audience's attention to it specifically and so it follows the style of the album cover.

Colour
The advertisement has an orange and black filter which uses the strong contrast between the two colours to make the image of Billie Joe and Norah much bolder and sharper so its more eye-catching. The colours are also much brighter where the album title, the artists and their names are, compared to the rest of the picture which attracts most of the attention to that section of the advertisement.

Images
The image shows both the artists recording at a studio together which highlights who the artists are to the viewer. Also the original image used for the album cover has been used, without the cropping,  as the advertisement's background. then the section which has been used as the album cover has been highlighted with the white border used in the cover and the outside section darkened to draw more attention to the cover itself.

Euphoria magazine advertisement analysis

This is my second magazine advertisement analysis from which I found the colours particularly are very important for highlighting information as well as allowing the viewer to point out the themes and genres of the album. This will come in useful for choosing the colours and positioning of images to my advertisements advantage, particularly when designing.
Text and font
The font size varies across the advertisement to help draw the viewers attention to the most important parts such as the artist's name and the album name which both use the largest font followed by the release date in a smaller font and finally the songs included, downloadable content and websites to visit for further information about the album and artist. The artist and album names have been highlighted using a white colour which contrasts with the dark background better than the yellow used in other text in the advertisement in order to draw the viewers eye towards them more as well. In the smaller text there is a variation between the yellow and white text to point out the most important information of that text for example the song names in the text which says what songs the album includes.
Colour
The dark brown background not only contrasts with the brighter colours in the foreground but also has connotations of casualness, warmth and comfort which combined with the slight red and pink colours in the deep background (which have connotations of love, passion and warmth as well) inform the viewer that the album's music is of a romantic theme. Also the album's name, Euphoria, adds to this.
Images
A whole half of the page is covered by the artist alone which emphasises his importance and showing he is the main artist of the album as well as attracting the attention of fans towards the advertisement. There is also an image of the album to inform the viewer of what it looks like and record company logos in the corner so they know who produced it. These would be useful because if it is a large company, like in this case Universal Music Group, it would be more likely to include good quality mainstream music which commonly people find more appealing.

Analysis of Pure Dylan Digipak

This is my second digipak analysis.
Imagery and colours
The overall colours of the cover have a gritty, sepia look to them which connotes an old western style. This reflects both the generic western style of the country genre as well as the greyscale style Dylan uses often for his images. It also links with the use of imagery from different stages of his life by reflecting the idea of old-time photos. in each image he looks older which is highlighted by each being larger the older he becomes. These images suggest the album contains a compilation of songs from throughout his years.The two iconic instruments associated with the artist, the guitar and harmonica, are presented on sections of the album to help highlight how this is his "pure" and original style. The wavy and splash looking patterns behind the artist pictures mirror his music's creative and artistic concept.   
Text
The text uses a western style font associating with the country genre that is his music. It has been sized based on importance with the album name being largest to focus the audience's attention on mostly the name to know who's the album is and then smaller information such as track listings and company information. They are coloured in black to contrast with the background and follow the black colours used in the rest of the cover. Also some of the text is a slight brown colour so the darker text is more emphasised, again to draw the viewers eye to the important information. On the album title, this is done to show Dylan's name is more important as he is the album artist. The rest of the pack uses no text so the audience can focus on the imagery on each section.
Function
Unlike the previous digipak this one contains 6 panels (3 on the inside and 3 on the outside). It opens up in the same way however using two doors which sit on top of each other when closed. This provides more thickness and therefore better protection for the digipak as well as  looking stylish for the user.  

Analysis of The Heist digipak

 To help me understand how a digipak can be created to aid with the design of my own one I analysed through on myself based on its aesthetics and functionality.
Imagery and colours
The entire cover of the package uses an image resembling a faux reptile skin, relating to one of the album's hit singles "Thrift Shop" which is about buying cheap or fake made objects and clothing from a thrift shop. The dark background helps highlight the lighter images in the foreground.
Text
The font used has a gritty and nostalgic look to it which suggests the album will include songs with a link to the artist personally. It also varies in font based on the main facts from additional information, for example the album's name is in the largest font and stretches over a lot of the front cover to help draw the user's attention to the digipak, whereas the artists' names are in a smaller font just above because they aren't as important as the album title. its golden colour not only contrasts with the dark background to highlight it further but also as a colour, gold connotes richness and power, making the artist and album appear to be more important. No logos are visible over the digipak however the artist name(s), album name, record label, included songs and company credits are displayed on either the front, back or inside covers.
Function
The digipak itself opens simply in a book-like way, with nothing connecting the two sides when closed and made up of one long strip of card which holds the two halves of the case together. The album leaflet slides out the side as it would with a regular plastic CD case.

Notes on digipack and magazine advertisement

Researching into digipaks and posters will inform me of the basics I need to know when creating the ones for our own artist so I can produce a good quality product.
Digipak
Typically a digipak consists of a book-like style made of a paper or card outer binding and contains one or more CD trays within it. They are important because they encase the CD and protect it from damage and inform the user of who the artist and album are for the CD. Digipaks in particular have become a recent popularity among music artists due to their resistance to cracking as unlike the classic jewel case style CD case they are not made of a brittle material, except for the inner CD tray.
Magazine advertisement (Album)
Album magazine advertisements are used as a promotional tool to entice people to buy the album of a specific artist. They usually contain text informing the viewer of information such as the album and artist names, the release date, songs included, record companies and websites to visit and the advertisement will include an image of at least the album cover. Their style will also vary depending on the artist's style and genre, for example a metal artist would use much darker lighting and less colours compared to an electronic artist. Artists need these in order to help sell their albums in larger quantities as creating advertisements makes it more likely people will take interest in the album and purchase it.

Notes on the cultural effects model

I made some research on this theory is it would be beneficial for understanding how music videos use it to their advantage and how I can use it to help make my own video more effective.

The cultural effects model is a theory which states audiences views are affected largely by the media, however unlike the Hypodermic Needle theory, they are influenced gradually over a long period of time through a 'drip drip' effect. This relates closely to Neo-Marxist views which suggest people have been exposed over a long period of time to media content brought forward by capitalist ideology.
Music videos are linked with this because of the various stereotypes featured within their generic conventions which would have been influenced by other media text and would contribute to the influence of the audiences perception of those stereotypes. An example would be a generic convention of rap being gang culture and more commonly featuring black people, emphasising the stereotypical idea that black people are more involved in gang culture.

This theory can be used in our music video through following the conventions seen in our genre as it will feature particular stereotypes, such as teenagers being stereotypically rebellious and associated with anarchy. This would then contribute to the 'drip drip' effect as well as being influenced by it.

Lip syncing

This involves merging together voices with a video (when they have been recorded separately) so the sound matches the actor's mouth movements in the video. This is used particularly in music videos so the original studio recorded song can be played over the film. It is very important that this is done as perfectly as possible, especially for music videos, for the mouth movements must match what is being said so the person looks like they are actually saying it. if the sound and video are just a second out of sync the whole effect is lost. This is something we will have to consider carefully during our film's editing process.

This video of Lindsay Lohan performing live on TV is good example of bad lip syncing. From 0:40 to 0:50 she can be seen appearing to forget the lyrics which caused some controversy as most of the fans believed she was singing live.

A good example of lip syncing can be seen clearly in Miley Cyrus' music video for 'Wrecking Ball' in which doing it correctly was very important for the close up shot means any mistakes would be easily noticed.