Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In this particular the media industry, the forms and conventions are set and changed by the musical genre into which they fall. The musical genre into which my musical video falls is pop music however this genre in itself falls under the far broader category of 'mainstream music'. Similarities and contrasts can be found in the form and conventions of all musical genres which fall within the category of 'mainstream music' however in my particular music video these contrasts are often bridged by the distinction between the musical genre of pop music and the artist Hayley whose previous work in a band had a different set of form and conventions as far as a media context is concerned.
My music video is mainly concept based with an element of narrative; this immediately challenges the form and conventions of pop music because usually pop videos are performance based. However this is where the artist Hayley is somewhat unique in that, having researched her earlier work with Paramore [Hayley's previous band], she had already challenged the form and conventions of one musical genre (indie music) where instead of the 'norm' of performance videos for indie music, Paramore's music videos are often concept/narrative based. With this in mind I thought it appropriate and fitting to use the same artist Hayley to challenge the form and conventions of a second musical genre [pop music] (which also is usually performance based) and make a largely concept/narrative music video.
There are, however, still elements of using the form and conventions of pop music with Hayley still being shown to perform in the video for largely promotional purposes. The motives behind this (promotional purposes) also helped me to adhere to the forms of conventions of pop music again when I used the picture of Hayley as a solo artist as my album cover. This is not common for Hayley as she never appeared on Paramore's album covers however in order to successfully re-brand herself as a solo female artist it is vital to adhere to some of the forms and conventions of the musical genre.
Hayley William's further challenges the forms and conventions of a female pop artist by refraining from wearing revealing clothing which is so common in the musical genre particularly with females.
I have attempted to retain some of what I believe the values of Hayley William's to be in the creation of my website. Although many female pop artists' websites are full of revealing pictures of themselves, I've again challenged this form and convention by retaining a similar style website to that of her Paramore band. Photo's of Hayley have been kept to a minimum and I've taken the signature butterfly symbol made famous by Paramore and given it a feminine twist to put on Hayley's websites in order to partially adhere to the forms and conventions of a female pop artist and symbolise the change from her previous work.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I sent an email out to people on facebook in the hope that they would watch my video and then give me some constructive feedback about my main task (my music video.) I sent it to loads of people so there would be more chance of a few replies. It was no the best way to do it but not that many people have youtube accounts to comment on my actual video so they just replied on a facebook message. Before I got this feedback I also made some forms and gave it to a focus group to fill in and give back to me. This helped me to get a wider group of people to give me feedback.

My use of feedback goes back to my digipack focus group. I held 2 meetings, the first one was asking questions about what I should include on an album cover and then the second picking the picture they thought was best by answering question's such as 'which is the best for lighting' . I picked out the 3 best photos and then they filled out a form to say which one they all liked best and then it was bought into a discussion where the agreement that the second photo was the most fitting for what I needed.

The next use of feedback I used was the forms I sent out for my focus group to fill in about different questions relating my music video. This was before I had uploaded the video, so there was time to make a few alterations if necessary. It was very positive to hear the feedback they gave me made me more confident in my ability, I didn’t actually have to change anything but I'm glad I made sure before adding it to youtube etc.

The last feedback I got was more of an overview of what I could maybe improve next time and also to praise the video. As it was already on youtube so changes could not be made. There are some comments that make me think if I did it again I would change that. For example the camera was described as 'shaky' a couple of times, so next time I would try to keep the tripod on level ground so when panning or zooming in on the frame it doesn’t shake. However it was extremely hard do this when working with a child as I literally had to leave the camera on at all time in order to get the shoots I wanted.

My audience feedback allowed me to pick a successful digipack cover and alter any changes I needed to, on my music video, before posting on youtube. This has improved my overall piece as if it was just my decisions then its hard to be objective. Also I need to gauge my target audience's opinion in order to no if the product will be successful. When they replied with positive feedback I was very pleased and feel confident about my product. However I did find that although negative feedback was constructive and helpful if I had conflicting feedback it made it difficult to learn from.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

How effective is the combination of your main

View more presentations from hollytaylor4444.

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

I used a variety of media technologies;

Video editing
Photoshop
Youtube

Digipack

Fugi film fine pic s1730 camera - HD photos,Manual photographic controls

Then uploaded in on to Photoshop and adjusted the photo, enhancing the photo and adding the text

Music video

Samsung digital movie camera with basic controls
I mac laptop- editing- used load of different transitions as this is right for the codes and conventions for my genre, editing such as cartoon effect, brightness, dream effect, Slow motion, enhance lighting

Then published onto youtube for feedback

Youtube is a place to upload and share music.

Website

Fully on the internet
moonfruit.com

Used basic templates to make my website

Source of information- internet

Music video

Youtube to look at videos to get ideas

internet to see what lyrics meant.

Came up with the idea of fairy tales through the internet.

Mainstream artist (web)

Twitter and facebook for feedback and help witht the website.

Website-Final product

This is a link to my website on moonfruit.com

http://hayleywilliams.moonfruit.com/#


Below are screen shots of the 3 pages i made.

Website- Research

Before starting my website i wanted to do some research on other websites to give me some ideas and to find the codes and conventions for my genre's websites.
That being female, solo artists, pop genre

This is B.O.B's website.
Although he isnt the right specification i am going to look at, he is one of the artists who sing 'airplanes' so i thought i'd find a little information on him and how he's included the song to link to his website.






















I found that like other solo artists B.O.B is featured on the home page with a really simple design but a colourful picture that stands out.

B.O.B is hip hop/rap genre and it seems that they are similar to pop artist's websites.

B.O.B has branded him selve using strong contrasting colours in everthing. This from His clothes he wears in everyday life, his album covers, music videos and of course his website. This is a great way of people being able to recognise you as they will remember radical things like this.

The next one i looked at was arctic monkeys




















I found with this one as it is the 'indie/rock' genre is follows the forms and conventions of modern indie bands websites. That is in which they mostly use black and have a unique font that they use through out their media.

On the second page you are able to click on different links in order to see different photos of them, events and fans. This is useful as it keeps the fans and the band connected as they are able to see what they did in the past day/month/year.


The next one i looked at was Robbie Williams



Although Robbie would be described as 'pop' music i believe that he is completely different to most resent solo artists. His fan base are mainly from the older generation as thats when he was at his peak.

The website is tidy and simple, i don't think its used for advatising as he is such a well known artist that everyone knows who he is already. So instead they have made is more informational for fans.

I am now going to research my specification

Rhianna, solo pop artist





Codes and coventions for solo pop artists;

The codes and conventions for female pop artists websites is that they are all used for promotional work, usually they have loads of photos of them selves and have a colour theme such as pink. They all include usual things such as contact info, songs, photos, videos, concert dates and many more things.

I have decided to partly go along with the codes and conventions for this but still use black to keep Hayleys previous identity.

Music video- Continuity

In fiction, continuity ais consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time. It is of relevance to several media.
Continuity is particularly a concern in the production of film and television due to the difficulty of rectifying an error in continuity after shooting has wrapped up. It also applies to other art forms, including novels, comics, anime, videogames and animation, though usually on a smaller scale.
Most productions have a script supervisor on hand whose job is to pay attention to and attempt to maintain continuity across the chaotic and typically non-linear production shoot. This takes the form of a large amount of paperwork, photographs, and attention to and memory of large quantities of detail, some of which is sometimes assembled into the story bible for the production. It usually regards factors both within the scene and often even technical details including meticulous records of camera positioning and equipment settings. The use of a Polaroid camera was standard but has since been replaced by the advent of digital cameras. All of this is done so that ideally all related shots can match, despite perhaps parts being shot thousands of miles and several months apart. It is a less conspicuous job, though, because if done perfectly, no one will ever notice.

When filming my music video i took photos of each scene if we had to go back to it to make sure everything was right and nothing drastic had changed.

However when watching my music video i do realize different things that change, there only small but i didn't spot them at the time of editing. For example in one of my snow white clips that are joined together, the girl reaches out to grab the apple using one hand, the camera then does o close up and she is using the other hand.

Music video- Applying Goodwins Theory To My Music Video

1) Music video will generate genre characteristics.

There are some elements of the forms and conventions of pop genre in the way in which the artist is featured in the video using close ups and lip singing, However seeing as it is mainly a concept video i doesn't really share the characteristics of usual pop artists where it is mainly performance and narrative. One more thing that does generate genre characteristics s the amount of transactions used as this is very common in pop videos.

2) There will be a relationship between the lyrics and visuals 

There is a link with the lyrics and visuals, not in an obvious way but in a metaphorical way, as the lyrics are about getting a genie to give him a wish and the visuals represent wanting a wish at the start (when reading the fairy tales) 

3) There will be a relationship between the music and the visuals 

Most of the time the shots are cut to the beat of the music so when there's a rap part (verses) the focus is on the girl looking around the wood, but when Hayley comes in she is featured singing to the lyrics. Different transitions are put in in order for it to be at the same time as a change in the song/ different beat.

4) Demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

This does happen in my music video, as when Hayley sings her part the focus is on her singing. Also loads of close ups are used with different effects to make it look unique and 'edgy' which is what Hayley is renowned for.

5) There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly  the voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

There is only a small element of this, as it is meant to be a really innocent music video aimed at young people. However Hayley although she isn't dresses in a provocative way she does still expose her legs etc, which in a way is this.

6) Often intertextual references.

There is loads of intertextual references in my video as all of the fairy tales are all references from different films/books 

Apple & magic mirror- Snow White 

Glass slipper & invitation- Cinderella 

Red coat & basket- Little Red Riding Hood 

Music video- Audience Feedback

When i had published my music video on youtube i then emailed some people asking them to comment of the video to give me some feedback of the over all video.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently doing A level media and have just finsihed my music video.
I would be really grateful if you could reply with some constructive comments.

person 1- imaginitve, the visuals link well to the lyrics.

person 2- The transitions helped to make the video a success, using the fairy tale book helps to understand the narrative of the video. The close ups of the young girl and hayley worked really well as im guessing shes a younger version? so you could see the transition between the younger and older.

person 3- the concept of fairy tales is a grate idea for a music video, as i don't think ive ever seen it before!

person 4- Loved it! it worked really well and the narrative was really easy to understand.

Music video- Final Product

This is my music video, after being uploaded on youtube.

Music video- initial Feedback

I created a form that i will give to my focus group and take away with them and return it back to me.

I wanted to find out;

What the thought of the music video as a whole
If they understood the narrative
If the camera angles where a good standard
If the editing was a good standard
If the exposure/ lighting was a good standard

Forms;

I had very positive feedback from the forms on my music video as a whole, most people commented on having loads of transitions which makes it intresting. They also said that it was a really unique music video which makes you actually want to watch it, not just dance to it.

For the understanding of the narrative, everyone quessed it was to do with fairy tales and having a dream as they thought it was obviously pointed out but without patronising the audience. They said that the fairy book was needed as it wouldn't have been so clear if not. The bedroom scene was mostly said to be a poor house and diprived child due to the darkness and the costume of the actress. I am very pleased that they understood my idea as when editing i made sure that different clues where given throughout to give the idea with being to patronising.

Most people thought the angles where correct and that they wouldnt have changed them as apropraite close ups illistrated the felling from the little girl but also kept to the codes and conventions in the performance part as close ups of the artist is one point in goodwins theory. A couple of people thought that the camera movement was a little 'shakey' sometimes but one of them said that it adds to the whole effect of the video.

The forms suggested that people had recognisied the length of time it had taken me to achieve this video and said it was worth the work.

The light and exposure was the only one where i recieved negative feedback, as some people thought the part at th start was to dark and that it didn't look that good quality. After considering this i to did agree and this was a valid comment. However i would say if i had had more advantced equipment I would have been able to achieve the darkness but also a clearer picture a lot easie.

Music video- Editing

The editing was the most important part of the video of for my and wanted to spend loads of time on getting everything perfect and have loads of transitions to make it look professional.

For my AS thriller i found editing a long winded process however it needed to be done in order to get a good product. I have experience from last year when using the mac books to edit so i found it was a lot quicker not having to learn everything over again. Also there were effects i wanted to try last year but as i was in a group i didn't have the freedom to choose, however now i can.

The problem i had was that i had far too much film and not enough time, however i found that this was actually a benefit to me as i only used the best shots, this was possible as i had different transitions to get from each clip. The performance clips also acted as tools to separate different clips so that it made sense.

I used a lot of effects in my music video from the cartoon effect to the dream effect.

I did section by section as i found this easier and didn't include the performance parts until the very end when the music was put on.

For the part where she enters the dream i found an effect that looked like she was being sucked into this new world and i think it made it quite effective.

On the being bedroom scenes i used the sci-fi effect to make it look dark and unsafe, this worked well as without this effect it was still quite light in the frame.

Music video- Planning

Bedroom scene;

At the start of the video i want a scene to show the young girls deprived life, this will be shown through darkness created by low key lighting, lack of bed created by sleeping on the floor and nice warm blanket. With her only escape route as a fairy tale book. The book will be the main feature as it will be the only object in the frame that will be in colour. She will then enter a dream world, this will be shown through a transition and will happen at a change in the song (to make it more obvious)

Starts off with a medium shot of young girl reading the book. cuts to different angles and then a window scene. She then is seen going to sleep and this is where the transition for the dream will happen.

I did research in sets that have successfully portrayed depravity with out being too obvious.

I found that they all had low key lighting and when there was a sleeping scene, they slept on the floor. Another thing they did was putting dirt on the persons face. I didn't want it to be that extreme so i though i'd refute that idea. Another idea i had was for her costume to be quite tatty for example turn a t-shirt inside out.

Preparation for the shot;

The first thing i did was to pick the room, i found a fairly old type room with a low window and thought it would be perfect. i then added a small pillow and thin blanket on the floor with the camera pointing directly at it. i had some lighting as in order for the camera to pick it up it need to just be enough. I filmed in the day so i'd have the extra light coming from the window however my initial plan was to film at night and see stars outside. I removed any objects that didn't need to be there and placed my story board behind the bed for a clue.

Call sheet;

Snow White scene 

All of the dream scenes i want them to be really bright and colourful this will mainly be done when coming to editing however i do still need to make sure that light is appropriate, picked up on the camera as already quite bright and i use colourful objects. I will film this in the middle of the day, that way it will be at its lightest. After the girl enters the dream i will then introduce a fairy book which will help narrate the story so the audience will understand, then using a blood read apple the girl will pick it up in fascination.


The mise-en-scene will be very natural and resemble woods, i have placed the apple in a place that is low down enough for the girl to reach it, but also so it stands out of the frame.

Next, the focus is on the mirror which represents the magic mirror in snow white, in order to look good i had to put it fairly high up so i used a chair for her to stand on.

Call sheet;

Cinderella scene 

At the start of this scene just like the previous on their is a turn of the fairy book's page to illustrate the change between each fairy tale. This scene includes a glass slipper and an invitation to the princes ball. I felt that these were both significant objects from this fairy tale and also easy to get them. 

This was set on a path as she is walking down a path when she spots these item's. I wanted it to be very bright and colorful so the glass slipper would sparkle. I use close ups to see her expressions and also the items she's holding.

Little red riding hood 

This is the final set. I used a red coat and basket as the two significant objects, she them tries it on and has a walk around in them. I had to do this scene last as there had to be a change in costume. In this scene i really wanted the red of the coat to pop out of the frame, i used a garden to film with a little brick house in their. 

Once again i used bright lighting and colourful objects to create the contrast between the first scene and the dream.

Final bedroom scene

This was to create the waking up from the dream part, i thought in order for it to be a fairy tale their has to be a happy ending. So i found a bed that i thought was big and 'princess' like and got the girl wake up in that. This time the light was bright, another alteration was her costume as she woke up in her fairy dress which she has worn in the dream.
For the final part of my music video i want to end on zooming into the shoe which is on the side in the new bedroom she woke up in. The location was actually in the same room as the first scene however changing the lighting and the bed created a whole new look.

Performance scenes 

At first i thought id dress her looking an average female artists wearing black loads of make up etc. However when gaining more knowledge from my research of hayley she is always a lot more natural and i decided to keep this as her trade mark.

So i did her hair up, and her make fairly simple but to fit in with her costume.

The performance scenes where made up of different close ups and medium shots. This is usual for the artist to have close ups. The lighting was bright and i specifically picked her costume so it was bright and will stand out in different effects.

Most of the shot where done in one garden, but some of the performance scenes where shot on Cannock chase (forest)

Of course i didn't shoot it all in order as this would be silly when moving around venues.

Music Video- Initial planning and ideas

For my planning i decided to brainstorm different ideas for my music video rather then choose my music first as i wanted to mainly do a concept video.

I had two main ideas that were both very different but if done well would be unique and successful.

My first idea was to do 'its a hard knock life' when i was given the brief of my task i wanted to bring some dance into my music video as i wanted to choreograph, i had this image of a group of children performing a dance whilst complaining about their hard life's, however instead of your typical old school orphanage i would make it more modern and give it a fresh new look. This would be an classic but unique idea however this means it could go either way. Either it would be really successful and maintain the classic elements to the song or it could ruin the original.

My other idea is a fairy tale idea this was to bring elements from different classic fairy stories to great a concept video with a meaning. I would use objects such as the apple from snow white, the glass slipper from cinderella and the lamp from aladdin to create the representation of fairy tales. This would be a safer option as i am not aware of this being done before so i don't have to restrict myself to something in order to not 'copy' ideas.

I decided to go for the fairy tale idea this will involve a young girl having a dream and entering a fairy tale world in order to escape from her poor lifestyle.

Research into fairy tales;

Fairy tale is a type of short narrative that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories thus designated explicitly refer to fairies. The stories may nonetheless be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables.

Pink rose- Beauty and the Beat, Glass Slipper- Cinderella, Red Apple- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Tea Part- Alice in Wonderland, Pixie Dust- Peter Pan, Gingerbread House- Hansel and Gretel, Cheshire Cat- Alice in Wonderland, Red CLoak- Littel Red Riding Hood, Grumpy- Snow White adn the Seven Dwarves, Alligator- Peter Pan.

Picking the song;

Although i wanted to do a concept video i also want there to be some sort of connection between the music and the video in order for the true meaning to be obvious.

I picked this video as i thought it had a slight connection to my idea in the way that its all about wanting to become a billionaire and in a way metaphorically this links as its all about being in a better place then their current situation weather it be due to money or happiness.


This video was purely chosen as i loved the song and wanted to try and use it, however i cant find any link between the fairy tale theme and the song so it maybe slightly confusing to the viewers.




After i came across this song airplanes i thought it fitted perfectly as its all about 'a wish right now' and even refers to a genie which makes the link to fairy tales. I also think it would be good to challenge the codes and conventions of rap/pop music videos as they are mainly all performance videos with elements of narrative.

Pitch;

My music video as a whole is a metaphor for the artists journey through life using fairy tales to represent the dream world that became a reality for her. The audience which this song is aimed at can relate to this as many young teenagers have similar aspirations to become rich and famous.

I decided to do a concept video with the storybook providing an element of narrative and signposting for the audience. Also as the lyrics suggest 'I could use a genie or a wish', this provided direction for my music video and the use of the word genie provides a direct link to a fairy tale Aladdin.

I didn’t want to make a solely concept video as I wanted an aspect of performance in order to provide the artist with a basis to rebrand herself as a solo artist, which is a huge contrast between her previous work in an indie band. This supports her transition between aiming at a specialised audience to becoming a more mainstream artist.

The video starts of in a poor house; this is represented by darkness and a sense of vulnerability which is evoked by the young girl. The girl represents a young Hayley, the artist. The fairy tale book provides a happy escape from reality. She then has a dream and enters the fairy tale world.

I will then use significant objects to symbolise each fairy tale for example; the apple from snow white, the glass slipper from Cinderella and the lamp from Aladdin.

I then added bits of performance, this is to visually reflect the transition to present Hayley, a now established solo artist.

Music video- Budget

CAMERAS

RED Basic Package:
RED Camera / 6 x RED Brick batteries and charger / HD Tripod / 18-50mm Red Lens / Red Rock swing away Matte Box / 2 x 320gb hard drives / 4 x 16gb CF cards / Follow Focus Rig / Onboard Pro Red LCD / Red Viewfinder / Breakout box for BNC connectors / XLR Audio Adaptors for UK
£250.00 P/D

RED Shooting Package:
RED Camera / 12 x RED Brick batteries and charger / Ronford F4 Tripod / Baby Legs / Hi Hat / 17" HD LCD Monitor / 50-150mm Red Lens / 18-50mm Red Lens / Red Rock swing away Matte Box / 2 x 320gb hard drives / 4 x 16gb CF cards / Zacutto Follow Focus Rig or Remote Follow Focus (HoFo) / Set of Filters (ND's/grads/polas/Hot Mirror) / Onboard Pro Red LCD / Red Viewfinder / Breakout box for BNC connectors / XLR Audio Adaptors for UK / Basic Sound Package / Basic Lighting Package / Set of Zeiss T1.4 Primes 35/50/85mm (10.5 fisheye / 20mm and 300mm lesnes also available at no extra charge)

£500.00 P/D

Canon 5D Shooting Package:
Canon 5d mark 2 camera body
Shoulder mount - an off set arm so that camera is in front of your eye
Card reader and USB cable
10 x 8gb cards or 5 x 16gb – giving approx 5 hours of recording at 1080p
EOS Software on CD
Raincover
4 x V Lock batteries with adaptor plate and dummy battery connector for max power
(plus 3 x canon batts with a charger as a back up)
Tripod
LED Top light
Matte box with selection of filters (ND.3 .6 .9 and a pola)
Follow Focus Rig
Onboard gun mic
HD Monitor that can be used onboard or handheld Directors feed
All necessary cables
Lenses –
Canon FD Primes – adaptor from FD to EOS with 24/35/50/85/135/200mm & 70-150zoom INCLUDED with above kit

£150.00 P/D

Or

Zeiss /Nikon mounted Primes – adaptor for canon mount with 28/35/50/85mm
– 75.00 per day extra

Or
Canon EF Zooms – 17-40mm / 28-135mm / 75-300mm
– 50.00 per day extra (or 25.00 each)

Or
Canon EF Primes – 24/28/50/85
- 25.00 per day
Separate Sound available at 25.00 per day
Zoom H4n SD card recorder with 4 x 1gb cards and headphones
Sennheiser K6 or 416 gun mic with wind sponge or fluffy and boom pole with pistol grip and 2 x XLR leads.

HD750 Package:
HD750 Camera / 6 x E10 IDX batteries and charger / Tripod / Monitor / Standard Lens / Wide Angle Lens / Matte Box
£350.00 P/D

Digibeta 790 Package:
Digibeta 790 camera / 6 x E80 IDX batteries and charger / Tripod / Monitor / standard lens / wide angle lens / matte box
£250.00 P/D

DSR570/450 Package:
Dsr570 camera / 6 x E80 IDX batteries and charger / Tripod / Monitor / standard lens / wide angle lens / matte box
£175.00 P/D

Sony EX3 Package:
Sony EX3 camera / 3 x batteries / tripod / Supplied with Fuji Lens / charger and mains power leads / dc power unit for running camera from mains / 48gb of SxS cards (2 x 8 & 2 x 16) / 2/3" adaptor for fitting broadcast lenses as required / card reader and cables / gun mic / battery top light / cleaning kit / all necessary cables and stock and AA batts on sale or return.
£150.00 P/D

Sony S270 HDV Package:
Sony S270 Shoulder mounted camera with supplied fuji lens / 4 x batteries / tripod / 2/3" lens adaptor for extra lenses as required / charger and mains power leads / dc power unit for running camera from mains / CF drive unit for tapeless recording / gun mic / battery top light / cleaning kit / all necessary cables and stock and AA batts on sale or return.
£150.00 P/D

Sony EX1 Package:
Sony EX1 camera / 3 x batteries / tripod / Wide angle adaptor / charger and mains power leads / dc power unit for running camera from mains / 48gb of SxS cards (2 x 8 & 2 x 16) / card reader and cables / gun mic / battery top light / cleaning kit / all necessary cables and stock and AA batts on sale or return.
£100.00 P/D

HVR-Z7 Package:
HVR-Z7 camera / 3 x batteries / tripod / Wide angle adaptor / charger and mains power leads / dc power unit for running camera from mains / gun mic / battery top light / cleaning kit / all necessary cables and stock and AA batts on sale or return.
£85.00 P/D

Digipack- final product

The front cover;

The back cover with the bar code and record label logo on the back;

Digipack- Editing

Front cover of digipack;

After the focus group i decided to choose the second photo as this seemed successful and the group agreed it was the best one for what I'm doing. 

I decided to edit it on photoshop as this seemed the best equipment to get the most professional photo.

For the editing of my photo i starting off with the simple cropping of the photo to make sure i had the frame correct and that everything that was in the photo was meant to be there. I then used the 'matte' effect which created a white circle around the image and put up brightness in order to achieve the look of innocence to link into the metaphor of fairy tales in my music video. When adding the text i wanted a simple but elegant font to carry on the theme and to be simplistic which i believe can create the most effective album cover.  For my final editing i needed to make the shape of the picture a square so that it would fit into the case perfectly.

I believe this ties in with the forms and conventions of a female mainstream pop artist, as it displays the artist on the front cover looking perfectly for example their skin tone etc. It is very bright and pretty which attracts the target audience teenagers.

Back cover of digipack;

For the back cover i wanted to keep this simple and light colours like white for example. This is because i wanted to put a picture of a fairy tale story book on the back which will be bright and colourful and will take all the attention. I then need to add a bar code and the record label logos to make it look professional. And of course I need to add her song names including a feature of 'airplanes' (my music video)

Digipack- focus group

First Meeting

During the planning process of making my digipack, I organized a focus group as part of my research in an attempt to gauge an idea of public opinion towards mainstream album covers. I tried as best I could to have my focus group made up of the target audience for the album i.e. teenagers. In total 20 people attended my focus group.

The focus group was presented in the form of a questionnaire consisting of 5 questions and an opportunity for them to voice feedback. The 5 questions were as follows:-

1. Should an album cover focus on the artist or relate to the lyrics of the songs in the album?

2. If models are to be used on the album cover, would it be more appropriate for them to be male or female?

3. What is more important on an album cover; the image or the text?

4. Are you generally more attracted by colourful album covers or more subtly sinister (mysterious looking) album covers?

5. Would you say simple or more complex album covers are more effective?

The questionnaire returned some quite conclusive results as follows:-

-There was an almost 50% split in the first question with 11 of the 20 participants believing an album cover should focus on the artist rather than the lyrics in their songs. However many of the 9 others recognised the importance of promoting the artist given that this was her first single released as a solo artist.

-Question 2 was far more conclusive and supported the suggestions made from Question 1 with 17 of the 20 participants agreeing that if models were to be used on the album cover they should be female and ideally the artist herself in order to promote and rebrand herself as a solo artist.

-There was further conclusive results in Question 3 with 15 of the 20 participants believing the image is far more important than the text on an album cover because it is the main factor which grasps the attention of the buyer/customer.

-Question 4 was delicately split at with 10 participants believing a colourful cover was most important and the other 10 suggesting a sinister/mysterious cover would be more enticing to a potential buyer. For this question the feedback was far more intuitive than the results with almost all participants in agreement that the design of the cover is more important than the colours on it etc.

-For Question 5, 14 of the 20 participants believed a simpler design is usually more appropriate on album covers and that busy, complex designs often put them CD's.

Second Meeting

After gathering the information from the first meeting I had a basis for designing the album cover and a set of loose guidelines for designing my album cover as follows:-

-The artist should feature on the cover for promotional reasons.

-The cover design should be kept fairly simple.

-An image of the artist should be prominent on the cover with the text taking a secondary priority.

With these guidelines in mind I took several photo's of the artist in a photo shoot, I then narrowed them down to just three photo's and organized my focus group to reconvene for a second meeting.

In this second meeting I wanted to gauge a publicly opinion more specifically on these three photo's. I asked each member of the focus group to put the photo's in order of preference. I then also asked them to put down two reasons from a list of four, what they liked about each photo. The options and photo's were as follows:

Options

-Lighting

-Pose

-Use of Effects

-Setting

Photo's

1.

2.

3.

Results:

The results from the focus group showed that 14 of the 20 people questioned believed photo 2 was the most appropriate for the album cover. The vast majority of the 20 people cited setting and use of effects as the reason the photo appealed to them.

Digipack Photo Shoot

After my research on the different codes and conventions for female solo, pop artists I then planned a photo shoot. Call Sheet;

I asked my model to come to the shoot with no make up on clean hair, that way i am free to choose different looks correct for the photo. I needed to make sure although i wanted a natural look that for the make up to show well on the camera it needs to be a little bit more obvious. I straightened her hair and put a quiff at the centre top of her head tis added volume as flat hair wasn't the look i was going for. I evened out her skin tone with foundation and applied blushes in the appropraite places in order for her cheek bones to stand out. I then applied a strong black around her eyes so that they will pop out of the cover. The first set was outside where i used the garden at the facility. Focused on 'wood like' areas such as around trees and grass ect. Some of the pictures i wanted them to be 'posed' but i still wanted to keep a few natural to see which one would suit my artist the best. These are all the photos from the shoot;

I was very happy with the shoot's outcome and got loads of good quality photos. My favourite 3 photos and the ones that i will be using for my focus group are number 1,2 and 8 this is for a number of reasons; lighting is perfect for the look i was going for, The position of the artist is really effective and is flattering to her, It represents my artist well and will help to re-brand her.

Digipack- Planning and Research

I have chosen to do a digipack as i believe its a great way to brand the artist and when simple they are very effective.

The Digi-pack is the exceptional alternative to standard jewel box packaging. Made mostly from thick card, the digi-pack is virtually shatterproof and allows great graphic display. Originally used for the album packaging of leading musicians, the digi-pack and digi-pack family are now priced reasonably enough to be used for any CD or DVD project. The digi-pack is an extremely versatile packaging. It can be made to accommodate a booklet either by placing in a die-cut slot or gluing onto one of the panels. In addition, the panels can be increased from 4 to 6, 8 or more. The DVD Digi-pack is a popular alternative to the DVD box. It is now widely used for feature film DVD releases which are special editions because it increases the value and creates a premium product.

Research

As my artist (Hayley) is yet to release a solo album i though i would started off looking ather former band albums (Paramore). I found that have released 4 albums starting with 'all we know is falling' this album cover featured a red sofa and it was meant to make a statement to represent the bands uniqueness. The fiery red of the sofa is meant to be symbol of their indie side 'reckless' and also is linked to Hayleys hair at the time bright red. Their second album carry's on with the indie theme where they have used a rock style font for an effect. The final riot album was meant to be their last as a group, so they featured the band on the cover for a memorable final album. However their music didn't end here. In order for them to do another album and not confuse people about their 'final' then they had to rebrand themselves, i believe that this is the transition for Hayley becoming a solo pop artist as the album cover isn't as 'rock' as the others. They also use this butterfly theme as a metaphor for being reborn as  new band. This theme is also used across logo's, posters and even their official website and blogs. These album covers stereotypically fit in with the codes and conventions for indie band albums.  

In order to stick to Hayleys brand identity i would need to produce more of a concept picture instead of the artist. However although this would keep her recognizable to her current fans, my artist is Hayley alone so now she needs to consider how this will differ changing genre's and becoming more mainstream. I wanted to do some more research on female solo pop artists album covers in order to figure out the codes and conventions for that genre.

All of the album covers i have found for female pop artists have one thing in common the artists is always the main feature on the album cover. This means in order for Hayley to fit in with the codes and conventions of this specific genre then i should consider featuring her on her album. however still keep it 'edgy' enough for her to be recognizable.

Planning 

As my theme is fairy tales i wanted to create something that was linked in together.

Ideas;

Using fairy tale objects from the music video e.g the glass slipper, apple or lamp.

Reacting a fairy tale scene e.g the stairs scene from Cinderella, (losing the glass slipper)

Picture in woods (links with the music video)

-Bright 

-Magical 

mise-en-scene- woods (trees, grass, etc)

-Stylish but wearing light clothes to represent the innocence of fairy tales 

With these ideas i then did a photo shout with my artist.