My Music Video - Version 1 Audience Feedback

I asked for audience feedback on this first finalised version of my music video by sending it to my friends via WhatsApp, posting it on Facebook, and by enabling the comments section on Youtube.
I chose to seek audience feedback from my peers as they are representative of the audience demographic that I was targeting with my music video.

Above are the replies from three 18 year
old females. Two are Caucasian and
one is Afro-Caribbean; all three are
long-residents of the Cayman
Islands.

Sam Hadfield, 18 year old Caucasian British male. He went on to raise an interesting point regarding the ordering of some of the shots, which I am now going to review in light of his comments.

A YouTube comment that my video received. The channel appears to be a promoter of copy-right free music (but the compliment is still very much appreciated.)

Maya Ambekar, 17 year old Indian-Caucasian British Female.

With this feedback I am able to happily confirm that my video has successfully appealed to the demographic I was targeting. I also plan to address any questions the audience have, and will consider the suggestions made.

I posted a link to the video and a request for feedback to my personal Facebook page, in the hopes of gaining feedback from my peers. 

Charlotte Upham is a 17 year old A2 media student who recently moved to the UK from Dubai. I have made a careful note of her point about the transition from England to Cayman (something raised by Sam Hadfield as well), and will be revising the video, seeing if I can make the transition clearer in any way. 

My Music Video - Version 1

This is the first finalised version of my A2 coursework music video for Bishop Briggs' song "River".

In this version I have completed the editing of the opening and closing sections by the river, making slight adjustments to the level of volume of the river noise sound effect that I added from FinalCut Pro's database. 

I have also methodically gone through the entire song and edited the the images to change appropriate to the beat of the music. This required me to cut certain clips and extend others as appropriate. 

I also explored using the reverse and rewind tools, so as to further enhance the effect of the memories as being distorted. As well as this, I discovered the 'Quick Flash/Spin' filter very conveniently moves in time with how Briggs performs certain lines of the song, having the effect of making the footage move in time with the music. 

 

Overall I am very satisfied with this edit of the music video, but I do expect to make at least a few minor changes once I receive feedback from my target audience. 

Magazine Advert - Ideas

Based on my research into the codes and conventions of magazine ads for albums, I know that the magazine ad is essentially a variation on the album/DigiPak cover.
As I intend for my advert to follow these conventions, I will be basing my magazine advert off of whatever my final DigiPak cover looks like.

In all likelihood, I will be using my own design of the Capricorn icon - as it appears on the front of the DigiPak.

Keeping in form with the DigiPak, I plan to also use the same parchment paper background (of course I will need to see how it looks in actuality before I finalise any decisions.) 

I reckon that I'll probably stick with the layout of my draft magazine advert (pictured below), as it contains all the necessary information and clearly identifies what the advert is about, without losing the striking simplicity.

As I've already considered with the DigiPak, I plan to explore using one of the fonts below for all the typography featured in the advert (with the exclusion of the record label logo, the artists website address, and the iTunes logo/website.) The font I ultimately choose will of course be the same font that I use for the final DigiPak.

This font is the most similar to the brush with which I created the Capricorn drawing. I'm inclined to use it, save for the possibly juvenile feeling it creates. I will be showing three edits - one with each font - to members of my target audience to gain feedback and opinions to help me make a final decision.  

This font has the same uneven edges, but in a slightly more toned down version making it less juvenile looking. However, I'm not sure if the thinness makes it feels too clean/simple. 

  

I think this one is my personal favourite. It's style makes it feel as if it's been carefully handwritten, and it looks good in lower-case and upper-case letters.

At this stage I can't decide anything else, but I am now ready to begin bringing my ideas to life with Photoshop and Illustrator.

DigiPak - Ideas

During my initial exploration of creating a Digipak I managed to create a rough draft for a DigiPak that I intend to use as a starting point to work with as I develop my ideas further.

I'm very fond of having the Capricorn image on the front of the album, especially as it's the key piece of iconography I've decided to associate with my artist. The simplicity is also bold and eye-catching, which is useful in making sure it's memorable and distinctive to fans. 

However, the extreme simplicity of it doesn't link to the style of the music video I have created, nor does it feel appropriate to Briggs' alternative genre music. 

Given this, one idea that i've had to make it more appropriate is to use photoshop to create some sort of combination of the Capricorn logo mixed with a photograph - possibly one of the river - to have the effect of the Capricorn being filled in by this 'memory' (as this video does.) 

Another idea that I toyed with was drawing my own original Capricorn logo. 

To create this image I used the Sketches app on my iPad. I googled images of the Capricorn symbol and had a go sketching it out, experimenting with the different tools on offer. The above drawing was the most pleasing result. 

The softness of the design - an effect created through the uneven looking edges of the drawing - is more appropriate to the genre than the vector Capricorn I originally used. The soft curves of the lines and the slightly heart shaped tail also connote a femininity to the design, which fits with the fact that the singer is female and the video is supposed to be from her point of view. 

I also had the idea of incorporating polaroid shots into the DigiPak.

One way of formatting this could be to have a picture of a range of polaroids spread over a plain background (e.g. a wooden desk), possibly lit with candle light, maybe spread around a diary featuring the above sketch. 

I'm considering using this idea as the image for the inside covers of the Digipak.

An example of a polaroid I'd use. I think I'd play with the focus so that the polaroid's were out of focus, with the drawing of the Capricorn perhaps out of focus as well. I quite like the idea of handwriting some of the lyrics of the song on the open page, next to the drawing, and having the focus on them.

I think I'd still leave the back panel of the DigiPak to be a plain, solid colour, featuring only track listings and legal info, but obviously with the colour matching that of what's on the front.

I think I may go for a light coloured background instead, as this brings a softer feel to the product as a whole. I'm going to explore have a pale background that looks like fancy, cream-coloured paper, as this can be linked to the idea of memories. 

In regards to font, given the my ideas about drawing the Capricorn icon and handwriting the lyrics, I intend to use a font that looks (maybe even is) handwritten, in a dark colour so as to stand out against the pale background. 

Using the iMac app font book, I discovered the above three fonts - all of which I will experiment with during the creation of the DigPak.
The style of all these fonts feels congruous with my Capricorn icon drawing, so it will simply be a matter of deciding which one looks best.

I'm hoping that the overall effect of these ideas will be that I am able to produce a DigiPak that is much more fitting to the music and the music video, and that conveys a very personal feeling to the audience - like looking at a scrap book.

Magazine Advert - First Stages

As part of my A2 coursework, I have been tasked with creating a Magazine Advert for my chosen artist.
To do this, I'm again going to be using the programme Adobe Illustrator CS6.

As I've done my research and analysis into the codes and conventions of magazine adverts, and as I've already begun to dabble with album cover ideas for DigiPak, I had a enough of an idea for my own advert to begin an initial exploration. 

So, the first thing I did was to open a new document in Adobe Illustrator CS6, and place a black rectangle shape over the page. This gave me a base to work off of, and matched the choice I made for the black background on the front and back covers of the DigiPak.

As I'd already worked with Illustrator, I conveniently had all the vectors I'd previously used readily available me, so when I decided to recreate the appearance of the album cover, all I had to do was select the previously downloaded images, such as the capricorn vector and the island records logo vector. 

Due to the importance of making the magazine advert congruous with the the DigiPak, I chose to use the same font - Lucida Blackletter - that I used on the DigiPak on the advert. I created a text box using the text box tool, and then I placed the artists name, "Bishop Briggs" in large at the top centre of the page, in line with the horns of the capricorn vector I placed below. 

At an equal distance of spacing beneath the capricorn, I decided to place a review/rating of the album (taken from a real review). I created another text box and then chose a smaller size for this, as people will be more intrigued as to what the smaller writing says and will therefore pay attention when reading it. 

Like I did with the DigiPak - and as I've noticed it as a convention of numerous other album magazine adverts - I placed the record company logo in the bottom right hand corner. I'd already downloaded it as a vector before, so all I had to do was open it as new and then change its colour to white (so that it would show up against the black background.) 

At this point it still felt rather lacking as a magazine advert, so I looked at my list of magazine advert conventions and decided to add a release date, information about where the album is available, and Bishop Briggs' website address.

To get the right look for the website address I tried placing a screenshot of the actual address so that I could have the fancy "B" symbol it uses at the start. However, I was dissatisfied with how this look, so I instead typed out the web address using Lucida Blackletter for the "B" (the closest font I could find) and Arial for the address. This provided me with a similar enough look and avoided me having to use a screenshot. 

This is the screenshot of the actual website address

This is my recreated version of the website address

To advertise where the album is available I decided to download the vector for iTunes (granted, it's not the most recent logo, but it'll do for this practice run.) 

I then opened it in Illustrator and placed it in the bottom left hand corner of the advert, opposite and aligned with the Island Records logo.

I wasn't quite finished yet though, as the iTunes logo by itself - while the message would've been clear enough - felt a bit unfinished.
So I typed "Available at" and "iTunes.com" and placed them above and to the right of the logo.

Admittedly, this looks odd. But for now in this trial it'll do.

Overall, by this point the advert was definitely looking more appropriate.

Still very simplistic in terms of the visual design, but as I'd included enough of the codes and conventions to make it clear what I was advertising, I decided to conclude my trial here.

*************
In conclusion, as a first attempt I am satisfied with the results. I like the simplicity of the capricorn logo and definitely intend to keep using it; however, I do think the design may be too clean for the genre. I'm planning to try working with photoshop to incorporate some photography in the design, possibly using the frame of the capricorn...
But we shall see!

Magazine Advert - An Introduction

As part of the A2 media course, I am required to produce an ancillary product in the form of a magazine advert for the album.

What are they?
Magazine adverts are promotional devices, which are designed specifically to sell the product they're advertising to a specific target audience. All decisions regarding their creation and distribution are tailored carefully towards this specific target audience; such as which magazines they appear in, their size (wether they're double or single page spread), the iconography they exhibit, the graphics, the photography, the text, colour themes, etc.

Common Codes and Conventions of a Magazine Advert

Images & Graphics

• Will relate to the album and artist/band
• Images, Graphics, or a mix - will be appropriate to the genre of the music and artist/band
• A photograph of the artist/band is usually included (sometimes with artistic editing)
• Iconography 
• Will be appropriate to the colour theme

Typography

• Artist/Band name
• Album title
• Release date
• Reviews/Critical Acclaims
• Artists/Band's website Address
• Specific track names
• May include the names of other artists featured on the album

Additional Features

• Record label logo
• Album rating

Magazine Advert Analysis

1.) Florence + The Machine - Lungs (Deluxe Edition)

Above is pictured a magazine advertisement for Florence + The Machine's 2009 album, "Lungs (Deluxe Edition)". The genre of music this band deals in is an unusual yet spellbinding combination of pop, soul, and baroque; a unique twist which holds influence within the promotion of this album. 

In terms of the typography, this advert contains all the most important features of a magazine advert; the artists name, the album name, artwork that relates to the album, the release date, the artists' website, and the record label's logo. A slightly less usual feature it includes is all the formats (CD, Deluxe CD, Vinyl, and Digital) in which the album is available. 

With the exception of the band name at the top, the font used on this advert is Georgia (with the album title being the italicised variation), and is white so as to stand out against the black background; it's used as this italicised Georgia is the font that appears on the actual album cover. The white colouring also ties well with the colour theme of the image - a dark background, with light accents.

The band name, Florence + The Machine, is featured at the top of the advert in the band's signature font, again in a pale colour so as to stand out from the background. 

This particular magazine ad is essentially a reproduction of the album cover. Due to the genre and the nature of the music, a photograph has been chosen (as opposed to using graphics, or a combination of the two.) The photograph is of Florence Welch - the face of the band - features a style inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and was designed by photographer Tom Beard and art director Tabitha Denholm. According to this source, "Denholm created for the album cover a concept built around a pair of lungs". This concept relates to the title of the album, and appropriately, we see Welch wearing a set of prosthetic lungs (designed by Orlando Weeks; his intention with the design was to give the lungs "a Victoriana, industrial punchbag kind of look.")

 

Examples of Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood artwork. Note the similarity in the subject's expressions, and the colour compositions. 

2.) You Me At Six - Hold Me Down

This is the magazine advertisement for British pop-punk band, You Me At Six's 2010 album "Hold Me Down". 

As is the common practice, this advertisement uses the album cover of "Hold Me Down"; the artwork is a graffiti-type graphic, that uses bright, almost psychedelic colour accents over a dark background. The striking effect of this colour choice will draw the attention of an audience browsing a magazine, while the graffiti style is one that is commonly seen in album artwork for this genre.

The typography has all the text centre aligned, and written in a font similar to Avenir Next Condensed Medium. The band's name is featured centre with the album title in a small, cursive font beneath it, as it is on the album.

Beneath this, the album's release date is printed at the same size as the band's name and in an eye-catching yellow (which fits with the yellow highlights on the dark, muted green/blue background.) 

As is the norm for such an advertisement, the record label's logo is featured in the bottom right corner, the band's website link is featured in the bottom left, and the website address for the download is placed middle bottom. 

The alignment of all the text is set so that everything is aligned to everything else, creating a professional look.

This advert would've been run in rock magazines, and the bright explosion of colours is suggestive that it's aimed at a teenage/young adult demographic. The imagery of the roses suggests themes of love, while the wings could be freedom or death; all things that young people seem to preoccupy their thoughts with on a regular basis, thus making this ad more attractive to them. 

This is definitely an effective advert, something which I can confirm because I'm part of the demographic and am a fan of YMAS and when I saw this advert I made up my mind to listen to the album (I haven't been able to buy it yet though, sadly.)

3.) Rihanna - Rated R

In November 2009 Rihanna released her fourth studio album, Rated R, (with Def Jam Recordings.) Musically, this album represented a departure from her previous work; it features a "foreboding and atmospheric tone", incorporates elements of "hip hop, rock, and dubstep", and explores other genres such as "dancehall (in 'Rude Boy') and Latin (in 'Te Amo')." [Source]

The advert follows the conventions of such ancillary products as it mirrors the album cover used for 'Rated R'. The cover features Rihanna, staring directly into the camera (connecting her audience to her), and was photographed by fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth (a renowned photographer who specialises in erotic femininity). Unwerth explained the Rihanna was looking to create "something a bit new for the look of the album" and that Rihanna was also "involved in every aspect of the shoot and was ready to push content boundaries."[Source]

The black-and-white cover has since been compared to 1980's album covers for the singer Grace Jones.

Above: The album cover for Grace Jones' 1980 album "Warm Leatherette"
 ~ This cover does indeed bare a similarity to Rihanna's "Rated R" ~

British artist and director Simon Henwood conceived the brand and styling for 'Rated R', as well as being the creative director of the promotional campaign. Henwood explains of the design that "everything comes from the music, and this is [Rihanna's] most personal album to date - so everything draws from it in one way or another." The significance of this album being personal is that it was conceived after the serious physical assault Rihanna suffered at the hands of her then-boyfriend Chris Brown. This album - its music, its lyrics, its videos, its visuals - provided Rihanna with the "chance for her to express all these things without being specific/literal." ~Henwood 

The typography includes, the album name (in the place of where it appears on the album cover), Rihanna's name (in the largest font size) in the lower third beneath her face, and a capitalised Century Goth, with the letters being white over a black rectangular background. The exception to this is the featured songs - they're written in a different, almost graffiti-styled font in red.
This links to the style of the album in terms of its rock roots and the rocker style of clothing that Rihanna is seen wearing.
The black-and-white colouring of this advert connotes the dark themes of the album/music; while the choice to use red for the title for the featured songs "Russian Roulette" and "Hard" is eye-catching for the audience, with the colour red being associated with violence, anger, and danger.

The overall effect of the advert is that it presents 'Rated R' - a warning in itself - as being edgy and intense. While there is limited information in terms of release dates and where the album can be heard, it's not necessary, as this advert is really meant to serve as more of an informative statement. It presents Rihanna as edgy, and is designed to excite audience interest into her new, darker side.


Conclusions
In the magazine adverts I have analysed I can conclude that there is the standard presence of a varying majority of the codes and conventions I've listed at the top of this post.
While every magazine advert has to be unique to its artist, their is usually a general conformity to what's expected in relation to its genre, which not only helps with branding but with attracting the right audience.

My Music Video - Production Log

20th October 2016
iPhone Footage: 'Billy Talent' Concert

• I chose to film segments of the performance and the mosh pit using my iPhone's camera as it allowed me the mobility to capture and convey the Subject's point of view. The shakiness of the footage was a deliberate choice, as I wanted the audience to feel as though they were watching through the Subject's perspective. My choice to use an iPhone is also a nod to the social media culture modern teens have created, and of how we are now capable of vividly sharing our memories and experiences with one another. 
• I was very satisfied with how the footage turned out (a good thing too, because otherwise I would've had to find another concert to film.)

26th November 2016
GoPro Footage: Bike riding, Tree climbing, Reading & Records

• My initial plan was to film this footage using a GoPro to get 'point of view' shots, but half way into the shoot I discovered the GoPro had died on me. To avoid the shoot being a complete waste I switched to using my iPhone once again, deciding that at the very least I would capture some test footage. (This lead to me climbing a tree one handed, which was certainly a precarious venture...) Thankfully, when I reviewed the footage later I was quite pleased with what I captured, and am satisfied that it's usable within my video.

3rd December 2016

DSLR: England projections in school, River scenes

• This shoot started off at school in the photography rooms, using the projector to display the previous footage I'd taken and edited. I positioned my actress in front of the projections (which were against a white board in the room) and captured medium and close up shots with the camera stationary on a tripod. As a whole this shoot went smoothly, with the one exception of having to source a new mask due to complications building the Jaguar Mask.
• We then moved down to Ilkley river to film the opening and closing scenes of the video. Once again I used a DSLR stationary on a tripod, adjusted the exposure and white balance, and began to film. 

20th December 2016 - 5th January 2017

GoPro: Beach, Flip Flops, Underwater, Girl on beach, Fireworks

iPhone: Bonfire, Palm Trees, Fairy Lights, NYE Party

• My strategy for filming these segments was to have my GoPro and iPhone always prepared to film whatever scenery or activities I engaged in during the time that I was on holiday back home in Grand Cayman. Before filming, I did make sure to compile a list of potential shot ideas to use as a guidelines, and to ensure that I would have opportunities to film certain things (such as the bonfire party, and the beach); but I also engaged in spontaneous filming, as I wanted the footage to reflect the Subject's memories and I believed that this was the best way to achieve that.
• I chose to use the GoPro for locations near water, while I ended up using the iPhone for everything else. 

13th January 2017
DSLR: Subject getting ready

• For this shoot I used the DSLR, and positioned it at various points about my room to film the sequence for the subject 'getting ready' for the concert. I had some issues with lighting, as initially I had planned to light the room with candles and fairy-lights; however, after fiddling with the white balance for sometime I was still unhappy with the colours, and feared making the footage grainy. This lead me to instead use the room's build in bright overhead lights, and while I am a little disappointed that the softer lighting didn't work out, overall I am still very happy with how the footage turned out.

18th January 2017
iPhone: Subject and Partner waiting for train
iPhone: Subject and Partner entering venue

• For this shoot, I essentially took my male actor on a long walk - we started at the top of the hill, walked down a pathway through a wooded section to the train station, and then walked to a random building we'd found that had graffiti and double doors and was appropriate to convey the mise-en-scene of a concert venue. I filmed all of this on my iPhone with one hand, as my other hand was being used as the "subject's hand" (I wore the same coat that she's seen in to convey this) - I did this so as to achieve the subject's point of view.

3rd February 2017

DSLR: Cayman projections in school

• This shoot worked much the same as the first projection room shoot. We went to the photography rooms during our lunch period, set up the DSLR, positioned Rose against the whiteboard, and started the projection reel. Just like the first shoot, I took 2 medium shots (one with her stationary and one with her moving) and 2 close up shots (again, one of her stationary, one of her moving.) 
• Overall this was the easiest shoot! We finished in record time, and I am very happy with the footage we captured.

With that, I am glad to be able to conclude the filming process. While I have enjoyed the shoots, I have realised over this process that I personally prefer filming pieces with set storylines. The abstract nature of my music video concept has been an interesting and engaging challenge to bring to life, and while I am satisfied with the work I created thus far, if I'm being completely honest, I am not in any particular rush to undertake a music video project again (but that's just between us!)