G324:
Advanced portfolio in Media Studies
Keyley Graham
4258
Wyke Sixth Form College
44154
Thursday, 1 May 2014
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Evaluation Intro
As part of my A2 Media Studies course, second year, my brief for my Advanced Portfolio was to create..
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:
a website homepage for the band- a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
- a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)
I chose to work individually for my Portfolio to be able to make all my work completely my own and to express my own skills that I have learnt and developed over the two years of the course. The advance Portfolio requires the skills I learnt when creating my Foundation Portfolio in terms of adobe Photoshop for my music magazine which I have now used and developed on to create my ancillary texts: Magazine Advert and Digipak. It has also required new skills and development in areas such as video making using Adobe Premier Pro CC for my music video which shows the biggest difference between the foundation portfolio and the advanced. All together I have had two years of learning and understanding the formation and reasoning behind media texts and also the way to use research, planning and digital software to create my very own forms of media using all the expected conventions making each of them as professional and realistic as possible.
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
Evaluation Q1 - Part 1 - Music Video
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions o rel media products?
_________________________
At the start of my Advanced Portfolio before any planning for my music video began, I researched into existing music videos to explore the main conventions that seemed to appear regularly in this form using YouTube, Vevo and Music Channels on Sky TV such has channel 365, 371 and 385. I then moved on to deciding on a chosen genre and limited my search of music videos to my chosen genre areas of Hip/Hop - Rap. I did this to give myself a better understanding of the formal conventions that would be expected to be seen in my music video that would be illustrating a song from this particular genre of music. The existing media texts that I looked at for this, to name just a few was: Rihanna - Stay, Beyonce - Broken Hearted Girl. I looked at these in depth, analysing the full videos and highlighting the connotations of the denotations used throughout including cinematography, editing, mise en scene and sound.
_________________________
At the start of my Advanced Portfolio before any planning for my music video began, I researched into existing music videos to explore the main conventions that seemed to appear regularly in this form using YouTube, Vevo and Music Channels on Sky TV such has channel 365, 371 and 385. I then moved on to deciding on a chosen genre and limited my search of music videos to my chosen genre areas of Hip/Hop - Rap. I did this to give myself a better understanding of the formal conventions that would be expected to be seen in my music video that would be illustrating a song from this particular genre of music. The existing media texts that I looked at for this, to name just a few was: Rihanna - Stay, Beyonce - Broken Hearted Girl. I looked at these in depth, analysing the full videos and highlighting the connotations of the denotations used throughout including cinematography, editing, mise en scene and sound.
From these videos and other videos of male artists such as Kid Cudi and Kanye West that I watched to form my research, I put together an overall idea of the formal conventions of a music video as seen below.
This was a starting point for me to learn and understand the conventions that I needed to know to recreate my own music video. After getting a clear understanding of the formal conventions I then began to expand on my research and learnt that music videos follow codes and conventions to make them recognizable to their target audience in terms of form. Depending on the genre, different conventions are highlighted more than others as their targets may be different as to what they want to achieve and gain from the video. For example demographics such as age and social status will effect how explicit the content of a video can be as well as different psycho-graphic such as fashion, aiming at whats popular at that time. The conventions of form relates well with the stereotypes of specific genres as it creates a type of structure that makes it understandable to the audience of what they should expect to see in different types of music videos.
I discovered the convention styles of a music video, those being Performance, Narrative and Abstract which help to vary music videos as well as the genre. Performance is used predominantly as a promotional purpose for the artist as it clearly shows the artist doing their 'main' job in music. This style is seen commonly with indie artists as it shows them alongside their instruments that they perform with but can be seen included in other genres alternated with other styles. It gives the video a more personal touch with the audience as they're not hidden away behind major editing and production. My music video shows incorporation of performance in terms of dancing and singing as this was a convention found in my research that was seen over and over again in videos belonging to my chosen genre.
In relation to the theory of 'The Male Gaze' - Laura Mulvey, female artists use this style to their advantage by dancing, sometimes provocatively to gain males attention even if their lyrics aim more towards a female audience. This element is hugely seen within my genre, seeing woman presented as nothing but objects for the males. To show this convention I purposely included a mannequin doll into my music video and used a tilt shot to show the full silhouette of a female body. The reason I didn't use an actual female for this shot was to reinforce the idea of woman being objects used for their female aspects and not their personalities, this being exactly what the mannequin shows.
I looked at an example of a performance based video to help see how existing products based on this style presented their expected conventions as well as to show links between the videos found based on one style compared to videos belonging to artists of different genres that incorporate aspects of other styles just like Hip - Hop/Rap. The video I looked at was 'Passenger - Let Her Go' which I felt was a very good example as it highlights the artist singing and playing his instrument thoroughly throughout. I then compared it to elements of performance in the music video to the song I was recreating to see how the conventions relate.
I next looked closely at the Narrative style of music videos to again understand how music videos can be presented in different ways based on genre and artists ideology. I discovered that Narrative is more for promotion of song as well as the artist as it keeps the audience entertained through the use of a story or situation that they can relate too whilst making the song memorable. Emotion felt by the viewer is increasingly higher in narrative style videos as they can not only relate through lyrics but see it first hand in the video too. In the genre I have chosen there is not commonly a visual story to be seen, it is the lyrics that tell a story of the certain actions being presented by the artist at different points of the video. This challenges the conventions for this individual style but is commonly expected from my genre. To show this in my video the lyrics play a big role in illustrating the shots I have captured. Examples of this include: Lyrics sung "I Can't stand the times I'm alone at night" this is illustrated with an image of my artist wearing a watch to represent the time.
Another example is when the lyrics "I'm too busy texting you on my phone" is sang which is then illustrated with two shots with a fade transition of a mobile phone being used.
Although it isn't a narrative in terms of what would be expected from a film there is still a story being told and this way of presenting the style is incorporated regularly into videos from my genre.This feature of a story being told also excites the viewer and makes them want to watch the video right until the end to find out what happens just 'like' in a film. This allows the song to be fully listened too as well which could possibly change peoples opinion on it if they have only heard snippets of it through other forms of media such as the radio or a TV advert. Artists have also began adding spoken speech to their music videos to help tell the story and make it clear to the viewer what the video is about. This relates even more to styles of films such as musicals, for example 'Singing In The Rain', although artists are incorporating new ideas to music videos in this day and age some are also reinforcing old aspects that highlights the very start of music videos as a whole. A good example that I found for Narrative was 'Katy Perry - The One That Got Away', as it shows a clear story being told which is full of emotion containing a beginning, middle and end.
Finally I explored abstract, the last style for a music video and the style of mine overall. Abstract is a style of music video found commonly in less mainstream videos. It is a style used to evoke feelings or the mood to give more of an impression about what the songs about rather than a clear understandable story. Sometimes in an abstract music video it is hard to make a link between what is happening and what the lyrics are saying but it is the use of edits working with the beat of the song that brings the two together. This is known as Rhythmic editing, a convention seen in almost every music video not just those in my genre. This convention is seen in my music video as each shot changes on beat to the music to link the forms of media together and make the continuity a lot smoother in transition. The abstract style makes your emotions and thoughts about both the lyrics and the song constantly change throughout and is more creative that of the other two styles of videos. Watching music videos, 'Dan Black ft Kid Cudi - Sympohnies', in particular created lots of ideas to how I wanted to present my video now knowing and understanding the expected conventions of all the Styles used in this form of media and how they are combined for my genre in particular.
My music video is presented in an abstract style with incorporation of performance and some use of narration features. It is appears very simply put together but with numerous amounts of edits, cuts and different types of shots it brings confusion and travel without even moving out of one main location. As abstract is the main style in my music video the many shots each have their own meaning for the overall piece that may not be straight away clear to the audience. The main focus was to present the confusion and sadness being felt in my artists emotion from missing his girlfriend using galaxy themed images and various flashing light overlays which also indicate the distance and reinforces the song title, in particular the word 'Teleport'. A black and white effect has been used when showing shots of the female, their to indicate his girlfriend and represent not only them being apart but also how the memories my artist has of spending time with his girlfriend seem to be fading because of how hard it is not be with her.
When researching my genre I focused a lot on the Cinematography, editing, mise en scene and sound to allow me to really focus on all the little details of everything that is put in to the making of this form. Cinematography along with editing is very important in bringing variation to music videos not only in different genres but the same video ideology too. An idea for a music video could be created and each moment could run in the exact same order and have the exact same mise en scene and sound but the way it is captured in terms of shots, angles and camera movement can differentiate it all as a whole. Establishing shots are used for when a new location is being introduced, giving the viewer an idea of the genre they are watching. In my video I have done this by presenting a shot as far out as I could get to fit in as much of the new location as possible and then a zoom is used to focus on the action. Some of my shots are repeated so an establishing shot doesn't need to be shown again as the audience already know were the action is taking place as it was previously zoomed in on before it began.
The artists face is presented through medium close ups, close ups and extreme close ups and is a good way of expressing emotion bringing the correct mood and feelings to the audience. My artists face expresses sadness to match with the lyrics being sang expressing how he feels about being separated from his girlfriend. There is also a shot captured at the same angle as a facial shot but this time based as an over the shoulder shot which shows my artist hitting the wall expressing his anger.
The camera shots are very calm and focused on the artist during the verses working slowly and parallel to each other, but then becomes much more creative and fast editing when the chorus singing the phrase 'Teleport 2 Me' is introduced. Rotations, fades and overlays bring speed to the clip expressing the movement that Kid Cudi wants to achieve as well as continuity for the video as a whole. From extreme close ups to extreme long shots they quickly alternate between different distances to show emotion and create character in sync with the music and beat of the song. Eye level angles in music videos show the audience the view they are used to seeing things. This is good as it helps to connect the audience with the artist but too much of this style can be boring so high and low angles are also used to bring excitement to the piece. In my video I have used eye level shots during the chorus which lasts almost 20 seconds, to avoid the shots being boring for my audience I have captured them from different angles and made them cut fast from one shot to another which also expresses the feelings being felt by my artist. In terms of rule of thirds my artist is positioned to the left challenging conventions of main artists being place central in the frame. As my artist is the only character in the shot, this is not such a big deal and as the shots change so quick and have been captured from different angles the positioning of my artist does vary making it an interesting sequence, much more effective than him being central throughout.
Depth of field is used to create focus on a different object in some shots, one being when my artist is holding the lights in front of the camera. His face is blurred so you know that it is him but the movement of his hands and the fact they are the objects in focus indicates that what he is singing about and what he wants is not in his control. Instruments and a musician can be seen alongside Kid Cudi too linking it back to the reason as why he is away from his girlfriend and the performance aspect. He is on tour producing his music and the simple appearance of one of his musicians reinforces to the audience that this is the reason why he wants his girlfriend to teleport to him because he can not be in both places at once.
In music videos different angles also show the different balances in power which helps persuade the audience into whose side they should be on in a narrative style video where there is a protagonist and an antagonist. Dutch angles are commonly used in music videos, especially abstract as it adds creativeness and makes it a bit unusual. It could also be used to show the way someone is feeling in the effect of an illness or drug use which is seen in a more explicit video for older viewers. This shot is seen to express my artists unsteady emotion, he is out doing the job he loves putting him on an emotional high but the separation from the one he loves unbalances him and drags him down making it a constant battle with his emotions.
To make the artists look attractive for more promotional purposes a birds eye view is used as it is much more flattering than a horizontal angle. Since we live in a world where 'appearance is key' it is important that artist portrays themselves in the most attractive way possible not just for male attention but female views too. You could say I challenge this aspect by using the shot for a different purpose when presenting the time on my artists watch..
Journeys both emotionally and physically are seen in music videos and camera movements such as tracking and pans help to give this sense of the audience being a part of it all. It helps to bring continuity as well as reflecting the mood and tone that the artist wants to put out to their fans. Edits to the beat of the song is the most common convention of form as no matter what the genre it is still an effect that can be noticed. Transitions of fades are a very common convention for music videos as well as straight cuts when the music is up beat. As my song is based on emotion I chose to go with fades for the transition effects which was a choice seen in the music videos I looked at in depth at the start by Rihanna and Beyonce as they were based on emotion too. Other effects such as black and white, sepia or various different colours help to express not only the era but the mood too as different colours connote different meanings that could link to the feelings of the artist. This can help make an artist stand out, making them appear unique and different which will work to helping gain popularity for the song.I have used colour effects in my song which link to many various reasons. As mentioned in discussion about the last angle that I have incorporated into my music video, the bright colored lighting in my video presents Kid Cudis lifestyle of performing in large concerts and the high emotion Cudi feels when doing his job on the other hand the black and white effect seen when presenting his girlfriend shows the low he feels as they are together. It also presents the distance and the faded memories as they have been apart for so long.
Sound is a big importance of a music video, without it there would be no music so it will lose its whole meaning. The sound can be either non-diegetic, diegetic or a combination of both. It works parallel with the editing, meaning if the video is fast so will be the song, if the songs slow then so will be the video. Props are most often used in videos to connect the artist with the mise en scene of location making it more realistic to the viewers. The video is made more enjoyable to watch by this convention as is it can help to tell the story, spread a message or add a comical value.For the speed aspect of the song in my video, I have changed not only the speed of certain shots making some slower and some faster but I have also changed how fast the shots change too. I have done this as throughout the song the speed of the music changes so to keep the rhythmic editing conventional I have changed the shots to match the beat in particular for the chorus as everything gets much faster conventionally in all music videos. It also helps to express emotion too sometimes anger can be sped up to show how the character is feeling inside but it can also be slowed down to show the emotion in more detail to the audience which can be seen at certain points of my video.
The key iconic features of this video that makes it work so well is the editing and cinematography. Various coloured lights have been incorporated throughout along with graphics of stars and space to reinforce teleportation. Rotations, overlays, multiple imagery, long shots to close ups all help to build excitement continuously throughout and edited explosions shown through establishing shots and extreme long shots makes it forever entertaining for the audience. It contains the most simple mise en scene, that being an empty room and a bed, but its along with the edits that makes it so unusual and intriguing to the viewer making you not want to stop watching.
In relation to the theory of 'The Male Gaze' - Laura Mulvey, female artists use this style to their advantage by dancing, sometimes provocatively to gain males attention even if their lyrics aim more towards a female audience. This element is hugely seen within my genre, seeing woman presented as nothing but objects for the males. To show this convention I purposely included a mannequin doll into my music video and used a tilt shot to show the full silhouette of a female body. The reason I didn't use an actual female for this shot was to reinforce the idea of woman being objects used for their female aspects and not their personalities, this being exactly what the mannequin shows.
I looked at an example of a performance based video to help see how existing products based on this style presented their expected conventions as well as to show links between the videos found based on one style compared to videos belonging to artists of different genres that incorporate aspects of other styles just like Hip - Hop/Rap. The video I looked at was 'Passenger - Let Her Go' which I felt was a very good example as it highlights the artist singing and playing his instrument thoroughly throughout. I then compared it to elements of performance in the music video to the song I was recreating to see how the conventions relate.
Although different styled videos, the points of performance in the original 'Kid Cudi - Teleport to me' shows almost identical aspects to that of 'Passengers - Let Her Go' as you are shown the artists singing and playing the guitar as well as their band playing other instruments too. The way you can identify the difference in the overall main styles of the video is based on the mise en scene. Passenger, a performance based video is very stripped back and the shots are based on real time performances were as Kid Cudi's video is overall abstract so you still have that set up feel in the mise en scene in a set filled with a fairy lights set out in a particular way. This combination of styles challenge the conventions of the overall Performance aspect of a video which is just what I have done in my music video in order to match my genre. My song is not mainstream and wouldn't be heard regularly on the radio which instantly relates to the abstract styling that I will go on to discuss later. Sometimes with an abstract style it is hard to relate the song lyrics to what is happening in the music video and the performance aspect incorporated in my video of my artist singing and dancing confirms this convention as its not a part that is mentioned in the lyrics. As well as this it also challenges the conventions of Performance as its been set up purposely for the video rather than from an actual gig or concert performed by my artist but it matches the expected conventions for videos belonging to my genre who purposely go against the expectations to make them individual and stand out.
I next looked closely at the Narrative style of music videos to again understand how music videos can be presented in different ways based on genre and artists ideology. I discovered that Narrative is more for promotion of song as well as the artist as it keeps the audience entertained through the use of a story or situation that they can relate too whilst making the song memorable. Emotion felt by the viewer is increasingly higher in narrative style videos as they can not only relate through lyrics but see it first hand in the video too. In the genre I have chosen there is not commonly a visual story to be seen, it is the lyrics that tell a story of the certain actions being presented by the artist at different points of the video. This challenges the conventions for this individual style but is commonly expected from my genre. To show this in my video the lyrics play a big role in illustrating the shots I have captured. Examples of this include: Lyrics sung "I Can't stand the times I'm alone at night" this is illustrated with an image of my artist wearing a watch to represent the time.
Another example is when the lyrics "I'm too busy texting you on my phone" is sang which is then illustrated with two shots with a fade transition of a mobile phone being used.
Although it isn't a narrative in terms of what would be expected from a film there is still a story being told and this way of presenting the style is incorporated regularly into videos from my genre.This feature of a story being told also excites the viewer and makes them want to watch the video right until the end to find out what happens just 'like' in a film. This allows the song to be fully listened too as well which could possibly change peoples opinion on it if they have only heard snippets of it through other forms of media such as the radio or a TV advert. Artists have also began adding spoken speech to their music videos to help tell the story and make it clear to the viewer what the video is about. This relates even more to styles of films such as musicals, for example 'Singing In The Rain', although artists are incorporating new ideas to music videos in this day and age some are also reinforcing old aspects that highlights the very start of music videos as a whole. A good example that I found for Narrative was 'Katy Perry - The One That Got Away', as it shows a clear story being told which is full of emotion containing a beginning, middle and end.
Finally I explored abstract, the last style for a music video and the style of mine overall. Abstract is a style of music video found commonly in less mainstream videos. It is a style used to evoke feelings or the mood to give more of an impression about what the songs about rather than a clear understandable story. Sometimes in an abstract music video it is hard to make a link between what is happening and what the lyrics are saying but it is the use of edits working with the beat of the song that brings the two together. This is known as Rhythmic editing, a convention seen in almost every music video not just those in my genre. This convention is seen in my music video as each shot changes on beat to the music to link the forms of media together and make the continuity a lot smoother in transition. The abstract style makes your emotions and thoughts about both the lyrics and the song constantly change throughout and is more creative that of the other two styles of videos. Watching music videos, 'Dan Black ft Kid Cudi - Sympohnies', in particular created lots of ideas to how I wanted to present my video now knowing and understanding the expected conventions of all the Styles used in this form of media and how they are combined for my genre in particular.
My music video is presented in an abstract style with incorporation of performance and some use of narration features. It is appears very simply put together but with numerous amounts of edits, cuts and different types of shots it brings confusion and travel without even moving out of one main location. As abstract is the main style in my music video the many shots each have their own meaning for the overall piece that may not be straight away clear to the audience. The main focus was to present the confusion and sadness being felt in my artists emotion from missing his girlfriend using galaxy themed images and various flashing light overlays which also indicate the distance and reinforces the song title, in particular the word 'Teleport'. A black and white effect has been used when showing shots of the female, their to indicate his girlfriend and represent not only them being apart but also how the memories my artist has of spending time with his girlfriend seem to be fading because of how hard it is not be with her.
The artists face is presented through medium close ups, close ups and extreme close ups and is a good way of expressing emotion bringing the correct mood and feelings to the audience. My artists face expresses sadness to match with the lyrics being sang expressing how he feels about being separated from his girlfriend. There is also a shot captured at the same angle as a facial shot but this time based as an over the shoulder shot which shows my artist hitting the wall expressing his anger.
The camera shots are very calm and focused on the artist during the verses working slowly and parallel to each other, but then becomes much more creative and fast editing when the chorus singing the phrase 'Teleport 2 Me' is introduced. Rotations, fades and overlays bring speed to the clip expressing the movement that Kid Cudi wants to achieve as well as continuity for the video as a whole. From extreme close ups to extreme long shots they quickly alternate between different distances to show emotion and create character in sync with the music and beat of the song. Eye level angles in music videos show the audience the view they are used to seeing things. This is good as it helps to connect the audience with the artist but too much of this style can be boring so high and low angles are also used to bring excitement to the piece. In my video I have used eye level shots during the chorus which lasts almost 20 seconds, to avoid the shots being boring for my audience I have captured them from different angles and made them cut fast from one shot to another which also expresses the feelings being felt by my artist. In terms of rule of thirds my artist is positioned to the left challenging conventions of main artists being place central in the frame. As my artist is the only character in the shot, this is not such a big deal and as the shots change so quick and have been captured from different angles the positioning of my artist does vary making it an interesting sequence, much more effective than him being central throughout.
In music videos different angles also show the different balances in power which helps persuade the audience into whose side they should be on in a narrative style video where there is a protagonist and an antagonist. Dutch angles are commonly used in music videos, especially abstract as it adds creativeness and makes it a bit unusual. It could also be used to show the way someone is feeling in the effect of an illness or drug use which is seen in a more explicit video for older viewers. This shot is seen to express my artists unsteady emotion, he is out doing the job he loves putting him on an emotional high but the separation from the one he loves unbalances him and drags him down making it a constant battle with his emotions.
To make the artists look attractive for more promotional purposes a birds eye view is used as it is much more flattering than a horizontal angle. Since we live in a world where 'appearance is key' it is important that artist portrays themselves in the most attractive way possible not just for male attention but female views too. You could say I challenge this aspect by using the shot for a different purpose when presenting the time on my artists watch..
Journeys both emotionally and physically are seen in music videos and camera movements such as tracking and pans help to give this sense of the audience being a part of it all. It helps to bring continuity as well as reflecting the mood and tone that the artist wants to put out to their fans. Edits to the beat of the song is the most common convention of form as no matter what the genre it is still an effect that can be noticed. Transitions of fades are a very common convention for music videos as well as straight cuts when the music is up beat. As my song is based on emotion I chose to go with fades for the transition effects which was a choice seen in the music videos I looked at in depth at the start by Rihanna and Beyonce as they were based on emotion too. Other effects such as black and white, sepia or various different colours help to express not only the era but the mood too as different colours connote different meanings that could link to the feelings of the artist. This can help make an artist stand out, making them appear unique and different which will work to helping gain popularity for the song.I have used colour effects in my song which link to many various reasons. As mentioned in discussion about the last angle that I have incorporated into my music video, the bright colored lighting in my video presents Kid Cudis lifestyle of performing in large concerts and the high emotion Cudi feels when doing his job on the other hand the black and white effect seen when presenting his girlfriend shows the low he feels as they are together. It also presents the distance and the faded memories as they have been apart for so long.
Sound is a big importance of a music video, without it there would be no music so it will lose its whole meaning. The sound can be either non-diegetic, diegetic or a combination of both. It works parallel with the editing, meaning if the video is fast so will be the song, if the songs slow then so will be the video. Props are most often used in videos to connect the artist with the mise en scene of location making it more realistic to the viewers. The video is made more enjoyable to watch by this convention as is it can help to tell the story, spread a message or add a comical value.For the speed aspect of the song in my video, I have changed not only the speed of certain shots making some slower and some faster but I have also changed how fast the shots change too. I have done this as throughout the song the speed of the music changes so to keep the rhythmic editing conventional I have changed the shots to match the beat in particular for the chorus as everything gets much faster conventionally in all music videos. It also helps to express emotion too sometimes anger can be sped up to show how the character is feeling inside but it can also be slowed down to show the emotion in more detail to the audience which can be seen at certain points of my video.
Kid Cudi incorporates some basic dance moves in the video that matches the beat of the song interacting them both together as one. Not only this, you can see a story being told flashing lights and a smoke effect are shown as a reference to him telelporting to his girlfriend. This shows a link between the styles of both narrative and performance which is a key feature of helping make the artist stand out to the audience.
Finally Mise En Scene in relation to costume is important for self promotion of an artist in relation to their genres stereotype. It can help to explain a narrative or reflect the character or role they are trying to represent. The more outrageous an outfit the more it will be talked about gaining popularity for the song, Lady Gaga being a good example. The more realistic an outfit the more stylized the artist will become as it will make them a style icon for audiences who want to match the style and be just like them.This works particularly well for females in terms of hair styles and makeup which will undoubtedly be mentioned in the next issue of popular fashion magazines, gaining popularity for an artist once again. Kid Cudi is known to be effortlessly stylish, wearing items from high end labels but they look very affordable to his audience at the same time as he wants his ideology to be effectively stylised by his fans in relation to them being able to wear similar outfits. This can be seen in my artists costume as he wears basic casual clothing but with accessories such as a gold watch to still present the wealth. The song at the start discusses how my artist has just got in from the airport so you wouldn't expect to see him wearing a suit or anything fancy. My costume was chosen carefully to match my artists ideology alongside the lyrics in my video so that there is continuity for my artist as a whole. This alone will gain Kid Cudi popularity and iconography as he will not only be stylized through his music but his appearance too. This will move him from digital media to physical too, appearing regularly in magazines to show the latest purchases of clothes and accessories he has been buying to allow his audience to keep up to date.
It is clear to see straight from the start that the mise en scene in times of the location, links directly in with the song lyrics. The song title being Teleport 2 Me, shows travel through time without the form of transport, something that is not realistically possible in the day and age. The lights and graphics incorporated into the various locations for the video highlights the travel giving a space sense of feel. Different flashing lights throughout the video acts as a constant reinforcement of the song title as it is something that is thought of in relation to this unrealistic way of travel.
The key iconic features of this video that makes it work so well is the editing and cinematography. Various coloured lights have been incorporated throughout along with graphics of stars and space to reinforce teleportation. Rotations, overlays, multiple imagery, long shots to close ups all help to build excitement continuously throughout and edited explosions shown through establishing shots and extreme long shots makes it forever entertaining for the audience. It contains the most simple mise en scene, that being an empty room and a bed, but its along with the edits that makes it so unusual and intriguing to the viewer making you not want to stop watching.
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Evaluation Q1 - Part 2 - Ancillary Texts
Above is my magazine advert and digipak along side two existing media products belonging to Jay-Z. I have compared my products to that of Jay-Z as they belong to the same Genre. I followed the codes and conventions expected to be seen from the two media forms belonging to all genres but in particular my products should be most similar in terms of denotations to the one seen above as they belong to the same genre of Hip-Hop/Rap.
First I will discuss the Adverts, they both include the artists name and the album title, informing the audience of what the ad is advertising. Comparing my advert to that of Jay-Z's you could say I was challenging the positioning and order of my advert structure as the album and artists name title are positioned oppositely to the existing ads. I have placed my album title at the top of the page were as the Jay-Z one has his name instead. This convention varies within all magazine adverts depending on what the designer and production team feel is the most important aspect for their advert. Some adverts I researched showed the artist name and album title side by side, others parallel with the text size deciding which was most important. As long as they are both seen on the advert the positioning is completely based on what worked best with the design.
Next is the Release date, again seen on mine and the existing professional ad. This feature informs the potential consumer of when they will be able to buy the product being advertised. Sometimes digital copies or snippets can be downloaded online or off of iTunes and this date may be different so that would also be shown. As I have only created a digipak so the date I have included is only based on the physical product and not a digital copy because its not a must have convention as not all artists offer this.
There is also a main image on both of the adverts that shows a clear link to the artwork design of the digipak or album itself to not only act as a way of selling the product due to unique eye catching artwork but to also make it easier for the audience to recognise the product in a music store if they go to buy it. Sometimes, but not always, an image of the artist will be on the artwork cover as it will make the product instantly appeal to not only already established fans but potential new fans too if they find the artist attractive. A lot of the mainstream artists belonging to my chosen genre are now challenging this convention themselves by make their artwork more of a unique design rather than an image of themselves especially if they have their own clothing label as it also helps to promote themselves in that form too. It makes then individual and stand out from the rest. To make my digipak design work with both the expected conventions and the challenging conventions for my genre, I have taken an image of my artist but edited it to merge in with my design to place itself in between the two expectations.
My advert also contains extra information which can vary from advert to advert of existing products. Sometimes you see ratings or quotes from magazines which can sometimes help to sell a product as it acts like 'word of mouth' acting as an opinion from authority. People trust and believe what magazine writers are saying so if they think its good then the audience will want to see if it really is. I chose to add information about an upcoming event that Kid Cudi is performing at which is also commonly seen on adverts. This is multi-advertising, promoting both the album and an upcoming event helping the artist to gain popularity and more money. This extra information is seen in smaller writing to the rest of the advert as it is not the main reason as to why the ad was created but it is still big enough to be easily noticed.
Finally the advert contains continuity of both theme and font style. Not only is the continuity seen within the ad but it also is followed through to the album itself and the actual music video for the song. This helps to link all the forms together to show they all belong to one artist and makes it quick and easy to identify. Convention the adverts for an album are designed to match the album artwork as mentioned above. I have also included images of shots from my music video as it is a digipak I have created so there is more room for continuity and this is what is conventionally expected.
Above is my digipak and below is an existing one from the artist Kid Cudi both showing how they display the codes and conventions of the media texts. Both digipaks, similar to the ad display the artists name and the album title both on the front and spine of the product informing the audience of whose music they are able to buy. There is also a page that presents the design that was seen on the advert which forms continuity between the two forms acting as a way of selling the product. On the back cover of the digipak is the song list of what is to be expected from the product in terms of mp3 music. It is also an insight to upcoming mp4 music videos that will be created to illustrate the music by that artist. Also featured is production information including copyright laws for the physical music as well as the record label logo and a QR code that was created in 1994 but has greatly become popular and an expected feature for music albums in the 21st century. The QR code allows people who have a smartphone to scan the code and instantly gain access to a webpage or can act like a barcode so you can buy the product online through internet 3G and also now the new and much faster 4G. I added this as it is now a modern feature which reflects how technology can develop over a short space of time making media forms like this more accessible in a easy and fast way due to the growth in web 2.0. There is also other expected album logos that I have included for a more professional look and also I included the parental advisory logo to indicate some of the content on my artist album is explicit as this is a common appearance on albums from artists belonging to my chosen genre. Finally I included the highly expected barcode, typical of any product that you buy.
Above is my digipak and below is an existing one from the artist Kid Cudi both showing how they display the codes and conventions of the media texts. Both digipaks, similar to the ad display the artists name and the album title both on the front and spine of the product informing the audience of whose music they are able to buy. There is also a page that presents the design that was seen on the advert which forms continuity between the two forms acting as a way of selling the product. On the back cover of the digipak is the song list of what is to be expected from the product in terms of mp3 music. It is also an insight to upcoming mp4 music videos that will be created to illustrate the music by that artist. Also featured is production information including copyright laws for the physical music as well as the record label logo and a QR code that was created in 1994 but has greatly become popular and an expected feature for music albums in the 21st century. The QR code allows people who have a smartphone to scan the code and instantly gain access to a webpage or can act like a barcode so you can buy the product online through internet 3G and also now the new and much faster 4G. I added this as it is now a modern feature which reflects how technology can develop over a short space of time making media forms like this more accessible in a easy and fast way due to the growth in web 2.0. There is also other expected album logos that I have included for a more professional look and also I included the parental advisory logo to indicate some of the content on my artist album is explicit as this is a common appearance on albums from artists belonging to my chosen genre. Finally I included the highly expected barcode, typical of any product that you buy.
My digipak shows continuity throughout with repeated edited effects, colour scheme and imagery, even the cd designs match with the album artwork, advert and music video varying in shades to tell the CD apart from the DVD. The disks also contain my record labels website address so anyone interested in my artist can go on to the website and see what other artists that label manage to help grow their playlists. Just like on the back of my digipak were there is information about production and copyright laws more information like this can be seen around the edge of the disk designs as this was a professional convention i found in my research and that I copied from a real album belonging to my chosen genre Hip-Hop/Rap. All these features for my Music video, Magazine advert and Digipak are keeping in with the established codes and conventions and although I have slightly challenged some they were chosen based on what I have seen on existing products throughout my research which developed on to inspiring me to create my own media forms based within the music industry.
Sunday, 6 April 2014
Evaluation - Q2
How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
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For this years media project I have created a Music Video Promo, a digipak and a magazine advert in support of its release. To create an effective combination between my main product and ancillary text I constantly aimed to keeping continuity between all three, remaining with the same theme throughout and an abstract style. After my teacher watched mymusic video she gave me some spoken feedback that quotes:
Rebecca Ives - "There is not a lot to change in your music video as it is abstract and really works well. I really like the light aspect which I would incorporate a bit more on the scene were you are show the males hands. The mirror effect of the female is really nice and the graphic image at the start is really interesting too, relating well to the galactic theme of the video. At the end of the video were you are shown the candle being blown out I would incorporate the image again to incorporate the galaxy aspect again to finalise the piece. Overall it is very good and with those small additions it will finalise to be a very nice piece." - Her feedback instantly shows the effectiveness of my video as I wanted it to achieve an abstract style which she confirms I have done straight away. She also confirms how I have related well to my galactiv theme that aim out to incorporate by using a galactic style image make from fireworks on Adobe Photoshop CS6. The image is also seen within my ancillary texts showing how my products all link together.
I shared elements such as the same font throughout my ancillary products, that being 'OCR A Std' created on Adobe Photoshop. By keeping the font the same it indicates a clear link between the two showing that they are combined products although of different forms. The only time there was a change seen within the font aspect was when I changed the size to differentiate the different importance's of each conventional piece of text as well as reducing the opacity of some letters or numbers. This also helped to form a structure within my house styles making my products look more appealing and professional.
Rebecca Ives - "There is not a lot to change in your music video as it is abstract and really works well. I really like the light aspect which I would incorporate a bit more on the scene were you are show the males hands. The mirror effect of the female is really nice and the graphic image at the start is really interesting too, relating well to the galactic theme of the video. At the end of the video were you are shown the candle being blown out I would incorporate the image again to incorporate the galaxy aspect again to finalise the piece. Overall it is very good and with those small additions it will finalise to be a very nice piece." - Her feedback instantly shows the effectiveness of my video as I wanted it to achieve an abstract style which she confirms I have done straight away. She also confirms how I have related well to my galactiv theme that aim out to incorporate by using a galactic style image make from fireworks on Adobe Photoshop CS6. The image is also seen within my ancillary texts showing how my products all link together.
I shared elements such as the same font throughout my ancillary products, that being 'OCR A Std' created on Adobe Photoshop. By keeping the font the same it indicates a clear link between the two showing that they are combined products although of different forms. The only time there was a change seen within the font aspect was when I changed the size to differentiate the different importance's of each conventional piece of text as well as reducing the opacity of some letters or numbers. This also helped to form a structure within my house styles making my products look more appealing and professional.
Another shared element across all three of my products is the galactic sci-fi theme, there to reinforce the song title 'Teleport 2 Me'. Teleportation is not something achievable in this day and age and is stereotyped to be travel through time with indications of space. I Have included one main image across all my products that I created on Photoshop using images of fireworks layered on top of each other. The image represents a nebula giving off a very galactic sense of feel which links directly with the expectations of teleporting. This image can be seen at the beginning and end of my music video as well as a low opacity layer on my advert design, digipak front cover and also placed as a full image on one of the pages in my digipak. This helps to combine all my three products in a clear and effective way forming a theme that reinforces the song title of the main product. The colours found in the image also makes up the colour scheme for both of my ancillary texts that being a mixture of purples, black, shades of orange, yellow white and gold. I chose this colour combination as it highly reflects the sky on a night which links straight to space. It is also the colours you see when flying above countries on a night and you can see all the lights from the buildings below, this relates to the teleportation.
My chosen font is white as it contrasts against the other main colours that form the backgrounds for my pieces. It connotes innocence and progression, indicating my artists journey through his career and also a reference to the song. It is as well known as being the favorable colour for wedding dresses in America reinforcing the relationship shared between the American artist Cudi and his girlfriend, the whole meaning and point of the song. Finally it also represents the stars that appear white in the night sky that stand out against the contrasting darkness which is what I want the text to do to inform my audience of what they are being presented.
L - 'Kid Cudi' this informs the audience of who the artist is that created the work on both the advert and the digipak. In a large white and clear font it will stand out against the contrasting dark backgrounds of my products to help lure in my audience, both music purchasers in store and magazine readers. The Song title which also shares same elements of promotion, shares the same font style to maintain continuity throughout my products.
I - The digipak is by the artist Kid Cudi who is owned, for my products, by Lacuna Records - "Lacuna: an unfilled space; a gap" - with this definition I decided that the missing gap of 'Lacuna Records' would be filled by each individual artist that is a part of the label so the meaning behind the names works very well. 'The music artist.. filled a Lacuna in the music industry'.
I - The digipak advertised through my ad is representing and advertising Kid Cudi's music. The ad helps to sell his music and the cd actually delivers his music, therfor they represent the values and ideas that my artist has towards the music industry for the consumption of his target audience.
A - My target audience is aged between 16-29 both male and female and who are interested in the urban culture of today. My video contains a fun vibe presented with flashing lights, lots of colour and a love story aiming at the younger end of the scale. Oppositely, there are scenes of smoke to indicate Cudi's habit so for legal reasons I couldnt aim lower as this would convey the wrong message as any younger the audience are believed to not be mature enough for this content by law but I can aim older and that also links with the audience conventions for my genre.
R - The design of all my products in terms of the themes throughout represent Cudi as being fun, creative and very relaxed through the use of colours, smoke and varied effects. There is change between coloured shots and also black and white representing emotions, separation and past and present time.
Making of Ancillary texts
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Making my digipak, I began by designing different house styles on paper and then moved on to digital designs where I could practice with the exact fonts that I wanted to use.
Next I made the front cover on Adobe Photoshop Cs6, combining layers of images that I had captured. From this I chose my colour scheme matching an image that I incorporated into my music video as a base to form my galactic theme from. I included a picture of my artist as this is conventionally expected so that the audience can instantly see who the album belongs too without reading any text. I manipulated my image to combine effectively with the galactic design I had created. I removed the background of the image so that the design i had created showed through much more clearly. To do this i selected what i want to erased with the selection tool and then removed it with the eraser. Then I added a smoke effect which Links the digipak to my music video as there are shots of smoke which all relates to the ideology of the artist. I had already chosen what font I wanted to use (OCR A Std) from practice fonts earlier on in the project so next I added that conventionally, including all the features I had found that were expected to be seen on my digipak from gathering research of existing products.
Once I was happy on the design I then began designing the spine using the same colour scheme text and background to form continuity and effectively combine the sections which is conventional for this form of product. i placed it on the right side of the front cover as when the product is formed and each section is folded this will be on the edge of the pack. The reason for the spine being on the edge is so when the disk is stacked to sell in stores you can still identify the product although you cannot see the cover. Then I created the back of the digipak were again the design matched the rest I had already created. I added the song titles in an order I had decided on from creating drawn and digital templates in relation to existing products and added logos that I had seen on products belonging to my genre too.
These logos consisted of a parental advisory logo, the same as which had been designed onto the front of my album as the content of my album was not suitable for some ages. I chose to do this as my genre is known for explicit music lyrics meaning the audience has to be informed in a clear way so young children are unable to purchase it without parental consent. Other logos included my music record label logo, disc, a QR Code and a barcode. I included these by copying them off of the internet (google) and inserted it with a 'darken' effect so that the background disappeared leaving only the barcode itself and not a square box around it making it look more professional. I then inverted them to make them all white as I could only find black logos on google and that didnt match with the rest of my design. By inverting them they then effectively matched with the rest of my textual colour scheme. As each section of the digipak was starting to come together I then took the digipak template and opened it in Adobe photoshop Cs6. With that I placed on the sections I had created to see what I had left to create.
Before I started on the next sections I printed out my cd to see what it looked like so far as a finished product in terms of a CD and not yet a digipak. I asked family and friends who commented saying:
"It definitly looks realistic, its got all the logos that you see on real life cds as well as a music record logo, barcode and parental advisory logo" - Paige Rodmell
"I didnt realise it wasnt a real album at first, the back is definitly the most believable with the label information writing and all the logos" - Rachel Widdicks
" I wouldnt of known it wasnt real if you hadnt of told me, its really good" - Sharon Graham
"I like the writing around the edge of the cd as well as on the back, it gives it a professional finish that is very believable" - Katie Craven
Placing it onto the digipak template was when I had to make some adjustments, As I had created the front cover, spine and backcover not with a template some of the sizing wasnt accurate. The only thing i needed to do the was crop the designs down to fit and place them inside the template. I then added the image I had use as a layer effect for my overall design, that is also seen in my music video, and placed it into my chosen section of the template. For it to fit I again had to crop it down as the image was a landscape scale and i needed it to be square. Then I moved on to designing my CD taking the image i just discussed and selected a circle section within it that will be the shape of the CD. I then selected the inverse selection and deleted all of the image except the selected circle. I then selected a smaller circle in the centre of the disk that would be the central hole in my final product. i next changed the colour balance to achieve two different versions of the image that would form my disk designs. I did them different colours to help differentiate the purpose of the two disks but kept the design the same to effectively combine them within my product. I added the conventional expectations of the artist name, song title, record label logo and prosecution laws around the edge of the disks using the same font and designs as those seen on the outer packaging. To achieve the curved effect for my font I had to create a path on photoshop and choose a curve angle that i wanted it to rotate at to fit nicely with the design. This was something I found tricky at first as I had never achieved the effect using a path but as the disk is one full circle the text could not be adjusted simply by the transform buttons in terms of an arch edit.
To place the final disk designs on to my template i rotated them 180 degrees so that they was upside down on the screen but the right way for when they were to be printed and the pack was to be folded to form the product. Before completing my final section of the digipak I decided that this would be my magazine ad, as conventionally the magazine ad that advertises the album form is almost identical to that of the front cover design and as a digipak the ad design features in the pack.
Moving on to my advert that I have created on Adobe Photoshope cs6 I combined layers for the design similarly to the way I created them for my digipak. I took the background of my overall digipak and placed it as a background layer for the poster. On top of that I have placed a cosmo effect thats seen on the cd cover too and then a manipulated image of my artist relating to a cosmo effect known on photoshop as 'Glowing Edges'. The reason in which I have done this is to form continuity among all of my media texts to show a clear link between the various forms. I then placed text on to the image, the same font as seen on my digipak design, again to show an effective combination between the advert and what it is promoting. At the top of the poster is the album title, each character arranged differently and in a different size to represent a travel sense of feel. I did this by creating each letter separately and transforming the text one at a time varying the size. Below that is the artists name, a bit smaller than the overall title as the image is also there to indicate who the artist is and the purpose of the ad is to sell the album not the artist. Then finally below that is information about what the advertisement is all about. The album release and the date, the date being one that would be very familiar to the audience of Kid Cudi (4/20). Underneath that is some further information of a performance by Kid Cudi Live at The O2 Acadamy to really lure in the audience all remaining written in the same font just varying in size due to importance. Overall the advert gives an intergalactic cosmo theme which clearly links with the house style and theme of my digipak and music video.
L - The title 'Teleport 2 Me' tells the audience the name of the product that the ad is advertising. i chose to put it in the same larger white and clear font as seen on my main products to show and effective combination of conventions with my media products. The White against the dark purple background design clearly stands out for my audience to see also reinforcing the idea of starts at night in a galactic scenery, not only my chosen theme but also a reinforcement of the song title and representations.
I - I think this advert would be published in Music magazines that aim in particular to artists from my chosen genre such as VIBE and COMPLEX. My design style is similar to the way artists belonging to that genre present their and those are the type you see in the magazines I have just mentioned. Also another reason that those magazines are most likely to feature my ad is that Kid Cudi is always a main feature for those companies so anything to do with a new release or concert date will immediately be included in their products. Online research at 'wiki.answers' suggests it would cost $9000.00 to have an ad in VIBE for one fourth of a page. For Complex magazine it quotes that for an ad in their magazine it costs "Too much.. Just stick with flyers. A normal Ad is about $6.500.00 per magazine. So I am unsure of which would be the cheapest from my research. Both these magazines aim at men and woman just like who I am aiming my products at so either of these companies products would be perfect to place my ad in.
I - This product aims to sell the digipak I have created of Kid Cudi. I used a release date that is iconic to the audience of Kid Cudi and that will persuade them more into buying the album as it could make them believe that it contains special features for this particular date.
A - The target audience for all my products are both male and female ageing between 16-29 due to the explicit content. They will be interested in urban culture and may of grown up listening to artists such as shaggy due to their parents influence and interest. They may also of gained their interest in the genre of Hip-Hop/Rap based on the environment they live in, their peers or particular hobbies or interests.
R - It represents Cudi as being individual and creative showing a reflection to his music and the videos that work along side it. it shows hes not afraid to stand out and be proud of who he is and what he creates.
After creating my magazine advert I then cropped it down on photoshop to form a square selection of the product that I then place onto the template of my digipak to show effective continuity between the different product forms. This is also conventional as previously mentioned for magazine ad designs to be almost identical to the design of the digipak content or CD front cover. I rotated it 180 so that just like the disk designs they are not the right formation of screen but they will be when the product is printed.
If i was to redo my products I think the only things I would change would be that i included a rating on my advert decided by the magazine that it would be place in but if I have don't that i think the advert could of been too busy and this would of challenged conventions and possibly making my product look unprofessional which would make it overall unsuccessful. The front cover image shot of my artist would be another change Id make as the more I look at it the more I dislike it. It could of certainly more posed but at the same time his expression does match that of those he shows in my music video, showing emotion and forming effective combinations once again.
Making of Ancillary texts
_______________________________
Making my digipak, I began by designing different house styles on paper and then moved on to digital designs where I could practice with the exact fonts that I wanted to use.
Once I was happy on the design I then began designing the spine using the same colour scheme text and background to form continuity and effectively combine the sections which is conventional for this form of product. i placed it on the right side of the front cover as when the product is formed and each section is folded this will be on the edge of the pack. The reason for the spine being on the edge is so when the disk is stacked to sell in stores you can still identify the product although you cannot see the cover. Then I created the back of the digipak were again the design matched the rest I had already created. I added the song titles in an order I had decided on from creating drawn and digital templates in relation to existing products and added logos that I had seen on products belonging to my genre too.
These logos consisted of a parental advisory logo, the same as which had been designed onto the front of my album as the content of my album was not suitable for some ages. I chose to do this as my genre is known for explicit music lyrics meaning the audience has to be informed in a clear way so young children are unable to purchase it without parental consent. Other logos included my music record label logo, disc, a QR Code and a barcode. I included these by copying them off of the internet (google) and inserted it with a 'darken' effect so that the background disappeared leaving only the barcode itself and not a square box around it making it look more professional. I then inverted them to make them all white as I could only find black logos on google and that didnt match with the rest of my design. By inverting them they then effectively matched with the rest of my textual colour scheme. As each section of the digipak was starting to come together I then took the digipak template and opened it in Adobe photoshop Cs6. With that I placed on the sections I had created to see what I had left to create.
Before I started on the next sections I printed out my cd to see what it looked like so far as a finished product in terms of a CD and not yet a digipak. I asked family and friends who commented saying:
"It definitly looks realistic, its got all the logos that you see on real life cds as well as a music record logo, barcode and parental advisory logo" - Paige Rodmell
"I didnt realise it wasnt a real album at first, the back is definitly the most believable with the label information writing and all the logos" - Rachel Widdicks
" I wouldnt of known it wasnt real if you hadnt of told me, its really good" - Sharon Graham
"I like the writing around the edge of the cd as well as on the back, it gives it a professional finish that is very believable" - Katie Craven
Placing it onto the digipak template was when I had to make some adjustments, As I had created the front cover, spine and backcover not with a template some of the sizing wasnt accurate. The only thing i needed to do the was crop the designs down to fit and place them inside the template. I then added the image I had use as a layer effect for my overall design, that is also seen in my music video, and placed it into my chosen section of the template. For it to fit I again had to crop it down as the image was a landscape scale and i needed it to be square. Then I moved on to designing my CD taking the image i just discussed and selected a circle section within it that will be the shape of the CD. I then selected the inverse selection and deleted all of the image except the selected circle. I then selected a smaller circle in the centre of the disk that would be the central hole in my final product. i next changed the colour balance to achieve two different versions of the image that would form my disk designs. I did them different colours to help differentiate the purpose of the two disks but kept the design the same to effectively combine them within my product. I added the conventional expectations of the artist name, song title, record label logo and prosecution laws around the edge of the disks using the same font and designs as those seen on the outer packaging. To achieve the curved effect for my font I had to create a path on photoshop and choose a curve angle that i wanted it to rotate at to fit nicely with the design. This was something I found tricky at first as I had never achieved the effect using a path but as the disk is one full circle the text could not be adjusted simply by the transform buttons in terms of an arch edit.
To place the final disk designs on to my template i rotated them 180 degrees so that they was upside down on the screen but the right way for when they were to be printed and the pack was to be folded to form the product. Before completing my final section of the digipak I decided that this would be my magazine ad, as conventionally the magazine ad that advertises the album form is almost identical to that of the front cover design and as a digipak the ad design features in the pack.
Moving on to my advert that I have created on Adobe Photoshope cs6 I combined layers for the design similarly to the way I created them for my digipak. I took the background of my overall digipak and placed it as a background layer for the poster. On top of that I have placed a cosmo effect thats seen on the cd cover too and then a manipulated image of my artist relating to a cosmo effect known on photoshop as 'Glowing Edges'. The reason in which I have done this is to form continuity among all of my media texts to show a clear link between the various forms. I then placed text on to the image, the same font as seen on my digipak design, again to show an effective combination between the advert and what it is promoting. At the top of the poster is the album title, each character arranged differently and in a different size to represent a travel sense of feel. I did this by creating each letter separately and transforming the text one at a time varying the size. Below that is the artists name, a bit smaller than the overall title as the image is also there to indicate who the artist is and the purpose of the ad is to sell the album not the artist. Then finally below that is information about what the advertisement is all about. The album release and the date, the date being one that would be very familiar to the audience of Kid Cudi (4/20). Underneath that is some further information of a performance by Kid Cudi Live at The O2 Acadamy to really lure in the audience all remaining written in the same font just varying in size due to importance. Overall the advert gives an intergalactic cosmo theme which clearly links with the house style and theme of my digipak and music video.
L - The title 'Teleport 2 Me' tells the audience the name of the product that the ad is advertising. i chose to put it in the same larger white and clear font as seen on my main products to show and effective combination of conventions with my media products. The White against the dark purple background design clearly stands out for my audience to see also reinforcing the idea of starts at night in a galactic scenery, not only my chosen theme but also a reinforcement of the song title and representations.
I - I think this advert would be published in Music magazines that aim in particular to artists from my chosen genre such as VIBE and COMPLEX. My design style is similar to the way artists belonging to that genre present their and those are the type you see in the magazines I have just mentioned. Also another reason that those magazines are most likely to feature my ad is that Kid Cudi is always a main feature for those companies so anything to do with a new release or concert date will immediately be included in their products. Online research at 'wiki.answers' suggests it would cost $9000.00 to have an ad in VIBE for one fourth of a page. For Complex magazine it quotes that for an ad in their magazine it costs "Too much.. Just stick with flyers. A normal Ad is about $6.500.00 per magazine. So I am unsure of which would be the cheapest from my research. Both these magazines aim at men and woman just like who I am aiming my products at so either of these companies products would be perfect to place my ad in.
I - This product aims to sell the digipak I have created of Kid Cudi. I used a release date that is iconic to the audience of Kid Cudi and that will persuade them more into buying the album as it could make them believe that it contains special features for this particular date.
A - The target audience for all my products are both male and female ageing between 16-29 due to the explicit content. They will be interested in urban culture and may of grown up listening to artists such as shaggy due to their parents influence and interest. They may also of gained their interest in the genre of Hip-Hop/Rap based on the environment they live in, their peers or particular hobbies or interests.
R - It represents Cudi as being individual and creative showing a reflection to his music and the videos that work along side it. it shows hes not afraid to stand out and be proud of who he is and what he creates.
After creating my magazine advert I then cropped it down on photoshop to form a square selection of the product that I then place onto the template of my digipak to show effective continuity between the different product forms. This is also conventional as previously mentioned for magazine ad designs to be almost identical to the design of the digipak content or CD front cover. I rotated it 180 so that just like the disk designs they are not the right formation of screen but they will be when the product is printed.
If i was to redo my products I think the only things I would change would be that i included a rating on my advert decided by the magazine that it would be place in but if I have don't that i think the advert could of been too busy and this would of challenged conventions and possibly making my product look unprofessional which would make it overall unsuccessful. The front cover image shot of my artist would be another change Id make as the more I look at it the more I dislike it. It could of certainly more posed but at the same time his expression does match that of those he shows in my music video, showing emotion and forming effective combinations once again.
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