Rough Copy Of DigiPak Layout

In my digipak layout i have written down in each panel what i would like to include such as colours , pictures and also textual analysis. I have chosen to use the colours blue and green ( a dark and bright colour) because we have chosen our artist to break the grime stereotype. Dark colours are often associated with grime which is why i have chosen to use the colour black. I then chose to combine the blue colour to show a more pop effect which shows that our artist is versatile.

I have also provided a panel which has a textual analysis to give dedication to the others and to the people that have helped the artist become successful.

Below is a preview of what may be on the front cover of the albulm/ digipak .

Images of Myself Working in a Media Lesson

Here is an image of me working in a media lessons. I am working on my blog works and making sure that my checklist is finished.

At this stage of my media journey my group has finished the story boards and are getting prepared to start filming our schedule.

Another picture of me checking that everything is completed on the checklist.

Other Ideas Of Images

These are random shots of other ideas we thought the image of our artist in the video could look like.

Album Covers and Digi-Paks

Digipacks are a type of CD packaging made out of card stock or other heavy paper/cardboard material. Digipacks can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. Usually, the portion of the digipack that hold the CD is made of plastic like a traditional jewel case CD - the plastic part is simply attached to the paper background.

What makes an Effective Digipack?

• Color schemes and pictures throughout the CD cover
• Pictures that also link with the band or either the genre

Digipacks have pros and cons:

• They look nice, and many bands and labels like to use them for aesthetic reasons. The three section digipack sleeves opens up more design options because there is more room. However, they're more expensive than traditional liner notes and jewel cases.

  
  

• Digipacks don't crack like jewel cases do, but they will rip and eventually the paper begins to peel apart and separate.

  
  

• The trays in digipacks break much more often then in jewel cases. There's not as much protection since the outer portion of made of paper, so the teeth that hold the CD in place crack and fall out easily.

  
  

• When the teeth of the tray does break in a digipack, the CD falls out of the bottom of the digipack, because unlike jewel cases, there is nothing to hold it in.

  
  

• Digipacks can be more environmentally friendly than jewel cases because they can be made of recycled paper - however, they aren't always in fact made in this way.

The reason why i have a picture of Wiz Khalifa here is to show that some digi-packs can look like a jewel cased CD but they flip out in a different way. Also this specific wiz khalifa album is made out of paper which is quite deceiving looking at the image. Another thing that is very clever about what Wiz Khalifa has done is that the Long Tattoo that is covering his arms are called 'Sleeves' his then links back to the description of the digi pack 'the three section digipack 'sleeves' opens up more design options because there is more room. This is why on 1 of the open up sleeves he has a picture of his hands showing the tattoo.

Lists of Props, Costumes, Make-up and equipment.

We have decided for our performer to look like a 'Grime Thug' but also have that mature attire so it breaks the stereotypical grime industry look :

A costume that he might appear to wear in the video is a black cardigan to imply that he is update with the fashion and to also give him that youthfull look to show that he is an up and coming artist.

The picture below is a medium close up shot of his upper body attire.This is the general look that he would be wearing and how he would be posistioned in a frame of the music video.

This Gucci belt is a sign of wealth and just for fashion to show to the audience that he is wealthy and even though he is a new artist he is not

These are a pair of ralph lauren shoes that the artist may consider wearing in the video. Ralph lauren is also another well known expensive make which shows wealth and also a youthful fashion sense portraying that he is young artist.

Comparing Blogs

In the blog that i have recently looked at there are quite good things that i have seen such as as;

WWW:

• They had lots of visual photos that standed out which was very eye catching
• In the rough edited video the main actor lip synced quite well which looked quite good and professional
• I liked the way they used various images and they also used video clips from youtube when they was talking about the initial ideas
• As they was doing the same theme as me i found that mine was not that far off looking like theres and we also had many similiarites.

Images of Paul Knight and Myself Working

Here are some shots of Myself and Paul knight working on our Research and Planning. You can also see snap shots of our story board in progress. The technology that you can see us using the Imac and Storyboard sheets.

In this shot you can see a couple of our complete drawings that we have recently done. We have not drawn them in order as in a grime video the shots are not continuity edited.

In this shot here is both myself and paul working on our storyboards.

Now in this shot you can myself on the imac working on my blogs in class. I find using the mac is quite easy and that i have come along way since AS media.

Roles

In my group their is only me and another member of the class (Paul Knight). As their is only 2 of us in the group there is allot of work we both have to regulate between each other. Even though their is only 2 of us, i feel that it is easier to get the work done as we don't have to keep in touch with 2 or 3 other individuals as that could lead to confusion of who is doing what piece of work.

For our production there is different roles we both have to pick from, the Roles are;

• Story Boarding
• Production Manager
• Casting
• Acting
• Costume and Wardrobe
• Film Editing

3rd CD COVER ANALYSIS

In this cd cover we can see that the artist is dressed in a hoodie the same as the artist in the preivous cd cover. The hoody plays a big part in the representation of grime as it is a typical clothing worn by individuals that are from the 'hood'. Also the spelling of the album name is 'Walk in DA park' the slang spelling shows for definate that it is a grime genre. The album name can also imply that he found making the album easy for e.g ( it was a easy as a walk in the park)
It can also suggest that he didnt put much effort into the albumb but it was still very successful and very good , this can mean that if he was to put effort into an album it could be awesome.
Also he logo in the bottom right hand corner appears to be a gun which is also another object linked with the streets and the grime genre.

2nd CD COVER ANALYSIS

On this albulm cover you see 2 grime artist standing with their umbrella over their heads. This is linked with the title of their albulm called Tsunami.
Although its small to see , their is a parental advisory logo situated bottom left of the albulm which is something common in all Grime Genre Albulms.
Although there is turrental rain coming down you can still still the estate blocks in the background which is another subject linked with grime.The artist are both standing together which inplies that they are a double act together and that most of their music is going to be together/ a split part.
The person on the left ( KREPT) is dressed in black glasses , a gucci scarf and a gucci hat. He is wear expensive clothing which can suggest that he/they are successful and wealth.
The person on the right (KONAN) is dressed in Ralph Lauren which links back to wealth and being successful as Gucci and Ralph are expensive name brands to accquire.
The Words ' Play Dirty ' can suggest that their album is almost like breaking the rules for e.g they go all out in their album/ on their tracks .

CD COVERS ANALYSIS

This Cd cover has a dark greyish background color which can imply a grime effect as it feels quite un attractive and plain which can also imply that he is a simple artist and hasn't made it that big yet so thats all he can afford. Also the costume he is wearing is a jacket with a hoody which shows that he is a grime artist due to that being the stereotypical clothing people associated with grime wear.

Also the name of the album is called 'LONDON TOWN' which elaborates on the grime genre as it is in a simple black capitalised font.

The Parental Advisory label is another image that relates constantly with the grime genre as it is associated with bad language.

Ideas of story shots

This is the first shot we have decided to shoot in our music video. We are inspired by the way he is situated as not only is he sitting in nice clothes but he also is putting on his hood and listening to his i pod which indicates youth and a grime theme type lif

estyle. In this shot we see that he is in an expensive location we see an expensive shaped star lig

htswhich indicates wealth and also he stereotypical well-known and high classed artist.

Shot Taken From - Chris Brown - Gimmie That

In this 2nd shot you can see that it is the same artist but he has fallen asleep and his costume has changed. We are going to elaborate on this idea and use it to show a dream world for our artist. The transformation from the 1st shot ( where he is in a hoodie , his ipod out , chains and watches on show) in the transforms into a shot where he is in mainstream costume in a nice suit which is breaking the stereotypical grime perspective.

Shot take from - Chris Brown - Gimmie That

This is another shot idea we have come up with where

he is looking in a mirror looking at himself and give that effect that he is thinking on what to do with his life and can his transformation from a thuggish look into a more mainstream

smart professional look suits him and if he can make it as an successful artist.

Shot Taken From - Kano - Typical ME
This close up shot is a good shot that we felt that we should include as it gets the audience to connect with the artist and also feel that connection through the eye contact of the artist. A close up shot takes all the attention off his costume of his accessories such as chains and rings and puts the attention on just his face.

Shot Taken From - Kano - Ps and Qs
This shot shows an angled shot of the artist giving the audience a visual on his top half costume and also the environment he is in. You can see the setting and also the time of day of when the video is being shot.

Shot Taken From - Kano - Ps and Qs

<------ This is an establishing shot where you get to see the whole costume of the artist and the whole scenery which is behind him. This is an important shot because in our production we are going to have him in nice clothes but walking in the slums which is almost like a tension between if the artist wants to carry on being a gangster or being successful.

Trey Songs Magazine Arrtical Analysis

Record Label - Def Jam Records

Def Jam Recordings is an American hip-hop record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group. In the UK, the label takes on the name Def Jam UK and is operated through Mercury Music Group, while in Japan, it is Def Jam Japan operating through Universal Sigma Music. The founder of Def Jam is Russel Simmons and he found the record label in 1984.



Artists linked with the label are , Kanye West , Rick Ross , Jennifer lopez etc.

This information is taken from the def jam official website and wikipedia researching website. I do not think that i will use this record label to promote my artist as it is based in the United States. I am looking to use a England based record label for my artist it is more relevant and local.

Record Label 2 - Konvict

Konvict Muzik is a record label founded by Melvin Brown and R&B singer Akon. Other then Akon there are other popular artists such as Kardinal Offishall, Kat DeLuna, Lady GaGa, American Yard, Brick & Lace, T-Pain and Sway signed to the label. At the beginning of most Konvict Muzik artists' songs there is the sound of the clank of a jail cell, followed by Akon uttering "Konvict". Sway signed to Konvict Record labels in 2007, being the only UK artist signed to the label. Konvict Muzik was founded in 2005 covering genres of R&B, Raggae, Hip Hop and Urban. Konvict Muzik is American located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Interscope records is the distrubutor of Konvict Muzik. Interscope records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.

Konvict Muzik records is a label being parented by Universal Music Group. It is the largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry. It is the largest of the 'big four' record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations.

I think that this record label will be best suited for my artist due to the fact that england grime artist Sway is also signed with the record label which shows that the record label has versatility to the music they produce and could be the best signing to promote my artist

Record Label - Young Money

Young Money Entertainment is an American record label founded by rapper Lil Wayne. The label is an imprint of Cash Money Records and is distributed by Universal Records.

It Was established in year 2005 and founded in the United States of America.

Other Artists That Are Joined With This Label Are :

Drake

Nicki Minaj

Lil Twist

Tyga

Gudda Gudda

Jae Millz

Founder Lil Wayne

Low Budget Music Video 2- Stylo G - My Yout

In this music video we can cleary see the low budget quality by seeing a whole bunch of people just thrown in the video. It looks unorganised amd thats something my goup and i will have to avoid doing. The jump shots are very wild aswell which makes the viewres find it hard to stay tuned with the video and they end up getting lost.
If this video had a choreographed organised set amount people and dancers it will make it look less low budget.

Low Budget Music Video - P2J - Hands In The Air (Uk Grime)

Here is a low budget video , from the start we can see that the camera quality is much lower budget than music videos we have seen earlier in the blog. We can see also see the simple fade out effects they use which looks like something they have made on imovie.
The practical tips i can learn from this video is not to use simple cheap effects which makes the video look less attractive to viewers. Another important tip i have learnt from this is the setting of the video. In this video you see the setting in a run down block of flats which increases the low budget view/effect.

Analysis of Genre Collage

My Genre Collage

Funky House

• In most funky house videos there is either a solo artist or a double act artist. There is normally bright coloured colours flashing in the videos and it is fulfilled of energetic and wild dancing.

• The costumes they wear in funky house videos are very bright and sparkly dresses for the females and the males are often dressed casually. Funky house has a target audience of teenagers so females dress in costumes that will attract the male audience and the females will find the clothes they wear very vibrant and fashionable.

• The location of the videos is normally in a party or night club atmosphere. I think they record in a night club because there Is natural energy and night clubs are a place where people can be their selves and express their selves..

GENRE COLLAGE

Analysis Of My Own Music Video

The Artist i have chosen to do is Drake and the name of the song is called 'Sucessful' featuring Trey Songs. The Song is part of the albulm so far so gone.



This albulm was released september the 15th 2009. The song was available for download in Feburuary 2009. The Genre of this albulm will be classed as Hip Hop / Rnb.
The song is about Confusion about his career and even though its just started he doesnt know what else he wants to do in his music career. The Chorus quotes ' i want the money , money and the cars , cars and the clothes . . i suppose? I just want to be successful.

(below is an image taken from the music video)



In this particular image in shows that he is looking upwards almost towards the skies as if he is looking for an answer from the heavens. It also looks like he is on top of a high building suggesting he wants to be alone, clear his head and figure out what he is going to do with the rest of his life.
Although he does not know what he wants, he kmows he just wants to succeed in life.




Analysis of Video :
Dark Background
Frequent Eye contact
Lip syncing
Medium Close Up Of Money = Success
Camera shots of both of them in the frame wearing expensive clothes
Close up Of Artist
PERFORMANCE TYPE VIDEO ( On the move , diffrent types of locations)
Lots of shots of blurred out lights which could imply their stardom
Shows less fortunate / people that are not yet successfull yet for eg. the boys playing basketball working hard to become successful, which can relate to the chorus of the song.
Also the little girl blowing on a dandellion presumably wishing to be succesfull.

Grime UK Music Videos

For our music video we have chosen the UK Music genre of rap/grime.

Grime is typified by complex 2-step breakbeats, generally around 140 beats per minute and constructed from "different" sounds. Stylistically, grime takes from many genres including UK Garage, dancehall and hip hop.The lyrics and music combine futuristic electronic elements and dark, guttural bass lines.



Above is an example of a grime based group called Roll Deep

Bordwell and Thompson

Bordwell and Thompson are 2 theorists that come up with their 4 corners theory in 2001. In their theory there a

re 4 different sec

tions; Graphic, Rhythmic, Spatial & Temp

oral.

Graphic

This editing is all abo

ut the mise-en-scene, what we are shown on the scre

en thinking about the pictorial qualities within a video.

- Patterns, light and dark, colour similarities and differences.

- Can be used

to create 'smooth continuity' or abrupt contrast.

- Graphic match - shots link together.

- Graphic continuity - Point of interest staythe

same througho

ut

cuts.

- Graphic discontinuity - Everything keeps on c

hanges, plays around with juxtaposition.

Rhythmic

Editing the footage and thinking about the duratio

n of each shot. Rhythmic ed

iting will show that each shot cuts on length according to the beat and tempo o

f the music. Different shots will give different effects.

- All shots same le

ngth

- Some which lengthen steadily

- Shots which get shorter and shorter in length

- Longer shots

- Rapid series of q

uick shots

Spatial

Basically, maintaining continuity through thinking about the space where the event of the music video takes place.

- Continuity - Using an establishing shot (

where taken)

Here is an establishing Shot taken in the video Beyonce - Crazy in Love.

Temporal - The unfolding of time

This is all about continuity and based on the time that the action is taken in and how the video footage manipulates time.

Order - order of events can be manipulated = the story/plot change to interrupt the normal order of time. (Flashbacks must then change to flash forward)

Duration - The events that take place can be altered through use of ellipsis

Frequency - In continuity editing - and event happening tends to only occur once. If the event is repeated it can become a powerful way of building tension and audience expectation.

Andrew Godwin Theory

Goodwins Theory helps to identify the diffrent juztaposistions happening within a pop video explaining the relationship between music, lyrics and image.
Goodwin argues that pop videos can be catergorised in three diffrent ways:
Music
Goodwin argues that The Illustration of Music Always Cuts on Beats , The Amplification of music is that the film cuts on the beat but also off to emphasise features. He argues that the disjunction of music videos cuts off the beat-sometimes it is a sign of a badly made music video.

Lyrics

Illustration - Imagaes illustrate the literal meaning or feeling of the lyrics , often with a band or singing and dancing.

Below we have screen shotfrom Trey Songz -Cant be friends. W

e can see that he is FEELING in pain or in agony due to his hands situated on top of his head

Amplification - Images amplify the lyrics , a specific narrative may be that would not neccessarily be picked up from the reading the lyrics alone.

Disjuncture - Images which do not relate to the lyricas are used sometimes by bands who are already very well established who can afford to risk take.


Band Image

Illustration - Band area - singing.dancong/playing instruments dressed as would be expected.

JLS - Beat Again Screen Shot
Amplification - The band take on fictional roles in the narrative

Disjucture - The band take in a image that is nothing like or the complete opposite of their image e.g the lead singer of texas dresses up as Elvis

Vernallis Theory

Rhythmic

• Editing the footage and thinking about the duration of each shot - how long each shot runs for before cutting to the next
• rhythmic editing will show that each shot runs on length according to the beat and tempo of the music
• Different shots will give different effects ( the faster the beat, the shorter the shots).

Spacial - basically maintaining continuity through thinking about the space where the events of the music video takes place.

• Continuity (establishing shot)
• The "Kullshov effect" (no establishing shot)
• Crosscutting ( parallel editing)

The pictorial qualities within a video.

• Patterns, light and dark, color similarities and differences
• Can be used to create smooth continuity or abrupt contrast

• Graphic match - shots link together by graphic similarities
• Graphic continuity - point of interest remaining contrast throughout cuts, maintaining a color theme, same lighting levels.

Temporal
Still uses continuity
Based on the time frame that the action is taking place in - and how the video footage maniplates time.

• Order (order of the events)
• Duration (how long for)
• Frequency (how often)

Carol Vernallis

MTV Stlye Editing:

• Frequent
• Disjuncture
• Different to film editing

Pop video editing has many functions, these change rapidly. Not one element must gain the upper hand and it must keep up in the present moment.

These changing rapidly, not one element must hain upper hand and it must keep us in the present moment

Shots and edits:

• Pop video editing
• Hollywood editing
• Continuity rules
• Prevents time and space overtaking
• Preserves time and space

Conventions of a Music video (Part 2)

A music video is a videotaped performance of a recorded popular song. It is usually accompanied by dance or a fragmentary story. Music videos often use concert footage for eg. Wiz Khalifa - Up

There are many conventions that is linked with music videos such as :

* Quick shots

* Lip syncing

*Costume Changes

*Makes it Clear If its Group or solo artist

*Montage Editing - This conventions is quite popular in music videos as the editing of the music video doesn't have to flow for eg. an artist could throw a ball and the next shot could be him dancing. As where if it was continuity editing you will have to see the ball travel in the next shot.

*3-4 minutes long

Conventions Of Music Video

Music videos started back in 1981 when the 1st video was aired on MTV, which was 'Video killed the Radio Star'. These are to generate money, entertain audiences, promote music and the artist and create a visual for the song.
The forms and conventions for music videos are:
- Performance
- Lip syncing
- Dancing
- Music
- Concept
- Locations

- Eye contact with audience ------->


- Quick cuts on beat

Close up on the artist ---->
- Not real life
- Montage editing
- Maybe concert footage




- Refers to lyrics
- Suits the genre
- 3/4 mins long ------>

The Kasier Chief - Pedict A Riot

Sound
Singing
Instruments ( gruitar and drums )
Loud music and loud lip syncing

Mise en scene
All members wearing black rock-like clothing
Long black hair
Quite dark, not much lighting

Editing
Rapid cuts between the members
Montage editing

Cinematography
Close ups of the faces and the instruments they are playing
High angle shot of the band playing
Close up of the instruments and the band members
Long shots of the locations

Performance
Eye contact with audience
Jumping and dancing

object width="640" height="385">

Analysis Of A Rock Video - Kings Of Leon

Sound:
Beat cuts with camera movement
Typical 'hardcore' beat and voice
Typical instruments
Mise-en-scene:
Dark colours
Not alot of light
Typical rock costume (vests, black clothes)


Performance:
Lip syncing
Playing instruments
Eye contact
Reaching out



Camera:
Cuts with beat
Typical 'crazy' rock actions
Panning across different members of the group to show they are a band not a solo artist.
Editing:
Montage editing
Quick cuts between group members to make it clear that they are a group

My own impression on the video : Random Buildings , isolated run down building, mullet hair cuts / long hair , guitars / drums being played violently , facial expressions looking druggy , Aggression , demon like behaviour.