Image for Magazine Advertisement

The image for a magazine advertisement has to be both eye catching and aesthetically pleasing to the target audience, in order for it to grab their attention and pursuade them to buy it.
I have decided to use a photo of the artist for the advertisement, as this would be what would attract the audience the most, though a key feature of the advert is what this photo would look like:

This image is one idea of what I would want it to look like. The pose is the artist simply looking down. This could be effective as it portays a good deal about the artist: that he may be shy, nervous and quirky, a figure that males can relate to and females may find attractive, therefore drawing their attention to it. It is also very simplistic, as the artist take up a majority of the image, it focuses the audiences attention on him.

This is another possibility for the advert. This one features the artist leaning up against a wall and looking directly at the camera. This is a much more maculine photo, and possibly features a strong sex appeal to women, and a role model for men. The fact the pose is looking directly at the camera, instantly creates a connection with the audience, allowing them to relate themselves not just to the photo, but to the advert, as it implies that the advert is directed and addressing them.

This particular photo may also be effective black and white, as to compliment the digipack cover:
Though this may be too similar and result in too much use of black and white.

Digipack Cover Design Ideas

Using Fireworks on Windows, and following up from the feedback I recieve for my Photo Ideas, I decided to build on the image and start adding text and finalsing the Digipack cover.

I've decided to name the digipack "Things Left Unsaid" as I think this fits with the theme of the song I am producing the video for, and further songs that would appear on the album. Based on my target audience, artists that are similar to me name not only their songs, but their albums after emotions and relationships, and therefore it would be more appropriate to name my album "Things Left Unsaid" instead of my previous idea, "Cityscapes"

This is one of the ideas for my Digipack cover. It has a dark and mysterious feel which relates well to the title and it's theme, memories and regrets. By keeping the colours black and white it gives a very simplistic effect, but also manages to highlight the key features of the cover. I chose to keep the text white, and it contrasts well with predominantly dark, and the font gives an errie effect, which again, compliments the theme.

This one is very similar, although with a different and more simple font.

This one is the coloured version of the image. It brings to life the image, stripping away it's simplicity and replacing it with more depth. The font is different also, And I think this one may be the most effective, as it is quite simplistic, but also contains a flare with give the image of a professional musicians signature font.

This is a combination of both, using the sketched image, with the better font. In comparison to the first idea that uses this image, the font is more understandable, and adds an even more simplistic feel towards the image.



I will send these to a group of my target audience, and give their opinions on my ideas.

Edit: From the audience response I received, they said that they do prefer the last one, as it has "A unique effect" and "would portray the digipack effectively". Though they also said that the color one would be just as good at "Bringing it to life"and contains more detail. 
In conclusion I will go with the black and white option, as this seems to be the one that pleases the audience more.

Magazine Advert Deconstruction

There are many different forms and ways to layout an advertisement for a product within a magazine, and adverts for Digi-packs and CDs are no exception. They can range from very extravagant and eye catching aesthetics, to simple and to the point connotations.

This is an advert for Cee Lo Green's album "The Lady Killer". the top half is a picture of the artist himself, while underneath, in his signature font, the artists' name and album title, followed by the date of the album release and the single.
whilst being very simple, there are many signifier it could include. The fact the majority of the advert is a picture of the artist examples that his image is clearly very important, and that a majority of his target audience must appeal to his looks. It could also, simply be to attract possible audiences who may recognise him from various other publicity he has done for this album.
The artists name is written in pink, this could further show that it is directed at possibly a female audience, and also that this advert could be part of quite a feminine magazine, as pink writing is not something that is common within male magazines. The smaller writing at the bottom tells the audience that it includes the "No.1 single" and underneath that, says "The greatest male voice in US soul "Sunday times"". This shows significance, as once the audience has been drawn in by the picture and the artist, it then goes on to say how good and popular both the artist and the album is, therefore further persuading the audience to buy it. Right at the bottom in the smallest writing, there is the artists website and his record label, once the audience has read the rest of the advert, if they are an avid fan or wishing to know more about the artist, they can take note of this information, whereas otherwise, it is too small for someone who is just skimming over the advert, and may not be noticed as easily.

This advertisement was found in Rolling Stones, an accomplished music magazine, and is promoting Morrisey's "Years of Refusal. It features a picture of Morrisey holding a baby, with his name, and album title behind him. This advert was found in the bottom right corner of a page and is quite small, therefore it must be aimed at specific fans of the artist that will easily recognise him and pay attention to even the smallest of appearances. Both the writing and Morrissey's shirt are in a light blue colour, this usually signifies innocence and serenity, and the fact he is holding a baby could be used to attract a female audience that may believe him to be a good family figure, though the fact he is standing with his chest out, in quite a triumphant, macho pose may be a contrast to this. On either side of his is information relating to the album, such as "Out now" and "Featuring "I'm throwing my arms around Paris"" This is quite short and again, may relate to his quite specific audience, reminding them the album has been release, and a popular song that it contains. Again, as the very bottom of the advert in a very small writing, there is the artists website and record label on the left, and an exhibitor of the album "Best buy" on the right. This straight away tells the audience where they can purchase this album from, and also persuades them to go to this specific shop, as it may be at the best price, aswell as increasing reputation for the shop.

Ancillary Product Two - Magazine Advertisement

For my second Ancillary product, I am going to be producing a magazine advertisement to promote my
Digi-pack.

The purpose of a magazine advertisement is to promote a product, in this case, the Digi-pack and it's artist and usually contains a number of key features, such as:

• A picture of the artist, and the product
• Information about the product
• Catchy images and colour schemes to attract the customers
• Large bold writing to again, attract attention to the advert.

It also must include various information about the Digi-pack, for example:

• Release date
• When/where it is available
• What the content of the Digi-pack is/what it contains.

The aesthetics of the advert also have to be very pleasing and appealing to the target audience, as to encourage them to buy the product, as well as the magazine. This is usually done by combining large bold writing, often in an appealing font, with pictures that stand out, normally of the artist, very large and significant.

Style Models for the Actors

Very shortly I should be filming some parts of my music video.
Due to difficulties in finding a suitable and available actress has led me to postpone all filming that requires her, though I am still searching for someone, and will make sure to film the remaining parts asap.

The two actors within the film will be myself, and the unfound actress. The costumes and style of both will be quite casual, as to keep a relatable feel to the video, though the following pictures will act as guidelines to these:

The female style is very wintery, with features such as a large coat, scarf and possibly a beret. These must also be kept quite trendy as for the audience to relate to, as they may possible own these items of clothing, and will allow them to imitate the actress within the video.

These two pictures are what I am basing my style on.
<-- This picture is what I would wear for the scenes within the park. Sweater and, even though not within this picture, skinny jeans. This is very casual, and should give a nice contrast to the female style, though both keeping to the same lines,  will example the male/female style differences within winter.








This picture is a representation of my style in the evening scenes. Trench-coat, with a t shirt and cardigan underneath. This is slightly more formal, as the entire scene is to give a contrast of loneliness, darkness and mystery to the warmth and emotion of the other scenes.

Dates of Filming/Casting

Now I have the set finalized, the last thing I need to start filming is an actress.
I have yet to cast her, though I plan to ask a few friends if they will be willing to help me out, although there is a certain criteria this actress needs to meet to be an ideal candidate for the video:

1. Must be pleasing to the eyes of both gender of audience (Attractive to males, relatable to females)
2. Brown eyes (So that they reflect the lyrics: "A hazel gaze I have never seen" )
3. Flexible, time wise. As filming dates may be subject to change.

Once I have an actress, I can choose a few days for filming, though I plan these to be sometime in the next few weeks, either just before Christmas, or the first week of January.

Though, only half of my filming requires an actress, the other half includes only myself, therefore I can film this whenever time is available. Though, as the footage requires me to be in it, I must call upon the help of a friend to film for me. I have many people I can ask to fulfill this job, the only thing it affects are the filming dates, as I must set them for when they are free, though this should not be too much of a problem.

Change to main set location

So, I have encountered problems with the original location of my set.
I intended it to be a local coffee shop, but, due to corporation restrictions, has made this impossible.

Therefore I have been forced to rethink my location, and have decided to use the gardens at the top of a shopping mall.
This is a much more open location, and the main problem I encounter is that it would be subject to the public. Although this is not completely negative, as it will add a more realistic feel to the video.
Here are some pictures of the intended location:

Song - V2

In response to the feedback I got from my first recoding of the song I am using: "Caught Off Guard", I decided to re-record it, in an attempt to amplify the vocals, this is what it sounds like:

http://soundcloud.com/sam-high/caught-off-guard-1

I shall again see if I can receive some feedback I relation to the production of the song, and see if I can make this the final version.

SMART Targets - 22/11/11

These are some target I will accomplish in the near future:

• Create a slideshow of location/digipack pictures to show the evolution of them - Thursday.
• Obtain 2 more location photos of the pathway at night time, and turn them black and white - This week.
• Edit song recording to allow more prodominant vocals over the guitar - This week.

Edit: All tasks accomplished - 29th November.

More Set Locations

Here is another slideshow of another set location:

Ideas for use of this location are that the artist is walking along, singing the song, creating contrast to the busy coffee shop scenes, whilst also implementing more performance footage. I plan to film this when it is dark, and add a black and White effect to it, to make it plain, simple, and to give it a noir feel.

This is an example of a similar concept:


"WAITING ON THE WORLD TO CHANGE!!" - JOHN MAYER from Wolde Archer on Vimeo.

A majority of this video features the artist singing while walking , this not only adds a sense of drama to the video, but also a more personal touch, as it can be interpreted either 1. the artist is sharing his inner most thoughts with the audience or 2. he is singing directly to the viewer. I would like to use this concept in my video, especially where the artist is looking directly at the camera, but change the footage to black and white, to add a possibly more darker image, which relates to my song more, but to also increase the artist-veiwer link that this kind of scene creates.

Song Recorded!

I have recently recorded the song I am using for my music video, it is called "Caught up Guard" by Sam High, and I have uploaded it to soundcloud, here is the link.

http://soundcloud.com/sam-high/caught-off-guard

Now having the actually song, it should allow me to put into perspective the production of what I want the video to look like. I shall be uploading more setting photos shortly.

I chose soundcloud to upload my song as it is easily accessible and used by many modern musicians as a simple way for the public to listen to their music.  As it is a contemporary website, that has both a Facebook and a twitter, it suits my target audience well, as well as creating easy access for my modern audience.

Examining some feedback I have received, the song is generally well liked, although in production terms, the guitar is too loud over the voice. I will try and adjust the levels in the production to fix the problem, failing this, I may need to re record the song.

Audience Theory/Research

From the questionnaire I done, I concluded my target audience will be people aged 15-30. A majority of them will be female, though a portion of the audience will likely be male.

The target audience for my video/music would be based of a combination of the influences for the music and image. Artists such as Taylor Swift and John Mayer create music and present an image that is similar to mine, therefore it would be a wise idea to utilize a form of "borrowed interest" and in a sense "borrow" there audience for the purpose of interesting them in my music.

Some key audience theory could also be related to marketing and target audience, for example:
The two-step flow theory - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-step_flow
This is the idea that one person informs another, or a group of people of what interests them, and possible influences them on a certain subject. In this case, a fan of the mentioned artists may find out about my music/video and share it with other like minded fans, effectively increasing popularity.

http://connect.taylorswift.com/forum

This is a link to the Taylor Swift forums, in which fans interact and talk to each other about the artist. This is just one of the many ways fans can share their views, express their opinions and introduces fans that like the same genre to other music of a similar style, there is even a specific part of the forum that is dedicated to "Music you like besides Taylor".

This is a good example of how the two step flow is promoted and can be used to an artists advantage.

Sets for the Music Video

Recently I visited the first set for my music video.

It is a local park, with a very scenic veiw. It will be used as the main place in which the musician will perform the song throughout the video.

Here are some pictures;

This is the place in which the artist will be sitting on a bench playing the song throughout the video, this will be a contrast to the black and white shots of the artist walking. Near the end of the video, we will see the female love interest join the artist here while he is playing (Possibly, the artist will sing a portion of the song to her, this is undecided) and the concluding shots will see both the artist and love interest walking off, into the distance, as seen in the top right photo.

Possible problems that could incur with this location are:

1. The public: as this is a public place, there is the possiblity that other people could be in the footage, this is not nessarily a problem, although it will be ideal if, when filming, there are no other people  about, seeing as a mojority of uses of this park are parent and toddlers, I will try and choose a time to film in which they are not likely to be there.
2. Litter: unfortunatly, there may be pieces of litter scatters about, seeing as most of this will be on the floor, I will try and posititon the shots so that the audience does not see the ground.
3. Weather: The weather will be quite unpredictably, though looking at a forecast will give me an idea of what it will be like. it would be ideal to filming when it has recently snowed, seeing as these are the wintery months, and the snow will, in turn give the video a wintery feel, though as it is unlikely to snow on the date of filming, I shall not rely to heavily on this.

Deconstruction of Music Videos

There are many different types of music video. Some have a story line, some are conceptual, and some are very simple, yet effective. I am going to deconstruct and analyse two music videos which are somewhat close to what I am aiming for in mine: the first is the video for "Comin' Home" by City and Colour.


City & Colour - Comin Home from Alaska Fairweather on Vimeo.

Directed by Chris Sargent, released in 2005, the video features the artist performing the song in a variety of rooms. As well as this, we see a woman and the artist visiting different rooms, but never being in the room at the same time. The whole video is in black and white, which I think contrasts well with the texture of the song, as it is just an acoustic guitar and vocals (which is exactly the style of music I am using) with added solos from an electric guitar. Although being a simple concept, there is a lot of editing within the video, especially in the technique of when the artist is playing, the camera is split, so one side of the screen shows his face, and the other him playing guitar. This is an effect that I could possibly adapt into my own video. The use of fading to either change to a different scene or juxtaposition is utilized quite well, perhaps to give the effect and reflect the means of the lyrics of the song, that things are "fading away". I very much like the intro of the video, where the artist comes in, sits down and starts playing. This is very similar to the concept I have as to the intro of my video, and I may chose to take influence from this, specifically, the use of black and white, and distortion of the lights in the background. The camera is predominantly focused on the artist, with the shots being mainly close ups. Most of the other shots are wide, as to include the entire set when needed. The target audience for this video are possibly a combination of males and females aged 18-30. This could be exampled by the age of the artist, as he is relatable to, and the theme of the song and video: relationships.

Another video that is relevant to the type of video I am wishing to create is "Your Body is a Wonderland" by John Mayer:

John Mayer - Your Body Is A Wonderland from Wut Andeweg on Vimeo.

The video contains a variety of storylines, which are: the artist, performing the song to a woman, him and the same woman frolicking, and him filming her when outside, the artist writing the song, and him performing live/tour footage. There are a lot of close ups on both the artists and the woman face, and a lot of shots where there faces are together, this details the intimacy of their relationship, possibly allowing some viewers to relate. For a majority of the shots, the background is subject to a partial distorted effect, this helps to keep the audience focused on the two main characters of the video, and make them stand out. Although the screen time of the artist and the woman is seemingly equal, I feel there is more focus on the woman's expressions, which, being very happy and joyful, give the video a very positive and emotive feel, as well as featuring the artist playing the song specifically for her, make this a very romantic video, which, in turn I wish to have as a feeling within my video. Many of the shots and camera angles are very close, which helps encourage the feeling of intimacy between the two characters. The fact the use of home video footage is used also give a unique personal feel to the video.  Target audience for this video is practically the same as my first video: Males and females ages 18-30, possibly for the same reasons, Although this video features a much more intimate and romantic theme between the two characters, and the nature of the song suggests it could target teenagers/young adults in relationships.

Questionaire Data Analysis

After recieveing some answers to my questionaire, I gathered the data into a simple tally chart, though simple, it should tell me the information I need to know quickly; This is what I gathered.

Gender: From the collection of people that done my questionaire, it shows that they were mostly male, this could tell me that the genre of music my video is going to be should be directed at males. Although, other research could show that females are actually the predominant audience for my music genre.

Education: Most of my audience are currently in college/A levels.

Music Genre: The biggest music genre my audience seems to like is rock, although the secondary genres were acoustic, pop and rock.

Acoustic 11 52% Electronic 11 52% Pop 12 57% Rock 16 76% Metal 5 24% RnB 6 29% Jazz 7 33% Country 4 19% People

Acoustic versions vs Orignal: There was a tie in votes between yes, the acoustic is better than the orignal, and no preference.

Purchase format: A majority of people put iTunes/Download, so this will possibly effect what format I distribute my video/music through.

Music video concepts: the most popular choice for this was a storyline based music video, which is something I have planned to do. All other choices gained the same amount of votes.

Performance/footage of the artist 8 38% Romantic 6 29% Conceptual/Abstract/Unusual 8 38% Story line based 9 43% Fantasy 7 33%

Do music videos influence your purchase: the majority vote in this was yes.

Song Lyrics: the most popular choice for this was Romantic lyrics, with everyday life, although this could be justified with how everyday life could include romance.

Romance 14 67% Everyday life 11 52% Fantasy 7 33% Death/Depressive 6 29% Abstract/Random 8 38%

Artists / Musicians: John Mayer was the most popular of the musician given, despite how a majority of votes were given to "None of the Above" this could show that many people who done my questionaire are not interested in the musician that influence my music, and this means I possibly need to look for a more specific group of people to draw data from.

What/why music video's appeal: some of the comment I obtained included: They appeal to everyone, narratives follows lyrics, you can relate to the, the convey interesting concepts.

Album Artwork: Photography was the most popular choice, with artwork and sketches being the second. When it comes to designing/create my album cover, I shall take these into consideration.

Social Networking: Facebook and Twitter were the most popular websites people use, with google + haveing more votes than both bebo and myspace.

This is a summary of what I have learned from the Questionnaire, and how it will affect my project:

• Genre wise, my audience likes acoustic versions of songs, and like a pop-rocky type, therefore I can keep to the song I planned on using, also, Romantic lyrics were what people chose in the lyrics question, and my song undoubtedly has these.
• The preferred style of the music video is storyline based, also with footage of the artist performing, and this suits the idea for my video perfectly.
• Most people chose that they download there music off iTunes or some other sort, so I will need to keep this in mind when choosing distribution methods.
• With album artwork, the popular choice was photography, and the idea I have already suits this, though it may be subject to change, if I choose to combine elements of the second choices: artwork and sketches with it.

Music video research/questionaire

In order to get a more consise idea about my target audience, I have decided to carry out a question with a few questions that should help me gain usuful information.

I have created the questionaire on google documents, and this is it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&pli=1&formkey=dFRwdV9QZWhUWldsMkVTM0RHZG16VWc6MQ#gid=0

I will distribute it through various social networking sites and as soon as I have enough reponses, will gather the data and transform it into a more useful form

 

Ancillary Product One - Digipack Cover

One of my ancillary products will be the cover art for my Digipack, and this could be a variety of things such as photos, art and sketches.

Sometimes album artwork has meaning or a relation to the album title, or the songs within. Although as of yet I still have not finalised a title for my digipack, I have had an idea for the cover:

This photo is quite simple, yet portrays a very realistic interpretation of what the album contains, and what the songs are about.

I could use this picture as it is, but an idea I had was to get it sketched by a skilled artist to give the photo a more rough and artistic flare, thus complimenting the music more. I have already found and requested someone to do this, but at this moment I am awaiting the results, and will upload the picture when I obtain it.

Using Photoshop, I have played about with various effects on the image, and uploaded them into a Flickr slideshow:

Effects of these include black and White, charcoaled and sketched. The black and white gives the whole image a classic and darker feel, which will work well with the Digipack, and the black and white elements within my video.

I will show these to some of my target audience, and recieve there opionions/critisisms.

Edit: I have shown these to a small focus group, and the general response was that the favorites were between the original color version, and the sketch version. Views on the sketched version were that it was liked for how defined it was, and would give a very nice effect for an album cover.

Music Video concept/Organisation

In order to keep all of my ideas/organisation together, I decided to create a post it note website so I can keep updating it and put ideas there as and when.

This is a link to the site:

Music Video - Caught Off Guard

There are a lot of "To be decided"'s on there, as many decisions are unfinalised, but I will update them as they get confirmed.
I will be posting screenshots to keep up to date with what the page looks like on various dates
November 2nd 2011

 November 17th - Added more set location + Recorded Song.

December 9th - Updated concept to match the new location/stills.

OCR Website/What is a Digipack?

http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com/index.html
I had a look on one of the official OCR websites for some help regarding my project, and I found a link to wikipedia, showing what a Digipack is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak

A Digipack is essentially, a style of CD packeging, usually with a gatefold layout that is constructed using either paper or card. It is also a registered trademark of AGI world ltd. - http://www.linkedin.com/company/agi-world

It is commonly used for Singles, special edition albums or Dvd/CD releasing. it is used to give less abrasion than jewel cases, and it is recommended to coat the card or paper with a protective UV coating to make it last longer.

Digipacks have become popular recently due to the fact they are considered more enviromentally friendly than the conventional Jewel Case.

This is an example of a well designed digipack, it is very durable (being made of plastic) and suits the job very well, though it looks very plain and simple.





This is a digipack for Oasis. it has an effective design, featuring an acoustic guitar to signify that the album is "acoustic". It is foldable, so that it is the shape of as 2D square whilst folded, and looks as though it is made of cardboard.

The Music Industry

The music industry is a very complex organisation, and is made up of various parts played by a variety of people. All of these have their own role with the industry, and without all of them, it could not function at 100%.

Musicians - These are the people who perform (and write) the music
Songwriters - They either write or compose the songs the musicians perform
Publishers - ensure the musicians or songwriters recieve payment, through the use of publishing contracts
Producers - Oversees and manages the recording of music. They are involved in the whole process that comes with producing music.
Record Labels - Manages a brand or trademark that comes with the music, mainly the artist.

As for my project, most of these jobs will need to be undertaken by myself, though I may possibly be able to bring in people with other area's of expertise, such as filming etc, If I find it too difficult to balance tasks.

I will update this post as I research more.