Much like at the end of my Foundation Portfolio I cannot believe I am at the end of this project already, over the past 6 months I have honestly enjoyed constructing my three artefacts, all of which I am very proud of. I have gained many new skills throughout the process namely how to edit and construct images, posters and of course digipaks using Photoshop - a program I had never used properly before. I'm so grateful to all my actors and actresses, everyone who took part in my surveys or focus groups, and also the BBC for lending me the Canon XF305 to use for my music video.
All my posts have labels concerning what they are about, so if you are looking for a particular post, please used the label widget on the left hand side of my blog to find a specific label. The larger labels are the most frequently used ones. Likewise, if you want to view my posts on Planning, Research, Construction or Evaluation and my three Artefacts, you can use the navigation bar at the top. Every post has the label 'Home' so if you click that you will be able to see all my posts. Unfortunately, not all my 54 posts fit on one page so if you scroll to the bottom you can click on either 'older posts' or 'newer posts' as they are arranged in date order (My final post will be my latest post so please click older posts until you get to my real First Post and work backwards). Here is the link to the start of my A2 blog (scroll to the bottom) and at the end of this post I will include links to all the other major features of my blog to help you get started.
Thank you for taking the time to look at my coursework, if you have any questions please use the 'Contact Me' widget on the left hand side. Also, if you are interested take a look at my AS Foundation Portfolio Blog to see how I have progressed over the past two years.
Love Sophie xxx
Useful Labels to click on!
(Please note, once again when you click on these links you will need to scroll to the bottom of the page for the first post under that label)
Start of my A2 blog
Research
Planning
Construction
Evaluation
Artefacts
Home
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Sunday, 23 March 2014
Evaluation: Question 4.
Q4: What have you learned from your audience feedback?
Please ensure you scroll over the whole wall to see each post. (Left and Right as well as Up and Down.)
If Padlet is not working for any reason, please see the text below.
Pre-Production:
Pre-Production:
Survey
Before starting to plan my music video, but after I had conducted my primary research I made a survey to find out what my target audience. Below shows what I learned and my main findings from this.
-Main Artefact (Music Video)
- My audience preferred the idea of a Split Narrative and the artist playing an instrument whilst singing. They thought this would help to show my ideology that everything will be okay, as the singer would be a prime example of this, as she is not presented to be in any trouble, but the sympathy in her voice and the meaning to the song will suggest that she is talking/singing from experience. In addition, my showing the artist directly, she would be a member of their social group (and my target market of young people) that they could easily identify to.
- Everyday settings would help relate them relate to my ideology better.
- A mixture of camera ranges/angles would keep the video interesting throughout.
- They would prefer one central character to refer back to as they can relate to them again and gives video a basis to build on. It is also useful for the combination of my three products as she will be recognisable.
-2nd Artefact (Magazine Advert)
- They suggested the main Focus Point should be the artist, to keep a consistent house style across as she would be the main focus/reference point in my main artefact.
- Moderate Information - Reasonable amount of text
- Picture of Digipak should be shown but there was an indecision as to whether it was extremely or fairly important, but this finding at least shows that it should be there, as no-one answered that it should not be there. Also by including it, the clear house style in terms of style, colour and character, can be shown as the two ancillary texts are placed together.
- The majority of my audience wanted simplicity. For this I used black sections which keep all the information separate from the picture meaning it is not so crowded and more simple.
-3rd Artefact (Digipak)
- The most popular structure for the digipak was: just one picture + Name + Album. This finding very much supports my research.
- My audience were definitive in that they would like to see the conventional features of digipak used (e.g. track listing, barcode, copyright)
- Pictures on the inside - although not consistent with my research it is what my target market prefer as it would be a direct representation of themselves making them feel more a part of the campaign and help with identifying with my ideology and characters.
- 100% Imperative that there is a recognisable house style. (colour, font, character, props)
- Finally the digipak should reflect the style of music. With this aspect I was conscious not to go too overboard on colour etc. as it would not represent the style.
Post-Production:
Survey & Focus Group - These both helped make sure I was pleasing my audience both in terms of authenticity and what they want to see, meaning I could change features or add some in for my final drafts.
-Main Artefact (Music Video)
- When using a split narrative a bigger difference is needed in terms of the colour of shots. But the representation of the singer is good, and it is easy for them to identify with her.
- I need to be more careful with reflections. This was a particularly important finding as it is not something I could get from primary research, or notice myself.
- They suggested that some shots were too long, especially in the chorus.
-2nd Artefact (Magazine Advert)
- The initial style was not very popular - prefer a natural photo, which would also help to create my desired house style too.
- Social media links are very important for them.
-3rd Artefact (Digipak)
- Needs to use a different photo to the magazine advert, but one that is similar to carry on the house style.
- Links to social media are again important, so they can really become a part of the campaign themselves.
Labels:
A2 Media,
Evaluation,
Feedback,
G324,
Home,
Q4,
Target Audience
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Evaluation: Question 3.
Q3: How did you use new media technologies in all stages?
If the video does not work for some reason, please see the text for it below!
PRE-PRODUCTION
Blogger - In this day and age blogs are becoming evermore popular for people who want to share things with the world via the internet. In using Blogger, I can also incorporate the use of other media including YouTube and Prezi. With this in mind and having used Blogger for my foundation portfolio I decided it would be the most effective and current median to collate and present my research, planning, construction and evaluation of my three artefacts. This year, I wanted to be able to insert a link into some of my posts so that I can easily reference older posts and my reader can simply find related posts without having to scroll through my blog. After using Google to search how to do this properly, some of my posts now link together well, making the navigation of my blog slightly easier if looking for my previous ideas on a certain subject.
Google - When doing my research Google was my primary basis for searching the videos and magazine adverts that I wanted to analyse. Although I chose the digipaks I wanted to analyse out of my own collection, I also used Google Images to find some better pictures of the different faces of the digipaks to use on my blog.
YouTube - I used YouTube in two ways. Firstly, during my research for watching the music videos that I analysed. But secondly, after producing each draft, I uploaded my video to YouTube so that I could gather feedback from my target audience. URLs are so simple and easy to share via email or on Facebook and Twitter, whilst I can also easily embed a YouTube video into my blog. This means it has been the perfect way for me to share my work to a vast amount of people. When I used YouTube last year to showcase my work, I simply uploaded my videos and to navigate between them one would have to go to my page and select the video they want. However, for my Advanced Portfolio, thanks to the recent YouTube upgrade at the end of my videos I now have links to previous or related videos that I have made for both my Foundation Portfolio and Advanced Portfolio.
Facebook - As another way to showcase my work and get feedback on my products, I put my two ancillary artefacts up on my Facebook page and asked my audience to reply to a survey about the two products. I also created a group on Facebook called Project I'll Be Ok (see my post Project I'll Be Ok for details). I had never made a group on this social media site before so it was a new skill for me to learn.
Twitter - Much like Facebook, I messaged a few of my target audience on Twitter to ask for feedback on my music video. Facebook and Twitter are both popular social networking sites with my target audience and this is why I decided to use them to get in contact with my target market.
Prezi - To lay out some of my research I decided to use Prezi. Although relatively simple to use it makes the long texts in my research a lot easier to read and allows me to show the logical progression in each code and convention in that I analysed. Founded in 2009, it has become very a popular way for creating presentations to share online. For my foundation portfolio I was not very creative in my use of Prezi as I simply used templates for my work, however, this year I decided to start with a completely blank canvas and construct my Prezis how I wanted as well as adding a voice-over.
Padlet - This was a new website that I discovered and I used it in a similar way to how I used Prezi - as a platform to present some of my research. On this website I have the ability to place pictures and text wherever I like on my 'wall'. Although it's not as interactive as Prezi, it is still another median which shows the range of technologies I have had the opportunity to use in this project.
Survey Monkey - Much like last year, I used Survey Monkey to collect data from my target audience on what they would like to see in my music video, magazine advert and digipak. the 'Analyse Results' feature of this website easily allowed me to compare results and produce accurate bar charts of my quantitative data, whilst viewing the qualitative as well. I took screenshots of all of the results for each question to place on my blog. One new feature I discovered was being able to change the charts from bar charts to pie charts to even line graphs depending on how I wanted to present them.
PRODUCTION
Canon HD Camera - For my Foundation Portfolio last year I used my small Canon HF200. However, this year I decided to use an even better camera - Canon XF305 loaned from the BBC. This gave me the opportunity to use manual focus, a skill I had not used before and produce an overall a better quality picture.
IPad - During my filming I scanned my storyboards into my IPad using the 'Scanner Pro' app. This meant I good carry my storyboards around with me, without having to worry about the pieces of paper getting blown away in the wind. By using 'Scanner Pro' instead of simply taking a picture of the pieces of paper, the documents were a lot clearer to view, whilst demonstrating the variety of apps these days.
POST-PRODUCTION
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 - To create my magazine and advert and digipak I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Firstly, I started off my editing the pictures I wanted to use. This included amongst many other things, cropping the pictures, removing any blemishes or unwanted shadows and lightening the photos. I then used the program to add in everything else to construct both my magazine advert and digipak. Although Photoshop is primarily a photo editing program, I found it to be perfect when constructing my two ancillary texts. As each element was on its own layer and I had the option to merge layers too, moving text or pictures about and manipulating them to how I liked was very simple. I briefly used Photoshop last year to create a quick DVD cover to show how I could create a house style from my opening sequence if I needed to. But the making of my two ancillary texts this year, was really the first time that I properly used this program, meaning I have gained another valuable skill from completing this Advanced Portfolio.
Sony Movie Studio 12 - As I had great success using this software last year to create my thriller opening sequence I decided to once again use it this year, to construct my music video. The built in media generators and effects particularly came in handy when distinguishing between my split narrative, but also help to make the video flow better. A key skill that I learnt this year was how to remove reflections from a shot. I did this by using the gradient effect and manipulating the size and shape to cover the side of the piano. To see exactly how I did this please see my 'How to remove reflections' post.
Adobe Captivate 7 - I downloaded this piece of software to create my 'How to...' style video for my blog. After gaining feedback from my audience I found that I needed to remove some reflections in a few of the shots. Once I had found the most effective way to do this, I used Captivate 7 and its 'Video Demo' option to record my screen and my voice, in order to show exactly how I did this.
Labels:
A2 Media,
Evaluation,
G324,
Home,
Q3,
Technologies,
YouTube
Friday, 7 March 2014
Evaluation: Question 2
Q2: How effective is the combination of the main product and ancillary texts?
If the Prezi does not work for any reason please see the text for it below.
In my foundation portfolio, I was given the chance to produce just one artefact, this meant that I was unable to show any house style. This year, with the creation of three products aimed to promote an album release I could effectively create and present a clear house style across all three of my artefacts. This meant I could also carry an ideology across all artefacts that despite your current problems everything will be okay in the end. I did this mainly through the use of the album/song title but also in the use of a poster as an auteur prop.
Codes & Conventions
In my foundation portfolio, I was given the chance to produce just one artefact, this meant that I was unable to show any house style. This year, with the creation of three products aimed to promote an album release I could effectively create and present a clear house style across all three of my artefacts. This meant I could also carry an ideology across all artefacts that despite your current problems everything will be okay in the end. I did this mainly through the use of the album/song title but also in the use of a poster as an auteur prop.
Codes & Conventions
The codes and conventions used across my three artefacts were very important in creating my house style and also portraying my ideology. As far as Stock Character goes, it was imperative that I kept my artist present in all my artefacts. By doing this, it is immediately clear that the music video, magazine advert and digpak are all part of the same campaign.
In all three artefacts I also made sure that Katherine-Anna was wearing at least one piece of clothing/costume that was the same and the rest was similar. I did this not only to create a house style across the three, but also to help represent my ideology. The red bandana, shows the pain shared by all my characters whilst also linking all three products together. Another aim I had of using this red bandana is that my target market will associate this item of costume to my artist which would help create a instantly recognisable public profile for her.
In terms of text as a code, I made sure that I used the same font in my main product and ancillary texts. Fonts have certain connotations, so by using the same serif style throughout all three, I have created a solid house style and meaning across each artefact.
By often presenting Katherine-Anna at an eye level camera angle, it makes it more personal for my audience as she is neither shown as weak nor more important than them. Similarly, in terms of composition, placing her at the side of shots across all three artefacts the audience should feel more comfortable according to the rule of thirds as this is more pleasing to look at than something constantly placed in the middle of a shot.
One Auteur prop I used throughout the campaign was a sign reading 'I'll Be Ok' this does not only immediately indicate my ideology (see top for full description) but by asking my target audience to make my own and including them across my artefacts I have created solidity and directly represented my desired social group. I have never seen this done before in a campaign making this idea Auteur.
Photo shoots and filming were stock events across the making of all three of my artefacts. I held two photo shoots with Katherine-Anna to get photos for the two ancillary products (one picture I also used in my music video) and another photo shoot I held was to get the photo of the young boy and his mum to use in my main artefact. For each shoot I took a range of photos, selected the best ones edited them to make them look more professional.
By often presenting Katherine-Anna at an eye level camera angle, it makes it more personal for my audience as she is neither shown as weak nor more important than them. Similarly, in terms of composition, placing her at the side of shots across all three artefacts the audience should feel more comfortable according to the rule of thirds as this is more pleasing to look at than something constantly placed in the middle of a shot.
One Auteur prop I used throughout the campaign was a sign reading 'I'll Be Ok' this does not only immediately indicate my ideology (see top for full description) but by asking my target audience to make my own and including them across my artefacts I have created solidity and directly represented my desired social group. I have never seen this done before in a campaign making this idea Auteur.
Photo shoots and filming were stock events across the making of all three of my artefacts. I held two photo shoots with Katherine-Anna to get photos for the two ancillary products (one picture I also used in my music video) and another photo shoot I held was to get the photo of the young boy and his mum to use in my main artefact. For each shoot I took a range of photos, selected the best ones edited them to make them look more professional.
Ideology
With my main ideology being strongly represented in my music video, it was important that I carried the same ideas across to my ancillary texts. To do this I used a picture of the singer holding her 'You're Not Alone' sign in each of my products. To reinforce this, I also included some of the photos of my target audience holding their own sign inside my digipak as well as in the video. This is also key in the representation of my target market.
Representation
of social group
It is very important to represent a social group in any media text. One way I combined this aspect in my main text and ancillary texts was in the selection of my singer and characters. Everyone I have chosen to present would be part of the teenage social group. As this group is my target audience, I needed to keep them constant across all three artefacts so that my audience can easily relate to the individual characters as well as my ideology. In my digipak, I used some of the 'I'll Be Ok' and 'You're Not Alone' pictures that were made by my target audience for my music video. From my post-production research I found that this was an aspect that the teenage social group really liked. Not only are they a direct link to my ideology but they also are a direct representation of my desired social group.
Audience Theory
Uses and Gratifications Theory says that an audience may use a text for personal identity, as they find themselves reflected in them and learn new values. By combining all three of my texts, my aim is that my target audience will be able to relate to the characters but also will take on my ideology of everything will be ok in the end. My ideology is presented on the forefront of all three of my products but most obviously in the title of the album and in name of song for the music video.
Uses and Gratifications Theory says that an audience may use a text for personal identity, as they find themselves reflected in them and learn new values. By combining all three of my texts, my aim is that my target audience will be able to relate to the characters but also will take on my ideology of everything will be ok in the end. My ideology is presented on the forefront of all three of my products but most obviously in the title of the album and in name of song for the music video.
Narrative
Theory
Propp states that in any media text there will be certain characters. One of these is a donor/helper; from my main product to my ancillary texts I have presented my singer Katherine-Anna as this character. In all three she holds a sign saying 'I'll Be Ok'. From this, you could say that she is presenting all the characters as well as my target audience with the hope that they are looking for, which is in effective across all the texts I have produced. One other character Propp defines is the hero - someone who is searching for something. Seen in both my digipak and my music video, my target market (young females and males of the socio-demographic groups E and D) is shown holding signs saying 'I'll Be Ok' this shows how they are searching for happiness and therefore links them to the hero persona across my products.
Propp states that in any media text there will be certain characters. One of these is a donor/helper; from my main product to my ancillary texts I have presented my singer Katherine-Anna as this character. In all three she holds a sign saying 'I'll Be Ok'. From this, you could say that she is presenting all the characters as well as my target audience with the hope that they are looking for, which is in effective across all the texts I have produced. One other character Propp defines is the hero - someone who is searching for something. Seen in both my digipak and my music video, my target market (young females and males of the socio-demographic groups E and D) is shown holding signs saying 'I'll Be Ok' this shows how they are searching for happiness and therefore links them to the hero persona across my products.
Awareness
of audience expectations
Before starting to plan or make my products I gathered information from my target audience on what they expected to see in a music video, magazine advert and digipak for the style of song I selected. During construction I held some focus groups and created more surveys to make sure that the products I was making were what my audience were expecting, and that they were as realistic as possible.
Before starting to plan or make my products I gathered information from my target audience on what they expected to see in a music video, magazine advert and digipak for the style of song I selected. During construction I held some focus groups and created more surveys to make sure that the products I was making were what my audience were expecting, and that they were as realistic as possible.
Labels:
A2 Media,
Digipak,
Evaluation,
G324,
Home,
Magazine Advert,
Music Video,
Prezi,
Q2
Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Evaluation: Question 1.
Q1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For my part of my primary research, I analysed pop music videos, along with magazine adverts for pop albums and pop digipaks themselves. This genre was the closest to my song so I could therefore discover the relevant codes and conventions that I needed to include in my own music video production. It was key that I discover particularly how this genre is constructed in terms of representations of characters/audiences, ideologies, target audience, how institutions are included/represented, which narrative and representation theories are included and how realistic pop videos tend to be and finally how split narratives are used.
Main Product Analysis
(How Used In Existing Products)
Conventions:



Another significant prop in this music video is the large bear on the
mattress with light up eyes. This could represent P!nk's inner child and her
vulnerability as she seeks comfort from a cuddly toy. This could also relate to her social group as I am sure many will be young teens to young adult ages who will no doubt remember or still take comfort from their favourite childhood toys.
The props used in Katy Perry’s video ‘Firework’ are not relative to the
pop genre but they are extremely relevant to the narrative, as they depict each
characters personality.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Costume: Many of the characters in ‘I Won’t Give Up’ are wearing slightly dirty and bedraggled clothes. This helps to portray the idea of the presence of struggles and hardships within life and how it affects everyone, and consequently the ideology the song not to give up when we see all these bedraggled people become happy at the end, showing how they did not give up despite their state. Likewise many of the costumes in Katy Perry’s music video are relatively all significant in simply depicting their character social group in society and in the video.
_________________________________________________________________________________________




Stock Characters: Very much like the settings in ‘Firework’, due to the split narrative idea the characters used are perceived to be normal people including a young person with cancer, a girl who self-conscious about her weight and a teenage boy among others. By using 'normal' people, the audience can relate better to the song and can appreciate the ideology more, that everyone is special and that they have the potential to take control on the 'demons' in their life and overcome their fears. This can be very important for pop videos as they want to appeal to the wider audience. As a range of social groups are represented too, we can expect her target market to be quite varied.
All three music videos I analysed featured the artist as a stock
character too. This helps the audience to recognise who the video belongs to
and is essential in the marketing of this product as they act as a constant figure. Propp's narrative theory states there are certain types of characters in each media. Katy Perry's music video, she would act as the donor, spreading the ideology out, whilst the song could act as a father figure to the people within the song as it provides guidance within the lyrics. The main characters themselves would be the heroes - the people searching for something.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Narrative & Representation Theory: This is shown very well in Jason Mraz’s music video. To a certain extent
there is an element of the Constructionist Theory within it.
This is because in general the audience must make up their own mind as to what
the video means to them, and what everyone's problems are that they must
overcome. In addition, I believe the Reflective Theory of Representation is
present within this music video as it is evident that the director wants to
show his views on giving up on your problems and wants to portray the ideology
of no-one should ever give up. The Enigma Code in P!nk's song would be that the audience are intrigued to know which man she will choose at the end of the song and video. Using Firework as an example for Action Code as well as Enigma Code, the audience first sees a young boy cuddling his younger sister. They then question why he is doing this (Enigma Code). The next shot shows their parents fighting in the other room which is the Action Code as it provides the audience with the answer to their question.
As a general rule, in terms of Propp's Narrative Theory, for all the music videos I analysed, the song acts as the father figure, providing guidance not only for the characters in the video but the audience too. The hero or heroes are the characters who are searching for their happy ending. The singer is often the donor or helper, aiding them to find what they are looking for through the singing of the song. The villain, is their problems or insecurities, whilst the princess is what they gained at the end of the video/song.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Codes:


_________________________________________________________________________________________

Camera Range: Focusing on ‘Firework’ for this code there are many relevant factors to point out. Through the use of close-up shots the audience can see the emotion in everyone's faces which helps to engage them in each narrative. The establishing shots also use camera range to create a very effective opening sequence. The first shot is an extreme long shot and following that each shot becomes more zoomed in and focuses on smaller detail. By the end of the opening sequence the camera has focused in on Katy Perry who is standing no top of one of the many buildings in the city. This could symbolise how its the people who make the city what it is and therefore how it is the inside of a person that counts and the personality opposed to the overview and the first impressions. It is also important to note here that Katy Perry is the first character see in this video.
When the fireworks are introduced to each person a mid shot is generally
used so you can see the effect on the person, but also long shots are regularly
used to show the amount of people who are confident and who are alive with this
firework.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Composition: In Jason Mraz’s video the composition of many of the shots here are in line with the rule of thirds, suggesting that the audience prefer to look at something that is not in the dead centre of the shot. We see this used effectively many times through the four and a half minute video. Looking at Katy Perry's parts in her video, when she sings into the camera she also abides by the rule of thirds. It is important for pop music videos that during parts of the video when the singers are singing to the camera that this rule is taken into account. Levi Strauss's Binary opposition could be applied here as we see Katy Perry placed on both sides of the shot when abiding by the rule of thirds. This shows the binary oppositions as in fact she is shown to be on everyone's side no matter what their story.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Editing: Throughout ‘I Won’t Give Up’ there is a mixture of jump cuts and fades between each shot. The fading helps to link all the characters together through their problems and helps to keep the tone solemn. Also, at many points in the song the shots go in and out of focus, this is also very effective as it conveys the idea of not being able to see the end of your troubles. It also adds to the flow of the video nicely. As this is a relatively slow pop song, the editing is slower than that of the other two songs and this is extremely important in terms of the mood of the song. It would be quite inappropriate to use quick editing here.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Lighting: The lighting pays a big part in Katy Perry’s music video. The majority of the scenes are fairly dark; these are then lighted up by the fireworks. This shows how everyone plays a role in making the world what it is and how important the individual is in some situations.
The lighting throughout the whole of ‘Just Give Me a Reason’ is also very
effective. One of the significant differences between the smoky 'dream world'
and the water 'dream world' is the change in lighting. The reason the water
'dream world' appears more sinister is the darkness, this suggests the other
side of her dream. This is a binary opposition according to Levi Strauss's Narrative Theory, as the two are direct contrasts of each other.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Mis-en-scene: The use of fireworks is extremely significant in this music video.
Without them the whole ideology would not be presented as well. Most people
associate fireworks with celebration and happiness. Therefore, as they
symbolise a new found confidence in each person, a starting point for them to
grow as a person. Perhaps one of the most significant points this is used is
the scene where the baby is born. The firework there represents the new life,
the potential and the uniqueness of this baby who is only just entering this
world and has the ability to do anything.


_________________________________________________________________________________________
Ideology: Each individual song has a different ideology which is portrayed but
each code and convention. For Jason’s song one can guess from the title of the song
that the ideology is to never give up no matter what you have to overcome. This
video is great for motivating people to carry on specifically because most
people's problems will not be as life changing as some of the characters in the
video. That being said it shows how no problem is petty in anyway, which is
shown through the young boy's fear of water being shown on the same level as
the man who has lost his leg.
2nd Artefact Analysis (How Used In Existing Products)
Conventions:
Images:
- Stock Character: Naturally, by using Jessie J herself, before the reader has even read the text, they instantly know who and what this advert is about. The Male Gaze theory states that women are often shown in full body, to attract a male’s attention. However, here a close up shot is used simply of Jessie J's face. This makes the advert more powerful as her demeaning expression and face in general really stands out from the page. Despite this, her perfect complexion and general attractiveness will play a part in attracting a male audience. When this advert was used, Jessie J was known for her jet black hairstyle so this it was important that the photographer and designer both made this a central point of the photo and the finished advert, to help represent her as an artist and attract her target audience. Her determined face, could also help to represent her as a helper/donor according to Propp's Narrative theory as she engages with the audience.
-Logos: With reference to Evanescence’s advert, the two record label logos are in both the bottom corners, so it is likely that the reader will view them last and as it has been said that one's memory best remembers items placed first and last this could be a good decision.
Album Cover: Much like using a motif having the album cover on an advert helps it become instantly recognisable when it is hidden amongst others perhaps in a CD store or even on ITunes.
Lighting: The lighting of the images is very important. On the Paramore advert the light bounces nicely off Hayley’s face highlighting her features and her seemingly perfect complexion. The absence of shadows in the picture is very stylistic and makes the image appear more professional. On the flash images and album cover there is a slight shadow placed around some of the edges giving them a slight 3D affect which makes the advert more interesting for the audience.

Setting: The image of Jessie J is simply placed on a white background. By not having her in a noticeable setting the audience is once again forced to only notice the important information provided by the minimal text used.
The setting of the main image used for Evanescence's advert is somewhat surreal, as the audience would not come across this setting in everyday life. The large door that reveals the dark sky outside is another indication of the style of music that this advert is promoting.

Costume: Jessie's black costume and gold earrings are important as they keep in the theme of the advert. The lace style of her top makes her more attractive to males and her gold earrings make her also desirable. By making her wear this outfit her clean cut style of pop music is presented well, whereas if she has been wearing a tracksuit I feel the audience would be expecting a different style of music.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Representation: There are three identifiable representations in the Paramore advert; the band, album and the target audience.
-The Band: Their personalities portrayed by their costume, by placing
the band on the advert it also suggests their want to have a close relationship
with their audience as they make themselves easily identifiable.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Codes:
Text:
Main Text: The magazine advert for Evanescence’s
album uses the absolute minimum in terms of text. One element that is different
is that this is an advert for an album that is yet to be released. This means
that it is essential that 'Out November 2nd' stands out from the page. The register is clearly aimed at people in the E and D demographic groups as simple, to the point language is used.
Website Address: The inclusion of Jessie's website on her advert gives the audience
another median that they can explore to find out any other information about
the artist or album, this is essential in that not much information is used on
adverts and should the audience have any questions they need somewhere to look
for the answers. It is also important as the internet is a big part of many
people's lives (specifically her target audience of young people) these days that Jessie J is associated with it, so they can quickly look her up on their phones, laptops, tablets or IPods, not matter where they are.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Layout:
-General Layout: Unlike some magazine
adverts ‘Brand New Eyes’ is rather busy yet still effective. The style used is
of a wooden notice board. This could perhaps appeal to a younger and older
reader as both will have used or at least experience getting information from
one. It even almost resembles a scrap book, which has the connotations of good
memories so once again this is an indication to the reader that taking the time
to look at it and buy the album will be worthwhile. The use of sellotape to in
effect hold the different bits on the board gives it a quirky and interesting
look, mainly used to please the eye of the reader. Unlike the 'Brand New Eyes'
advert the layout of Jessie’s advert is very simple. Being split into two
halves means the reader's attention is captured by the picture then they can
simply follow the natural line down to read the information.
-Information Layout: Also, all the important
information is in the column middle of the advert which means the reader has to
make minimal effort in order to take in all the information, this is vital for
a magazine advert as it is unlikely the reader will be willing to spend a lot
of time looking at the page.
Looking
at Paramore’s advert the image composition is more complicated due to there
being more members of the band. By placing Hayley, the main singer, further
forward than the other members she is notably easier to recognise and identify.
This is important to attract their regular fan base as she is without a doubt
the most well-known member of the band. Male Gaze Theory is also present here
as placing the only female of the group at the front would attract the male
audience that would perhaps not otherwise be interested.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Colour:
-Main body: The colour scheme used in the Evanescence magazine advert is
very limited. It is mainly black, white and gold used. This largely dark style
reflects perhaps the type of music normally made by Evanescence, but at the
same time it fits in well with the setting of the image. Much like the Jessie J
advert the gold suggests luxury music.
The ‘Who You Are’ advert is very clever in its use of colour as there
are actually only three colours used; black, white and gold. In conjunction,
with Jessie's hair her lipstick, clothes, eye make-up and nails are all black.
This makes her really stand out from the advert as her appearance is very
distinctive and recognisable to the reader. Due to Jessie being dressed almost
completely in black the white background is what makes her stand out even more.
On the contrary the white writing stands out from the black background. The
gold nicely stands out from the black and as gold is normally linked to the
idea of money and success there is a hint that this album is very good and
successful.
-Logo: The 'Virgin Megastores' logo stands out profoundly on this advert.
By not conforming to the rather dull colour scheme, the logo although rather
small catches the reader’s eye and is instantly recognisable as one of the
Virgin brands.
Whilst Katy Perry’s is perfectly summed up by the line 'you're original,
cannot be replaced'. The aim is to make people realised that they are special;
there is no need to be ashamed of whom they are and that they have the power
inside of them to do whatever they like.
Finally, the ideology of Pink’s song is that the breakdown of a
relationship is never the fault of just one person. Both will have made
mistakes that contributed to it and if it was fate for them to break up then it
would happen eventually whether they try to fix it or not.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2nd Artefact Analysis (How Used In Existing Products)
Conventions:
Images:
-Main Image: The main image used in Jessie J’s advert for her album who you are takes up round about three quarters of the page. This means that as soon as the reader turns the page their attention is instantly grabbed, as Jessie J stares out at them.

-Shadows: There are very minimal shadows on Jessie’s advert, this makes the advert appear very stylistic and professional - something that will undoubtedly attract the audience. The only shadows used are ones on Jessie's face, enhancing her features and consequently helping her powerful expression to have an effect on the audience.

Motif: On the advert for the album ‘Brand New Eyes’ by Paramore a motif is created and used in the form of a butterfly. This is not only used on the advert but on the front of the album cover too acting as an 'aide memoir' for the audience, so they can recognise the product and any related merchandise whenever they might see it.


_________________________________________________________________________________________

Setting: The image of Jessie J is simply placed on a white background. By not having her in a noticeable setting the audience is once again forced to only notice the important information provided by the minimal text used.
The setting of the main image used for Evanescence's advert is somewhat surreal, as the audience would not come across this setting in everyday life. The large door that reveals the dark sky outside is another indication of the style of music that this advert is promoting.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Costume: Jessie's black costume and gold earrings are important as they keep in the theme of the advert. The lace style of her top makes her more attractive to males and her gold earrings make her also desirable. By making her wear this outfit her clean cut style of pop music is presented well, whereas if she has been wearing a tracksuit I feel the audience would be expecting a different style of music.
The costume of Paramore is very simple. As they are wearing normal
clothes the audience can easily identify with them and it suggests that they
are a very down to earth and in fashion band.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Representation: There are three identifiable representations in the Paramore advert; the band, album and the target audience.

The Album: The unusual and quirky nature of this advert represents
hugely the style of music. The use of bright and warm colours shows the upbeat
style of the album, opposed to a slightly darker type of music that could be
expected of the Evanescence album due to its colder colours.
The Audience: A not so obvious representation present on this advert is
the representation of the bands target audience. By placing the ‘text’ opportunity
in the top right hand corner the advert immediately indicates a younger
audience as modern technologies have a significantly larger role in their lives
compared to older generations.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Text:

Additional Text: Underneath this, slightly smaller,
is the mention of her single. Obviously here, the creator of the advert has
decided that this is not as important as the date of the release but it still
needs to be there to attract the audience.
Font: The entire font is a serif style. Similar to
the Paramore advert, this suggests that the audience and the album is more a
more sophisticated style of pop, which means the audience will be more keen on the advert and getting the digipak as the font is what they would expect to see.

Layout:


-Composition: By placing Jessie J
in the centre she is the main focal point of the advert and is the basis for
the column style that this advert uses. As the audience would be instantly
attracted to look at Jessie's face first they then follow the same line down to
all of the necessary information.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Colour:



_________________________________________________________________________________________
3rd Artefact Analysis (How Used in Existing Products)
Conventions:
Images:
-Main Images: On the front cover of the Radio:Active
digipak each member of McFly has their own separate picture on a TV screen as
if they are being surveilled. Each member acts as a Stock Character as they are
recognisable by the bands current fans and they are in effect the band's
representatives. All other images in the digipak are simple abstract shapes
that blend into the background of the inside faces.
Costume:
Avril Lavigne’s costume is also a good representation of the
style of her music as she is wearing a rather sophisticated dress, opposed to the ripped
trousers that she has previously worn for her other album covers. That being
said, she still has her heavy eye make-up on making her recognisable to her
target audience and existing fans. It is important to note here that on the
other two digipaks I analysed very little costume is shown, indicating perhaps
that it is not such an important factor on a digipak as mostly the pictures are
close-up shots. The white represents her a pure which can also help link her to the helper character in Propp's narrative theory as white is often associated with kind helpful people.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Representation:
The main representations in each three digipaks are obviously the representation of the digipak and its style. Through Go Audio's cartoon scene, the audience knows the album is likely to have a playful style likewise with McFly and their 'Radio:ACTIVE' theme. Avril, on the other hand, is much more stylish suggesting a calmer more serious style to her music.
Interestingly, in Go Audio's digipak there is the representation of their audience too, suggesting to whom their audience is aimed at.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Codes:

Text: Following the normal conventions of a digipak, the back of the Radio:ACTIVE pack lists the songs that appear on the CD and also the items that the buyer can find on the bonus DVD. Underneath that, details of their management and production team are listed along with the copyright terms. All of this text is rather small as it is not intended for the buyer to read as soon as they lay eyes on it. The important pieces are the song tracks, which will determine whether or not the buyer is interested in this digipak. Any additional information should be found in the lyric booklet inside the digipak. The register here is very formal and direct as it is simply needed to provide information.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Layout:
-Front: Due to the cover of ‘Made Up Stories’ being relatively simple, there is
not much to be said about the layout. Only that the two names have been placed
in the centre in the top half of the page. The positioning of 'Made Up Stories'
makes it the main focus point of the cover as it instantly attracts the buyer's
attention. The layout resembles greatly one of a book cover, therefore it keeps
in line with the idea of it being a book.
space for the DVD.
This follows the conventional style of a three piece digipak as you would
expect the main attraction of the bundle (the CD) to be in the middle, with the
DVD acting as the extra bonus on the end.

Colour: The colour scheme used throughout the entire digipak is related to the title of the album - Radio:ACTIVE. When one thinks of something being radioactive, one normally thinks of a vivid green item, and this is relayed through the colour scheme of the CD and DVD case. It is important to maintain a constant colour scheme across all products associated with this album so that there is a recognisable link.
The colours used on Avril’s front cover are also carried on right the way through the digipak. The majority of the background is black, making Avril and her blonde hair and white dress stand out and attract the buyers attention. Among this, there are also a few hints of green,
including the album title, which stands out from the dark background, acting as an indicator for the buyer that this is key information. The green also makes the digipak more appealing and exciting to look at, opposed to just a simple black and white front.

-Logos: In between them the logo for this album of
the old style microphone with a mouth is featured in the remaining squares.
McFly have continued to use this logo, on merchandise since the release of this
album. Therefore, this makes this album instantly recognisable to be McFly if
you failed to notice all the other images and clues which tell you who it is as
well. Surprisingly there is no logo for the record label that produced this
album on the front cover, but it can be found at the bottom in the centre on the back face.
-Inside Images: The images inside the 'Made Up Stories' digipak make-up pretty much the whole thing. Before we get to the CD there are four double sided pages of photos of the band. This gives the buyer an idea of their personalities which can be important for some people as they like to know about the band and feel a sense of connection. There are also pictures of fans on these pages which once again shows how they value their connections with their fans. The majority of the pages have Go:Audio' written in various forms e.g. in sand, in fridge magnets and on a drum kit. This is a constant reminder for the buyer who this band is.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Costume:

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Representation:
![]() |
Go Audio's playful design. |
Interestingly, in Go Audio's digipak there is the representation of their audience too, suggesting to whom their audience is aimed at.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Codes:

Text: Following the normal conventions of a digipak, the back of the Radio:ACTIVE pack lists the songs that appear on the CD and also the items that the buyer can find on the bonus DVD. Underneath that, details of their management and production team are listed along with the copyright terms. All of this text is rather small as it is not intended for the buyer to read as soon as they lay eyes on it. The important pieces are the song tracks, which will determine whether or not the buyer is interested in this digipak. Any additional information should be found in the lyric booklet inside the digipak. The register here is very formal and direct as it is simply needed to provide information.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Layout:

-Inside: On the left hand side of the Radio:ACTIVE digpak there is a pocket for
the lyric booklet, then the space for the CD followed by the

-Back: Following the conventions of a standard
digipak back cover, the track listings on Avril’s digpak are placed on the
right had side. All of the other information is placed at the bottom in a
smaller font which suggests that it is less important, but also so the
designers can fit everything on that they need.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Colour: The colour scheme used throughout the entire digipak is related to the title of the album - Radio:ACTIVE. When one thinks of something being radioactive, one normally thinks of a vivid green item, and this is relayed through the colour scheme of the CD and DVD case. It is important to maintain a constant colour scheme across all products associated with this album so that there is a recognisable link.
The colours used on Avril’s front cover are also carried on right the way through the digipak. The majority of the background is black, making Avril and her blonde hair and white dress stand out and attract the buyers attention. Among this, there are also a few hints of green,
including the album title, which stands out from the dark background, acting as an indicator for the buyer that this is key information. The green also makes the digipak more appealing and exciting to look at, opposed to just a simple black and white front.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Main Product Analysis (How I Have Used Codes & Conventions)
From my research I found out a large wealth of information about existing music videos, magazine adverts and digipaks. During my planning stages for each artefact I took each individual piece of information into account and constructed three products that are suited to my target audience and contain elements of each of the nine existing media I analysed.
Conventions:






over style as she tries to survive the cold conditions. This same idea is seen in Jason Mraz's video as all of their costumes relate to their situation, one prominent one being the army uniform, which he is obliged to wear for his duty, whereas my character is obliged to wear them to survive. In terms of Propp's Narrative Theory, my character would be classed as the hero. As she is seeking a happier life. Her costume illustrates how she is looking for this better life and nicer clothes.
For my singer, Katherine-Anna, I asked her to wear some simple black clothes with a red headband. The black clothes once again represent the tone of the song but also take away her individuality as she represents millions of people in the world ho have problems. Her red headband not only acts as a constant feature across all three of my artefacts but again links into the red worn by some of my characters and indicates the pain that they are in, be it emotional or physical.


The public park bench that is inhabited by my homeless character is another example of an everyday setting as everyone walks or travels past once almost everyday and sees homeless people. This means that the audience of my video should be able to identify with this scene very well.


_________________________________________________________________________________________
Stock Characters: Every one of the music videos contains the artist, (once again the donor/helper according to Propp as she helps the audience/characters relate to the song and being a key example that everything will be okay in the end) taking this into account I made Katherine-Anna a prominent character in my music video. By regularly showing her the audience become familiar with her which is important when establishing a profile, especially for a new artist. This also allows me to use her image across my two ancillary products as
well, creating a consistent marketing campaign and public image for her.
Whilst P!nk's video simply contains two people, one being herself, Katy Perry and Jason Mraz's videos contain other people too, once again all depicting individual stories that link to the songs ideology. This is why I decided it was important that I too include a variety of people, each depicting something different. In doing this I hope to attract a wider audience as there is more than one character that they can identify to. One fall back I would say of P!nk's video is that the audience must only be able to identify with either the man or the lady and it is rather specific. By following the examples of Katy and Jason, I aimed to avoid this problem.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
well, creating a consistent marketing campaign and public image for her.
Whilst P!nk's video simply contains two people, one being herself, Katy Perry and Jason Mraz's videos contain other people too, once again all depicting individual stories that link to the songs ideology. This is why I decided it was important that I too include a variety of people, each depicting something different. In doing this I hope to attract a wider audience as there is more than one character that they can identify to. One fall back I would say of P!nk's video is that the audience must only be able to identify with either the man or the lady and it is rather specific. By following the examples of Katy and Jason, I aimed to avoid this problem.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Stock Events: Split narrative was a central point for all three of the videos I analysed. Therefore, I based my music video around the same principles. By including shots of Katherine-Anna on the piano there is the basis of the video. All the other events are essentially extras to explain the story an ideology in the lyrics. The split narrative is also important in keeping the audiences attention. If the whole video involved them having to ponder over lots of different stories constantly then it would not be very popular as it would be too difficult to watch.
The basis of my stories are taking from difficult situations that my target audience could experience. I did this again so that they have a chance of identifying with the storyline, which would make the video appeal to them more.
In media Enigma Code and Action Code are always important in not only engaging the audience but telling a story shown in the stock events. I used this a several points in my music video, but one significant part is when I introduce the young girl sitting on her bedroom fall looking upset. This makes the audience question why she is feeling like this way. This is the Enigma code part. The next part is the action code where a flashback provides and answer to the audience in giving them the information that she has in fact been abused and chucked in her room by a parent.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

In media Enigma Code and Action Code are always important in not only engaging the audience but telling a story shown in the stock events. I used this a several points in my music video, but one significant part is when I introduce the young girl sitting on her bedroom fall looking upset. This makes the audience question why she is feeling like this way. This is the Enigma code part. The next part is the action code where a flashback provides and answer to the audience in giving them the information that she has in fact been abused and chucked in her room by a parent.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Narrative & Representation Theory:
The representation theories I have used in my music video are very similar to the ones I found in Jason Mraz's video, and as our song ideologies are alike it was possible to do this. The Constructionist Theory within it is important the audience must make up their own mind as to what the video means to them, and what everyone's problems are that they must overcome. Whilst I have chosen specific problems for each character the audience may view these differently and this can make it more personal to them. That being said, I have also Reflective Theory of Representation is present within this music video as I have created the whole ideology of the video around my views that everything will work out fine in the end and that no-one should be alone in their struggles. Due to this one could also say there is an element of the Hypodermic Needle Theory as my own ideas, as director, are subtly fed to the audience through the way I have presented my music video.
In terms of narrative theories, one could say that there is an element of Todorov's Narrative Theory in my video. Much like all three videos I analysed my video depicts a break of equilibrium. By starting with the Katherine-Anna on the piano an equilibrium is set, then it is broken as all of the stories are told. The attempt to fix this is shown in the pictures of the target audience with their 'you're not alone' posters, then it ends with Katherine-Anna once again on the piano as a new equilibrium has been found. Katy's version of this would be the characters becoming fireworks after their misfortune or sadness, P!nk's would be the breakdown of her relationship finally being discussed openly and for Jason Mraz each individual finds their happiness as the video progresses.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
![]() |
Equilibrium - Disequilibrium - New Equilibrium |
In terms of narrative theories, one could say that there is an element of Todorov's Narrative Theory in my video. Much like all three videos I analysed my video depicts a break of equilibrium. By starting with the Katherine-Anna on the piano an equilibrium is set, then it is broken as all of the stories are told. The attempt to fix this is shown in the pictures of the target audience with their 'you're not alone' posters, then it ends with Katherine-Anna once again on the piano as a new equilibrium has been found. Katy's version of this would be the characters becoming fireworks after their misfortune or sadness, P!nk's would be the breakdown of her relationship finally being discussed openly and for Jason Mraz each individual finds their happiness as the video progresses.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Codes:

examples of this would be using a high angle shot to look down on the homeless girl as she takes the glove from the tree, this helps to represent her as one of the heroes in my story as she is clearly vulnerable (as the audience look down on her) and is searching for items to help her to survive. I also used the same idea for looking down on the girl who was abused. For the shots of my singer I tried to keep them mostly at eye level so that she was not seen as superior to the characters in the video.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Ideology: The ideology of a music video is very important and I have found that it portrayed not only through the lyrics but also through the film. When creating each shot of my video I kept the ideology (despite your problems, everything will be okay in the end and you're not alone) in mind. During the stories I was careful to make sure the characters were always alone, so come the part where the pictures fly in, it would be obvious what was going on. I do believe that to some extent the ideology will change with each person that views the video as it will mean something different to everyone and I am happy to let it be like this.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Conventions:
Images:


-Front Cover: I have included a picture of the front cover of my digipak on this advert so that anyone who has seen the advert would then recognise the album on a CD store shelf or on ITunes. Although I only found this feature on one of the adverts I analysed I think it works really well and is essential in a marketing campaign for an album.
-Logos: I have placed all of the logos at the bottom of the advert, as found in throughout my research as they are less important so would not be the main focal point of the advert.
-Logos: I have placed all of the logos at the bottom of the advert, as found in throughout my research as they are less important so would not be the main focal point of the advert.



Representation: The magazine advert for Paramore contained three identifiable representations, all of which I have tried to replicate in my own magazine advert.


-The Album: Finally the album is another representation made present. Taking the idea from Paramore's advert the front cover is clearly visible and by maintaining a house style across all three products the genre of music is represented well.
Codes:
Text:
-Main Text: In terms of text I have taken elements from each existing advert to create my own, some of these include: the artist's name, the album title, featured songs, release time frame, website and information on how to receive a song via text.
-Register: The focused attention span of young people in our day and age is only eight seconds. This means that the information on my artefact needs to be direct and straight to the point so that my target market could obtain all relevant in eight seconds or less. Consequently, the register is simple and straight to the point, as my target market of young people would not be interested in long complicated words and sentences, and they would lose focus without absorbing all relevant information.
-Font: I kept the font consistent throughout, using the standard front called 'Bell MT'. This serif font gives the hint of class and sophistication to the advert and also the album. The font used for 'I'll Be Ok' and 'Katherine-Anna' are the same as used on the digipak to create a house style, something I found to be often used when I conducted my research of existing products.
-Size: As expected from my research findings, all the important information is larger whilst some les important details are in a smaller font, this ensures that the vital text is clear to the reader as they flick through the magazine.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
-Main Text: In terms of text I have taken elements from each existing advert to create my own, some of these include: the artist's name, the album title, featured songs, release time frame, website and information on how to receive a song via text.
-Register: The focused attention span of young people in our day and age is only eight seconds. This means that the information on my artefact needs to be direct and straight to the point so that my target market could obtain all relevant in eight seconds or less. Consequently, the register is simple and straight to the point, as my target market of young people would not be interested in long complicated words and sentences, and they would lose focus without absorbing all relevant information.
-Font: I kept the font consistent throughout, using the standard front called 'Bell MT'. This serif font gives the hint of class and sophistication to the advert and also the album. The font used for 'I'll Be Ok' and 'Katherine-Anna' are the same as used on the digipak to create a house style, something I found to be often used when I conducted my research of existing products.
-Size: As expected from my research findings, all the important information is larger whilst some les important details are in a smaller font, this ensures that the vital text is clear to the reader as they flick through the magazine.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________


adverts they both included gold. I found that this specifically jumped out at me, so I have therefore put key words and information in a deep yellow so that they are instantly picked up by the audience.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
3rd Product Analysis (How I Have Used Codes & Conventions)
Conventions:
Images:


Motif: As I mentionned earlier, the swirl motif is also present on every face of my digipak, inside and out. This not only makes the digipak more interesting on some of the more plain sides but is part of my established house style.
-Logos: Once more I have included the record companies logo on the back of my digipak and on the spine. I did not put it on the front as I felt it was a distracting from the main image, and I also found in my analysis of Radio:ACTIVE that it can be placed on the back.
-Shadows: When editing the picture for the front cover of my digipak I made sure I removed any shadows around Katherine-Anna, to make it look more professional and realistic.
-Logos: Once more I have included the record companies logo on the back of my digipak and on the spine. I did not put it on the front as I felt it was a distracting from the main image, and I also found in my analysis of Radio:ACTIVE that it can be placed on the back.

-Audience Participation: On the inside of the digipak I have used some of the photos from my music video. This not only links my products together but is a direct link to my desired target audience as these girls are the correct age and could be seen as fans. It also shows the ideology of the music video and album. I have created some 'sellotape' to hold these pictures on like I found in my analysis of Paramore's advert, which makes the inside a little more interesting.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Setting: As with my advert I kept the setting to be a plain white wall so as not to distract the buyer/audience from the main image and important information. Inside, I chose a 'cork-board' style to bring some colour to the digipak.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Costume: Katherine-Anna's costume is again black to maintain a house style but is also lace. I chose this as it has a nice design which fits in well with the sophisticated style of the digipak. Although Avril Lavigne's costume was white, it was of the same sort of style, being sophisticated, so I applied this finding to my own digipak. Like in my main and second artefacts, her costume is up to date and similar to the style that my target audience (young females and males) would recognise in their own wardrobe if not their friends and families, this represents her as someone who is reachable and not out of this world (if I had dressed her up in futuristic clothing she would not fit into their social group and they would therefore feel she was not accessible and would consequently not be able to identify with her and my ideology). The bold colours show her as strong which is a key characteristic for the helper/donor in Propp's Narrative Theory, this continues to indicate how each is important in creating this profile.
Representation:
-Target Audience: On the inside of Go Audio's digipak they included pictures of their fans at gigs. I like this
idea as it quickly identifies a target market so I included some of the photos I collected on Facebook for my music video on two of the inside faces of my digipak.
idea as it quickly identifies a target market so I included some of the photos I collected on Facebook for my music video on two of the inside faces of my digipak.
-Artist: All three albums contained pictures of the artists even if Go Audio did not have any on the front. On mine I placed an image of the artist on the front and the back meaning which ever way the digipak was laying the artist would be instantly recognised. Whilst on the advert Katherine-Anna is smiling, on the pictures on my digipak she has a more neutral expression which I have used in attempt to indicate an elegance to the digipak.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Codes:
Text:

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Layout: It was important that the layout was eye catching and stylish on the front of my digipak. Taking inspiration from Avril's front cover I placed the picture of Katherine-Anna on the right and placed the text to the left of her face, with the motif around it. This leaves some empty space at the bottom left which ensures the front is not too over crowded.
On the back I placed the track listings to the left and the additional information at the bottom much like I found in my research of existing products. Once again similar to Avril's back cover I placed the image of the artist on the right hand side.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Colour: As I found in my research of both adverts and digipaks a house style and colour scheme is essential across both products. Therefore I have been careful to only use a select few colours on my digipak. I replicated the red in Katherine-Anna's headband to her real lipstick and also the lipstick mark on the 3rd face to carry on this theme throughout.
The colour scheme on the inside is slightly different as I opted for a cork board background which just adds in a little bit more colour the digipak without changing the house style completely.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Main Product Analysis (How I Have Challenged/Developed Codes & Conventions)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2nd Product Analysis (How I Have Challenged/Developed Codes & Conventions)
Text (Code): At the top of my advert I included a review from 'The Guardian'. Although I did not find this in any of my research I decided it would help to entice a buyer in. On many film adverts there are reviews by top newspapers or critics and this extra piece of information gives the buyer a reliable source about the quality of the album they are buying if they have never heard of the artist or heard any of the songs before.
Social Media Logos (Code): I was very surprised to not find any social media logos or information on any of the existing adverts I analysed. In the society we live in these days people (and my target market in particular) are always looking to follow their favourite artists on Twitter or 'like' them on Facebook. Hence, I have included logos for both Twitter and Facebook as well as direct links to the artists pages. I have also added a 'hashtag' for the two sites so that the audience can tag it in their posts allowing a community to grow online and people get in touch with each other.
3rd Product Analysis (How I Have Challenged/Developed Codes & Conventions)
Layout (Code): Looking at the inside of Go Audio's digipak, there were loads of different photos all placed on top or close to each other leaving no gaps in between. Whilst I like the idea of using audience photos I felt that for my digpak it was not appropriate due to the style of music I am promoting. With that said, I developed my findings and placed just three photos on two of the faces which clearly depict my target market and audience but do not overcrowd the sides like in the 'Made Up Stories' digipak.

Image Shadows (Conventions): Most of the photos I saw on the digpaks I analysed had no shadows and I have mostly replicated this. However, on the back of my digipak I have left the shadow on the right hand side of Katherine-Anna because I feel like it creates a nice gradient effect on this side. The front side and the 3rd side backgrounds are simply grey and whilst this is a look I was keen to obtain. The slightl gradient on the back breaks up nicely the grey of the other two sides and just adds a bit of colour to the outside of the digipak.

Colour: As I found in my research of both adverts and digipaks a house style and colour scheme is essential across both products. Therefore I have been careful to only use a select few colours on my digipak. I replicated the red in Katherine-Anna's headband to her real lipstick and also the lipstick mark on the 3rd face to carry on this theme throughout.
The colour scheme on the inside is slightly different as I opted for a cork board background which just adds in a little bit more colour the digipak without changing the house style completely.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Main Product Analysis (How I Have Challenged/Developed Codes & Conventions)
There was very little I wanted to challenge or develop about the codes and conventions of music videos as I wanted it to be as realistic as possible, but to make my video unique there were some aspects that I challenged or developed.
Editing (Code):
Due to the song I chose being relatively slow, I felt the need to use a slower editing technique. Fast edits like those found in the videos I analysed would not have portrayed my ideology how I wanted to. Therefore, the majority of my shots are longer than those of a conventional music video but in being so the meaning is conveyed better.
Representation (Convention):
One way I challenged the conventions of a music video was by including real members of my target audience. Whilst Katy Perry's video contained people likely to be her target audience, and mind did too. I took to Facebook and asked my target market to make signs and take photos of themselves so that they could be included in the video. This way representation of my audience was incorporated directly into my video.
Stock (Code):
This links to another way I have developed the traditional codes and conventions of existing music videos. Normally they are made up of solely video, but with the inclusion of photos I have added another unique aspect to my video that I have not seen before.
Editing (Code):

Representation (Convention):

Stock (Code):

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Text (Code): At the top of my advert I included a review from 'The Guardian'. Although I did not find this in any of my research I decided it would help to entice a buyer in. On many film adverts there are reviews by top newspapers or critics and this extra piece of information gives the buyer a reliable source about the quality of the album they are buying if they have never heard of the artist or heard any of the songs before.
Social Media Logos (Code): I was very surprised to not find any social media logos or information on any of the existing adverts I analysed. In the society we live in these days people (and my target market in particular) are always looking to follow their favourite artists on Twitter or 'like' them on Facebook. Hence, I have included logos for both Twitter and Facebook as well as direct links to the artists pages. I have also added a 'hashtag' for the two sites so that the audience can tag it in their posts allowing a community to grow online and people get in touch with each other.


Image Shadows (Conventions): Most of the photos I saw on the digpaks I analysed had no shadows and I have mostly replicated this. However, on the back of my digipak I have left the shadow on the right hand side of Katherine-Anna because I feel like it creates a nice gradient effect on this side. The front side and the 3rd side backgrounds are simply grey and whilst this is a look I was keen to obtain. The slightl gradient on the back breaks up nicely the grey of the other two sides and just adds a bit of colour to the outside of the digipak.
Labels:
A2 Media,
Codes,
Conventions,
Evaluation,
G324,
Home,
Q1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)