Plan for Digipak 1

Plan for Digipak 1;

This is our first design for our Digipak for our band. We have used Coldplay as our replica band as we will be using "Clocks" for our own music video. However, the images will be changed when we film our band and then use them in this digipak. We will also change the name and album title as we have currently used Coldplay and this will stop any copyrights being breached. 

How will this help me?
When it comes to making our final Digipak, this first plan will help us greatly as we can combine ideas currently being used and also our own ideas. This will help make our final ideas and also design much better then not planning before. 

Analysis of Digipak from Chosen Artist

Analysis of Digipak from Chosen Artist;

This digipak is from a different album to the magazine advert that i previously analysed, so no synergy was used within this digipak. 

On the front of the album, there is no sign of the the record label or any of the songs that are included on the album. This is unusual as both these generic conventions are typically shown on the cover, but this may have been done to make the album seem simplistic and uncluttered.

On the back of the digipak there is the full song list that is included on the album, which gives the indication to the consumer buying the album which songs are included and which are not. 

Down the spine of the digipak, it includes the record label and other bits of information that are needed on a digipak. Also it includes the bar code and also the logo of the record label.

The name of the alum is sown on the right side on the front of the digipak, so that the artwork in the middle is covered up. Also doesn't stand out, which makes the artwork stand out and is what makes people attracted to the album. 

The artwork on the front is very prominent as Coldplay currently uses this logo throughout their advertisements, so this is quite known, which means that the band doesn't need to add there name and faces to the cover to make consumers know which band the album belongs to.

What have i learnt from this analysis?

From this analysis i have learnt what elements are needed within a digipak to keep the the overall concept appealing and attract the the appropriate target audience. As well as this, it also gives me a rough guide on what needs to be included on my own digipak, so it keeps in sync with my genre. 

Digipak Analysis 2

Digipak Analysis 2;

An example of a Digipak in current use is Demon Days by the Gorillaz. Many other artists are using Digipaks and they are more or less taking over as the norm. What is different about the Gorillaz Digipack is that it folds in different ways that the usual sideways fold. it folds from all sides in a quite unique way to show each cartoon character which is meant to represent each band member. By doing this differently it stands and changes the conventional side ways opening digipaks. 

This is an unconventional approach to a digipak as each of the band member is interpreted by a 'cartoon' version of themselves, rather than letting everyone become aware of who they really are or showing the identity of the band members on the digipak. As all of the character head-shots are over a white background it really makes them stand out especially with the fact that they are all represented by cartoon characters. As the bottom side of the digipak isn't shown within the picture or be found from research into the digipak, from generic conventions, this could be where the songs are shown that are on the album as this is where they are generally shown. 

How will this help me with my digipak?

By doing this analysis it will help me when it comes making my own digipak as like my previous analysis it gives me ideas for the overall digipak. Also it will help as it gives me and indication on what needs to be included within a digipak in this genre, which I can then apply to my Pop Rock genre as these genres are very similar.  

Digipak Analyis 1

Digipak Analysis 1;

This Digipak is by Kings of Leon. The overall theme to their album is an owl like bird, which is shown on the front and also the back of the digipak. This is quite an artist design and also unique compared to similar bands digipaks, as it incorporates the bands faces with the owl itself. This fits in with their genre which is rock as the colours are very dark and mysterious. On the inside there are individual portrait shots of each of the band members, which gives a clear view on all of the members as the initial photo has been edited to incorporate the owl. There are no special effects or posing by the artists, as these photographs are used to clearly show the band members not to disfigure them. There disk design used is also is coloured to fit in with the overall album design, which continues the overall theme within the digipak.

On the front cover of the album the initial title is very discrete and is very hard to see unless focused on and also the fact that it has been put in the top right hand corner. This adds to the overall feel of digipak, where the band themselves want their audience to focus more on the design of the album and also to initially recognise their band members from the pictures, as they are a well-known band. Their songs on the back cover are again very small and out of the way, this is emphasising their overall look that they want to create wanting to be unique to other artists within the genre. 

How will this task help me with my Digipak?

By doing this analysis it will help me when it comes making my own digipak as it gives me ideas on what i can include within my digipak. Also it will help as it gives me and indication on what needs to be included within a digipak in this genre, which i can then apply to my Pop Rock genre as these genres are very similar. 

Initial Music Video Ideas

Initial Music Video Ideas;

After doing research into the Pop Rock genre and Coldplay themselves, we came up with a number of ideas that could potentially be used to create a music video within this chosen genre. The majority of the ideas that we came up with used generic convention that are generally seen within this genres music videos, so a lot of this initial ideas could be used within are actual music video and still convey the generic conventions. 

• Performance shots- After researching into a variety of Pop Rock and also Coldplay's music videos, i found that the majority of them had some kind of performance scenes/shots within them of either the main artist or the overall band. This is seen a number of times within other Coldplay music videos such as "Paradise" and "Hymn For The Weekend", were performance shots are effectively used.

• Other Music Videos- Other ideas that we came up were based off of other previous music videos that we found to be interesting and could potentially work with the artists and genre we have chosen. One previous music that really stood out was Craig David’s “7 Days” which portrays a man reliving the same moment over and over again until he achieves his desired outcome. We found this interesting idea as we like the concept of the repeating of the same event and also the fact that this could easily be incorporated into a music video within our desired genre.  

• Goodwin Theory- Another idea that we had was the inclusion of some of Goodwin theory's within the music video. Elements such as the link between lyrics & visuals and music & visuals could potentially be included within our music video. Other elements such as using either performance based, narrative based or concept based could be incorporated to meet the generic conventions of Pop Rock, with mainly performance and narrative being used within this genre. This is gain exampled in Coldplay's song "

How will this help me with my music video?

When making the music video this will help me as i now have a few ideas that i can could possible used within the music video, whereas before i was limited on the ideas that i had. With this knowledge, i now have in overall idea for the music video. 

Inspiration from Real media Texts;

Inspiration from Real media Texts;

After researching around my chosen genre (Pop Rock), i found a variety of real media texts that i could benefit from and take some inspiration from. One example that would be very beneficial is the music video for "Clocks" by Coldplay, as this is the song that we have chosen for our actual music video. After reviewing the entire music video multiple times, my view was that there are a wide variety of performance shots that could be replicated within our music video from the band that we will be using for the video. From closeups of the band members and instruments to wide angled shots of the the whole band playing, these are only a couple of shots that could easily be duplicated from this video in particular but there are many other music videos that use similar shots that could also be replicated within our music video. 

Effective shots that could potentially be duplicated; 

Closeup of lead singer- (0.38 secs)

Closeup of Guitar- (2.58 secs)

Over the shoulder shot of drummer- (3.46 secs)

Closeup of lead singer- (3.58 secs)

Another real media text that we could potentially take inspiration from is Craig Davids "7 Days", which was one of his first initial songs he released. within the video creates a narrative where one day keeps rewinding until he finally gets the outcome that he is looking for. After reviewing the music video a number of times, my view is that i could easily be Incorporated within the meaning of "Clocks" in some way.

What have i learnt from this research?

After researching into a variety of real media texts, it has helped me gain inspiration from these different sources to use within my own music video that i will be creating. If i hadn't of done this research, it would of been a difficult task to come up with a completely original idea that could potentially of not worked well with our song. 

Research into Coldplay

Kings Of Leon Brief Magazine Analysis; 

The bands magazine advert has used the same main image as they have for their album cover to give a sense of synergy between the two products. This means that after an individual has seen the magazine advert, they are able to recognise the album cover and band easily.

This magazine advert also shows a number of songs that are included on the Kings of Leon album. This helps to attract customers and the bands general target audience who have listened and also like the songs, as they recognise the songs on the album which gives them an incentive to go out and buy the album.

The adverts shows the band's record label, advertising them to people who like this music. This would also promote the record label as because the band is successful, it gives the record label recognition as they are associated with the band.

The title of the album matches the colour scheme of the picture above it, helping to make the advert more appealing to the audience.

The band is well advertised as you can clearly see the name at the top of the page in white text on a black background.

How will this help me with my coursework?

Analysing this magazine advert will help me when making my own, as it has shown me the value of including the same image for the advert and the digipak to create a sense of synergy.

Research into Pop Rock

What is Pop Rock?

Pop rock is a fusion genre that mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its (typically) guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a sub genre of pop music.

A large proportion of pop rock music has been very similar in sound including the instruments used and even the lyrics within the songs. The terms "pop rock" and "power pop" have been used to describe more common successful music that uses elements from, or the form of, rock music. Pop rock has been defined as an "upbeat variety of rock music" represented by artists and bands such as The Beatles, The Script, Maroon 5, and Coldplay.

Examples of Pop Rock music videos; 

The Beatles Example; 

The Script Example;

Maroon 5 Example;

Coldplay Example;

How will this help me with my own music video;

This will help me when making my own music video, as i am able to get inspiration from previous Pop Rock music video to use in my own video. As well as this, i will also be able to compare my finished music video with current videos in this genre and see weather it will attract my target audience and also look professional.  

Initial ideas on Genre and Audience

Initial ideas on Genre and Audience; 

To decide on a genre and the audience that we were gonna use and also target, myself completed some research into a variety of different genres that could potentially be used/ chosen for our final decisions. When researching in different genres, we narrowed them down to small number that could easily chose one from. These where the shortlisted genres that we chose to chose from for our final decision;

• Pop Rock (e.g. Coldplay)
• R&B (e.g. Drake)
• House Music (e.g. David Guetta) 
• Rock (e.g. Radiohead) 
• Grime (e.g. Skepta) 

After considering all of the above choices, we both decided to go ahead and use the Pop Rock genre as our final music video and promotional Pack idea. We have chosen this genre as we both have an interest in it, as well as some of our initial ideas for a music video wold fit well within the genre. 


How will this help me when making my music video?
This will help me when it comes to making my own music video as it will enable me to focus on one genre and can create a music video around that one genre. If i wasn't to pick a genre the music video may become very confusing and wouldn't be able to target a specific audience. 

What is Lip Syncing and the importnace

What is Lip Syncing and the importance;

In the majority of music videos, there are scenes where an actor or the musician is seen to be singing to the song that the music video is for. when these people sing within these videos, it looks like a they are actually singing along to the song but they are likely lip syncing to the lyrics of the song. this shows the importance of lip syncing as it can turn a well structured music video, easily into a bad one.

When lip syncing, it is often very helpful for the artist to actually sing the song, rather than just mime it. This is because they will be taking breaths at the correct times, making it look like they are actually singing. If the artist simply mimes the lyrics, they can look out of time, which is then easily picked up by the audience watching the music video.

If the music video features someone playing an instrument, it is also important that the actor or band member known how to play the song off by hear, otherwise it is immediately obvious that they are not playing the instrument or are out of time when playing along with the song. Also, if they are playing it correctly, it is important that the video is synced with the music, as the audience instead of watching the music video, may then be distracted by the out of time instruments.