My Music Video Media Blog

Maisie Jones 13.3

In this coursework there were lots of choices available to make, I chose to make a music video, this includes making covers for the CD and DVD cover and a magazine advertisement.

In order to complete that I will need to complete some in-depth research in to music videos. I will need to chose a genre of music and what song I will choose. I will get help from making a questionnaire, where I will ask my target audience what they think I should do.

What I need to do in order to complete my Coursework Research into Music videos and plan Decide on a song choice Decide some ideas for my music videos Put these ideas into a storyboard Decide which idea I will be doing and deciding on location and who

will star in my video. Film the video. Edit the footage While doing the video I will have to take pictures for the CD and

DVD package. Evaluation

What I am doing!

In my research I will be researching existing media videos,. And see if there is any similarities.

I will research into existing CD covers, and analysing the conventions.

I will be looking into the magazine advertisements this will allow mw to see what I will need to include in my coursework.

I will need to make a mock up CD cover and Magazine advertisement, this will allow me to have an idea of what I will need to create.

I will need to make a storyboard of all the shots included

Research and Planning

I have looked at many music videos that have many different genres of music videos, I was looking into what camera shots and camera angles. I looked into a variety of different genres as I wanted to see how different videos were being shown. I will look in detail at a few Music Videos which are different genres as I feel that when it will come to filming my own music video I will be able to see exactly what they want to see. It will also help me make my final song choice as there are a few that I can’t decide on.

I will analyse a few music videos so I can see the conventions that are present and can analyse why people would like the video, I might also make a questionnaire and ask people to tell me what they like about the video, so I will have some of my target audience feedback on existing music videos.

Music Video Reviews

Video Analysis 1- Do it like a Dude- Jessie J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOf3kYtwASo&feature=player_embedded#!

In this first part of the song, there is a heartbeat music going on, this makes you interpret the style of the video, it also makes you want to know what is going on as there are the jumpy images of a girl playing poker and smoking. These are very intriguing images.

This is Jessie J first single and the lyrics can relates to this well as in the beginning there is a line “Stomp Stomp I’ve Arrived” this could symbolise that she has arrived into the music Industry as well as the place in the video.

In the Lyrics of the song and the video I can see traits of the male gender, The title do it like a dude might symbolise, that she can do anything that a male can do it to. The lyric “Grab my crotch, wear my hat low like you” and “Pour me a beer” shows what people stereotypical link to the male gender.

Video Analysis 1- Do it like a Dude- Jessie J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOf3kYtwASo&feature=player_embedded#!

There are various that are bring used in this music video. The shots that are most common are;

Close Up Mid shots Long shots

Lots of Jump cuts have been used toShow the ‘Punky’ feel going on. The Images are used to create the tension Feeling, as it fits the genre of the song.

What my Target Audience thought ?Video 1

What do you like about this video?I love this genre of music and think it is a good example of music that the target audience are listening

to today. I think that the shots that have been used are good for the genre they help represent what the lyrics are actually saying. I like they way the video makes you think about what is actually going on. It is different to a lot of videos as you wouldn’t normally see a video like this.

I’m not a big fan of this genre of music but I feel that the video is quite good as it is showing what the lyrics are actually saying. I can see that “Jessie J” is saying a girl can do anything and the environment she is in associated with men, this tells me she can “Do it like a dude”. I think that the shots that have been used are good and work really well with the genre of the song.

Do you think that the video links well to the lyrics? Yes I think that the video link well to the lyrics I think the way the video has been put together has

helped portray Jessie to have traits of the male gender, this is what the lyrics of the song are trying to make out.

Listening closely to what is actually being said, and watching the video at the same time I can make sense of what is actually happening. The video is showing “Jessie J” doing the male traits that she is saying she can do in the lyrics so yes the video does link well to the lyrics.

Do you think the video is effective?Yes I think that the video is very effective. I like that is has been edited together.

Yes overall I think that the video is very effective. I think that the shots that have been used help to represent what is happening.

In the first part of the video we see that it is a beach scene, and a campervan, this makes it looks like an upbeat and glamorous video.

It is a summery song and it really links to the location of the video. You can see both groups of people, the boys and the girls going to

the same place in the same location. The Video was set on the beach this allowed the target audience,

which are girls in the age group 11-19 years. This attracts them, to the video and makes them want to watch it again and again

The clothes that the boys wear fit really well with location and the genre of the song. The clothes are very fashionable which is what you expect to see in pop music videos.

It is also set in quite a romantic settings, this will ensure that the target audience will keep wanting to re watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJO3ROT-A4E&ob=av2e

Video Analysis 2- What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction

Video Analysis 2- What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction

There are various that are bring used in this music video. The shots that are most common are;

Close Up Mid shots Long shots

Fast pace cuts have been used to stick to the tempo of the music.

What my Target Audience thought ?Video 2

What do you like about this video? I like the video as it send a message to a lot of teenagers all over the world, no

matter who you are you are beautiful in some way or another. I like the video because it is my favourite band, so I couldn’t not like it

Do you think that the video links well to the lyrics? I think some of the shoos do link well as when they are singing the line ‘ I cant

believe you don’t know oh oh you don’t know your beautiful’ and they point at the camera like they are talking to the people watching the video.

I feel that the video does link with the lyrics as they are singing to a bunch of girls saying them are beautiful, sometimes I fell the video has nothing to do with the lyrics though.

Do you think the video is effective? I feel the video is effective as the way they put the shots together makes it all seem

so believable I like the video and feel it is effective because it help tell the story and send across

the message they wanted to send.

My Target Audience is going to be Girls in the age range of 17- 20 year olds.

I will be asking a range of my target audience to answer my questionnaire to ensure that I get all the correct information I will also ask a few men that also fall it that age categories to answer a few questions so that I have some comparison, I might also ask a few adults just to ensure that I have all the information I need and there will be some comparison to which I can use when asking for feedback for my over all production.

Finding out exactly what my target audience will be really helpful as I will know what to put in my music video. this will ensure that I make a video which caters for all of my target audience.

My Target Audience

1. How old are you?11-1617-2021-2425+2. What gender are you?FemaleMale3. Do you watch music videos?Yes No4. What genre of music do you prefer?Pop RockRnBCountry IndieOther If other please state______________________________________________5. In the music video what would you like to see?A story being told The band sing Both6. Do you think the video should be;FunnyRelate to the video7. What should feature on the front of the CD cover?Explain here

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What is your favourite music video and why?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Primary Research- My Questionnaire

1. How old are you?11-1617-20 IIIIIIIIII21-2425+2. What gender are you?Female IIIIIIIIIIMale3. Do you watch music videos?Yes IIIIIIIIIINo4. What genre of music do you prefer?Pop IIIIIIRock IIRnB IICountry Indie IOther If other please state______________________________________________5. In the music video what would you like to see?A story being told IIIIIThe Artist singing IBoth IIII6. Do you think the video should be;Funny IIRelate to the video IIIIIIII7. What should feature on the front of the CD cover?Explain here The Artist, Logo, Band artwork and bright colours.8. What is your favourite music video and why?One Direction IThe Wanted II – Because they are a great band! Jessie J II – She is Different and makes a funny story that is based on the lyrics in her song. Paramore I – The scenery in there song Brick by boring brick is good and I find it really interesting.Lady Gaga I – She tells a story in her videos and I find her inspirational.White Lies I – Bigger than us video, it is weird and unusual creating a decent music video.

My Questionnaire Findings

My Questionnaire Graphs 1

11 Years- 16 Years

17 Years -20 Years

21 Years-24 Years

25 Years +0

2

4

6

8

10

12

How old are you?

Pop50%

Rock20%

RnB20%

Indie 10%

What genre of music do you prefer?

Yes No0

2

4

6

8

10

Do you watch Music Videos?

Female

Male

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

What gender are you?

What gender are you?

My Questionnaire Graphs 2

A Story being told

The Artist Singing

Both

0 1 2 3 4 5

In music videos what do you like to see?

In music videos what do you like to see?

Funny Related to the Video

0

2

4

6

8

Do you think the Video should be;

Do you think the Video should be;

48%

24%

10%

19%

What should Feature on the front of the CD?

The Artist The Logo Bright colours Band colours

One Direction

The Wanted

Jessie J

Paramore

Lady Gaga

White Lies

0 0.5 1 1.5 2

What is your favourite Music Video and Why?

What is your favourite Music Video and Why?

Overall within the Graphs I can see there are clear answers that stand out. This shows that the majority of my target audience agree meaning that I will be able to make an easy decision for me to make.

I can see that my Target Audience are all in the age range 17-19 Year olds. They are mainly female with a little male input. They all watch Music Videos, There was a difference in opinion in which genre people agree with, which is common as not everyone has the same taste in music. The majority of people said Pop is their favourite genre of music. Everyone agreed that the video should tell a story and a few think that it should also be funny.

There is a agreement with what every feels should go on to the front cover, this would include, The Artist, The Artists logo, Bright colours but try and keep to band colours if possible.

What the Graphs show!

Graph Evidence

This is me putting my information into excel. I used Excel to create my graphs as it is a piece of software I knew how to use, I found it quite simple to create graphs. Once all the information was completed I started putting them into graphs.

I chose to use a pie chart for this information as it will look well presented and will be easy to understands as there will be percentages so people can read exactly how many people are choosing what.

Pop50%

Rock20%

RnB20%

Indie 10%

The Graph

A few changes that I have decided to make. Most music videos today don’t just cater for one gender type. So I’m going to try and ensure that my music video is for both Male and Female.

To ensure that this happens I need to ask a few more people to answer my questionnaire, these would have to be answered by men. This would ensure that I have a variety of answers to work around to ensure that my music videos reaches my target audience needs to ensure that there is maximum entertainment and escapism.

A Few Changes

Questionnaire- Male inputThis is the same questionnaire that was asked the first time round, I was thinking that u needed more male input so I asked 5 more boys. This allows me to compare what both gender want to see with my music video.

The results from the questionnaire are, That all the boys that I asked fell into my target audience age range. Most of them watch music videos apart from one. There was a wide range of different genres of music that the boys liked. I think that this wouldn’t affect me as I will be using different aspect throughout the video. There was a difference with people saying that it should include humour but should also relate to the music, I think this will depend on what genre of music that will be used.

I found the same results what should be on the front of my CD and I wanted to know what type of music video’s my target audience listen to so I can get ideas from these

I have had trouble picking my song, I wasn’t sure what song I could make an effective video for. I had a few ideas but nothing that I could make an entire video for. To solve this problem I looked in detail at a few songs and there lyrics to see if I could find a hidden message that I could base my video on.

The songs that I have looked in detail into are; Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri Na Na Na- One Direction I chose both of these songs as they are known by quite a lot of

people I think that these songs can relate easily with the target audience of my video. I can see that these might relate more to girls, but I used a social networking site and found that there is a could ratio of male fans for these to artists.

Picking my song

I know I can't take one more step towards youCause all that's waiting is regretAnd don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore?You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live, half-aliveAnd now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are?Runnin' 'round leaving scarsCollecting your jar of heartsAnd tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a coldFrom the ice inside your soulSo don't come back for meWho do you think you are?

I hear you're asking all aroundIf I am anywhere to be foundI have grown too strongTo ever fall back in your arms

I've learned to live, half-aliveNow you want me one more time

Who do you think you are?Runnin' 'round leaving scarsCollecting your jar of heartsAnd tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a coldFrom the ice inside your soulSo don't come back for meWho do you think you are?

Dear, it took so longJust to feel alrightRemember how to put backThe light in my eyesI wish I had missedThe first time that we kissed'Cause you broke all your promisesAnd now you're back you don't get to get me back

Who do you think you are?Runnin' 'round leaving scarsCollecting your jar of heartsAnd tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a coldFrom the ice inside your soulSo don't come back for meDon't come back at all

And who do you think you are?Runnin' 'round leaving scarsCollecting your jar of heartsAnd tearing love apart

You're gonna catch a coldFrom the ice inside your soulDon't come back for meDon't come back at all

Who do you think you are?Who do you think you are?Who do you think you are?

Jar of Hearts- Christina Perri

This song is talking about how a women hearts has been broken, as she has been left by her boyfriend , it also talks about how she has moved on and doesn’t need him in her life anymore. I can see this through the line. “And now you’re back you don’t get to get me back.” Through the song I can also see that this might not be the first time it has happen, I can see this through the chorus.

[Verse 1]We’ve got a bit of love/hateYou take me to the edge then you hit the breaksI say it’s over one day,But then I’m calling back begging you to stayWe make up then we break up all the time

I’ll say that I hate her song, then you’ll go request it the whole night longSome people say it’s so wrong but even when we fight,It’ll turn me onWe make up then we break up all the time

[Chorus]We’re like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeahAlways like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeah

No we can’t make up our mindsCause when we think we’ve got it rightWe go na na na na

[Verse 2]You wanna party too lateBut when I do the same all you do is complainYou know that it drives me insaneBut when I get with you girl you make it okayWe make up then we break up all the time

[Chorus]We’re like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeahAlways like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeah

No we can’t make up our minds

Cause when we think we’ve got it rightWe go na na na na

[Break] [Chorus]

We’re like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeahAlways like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeah

We’re like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeahAlways like na na naThen we’re like yeah yeah yeah

No we can’t make up our mindsCause when we think we’ve got it rightWe go na na na na

Na Na Na- One Direction

This song is about a relationship, It talks about even though they might disagree all of the time, that they still like each other. I can see this through the chorus “ We’re like na na na, The were like Yeah yeah yeah” They might disagree on thing but overall it will work out.

To make the final decision on which song I would choose I looked closely at the lyrics to see if there was hidden meaning. I looked to see what the lyrics were saying as that is what my target audience said they wanted to see, After a long time making sue I was going to make the correct decision I chose to make my music video in the song Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri.

I decided this would be the best option as I know the song quite well and the people that I will be filming do as well. this song has also been in the charts which means it is more than likely that my actors, will already know most of the lyrics, so it will be easier for them to remember. Meaning that there will be less mistakes.

The Link to Jar of Hearts- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v_4O44sfjM&ob=av2e

My Song Choice

Asking for PermissionFirst of all I had to find out which label Christina Perri was signed to. I found out it was Atlantic Records so I went on there page to find there email address so I could contact them asking whether I could use Jar of Hearts for my music video.

This shows where I found the email address on the site.

This is the email that I sent to Christina Perri’s Management.

Permission Reply

This is the reply, that I got back from Atlantic Records, saying that I could use there song Jar of Hearts.

The ideas that I have for my video so far are that I want it to have a cold and dark, but I want there to be a little bit of light. This will connote that she is going through a rough patch but the light shows as if she is getting through it.

It could be set in a bedroom as she will be getting over the “boy”. It will be a little messy to say that she doesn’t care.

Throughout the video Picture might be put in the bin, I will zoom in on this a cut to the boy with another girl. They will break up meaning again he will have “stolen another heart for his jar”

By the end of the video the girl could be outside her house in the light! This shows she is completely over him.

There could be a split screen which could show another girl that has been hurt by this man.

One Person sings while one person acts Have a group of girls that have all been hurt The curtain could open further as the videos goes this connotes that the

light is coming back into her life! “And now you’re back you don’t get to get me back!” – she is finally over him.

Brainstorming for my video

My first storyboard was very basic just to get the ideas down, I then decided that I wanted to do a more detailed plan.

Storyboard

This is my more detailed storyboard.

Storyboard

Storyboard

This is where I will explain my what my story board is showingIn the first scene- the camera will be outside the door looking

into a dark room with a little bit of light, you will see the girl sitting on the bed, looking out into the camera. the camera movement will be a Dolly Zoom, this will mean the camera will get closer to the person but keeping them the same size in the frame. This will allow the camera into the room. But the person will still be in the shot.The camera will move in a up and down motion the Tilt to look at the appearance of the girl, She will look a little rough, dark make up- a little bit around the eyes.

Once into the room I will use a panning shot, this will enable us to see a slightly messy room. Zooming in on the pictures that will be on the walls.

Then the girl will stand up and sing will sing with a lot of emotion. For the first chorus.

My Ideas

When it says “ You want me one more time” The main girl will put one finger up this will show emotion it will all happen slow and will go with the movement of the arms.

This will happen when the line says “I hear your asking all around” -The girl will walk to the window, the curtain will be partly and open one side only. An over the shoulder shot will be used to see what is happening out the window. Then she will turn onto the dark side of the curtain and sing dead into the camera, the camera will zoom into the girl until it reaches a close up. This will help get across the emotion. The Girl will be slightly smiling As she is saying I don’t need him anymore meaning that she is reassuring herself.

There will be pictures on the mirror or wall the girl will pick them up, and sit on her bed while looking at them. The pictures will be ripped up and one will be screwed up but only lightly so you can till see the picture. – this connotes that she doesn’t need him anymore. This part will need a lot of emotion, but it will need happiness and a little sadness as the memories will be coming back to her of the good times that they shares together.

My Ideas

The camera will zoom into the picture and focus on the face of the boy, the camera will then zoom out to the boy walking with another girl – This will happen on the second to last chorus. The couple will be laughing and joking and holding hands.

The final Chorus will be a split screen of both of the girls singing a the chorus, this shows that another girl has been hurt. Her heart has been taken.

The very last line will be of the girl walking down the stairs, The very last line will be her opening the door and stepping outside. It will fade black to show that the song is over.

Stepping outside connotes, that the girl doesn’t need him anymore.

My Ideas

This is a list of camera angles that I will use during my music video.

Eye line Angle is the most common angle used, This shows the person as they are in real life.

This is a list of Camera Shots that I will be using in my music video.

Long Shot- This is used to show the whole person. Mid shot- So you can see expressions of the person. Close up- This will focus on one thing in particular. Over the shoulder shot-This will show what the person is looking

at.Two shot- To show two people in one shot- this will be used on the

“couple” Over the shoulder shot- This will be used to look at what the girl

can see out of the window.

List of Camera Shots and Angles.

I will be using lots of different camera movement to make the video look as effective as possible.

These are the camera movements that I am thinking of using; A Dolly Zoom, this will be used to get closer to singer but keep

her the same size in the frames. I will the tilt- this will help me look at what the actress is

wearing Pan- This will help set the scene of the bedroom In will use a tracking shot, so you can see the couple together. I might use the follow to follow the couple instead of tracking, I

will film both and decided which one I feel will look better when editing my video.

I know Zoom isn’t a camera movement, but I will be using it get across emotion and as an effect to show the emotion on the girls face.

Camera Movements

Planning my Music Video

This is a plan a made so I knew exactly what I wanted to be happening in the different parts of the song.

It took a few attempts for the actors to do what I needed them to do, I found that the lighting changed throughout the day while I was filming so I found myself filming over a few days to make things the same.

I made sure that the actors looked the same on all the days to keep the continuity the same.

When filming, I needed to ensure that I had all of the following;• The Camera • My Notes • The song • The Actors in the correct clothes • My Camera • Storyboard

Shooting my Video

Equipment Needed

Location of my Music Video This is where most of the music video was shot. It is the bedroom of Lucy Bennett.

This is where you see ‘Emily’ an actress used in the video. She has also had her heart taken by the same man.

Location of my Music Video

This is where you see Lucy walking down the stairs.

This is featured at the end of the music Video, you see Lucy leaning on it for the support she needs to get out after hiding herself away.

When it came to editing I needed to get it off of the Camera first, I started by watching all of my footage so I knew exactly what I had got, I then went through it again writing down the times of the pieces were so I could find them easier when I needed each part.

Editing my video

To edit my video iMovie. This was the first time using it so I had to learn how to use the software. I started by adding a title as that would need to be at the beginning of the video.

Editing my Video

I use the Music Video option as I found this was the most relevant one to use. I felt it worked well and it looks good over the black back ground.

I then needed to import the song, which was on my memory stick

I then started import all of my clips onto the computer, using the timings I had started to use earlier.

Editing my Video

I imported all the videos one by one, one after the other so I had them all ready so I could put them together more easily.

This is a few of my videos that were waiting to be edited.

This was the button that helped me get back to the video or if I wanted to edit. I had to use this when I watched my videos back to see if I had got everything that i needed.

Editing my Video

This is my timeline, with all of videos in it, I them started to add transitions, so it ran smoothly.

This is the list of transitions that I had to choose from, There were a few that I felt where really good it was just about putting them in the right places.

All of the transitions that were put in, were put there for the effect, There was one transition were you see the main girl Lucy being pushed out the way by Jack and Emily, This was put in as she was being pushed out of the way by the ‘new girlfriend’ The transition used was called pushed.

Editing my VideoThis shows me putting in the Transition.

This my Timeline showing where I have transitions.

I had to change the brightness on some of the clips. I was able to do this on iMovie.

These were the tools that I had to use.

This is what the clip looked like when I had changed the brightness.

Female 18 – i think the video idea good, I like the transitions between the different scenes in the video, and they help ease the movement between each smoothly, so it carry on like a real music video, it makes it look more professional.

Female 10- I like the video but there is a section where the second girl is singing here it is a bit out of time, it would look better if she was in time but, I enjoyed the music video. I also like the song choice.

Male 21- I feel the song choice was good, the video is good as it relates the lyrics, I like the bit where the girl is getting ready to go out as it shows she is really getting over him.

Link to Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isXdCCdYT4U

Feedback on video

I asked my actresses to give me some feedback on how I managed to direct them on exactly what I wanted them to do, here are the replies I got;

What my actors thought of my directing skills.

The Picture of Katy Perry is in the

centre of the cover, She is looking

directly into the camera, which

makes her seems like she is getting

the audience involved and wanting

to buy the album.

The Background of the cover is of a garden, where you can see ‘Katy Perry’ sunbathing; this is very girly and contradicts the album title. ‘One of the boys’. The name “One of the Boys’ will intrigue the audience as it is very girly.

The Name Katy Perry is in pink girly

writing, this continues the girly

theme going on, We can also see all

of the ink items surrounding her.

These Items include, a pink radio,

towel, flamingo.

The use of colour on the front cover, is bright, this adds to the genre and helps decide the media audience of the product. The audience will look at this cover and will be able to tell whether they are going to like the album.

The Target Audience is mainly

female, but will also appeal to a

male audience. This is because on

the front cover she has related to

both gender.

The image that has been used, is

also in a garden like the front cover

images, again we see Katy Perry

looking very girly. The continuity is

being kept the same..

There is important information on the back that needs to be written, it has been done in small so it doesn’t get in the way of the picture and the music information. The information is just letting telling people about the record company and where you can find out more about Katy Perry, Copyright information can be located at the bottom of the page.

The songs are listed in a very girly

way they have been bordered by a

pink line. The song titles have been

written in white so they can be

easily read. It is in a handwriting

font , this also keeps to the girly

theme that is running through.

The Background colour is very

bright, it makes the picture stand

out as , the picture is orange and

black.

The image can symbolise the progress of the band. It symbolises them coming from

nowhere to being world famous artist. The images also copies the evolution image . This links to the album name as it shows the progress human beings have made to be where they are today.

The colours that have been used all go well together. The background colour allows the text to stand out as there is very little black on the cover.

The name of the band, and the

album are quite small, this makes

the images stand out more. It will

draw attention, leaving the

audience to look closer for the

artist.

The Evolution image, which you can see looks very similar.

The back cover is very simple,. It

has kept the same colours as on

the front. There isn’t a lot going on

there is just colours and text.

The songs have been put in a list, The text is in black and is quite large this will enable, everyone to read the song titles. They haven’t got numbers by them, this means that they haven’t got a particular order they are all equal.

The formal information is at the

bottom of the page. It talks about

the company/institution which

produced the CD. The copyright

information is all in the small print.

The only images that are on the back cover are the Take That symbol and the music industry

logo.

There were many things form my research of CD covers and back that run throughout each, these are;

The Front cover, this would be the large image and smaller text.

The Text would include the band name and the name of the album/single. The was also a prominent colour that both of my CD’s had, this colour will depend on the genre of music.

The Back cover, There was many conventions that ran through both of the CD covers this would be, The Barcode was always found on the back in the bottom corner, this is because most industries put their barcode there. The copyright information is found on the bottom with information on the music industry that has also produced it.

The Conventions of CD cover and Back

Album cover ideas

Front Cover Back Cover

◦ Location- the location of the images aren’t as important as I am going to colour the background to make it white as it will fit in with my theme better. The image will then go onto a white background that has been slightly blacked out to give it a darker look.

◦ Once my location has been decided I will need to take a variety of different photographs that will help me make my decision on what ones I would like to use for the CD cover and Magazine advertisements

◦ I then need to decided on how I want to edit the pictures, to make the look how I want them.

◦ Finally it need to look at the convention and my plans to see how I need to put it together. This will help create a CD Cover exactly how I want it to make it look like a CD cover.

CD cover and Back Designing

Images used for the CD

Evidence of Editing Photo’s

My Idea for my CD came from the ideas I created when I looked at Christina Perri’s CD Covers. I took the Black and White idea from her “Lovestrong” Album and the red jar from the “Jar of Hearts” single cover.

This is the Original “Lovestrong” cover

I used Picnik to edit my pictures as I feel more comfortable using this programme. I used various different editing techniques that included; Reverse Black and White- This technique helped me create the focus on the red jar. I used the Airbrush Tool to make the picture clearer and to smooth it out

Evidence of Editing Photo’s

Once the image is Black and White I needed to boost the red colour to make it stand out so I decided to use the boost tool. The images below all show how too use the boost tool, The first image shows the boost icon and the effects which you can change so its exactly how you want it. The second image is the Jar while I was enhancing the colour.

• I started by cropping to make sure that the picture is exactly what I need.

• I then used the Touch up tool to airbrush the picture, red eye and eye bright

• I then used the Black and white tool and reversed the edit. I done this by colouring the jar in so it went black and white so when I reversed it so it was the only item in the photo that was in colour.

Evidence of Editing Photos The before and after shot. The before is the original image and the after is after I finished editing it.

This is the original photo that I had taken, I took this photograph as on the single cover of “Jar of Hearts” Christina Perri is surrounded by jars and is holding a jar filled with red liquid.

This is the Original “Jar of Hearts” cover

Deciding on the Text

Pristina

Bradley Hand ITC

High Tower Text

 Lucida Calligraphy

Maiandra GD

Monotype Corsiva

 

MV Boli

Pristina

 

Segoe Print

VijayaI was deciding that I needed to find a test that matched the album name and the theme of the songs on the album. All of the above fonts I feel are suitable. I just need to narrow it down.

I narrowed it down to a final 3 text these were;

Finalising the Text

Segoe Print

Lucida Calligraphy

Monotype Corsiva

I liked these text as I felt they best went with the theme and the title of the CD.It was just about choosing the right decision, When looking at them there was One that really jumped out that I think would really suit it. So my chosen text Is Lucida Calligraphy

I chose Lucida Calligraphy as I felt it stood out, I felt that it would best fit with the genre of music. The album is called Lovestrong so I felt the swirly writing would be best. I also felt that the boldest of the writing helps as you can clearly see what is written. I also asked my sister who is of the target audience and see agreed that I had made the right choice.

My CD Cover with Feedback

Female 18- I like the design of the CD cover but there are some things that could be changed; the picture of the girl holding the jar could be enlarged and also the writing at the bottom could be a little bit bigger as it is a tad hard to read.

Female 10- The CD cover design is good as it tell you all of the information need. One thing you could change is to move the artist name Christina Perri down further as there is a big gap in between.

Male 21- I like the design of the CD cover but I feel that it would be better if it was different colour as the black and white picture would be more effective. I think that it shouldn’t be white.

Lucy Bennett

CD Back with FeedbackFemale 18- I think that the back of the cover is good as it has a grey colour to it so it doesn’t look plain, I feel that it would look better and if you had a picture of your actress on the back as when people are looking they can see what she looks like without having to flip the CD case over.

Female 10 – I like the back cover, but you could try to put something more on the back as there is a big plain patch, this could be a picture or just a pattern.

Male 21- I like the way you have the record company on the back you could make the text a tad bigger as there is a lot of room.

Final Version of the CD Front

Inside my CD

Inside my CD

Final Version the Back of the CD

The Spines

Researching existing magazine advertisements

This is advertising Ellie Goulding Album lights. The background of the advert is dark blue and looks as if it is a night sky, I can see that the smaller text is white this helps the audience read the text. The main text of the artists name and the album is in a yellow colour and connotes the lights. This is very effective as the album name is Lights.

There is important information on the left page of the advertisement, this is information such as the release date, what the album includes and what people think of it, the reviews from major newspaper and magazine which can help you make up you mind to whether you think it will be good.

Magazine Advert

This advertisement is advertising Plan B’s album The Defamation of Strickland Banks. The background of the advertisement is black, normally the magazine pages are white, this will make them stand out and make people look at what it is advertising. The text is in brighter colours to what the background is this helps the reader read the text. There is an image of the album in the bottom left hand corner and I can see that the colours used are all linked to the album so it is keeping everything the same.

This is important information shows what other think of the album. This information has been one as it will influence people. If major companies like the album then this will help people want to listen to the album.

The image on the page is in black and white, this is the same colour as the background it blends in. the image isn’t the most important thing on the advertisement. I think it has been put there to go with the style of the advertisement

The name of the album Artists name Reviews Image of the artist Date of release Album cover The Production company logo

Conventions of a magazine

I want to follow the conventions of a magazine advertisement, to do this I need to include:

Image of the Artist Name of the Album Name is the Artist Date of release The production companies logo Reviews from major companies- e.g. magazine companies Maybe the Album artwork

My Magazine Ideas

Mock up Design of Magazine Advertisement

Pictures for my Magazine Advert

I knew what type of photograph I was looking for, when planning my magazine advertisement. I wanted a full length shot so it will fit the entire page on one side, I didn’t know whether I wanted a full face on shot or a side view so I took a variety so I could choose the best one.

Ideas for the Photos

Looking through different magazines looking at the different advertisements I could see that a lot of them are professional done on a set, so I thought the location was an important location as I would be making the background all one colour. There was one important factor and that was the lighting. I tried a few different locations and found the best place for them.

Location for the Photos

I like these photographs as they show a fun side, they really get across the happiness and I feel these are the types of pictures that I feel would be in a magazine as it makes the artist look friendly. I am going to see what one I find would look better on the advertisement.

My Favourite Photos

I picked this Picture as I feel that it is best suited for a magazine Advert, I feel it brings a welcoming essence to it, allowing the audience to want to get to know her even more. I feel it fitted in well with my design that I wanted to create.

My Chosen Photo

Due to the closure of my other editing site Picnik. I decided I would use Foto Flexer as I knew it had the tool I was looking for on there.

I needed to us the smart scissors as they cut around the outside of my image. The red lines on the image show where it is being cut

Editing my Pictures

Once I had cut around the edges I open it into Paint so I could just get rid of those small parts that the tool didn’t manage to get. This was the finished image.

I then made the background a light grey as I felt it went well with the genre of the music. Using the grey colour, I knew it would look good when I changed the image to Black and White.

Editing my Pictures

Editing my Pictures. This is me turning the image black and white.

You can see on this screen shot that a preview of the black and white image.

Once I had the picture that I needed. I was making my advert in word as I felt comfortable that I would be able to create it in this software. I Started by pasting the image in so I could work around it there. I was trying a few fonts that I like as I didn’t know which once would look better. It was between Lucida Calligraphy, which i have been using throughout the project and Cambria. I chose Cambria for Lucy Bennett as I felt that it would match the writing in the magazine but I chose to do Lovestrong in Lucida Calligraphy as it was curly and matched the Title perfectly.

Making my Magazine advert

My Magazine advert with feedbackFemale 18 - The advertisement is good, where it says OUT NOW you could add the date small so people no the exact date, you could also add, that it is available to download from itunes with an itunes symbol on the articles and you could also add, what shops sell the albums so people can find it easier. Female 10 – I like that the advertisement has all different information on it could have a picture of the albums so people know what they are looking for. You could add the website for the artist (Lucy Bennett) so some people can find out more information and keep up to date with the different information.

Male 21- The black and white theme matches the mood in the video, there is also intertextuality between the advertisements which is good, and this will be good if out put a picture of the album on the front. I think that the picture of the girl should match the mood of the video e.g. the girl shouldn’t be smiling as this will create a better effect.

My Final Magazine Advert