Wednesday 18 November 2009
Analysis of digipak and magazine ad
Conventions of digipaks
Digipaks are collectors items fans can purchase containing items such as posters, bonus tracks and limited edition content. They also often contain behind the scenes and a 'making of' feature. The digipaks are slightly more expensive however fans can own more than just an album. The digipaks can give fans more information on
the band, they sometimes contain small documentaries o
f the bands rise to fame. This way the fans can get to know the band more personally.
There are also more common conventions. Demands require the record labels logo on the digipak also ratings and running time are included.
Conventions of magazine Ad's
The magazine ad is mainly to promote the artist and song. It is to be as eye catching as possible with striking images and wording. It has to attract as much attention as possible. It contains the song title or album title, the
artist name, release date, where it will be available on release and the bands website. The main feature of a magazine ad is the image used. It needs to attract attention while containing as much intertextual reference to the band as it can.
Some bands use celebrities ratings to promote themselves, this way the public will be more likely to read the ratings instead of glance over them.
Suede-Lost in tv digipak
The digipak Suede created for there album Lost in tv doesnt follow many visual coventions for digipaks. It contains a large image and the bands title wi
th a list of songs. It does however contain, an exclusive new track, band commentary and a small film by a band member. This does follow convention. It is a large album containing 19 songs, this may be why there arent as many extra features contained in other digipaks.
The artist is represented in a dark way. The image is a strong distorted close up of a microphone. The image on the back is also a distorted picture showing the instruments. The intention of a digipak is to bring the fans closer to the band however the images used make the band seem uninterested.
It may appeal to the audience as it contains special content and never before seen footage. The fans may be interested in seeing the band in an enviroment other then performing.
Milwaukee At Last- Rufus Wainwright magazine ad
This magazine ad follows convention for most magazine ads. It contains the record labels logo, artist website, release date and where the album and digipak will be available on release. Instead of a eye catching image the font of the album name is used to attract attention. It is bold and covers half the ad, with a different color for every letter. This is very striking and attracts attention after a glance. There is also an image of the artist.
Existing Digipaks
Other bands digipaks have provided me with ideas to use in my own digipak. Using bright colors to attract attention and follow all conventions. Band Of Skulls-baby darling doll face honey, Is very eye catching, you are drawn to look at it. It contains lots of colors smudged over the cover.
Existing Magazine Ads
There are lots of magazine ads that have influenced me. Almost all use bright colors and distorted images to attract attention. Some bands use images of themselves in an enviroment other than performing. This shows them on a more personal level.
For the magazine ad, I will use an image of the artist, and distort bright colors around him, this will take influence from both pieces of artwork.
For the digipak, i will make the image much brighter, and have and image of the artist and the guitar on the back.
Monday 16 November 2009
Image for Digipak
This is the image i have decided to use for the magazine cover. I have chosen this still out of the video because i feel it shows the emotion of the artist.
As the actor stands with the guitar in the open field, it emphasises the songs story, distance between the man and woman in the song.
The actor also stands out, in a green background the only bright color is the guitar. You are drawn to look at the actor. This would also bring attention to the magazine cover.
When used as the cover for the magazine, the background green color could toned down, to a darker color then the guitar and actor would stand out even more.
Background research-David ford
David ford was born in Dartmore in kent on 16th may 1978. His first big break in indie music came with his indie rock group Easyworld. They released one album then dismembered in 2004.
David Ford then branched into being a solo artist known for the emotion he puts into his songs.
He started playing solo concerts almost straight away after his band split up, fan favourite State of the Union was his biggest known song at the time.
David Ford then branched into being a solo artist known for the emotion he puts into his songs.
He started playing solo concerts almost straight away after his band split up, fan favourite State of the Union was his biggest known song at the time.
He toured america supporting acts such as KT tunstall untill his debut was released in america in 2006. Then after supporting Suzanne Vega on her UK tour, he released his 2nd solo album 'Songs for the road' in august 2007, he toured extensively to promote his album throughout the UK in october 2007 and toured the US in may 2008. His new album entitled 'Let the bad times roll' is to be released early 2010.
Initial ideas for song
The song is an acoustic based song, most videos for songs of this type feature the artist playing. Oasis- Wonderwall is a song based on the acoustic guitar, it features the artist playing the guitar and is also edited into black and white. We could edit parts of our song to be in black and white as i think it adds emotion to the artist playing.
This would mean our video would be a performance, we could make our story a narrative and keep it a performance. We could do this by following the lyrics of the song to make a story, and have actors play out the story maybe with the male character playing the song.
We could also use split screen affects, other music videos that use this affect use it to display two stories at one time, in sugar water-Cibo Matto stories of two girls are played out on either side of the screen.
The location of our video, if done in a split screen could be broken into urban and rural landscapes, we could have a story taking place in each landscape. The woman in the song could be having a normal day in the city as the man plays the song in a more rural area, landscapes like this could be used in our video.
Using these techniques would add to the emotion of the video. Most of the techniques are steriotypical of the song type however some may challenge the normal conventions.
This would mean our video would be a performance, we could make our story a narrative and keep it a performance. We could do this by following the lyrics of the song to make a story, and have actors play out the story maybe with the male character playing the song.
We could also use split screen affects, other music videos that use this affect use it to display two stories at one time, in sugar water-Cibo Matto stories of two girls are played out on either side of the screen.
The location of our video, if done in a split screen could be broken into urban and rural landscapes, we could have a story taking place in each landscape. The woman in the song could be having a normal day in the city as the man plays the song in a more rural area, landscapes like this could be used in our video.
Using these techniques would add to the emotion of the video. Most of the techniques are steriotypical of the song type however some may challenge the normal conventions.
Wednesday 7 October 2009
*Auteur Theory*
The Auteur theory holds that a films of directors reflect that director's personal creative ideas, as if he were the 'Auteur' which is the french word for Author. In some cases, are considered to have a similar "Auteur" role for films that they have produced. Author means the writer of a book and then film director, the writer of a film. The two are linked.
The theory says that the directors have a specific signature that we can recognize due to either themes, personnel or structure. An example we can take from an existing film director is Tim Burton. His films mostly star the actor Johnny Depp or are of cartoon animation. Below is Tim Burton's 'Corpse Bride'. It is animation and stars a cartooned Johnny Depp.
Themes
We have decided to stick to the themes of Lyrics Born by creating a happy colorful and bright atmosphere that his songs and advertisements reflect.
The theory says that the directors have a specific signature that we can recognize due to either themes, personnel or structure. An example we can take from an existing film director is Tim Burton. His films mostly star the actor Johnny Depp or are of cartoon animation. Below is Tim Burton's 'Corpse Bride'. It is animation and stars a cartooned Johnny Depp.
Themes
We have decided to stick to the themes of Lyrics Born by creating a happy colorful and bright atmosphere that his songs and advertisements reflect.
