Final Edit

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Firstly the artist’s logo is used throughout the media products from the video to the texts. This creates a buzz around the logo and a direct link is made between the artist and the logo. This starts a brand for the artist that is recognisable throughout different media’s.  The logo can be used either in a fashion brand and this base can lead to synergy of a brand across different companies and different aspects for example posters, clothes and merchandise can be made from this distinct personal logo.

I have also linked the magazine advert and the digipak and the video through using the same pictures throughout all the products. This triggers a memory spark in the populations mind and the can associate the video with the advert and the digipak and vice a versa. It will also seem familiar if the digipak is on the shelf and this will be more appealing to the buyer as they will feel a connection and a sense of deja vu.

All of the products create a relationship with one another intertwining and it forms fluency throughout the artists debut single and video. The rest of the planned shots for the digipak where all taken from the video that show a link to the artist, the brand or show the artist himself.

The skateboard also links the magazine, the digipak and the video althogether makes a bad boy, rebellious image as well as being a link across all the texts.

It makes the profile of the artist very simple and easy to understand and most importantly memorable to the audience. It also allows for a base of growth among other forms of media. And draws links with the audience and the texts themselves.  

How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

 

Digipak Plan

Analysis of a Digipak (McFly - Radioactive)

Radioactive is McFly's 4th studio album, released in July 2008 and it has sold well over 90,000 copies in the UK. The Radioactive digipak, has six panels in the orthodox style of pull out, and has a CD, DVD combination, also with a 32 page booklet from the band, and a single panel pull out of dates of their upcoming tour. The digipak has also gone worldwide, reaching the platinum certification in Brazil were it sold over 100,000 copies. The album includes singles such as 'One for the Radio' and 'Lies' which both reached the top 5 in the UK Singles Chart.

This is the front cover/panel:

This front panel portrays the band, to the audience clearly because they haven't been as well established as much as of artist. It also incorporates loud, vibrant colour to grab any audience attention when on the shelf, it also includes drawings or rough sketching’s used, which links with the Radioactive theme. As the sketching is of a microphone that has mouth, showing when exposed to radioactive material evolution can occur, linking the title to the narrative, whilst also involving a drawing for the younger audience that this band and album are aimed towards.

Below is the middle three panels:

These middle three panels follow the same style as firstly a traditional digipak with a pouch for a pull-out usually booklet, the CD in the middle and a DVD on the making of or a tour. Secondly it continues with the radioactive theme with the radioactive green colour, and also the mutant microphone. The CD and DVD have both been adapted slightly in order for the audience which for this band is female kids through to teens, makes it easier to separate between them, it also adds another colour dimension one which carries on the theme throughout.

Here is the pull out booklet and single panel tour date pull out:

Front panel of the tour dates pull out

Front cover of the pull out booklet

Back panel of the pull out tour dates



 All of these pull outs, follow the theme of the whole digipak, however the pull out of the tour dates front cover, has the most color throughout and is comprised of pictures from their previous tours of all the band members. The booklet itself contains various pictures, from a photo-shoot to advertise the band members and make them recognizable to the audience, also holds the producers and relevant information about each song in the album, and finally has a thank you message from each of the band members to the producers and the companies and people involved in making the album, as well as the audience for supporting them.

The tour dates pull-out has all the information on where they will be playing and where to get tickets from: aimed at publicizing the band and tour even more to an audience which already has the album and therefore more prone to going to the tour.

The overall aesthetic feel of the digipak, is grabbing and definitely stands out at the audience, with the bright colours, cool sketching drawings and unorthodox digipak style which shows that they could be adding a new dimension to there music and overall feel.

Analysis of a Digipak (Bruce Springsteen - The Promise)

Digipak are book style versions of CD's the hold the same contents however they are mostly made up of paper rather than the traditional CD case which is made of plastic. They usually hold the same things for example the CD and a booklet made by the artist either telling the audience about themselves, the album or the songs. They always fold outwards to reveal at least six panels sometimes this does change with artists. They do however cost more to make and therefore there are less of them and they are of a higher price than ordinary CD's.

This is Bruce Springsteen's digipak called 'The Promise'. This is his 17th studio album released in 2010 and it reached 7th in the UK album chart. The digipak has 6 panels with an extended booklet with lyrics to the songs inside. It also is a double CD digipak splitting it onto two separate discs. Finally it also has information on the album from its birth to its production written by the artist or the producer.

This is the Front Panel:

This front panel is very minimal with some small information in the corner, the title and a picture of the artist in a scene. I think that this style is chosen because it has been his 17th studio album and therefore he has already established himself as an artist, However to a new audience this cover is catchy and moody, with the seemingly dark to light style picture in black and white and the old traditional style costume and American muscle car, possibly portraying his style of music.

This is one of the inside panels:

The panel on the left is the back off the booklet that's been glued into the digipak with a black and white picture of the artist inside, presumably in a derelict building. The other panel is on the front of the pouch which holds the first CD. This picture is in opposition of the next two panels as both these panels are seemingly dark pictures, juxtaposing the next panels that are light and bright.

The other two inside panels:

These panels are similar to the previous two apart from them being lighter, the panel on the left is the back of the first CD pouch and the panel on the right is of the front of the second CD pouch; this panel is also glued to the back of the digipak. These pictures follow the same genre and style as the rest of the digipak, very minimal and aiming at the audience's visual interpretations as there is no written information to pick up. 

This is the back of the Digipak:

This final panel is of the back of the digipak, which in total has the most information on it about the contents on both discs. It also has in the bottom left hand corner the artist record label and the producers of the album, along with the bar code  The style of writing that all the information is written in is unique it's an old typewriter style that fits in the pictures and the whole style of the digipak.

Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert Planning

Here is the rough plan for my magazine advert showing how I will position and construct the actual thing.  

Analysis of Magazine Advert (The Strokes)

Angles is The Strokes 4th studio album released on the 18th of March, and it reached 3rd in UK album charts, also continued to appear in the charts for the next 10 weeks. The album included hit singles that reached the top 50 of the UK singles charts. The band has been established 1999 and has been successful as to create and a name and a brand for the band. This advert was taken is a still by myself from the, July 2011 edition of the musical magazine Q.

  

                                       

Font: The font used on this magazine advertisement is bold and vivid to the audience; it’s in the typical matt black colour, with varying font sizes dependent on the relevance of the information relayed. The heading at the top of the page is the largest on the page and shows the band’s name to portray to the audience that this is the name of the band. It also makes it easier for the audience to recognize who produced the album advertising other music made by the band. Immediately below the band’s name is the album title in a lesser bold colour but still very visible to the audience, making it eye catchy and simplifying the amount and relevance of the information. Finally following all the vital information which is clearly visible and catches the audience comes the reviews, that has also been simplified so that instead of long winded quotes about the band and the album it just relies on the rating system by using all the stars, to show that this album is loved which the audience would look for. This would be something I would look to incorporate into my own magazine advert as not only does it show positive feedback and reviews but also, makes it simple for the audience to understand and read.

Colour: The colours that were chosen for this advertisement have been chosen for significant reasons in that the yellow, highlights and complements the black font not only making the font and out furthermore but also to grab audience visual attention when flicking/reading through the magazine. Other colours used are varying shades of pink and blue, the shades go from a lighter version to the darker shades; it’s used in conjunction with the artistic symbol in the centre. Finally there is a checkerboard effect filling the bottom half of the background as well as the yellow which is on the top half. This checkerboard effect I think was used because of the optical illusion value that it has, and that it links in with the artistic symbol in the centre. It also adds to the dimensions of the magazine advert, in that more colours are utilized and a pattern is integrated into it which breaks up the solids colour and also links with the shading technique used on the artistic symbol. 

Page Design (Layout): The design of the page is much centred and deliberately positioned, it keeps the entire contents mainly centred and therefore symmetrical either side. The writing is all focussed at the top of the advert as to ensure that the audience can read it and it's all in one place and uniformed and simplified. The artistic symbol in the centre is directly centred, to amplify its importance and influence, the shape its self is an optical illusion, based on the artwork from M.C Escher, the design is perceived to always be going up one and yet it links back around and joins at the bottom. It links itself to the album title of angles as it’s a mind trick, playing on angles and the way we read it. The background also adds as an optical illusion, as it look like the bottom of a wall joining with the floor and yet it’s all printed on a flat 2D surface. There is also a half border around the bottom of the advert and the right hand side of the advert to add more angles linking with the album and also adding to the illusion of the advert. All of these ideas intrigue the audience and pull them in to reading the advert and opening them to either the band or the new album.

 

Research into Magazine Adverts

Magazine adverts are used by artists and band as a way of publicizing themselves to an interested audience. The magazine adverts that bands and artists use are mainly in music magazines, as this audience is already interested in music and in some cases that type of music dependant on whether it’s a genre related magazine. Some examples of music magazines include: NME, Q, Rolling Stone, Mojo and Top Of The Pops, genre related music magazines include: Kerrang which is rock genre related, Vibe which is Urban and Hip Hop style music, Music which is a classical based genre magazine and Billboard which is a pop music based magazine. All of these magazines attract different artists and bands to advertise their music, albums or singles. Music magazine adverts generally follow a certain format as to ensure the right, relevant information is relayed to the audience, these conventions include:

• The artist or the band’s name e.g. Gnarls Barkley
• The album title being advertised e.g. St. Elsewhere
• The date of release e.g. April 24th 2006
• Any reviews or feedback from listeners e.g. a rating system of stars
• Where it can be brought from e.g. downloaded from iTunes
• Sometimes featured songs from the album e.g. Crazy
• Finally either a picture of album, band or the album cover used as the advert

This magazine advert doesn't follow all the conventions; however it does some of the conventions and would need to be used in conjunction with other methods to ensure the audience is fully persuaded.

These techniques are used so that the audience receives the information needed, in the simplest form making it easier for the audience to decide on whether to buy it.

Why are magazine adverts used?

Adverts in general are used as a way of persuading the audience to take action on a certain product for example persuading a reader to buy your album. There are a extensive variety of advertising methods used but one that directly gets the music loving audience is magazine adverts in music related magazines. This type of direct advertising cuts out the people are either on the edge or not interested at all and solidly informs music lovers about the album.

Where are they used?

Magazine adverts are usually used in genre related music magazine in particular as it goes from the general direction of music lovers, in music magazine down to followers of a certain genre. An example of a genre related music magazine includes:

This magazine advert doesn't follow all the conventions; however it does some of the conventions and would need to be used in conjunction with other methods to ensure the audience is fully persuaded.

These magazines would all have genre related music adverts in them as to persuade genre loving, music enthusiasts directly. Kerrang music magazine is a rock based genre and has magazine adverts like British Intelligences new album (Street Fight), which is a rock based band up and coming. The advert itself has all of the conventions of a magazine advert, this is down to the band being new and therefore little known about them and they would need to persuade the audience more than an established band.

Vibe is a hip hop, R&B and rap style music magazine, which would have magazine adverts based on this genre style of music. This magazine advert is ironic for the style of music magazine, the advert itself holds to 4 of the conventions of a magazine advert. It’s an advert of Kanye West’s first album Kanye West, and it shows him centred and the relevant information around the outside. 

Finally the music magazine BBC Music Magazine is based on the classical, and more sophisticated adult sounds. It would have many adverts in similar to the style of this one, as its aimed at the older generations of music lovers the advertisements differ slightly they focuses less on the brashness and vibrancy of the advert rather on the feel and of the establishment of the artist/band. With it being focused around classical to sophisticated styles of music there is less new talent rather more established ones releasing another album so the fan base ii s there and there is no need for boldness in the advert. This advert has focused on the content of the album rather than reviews.

All of these conventions, techniques and variety of methods used in magazine advertisement, coupled with my results from my survey allow me to decide on the basis of how I want my artist and the album to be portrayed. In the best manner and with the greatest success of persuading the audience to buy the album.

Research into Digipak's

Digipak's are a varied version of CDs; it can also be for DVDs and Blu Ray Discs. They have a generic, unique style, as they all open and fold out like a book; this is one characteristic of digipaks alongside:

· They are made from paper/card materials

· They usually have 4 or more panels

· They also usually have a CD and DVD combination

· They have a booklet to explain either the artist or the album

Digipak's do however cost more than traditional CD's and are therefore only used when the record company think that either the album will sell well enough to make profit or when the style of the artist or the album is unorthodox and therefore fit the unorthodox style of a digipak. Here are some examples of digipaks:

· Saving Private Ryan, DVD digipak, directed by Steven Spielberg and earned over $44 million from sales.

· U2 (Achtung baby) is a CD digipak, is U2's 7th studio album, released in November 1991 sold well over 14 million copies. It was part of the outstanding discography from U2 a well-established band with many number one album’s and singles worldwide.

 

· The re-released version of 'Brave heart' in blu ray digipak form. It was directed by Mel Gibson and made over $210,409,945 in the box office, the re-released version was to enhance the visual image as well as the sound, and it also acted as a way of releasing the film again adding to sales and profit.

All of these various types of digipak have been incredibly successful in the individual field. They have also paved the way for more bands, artists and films to look into the digipak form to portray their product to their audience.

 

Filming Schedule

Date: Saturday 26^th October

Place: Bramcote Village.

Time: 12 till 1:30.

Actors: Myself.

Equipment: Camera and Tripod.

What are we filming? The first verse of the song plus additional shots to be put in amongst the rest of the song.

Transport: Car.

Risk Assessment completed: Yes

Weather Forecast: Sunshine.

Duration: 1 and a half hour long.     

Date: Saturday 26^th October

Place: St Georges Park

Time: 1:40 till 3.

Actors: Myself

Equipment: Camera and Tripod.

What are we filming? The second verse of the song and additional shots to be edited throughout the rest of the video.

Transport: Car

Props: None

Risk Assessment completed: Yes

Weather Forecast: Sunshine

Duration: 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Date: Sunday 3^rd of November

Place: Wollaton Park

Time: 12 till 1:30

Equipment: Camera and Tripod

Actors:  Myself.

What are we filming?  The third verse of the song with again additional shots that can be edited throughout the rest of the video.

Transport: Car

Props: None

Risk Assessment completed: Yes

Weather Forecast: Sunshine

Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Risk Assessment

Risk	Danger / Injury / Outcome	Level	Risk reduction/prevention
Losing /damage to camera	Total loss of equipment Damage	2	·        Camera kept in bag when not in use. ·        Camera kept in rucksack for transport – strapped to back ·        Use of other preventative action outlined below – observer to watch for hazards
Loss/damage to tripod	Total loss of equipment Damage	2	·        Tripod carried carefully and kept with cameraman during filming.
Risk of injury when walking through wood	Eye injuries, Tripping on branches on the ground. Uneven ground causing trip or sprain to ankle.	3	·        Practice walk-establish safe route avoiding branches & moving trip hazards. ·        Guide for cameraman – steering and watching for risks.
Filming in a Car Park	Vehicles moving around.	3	·        Guide/observer for actor and cameraman. ·        Have a safety position where all personal stand when not filming.
Skateboarding with camera.	Dropping the camera or falling off the skateboard.	1	·       A spotter will ensure that I am in no danger from hitting anything.         The hand strap will be used at all times secured tightly.
Location 1 – Bramcote.	No real risks with the location that hasn’t been highlighted as a risk already.	3 3	Be careful and sensible when filming on the location as this is a residential area.
Location 2 – St George’s Park.	No excessive risks.	2	Be considerate that’s it’s an open, public park and there will be other people using the park. Ensure no misconduct or ill behaviour from all the team.
Location 3 – Wollaton Park.	No higher level risks that haven’t been addressed.	3	Have a contact as the filming will be done away from the path and the public park users.

Level of risk explained:

1.     Likely to occur – high risk

2.     Possibility of occurring – medium risk

3.     Little possibility of occurring – low risk

4.     Extremely unlikely – No risk