Magazine analysis 1

This is a magazine advert for Ellie Goulding's 'Lights' album. A picture of her is used in the advert to ensure that the audience understand who Ellie Goulding is, and are aware of who to look for when they go for her music. It ensures that the artist is seen by the audience, further promoting herself to her target audience. The biggest text in the advertisement is the artists names, this is to catch the audience's eye onto the most important text, her name, again ensuring that her name is promoted to be known in relation to the face seen and the music people would hear. The name of the song being promoted is 'Lights' and is also interpreted in many ways into the presentation of the advertisement. It is also the second largest text as it is another piece of information that they want the audience to take note of and remember.

The colours in the image used are a way that the title of the song 'Lights' has been interpreted, through the use of the black, which would represent no light, to her skin and hair being bright and used in a way that represents a light being on and bringing some lightness to the darker parts. The image has been edited to make her hair look as though her hair has sparks of light in it, again representing the 'Lights' into the image. This has been continued through to the text in the advert as well, having them as though they are a light being switched on and of the relevant colours that are consistent throughout as well. 

I would like to try and represent my song name within my image like this advert. I would also like to ensure that the image and the artists name are two of the main focus' of my advert like this one, I feel this would not only look good and professional but also would follow the conventions of this kind of advertisement. I would like my image to be used as the background of the advert as this one as done so, and I would like to use a medium shot as well, I feel this would be the best camera shot to take for my magazine advertisement as it would be the best shot to ensure that the artist can be easily seen and therefore ensure that the artist can be recognised by the audience that would look at my advertisement along with the artists name.

Digipak 3

This digipak, like the Oasis one, doesn't feature the actual artist on the cover. Instead the cover features a made love heart, this represents the type of music that will be featured on the album. Saying more about the artist himself, that he has created an album that would mainly be centred around love based things.

Like the other digipaks, the front cover of the digipak is featured on the CD face, making sure that there can be a distinct relation between the two, ensuring that the owner knows what CD they will be listening to without having to have the case with them, making things far more convenient for the owner. There are only the slightest of a difference between the front cover of the digipack and the CD face, giving the artist a way of adding just that little bit more information on the CD face.

The other faces of the digipak feature different things, as conventional with an album, there is a ordered list of the songs on the CD, informing the owner of which song they will be listening to as well as what songs will be coming on next. There is also general information on the artist featured in the digipak, telling a little of the back story of the artist, general things that a fan would like to know.

For my own digipak I would like to feature information on the artist that would interest the fans and buyers of the digipak, as well as ensuring the owners know the name of the song and artist, therefore promoting further. I would like to ensure that it is easily recognisable that the digipak and the CD belong together, ensuring that there is a relation and similarity between the two, following the conventional features of making a digipak and CD, and promoting the artist and their songs.

Digipak 2

Unlike the Oasis digipak this one shows the actual artist, as I would like to do with my own digipak. This represents the artist, ensuring that the audience knows what the artist looks like so that he can be recognised. The same picture has been used twice, one for the CD itself the other on one side of the digipak, this gives a better, clearly view of the image than it does on the CD, it also ensures that it looks like the actual CD belongs with the rest of the pack. Having a running theme throughout the digipak, with colour, font, and image.

On the front cover of the digipak the artist is looking to his left, which in a way could symbolise him showing the audience the way to open the rest of the digipak, as though the artist is willing the consumer to follow his directions to open the digipak and begin to enjoy his music. The layout of the inside of the digipak in a way hints which order the artist wants the audience to look, like reading a book, from left to right, as though starting from the left, so putting the CD in and playing it, then moving right and reading which songs are on the CD and what will come on after the next song etc, then right again to ensure the audience remember the artist.

I would like to try and interpret some of the features that are used for this digipak. I would like to have a picture of my artist as the front cover, which is a medium shot, making it possible to have the artist in a pose that would make the image more important. For the CD itself I would use a picture on that too, as it is a good way of making sure even if the digipak is lost that the CD can be recognised as that artist as well as making sure the artists face is still seen and known.

Digipak 1

This digipak for Oasis uses image to portray what kind of music is on this album, the use of the acoustic guitar as the front cover of the pack tells the audience that this in an acoustic album. It uses quite natural colours in terms of wood colours to interpret that the music is at its purest form of an acoustic guitar.

The songs are also printed onto the actual CD, which helps the user read where each song is before playing the CD in case the case can't be seen. It makes the CD look better than it would if it were just plain, ensuring that it is know that the CD belongs to that digipak, avoiding mixing CDs up with each other.

Like this I would like to interpret the kind of music the artist has done within the digipak. Ensuring that it looks like it should belong to the artist and their style. On my own digipak I want to show the artists actual face within the covers, as being a way of promotion to get the artists face recognised and known by its audience.

Shooting on 19th - 20th November

I had another shooting but things didn't go as planned due to the inconvenience of the weather. I had planned on doing my shots that were required to be done outside and in the streets, but the weather was very foggy, which wasn't what I wanted for my outdoors shots. Instead I shot the shots that were required to have a spotlight on the artist, with a plain background, this I felt went rather well. I think I got some good shots that I could use within my music video. I will continue to edit the shots I have currently got, fitting them where I want them to feature in my video.

Shooting on 12th - 13th November

I have done my first shooting for my music video, and some of the shots didn't go as I had originally planned, and may result in a change, such as changing what happens in that shot. But I think that some of the shots I did are usable for my music video. I am going to put my shots on an editing suite and see which ones I can use and which ones will need to be done again.

Shooting Schedule

12th - 13th November

Location: Bedroom

Shots: 

#1 - Close up of the artist laying on a bed
#2 - Medium shot of the artist sat on a bed
#3 - Close up of mobile phone
#4 - Medium shot of throwing mobile phone
#5 - Close up of the face with hands covering it
#6 - Medium shot of artist dropping arms
#8 - Long shot of artist stood in the middle of clothes flying everywhere
#9 - Close up of artist with eyes closed and breathing in and out
#14 - Long shot of artist sat at the window
#16 - Long shot of clothes flying everywhere again
#21 - Extreme close up of lips singing
#29 - Close up of a letter
#30 - Medium shot of artist screwing up the letter, throwing it then walking off

16th November

Location: Plain black background (spot light)

Shots:

#7 - Medium shot of artist singing
#17 - Close up of the artists face
#19 - Close up of the artist singing
#22 - Extreme close up of right side of artists face
#24 - Extreme close up of left side of artists face
#26 - Extreme close up of right side of artists face
#27 - Extreme close up of left side of artists face
#28 - Medium shot artist singing in spotlight

19th November

Location: Outside

Shots:

#10 - Close up of artists face
#11 - Close up of artists face in a mask
#12 - Close up of artists face again
#23 - Close up of mask falling on the floor

20th November

Location: Outside and the Streets

Shots:

#15 - Long shot of the artist walking through the streets
#18 - Long shot of artist in an open area singing
#20 - Tracking medium shot of artist walking down the street
#25 - Long shot of the artist dropping arms in open area

Location: Outside

Shots:
#13 - Medium shot of artist in the rain singing

This shot can not be fully scheduled into my planned shootings, this shot will be filmed within any of my scheduled filming times, depending on when there will be rain.

Script

Lyrics - Instrumental
Duration - 00:00 - 00:14

#1 - Close up of the artist laying on a bed
Lyrics - "I lie awake again, my bodies feeling paralysed"
Duration - 00:14 - 00:21

#2 - Medium shot of the artist sat on a bed
Lyrics - "I can't remember when, I didn't live through this disguise"
Duration - 00:21 - 00:28

#3 - Close up of mobile phone
Lyrics - "The words you said to me, They couldn't"
Duration - 00:28 - 00:32

#4 - Medium shot of throwing mobile phone
Lyrics - "Set me free"
Duration - 00:32 - 00:34

#5 - Close up of the face with hands covering it
Lyrics - "I'm stuck here in this life I didn't"
Duration - 00:34 - 00:38

#6 - Medium shot of artist dropping arms
Lyrics - "ask for"
Duration - 00:38 - 00:41

#7 - Medium shot of artist singing
Lyrics - "There must be something more"
Duration - 00:41 - 00:45

#8 - Long shot of artist stood in the middle of clothes flying everywhere
Lyrics - "Do we know what we're fighting for"
Duration - 00:45 - 00:48

#9 - Close up of artist with eyes closed and breathing in and out
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 00:48 - 00:55

#10 - Close up of artists face
Lyrics - "With all these"
Duration - 00:55 - 00:56

#11 - Close up of artists face in a mask
Lyrics - "Masks we wore"
Duration - 00:56 - 00:57

#12 - Close up of artists face again
Lyrics - "We never knew what we had in store, Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 00:57 - 01:09

#13 - Medium shot of artist in the rain singing
Lyrics - "A storm is rolling in, the thunders loud it hurts my ears, I'm paying for my sins, and it's gonna rain for years and years"
Duration - 01:09 - 01:23

#14 - Long shot of artist sat at the window
Lyrics - "I've fooled everyone, now what will I become, I have to start this over, I have to start this over"
Duration - 01:23 - 01:36

#15 - Long shot of the artist walking through the streets
Lyrics - "There must be something more"
Duration - 01:36 - 01:41

#16 - Long shot of clothes flying everywhere again
Lyrics - "Do we know what we're fighting for"
Duration - 01:41 - 01:45

#17 - Close up of the artists face
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 01:45 - 01:53

#18 - Long shot of artist in an open area singing
Lyrics - "And all these masks we wore, we never knew what we had in store"
Duration - 01:53 - 01:59

#19 - Close up of the artist singing
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 01:59 - 02:06

#20 - Tracking medium shot of artist walking down the street
Lyrics - "I've fooled everyone, now what will I become, I have to start this over, I have to start this over, There must be something more"
Duration - 02:06 - 02:25

#21 - Extreme close up of lips singing
Lyrics - "Do we know what we're fighting for"
Duration - 02:25 - 02:28

#22 - Extreme close up of right side of artists face
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 02:28 - 02:35

#23 - Close up of mask falling on the floor
Lyrics - "And all these masks we wore, we never knew what we had in store"
Duration - 02:35 - 02:42

#24 - Extreme close up of left side of artists face
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out, Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 02:42 - 02:48

#25 - Long shot of the artist dropping arms in open area
Lyrics - "There must be something more"
Duration - 02:48 - 02:56

#26 - Extreme close up of right side of artists face
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 02:56 - 02:59

#27 - Extreme close up of left side of artists face
Lyrics - "Breathe in, Breathe out"
Duration - 02:59 - 03:02

#28 - Medium shot artist singing in spotlight
Lyrics - "There must be something more"
Duration - 03:02 - 03:09

#29 - Close up of a letter
Lyrics - Instrumental
Duration - 03:09 - 03:11

#30 - Medium shot of artist screwing up the letter, throwing it then walking off
Lyrics - Instrumental
Duration - 03:11 - 03:16

Analysed Lyrics

Animatic

Storyboard

Prezi

A2 Media on Prezi

Costume

- Jeans
- Shirt
- Trainers
- Leather Jacket

Locations

- Bedroom (opening scene)
- Streets (walking down)
- Open areas
- Black background with spotlight

Props List

- Mask
- Mobile Phone
- Letter
- Lots of clothing

Cast List

My video will contain just the one performer, as the artist would feature in their own music video, my actor will be Matthew Stipetic.

Genre Conventions of Chosen Song

As opposed to electrical instruments acoustic genre music uses instruments that solely produce sounds through acoustic means. They often use electrical means to produce an amplified clearer sound with their separate instrument, often using a microphone next to their acoustic guitar. Acoustic music is seen to be pure compared to other genres of music as others are seen to be more cluttered by technology and overproduction.

With the acoustic genre of music such conventions are often withheld, such as most acoustic songs contain lyrics that are slow and emotional, either revealing pain, love, loss, longing of something etc. A soft guitar is often used to create the base of the emotion and mood intended to be created through the song. Within the music video there is often love revealed and conveyed, expressing visually what is happening and being described through the lyrics of the song. This type of music often features many lyric to visual matches, giving the audience something to look at that is related to the lyrics in the song, which is used to try and help the audience understand the song more, and understand the meanings and feelings that the artist are trying to present to them.

Another convention of this type of genre is for the artist to show aspects of performance, such as both them playing their instrument and singing with the song, and them being part of the narrative whilst singing along with the song; this pleases the audience as it gives them the chance to see the artist perform.

A common feature in such music videos for this genre is for the artist of one member of the band to be featured in the video singing whilst walking or running throughout the video, which is often something to be connoted in relation to the lyrics of the song, which can often show in terms of the artist or bands journey of their success, or in relation to the lyrics them looking for something more, like in my chosen song, searching for a bigger meaning in life, or searching for love etc.

The rock genre is a type of popular music and was developed in the 1960s; the rock sound is often produced by the electrical guitar and the acoustic guitar. There are many different types and styles of the rock genre such as heavy metal, punk rock, blues rock, etc. And more specifically for the genre that is featured with my chosen artist/song, alternative rock, consists of various subgenres of which merged from the independent music, it was mainly an underground phenomenon;  alternative bands built underground followings by touring constantly and regularly releasing low-budget albums.

Rock as a genre would feature electrical instruments that would create a beat based backing track for the artist’s song, the genre usually features more upbeat pace, but can sometimes be mixed within another genre, creating a subgenre, making a different sound for their audience. Within the video for this genre there are often fast cuts that would cut on the beat of the song, and always feature the artist playing their instrument and singing, showing performance that would entertain their audience.

Textual Analysis 3

The Fray - How to Save a Life

The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado. They formed in 2002, starting with school friends Isaac Slade and Joe King, they achieve national success with their first single 'Over My Head (Cable Cars)' it became a top ten hit in the US. Their release of their debut album 'How to Save a Life' in 2005, got double platinum by the RIAA, as well as getting platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK. The band has four members: Isaac Slade, Joe King, Dave Welsh, Ben Wysocki. There were four previous members that left the band: Dan Battenhouse, Zach Johnson, Caleb Slade Mike Ayars. Their song 'How to Save a Life' charted in the top 3 of the Billboard Hot 100 and was a top 5 single in Australia, Canada, Irelandm Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK.The band were discovered through an article which led to them being officially signed by Epic Record in December 2004.

This song features performance of the band, which is done to show the audience the band to get them more recognised. The actual song lyrics is like a narrative, as it follows a linear pattern. The song consists of steps, which go in order from one to two etc. this is done to show that their lives a sequence of steps that are followed, a pattern of steps that have formed people to start a serious conversation. The series of cuts and close ups on peoples face through the chorus of the song is done to represent the loss of loved ones that these people have gone through, and the quick cuts are done to represent that they feel they were taken too soon and it was all too fast. They also use text on the screen to show who they have lost, and who they are thinking about.

The use of the close up on the butterfly represents life and nature, representing that life of others still goes on as well as more life is being created, as well as showing that nature took those they loved and nature will give life to another person. The butterfly can also represent that there are finer things in life, that the little things can still be beautiful and make a difference.

The long shot of the two people with the giant pencil represents that pain and loss of a person is greater and bigger than them both, as they can't prevent losing someone as it's an act of nature. But is also shows that there is always other people to help you through it.

Throughout the music video text is displayed on the screen, they are numbered, which shows that they are the steps people need to take when someone has lost someone, they say such things like 'don't be scared' and 'talk to someone' which shows what people should and do when losing a loved one.

The many uses of fast cuts it to show that life is short, and that there are so many people going through the same sort of things, love, loss, pain, hurt, and the fast cuts sort of merge everyone together in a way which represents that they can help each other through what they are going through, that they all can understand one another.

I would like to take parts from this music video and present it in my own way within my own music video. The use of the text in the music video is something I would like to try and include within my own music video, the text can create other meanings and create many connotations.

Textual Analysis 2

The Plain White T's - Hate (I Really Don't Like you)

The Plain White T's are an American alternative, indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that formed in 1997. They started in clubs, Chicago basements and bars and underwent many personnel changes. They are best known for their number one hit song "Hey There Delilah", first released on their third album "All That We Needed" in 2007, which achieved the platinum status in 2007 which also got two grammy nominations. Their band consists of 5 members: Tom Higgenson, De'Mar Hamilton, Dave Tirio, Tim G. Lopez and Mike Retondo. With previous members of: Ken Fletcher, Steve Mast and Kahealani Sanchez. Their single 'Hate ( I Really Don't Like You) was their first single from their fourth studio album "Every Second Counts", this song was regarded as a major success and one of the band's biggest hits, until their 'Hey There Delilah' which overshadowed previous song achievements. The band has been signed to both Atlantic Records and Fearless Records until 2006 when they signed with Hollywood records and are still with them.

This music video is also a mixture of performance and narrative. The use of fast cuts and people running around the main singer while he walks through the streets represents that hate is chaotic, which is what he is singing about, that hate is so strong of a word to be used and felt, and what he is walking through is one of the reasons why he wouldn't use the word. The use of everything being ciaos around him, such as the water exploding, people running around frantically, these are a way of them representing what she did to him and how she broke his heart, as well as showing that this is how his life became when she hurt him, ciaos and mayhem, and not making sense.

The use of the performance of the band playing the song within the video is also related to the narrative of the video, that the main singer is the one who is hurt by a girl he loved within the narrative and that part of the narrative is that he creates a song to reveal his emotions and feelings and is playing it along with his band as both part of the narrative and performance.

The use of close up shots on a picture of a girl, who is the person who hurt him, represents that he couldn't completely let go of her yet, but when he deletes the picture of her off his phone and the picture in the frame smashes, it represents that he is past it and wants to move on, but also that she destroyed him, smashed up his world, but he is finally getting rid of her out of his life. 

The actually song is like a narrative in itself, as it has a start middle and an end, that he is telling a story through his lyrics, starting with how happy they were and how much he loved he, moving onto how she broke his heart, and now that he has moved on and doesn't want her back in his life. Although he keeps repeating the word 'Love' as though she made the word and meaning something completely different to him, or that he would like to find it again but isn't sure if he could.

When he sings about hate being a strong word they use medium shots of both the guitarist and the drummer, showing elements of performance which entertains the audience, as well as symbolising that the word hate could be quite violent, and they represent that violent through the hits that the drummer makes on the drum, and the fast strums the guitarist makes, as well as them all violently banging their heads along with the music.

They use many contrasts within the video from the lyrics of the song, such as when he was singing about things being perfect with her, the video shows how opposite it is now, such as people being hit by cars and cars crashing into things, glass smashing, just bad things happening all around, this also represents how opposite his life is now that she has gone.

For my music video I would like to try use some of the elements used within this one, I would like to create many connotations within my video that link to my lyrics, like in this video. As well as the use of the artist walking in slow motion, I think this would work well with my chosen song, and I would like to feature this in my video.

Textual Analysis 1

The Script -
The Man Who Can't Be Moved

The Script are an Irish alternative rock band from Dublin, containing Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power. They're based in London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic in 2005. They released their debut single "We Cry" in April 2008, which peaked at number 15 on the UK Single Charts. Their second single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", was released in September 2008. The single reached number 2 in Ireland, Denmark, and the UK.

This music video is a mixture of narrative and performance, they use many lyric to image matches such as the police when he sings about the police saying he can't stay there, an image of a watch when he sings about waiting as long as he needs to. The music video represents him looking for the girl he loves, walking to a place where he hopes she will be waiting for him. It represents his hope on the girl, that he believes in love and that he will wait for as long as is needed for it to come back to him. And that he is a man who can't be moved from the place he is, or he can't be moved from the emotional place/state he is in, which he wants to stay where he is; in love.

The genre of this is like pop rock, it features the whole band playing together in parts of the video which makes them look like a rocky pop band, it ensures that the audience can view part of them performing, which is a way of them getting themselves known whilst pleasing their fans. They use narrative along with their performance to entertain the audience and keep them interested in them and their song. They use imagery to match their lyrics, such as the skies clouds moving, cars moving, as well as the moon moving across the sky, they speed this up and this creates a visual image for what they're singing about, that everything is moving and fast while he stays where he is waiting on this girl.

I would like to try and use some of the features within this video within my own, I would like to use the artist walking through the streets part, as it will show the searching for something that is described through the lyrics of my chosen song, as I feel this will work well with my song and will hold many connotations.