Feedback On Digipak

After handing in my draft digipak and advert I have received positive feedback. Overall my digipak and advert looks quite professional and the position of the text works well on each page. However I could improve the digipak and advert by using changing and playing around on photoshop in order to discovernew ways of editing my photos until I think they look professional and eye capturing to my target audience. Furthermore, my pictures will come across more expert if I edit them with the tools provided on photoshop; I could airbrush, smooth down her hair and remove the shine from her face. On the advert I need to consider adding a record company logo and a website. I could also add ratings from music magazines to help with attracting her audience.  

Draft Digipak

Album Advert and Digipak Photoshoot

woodliv1's photostream on Flickr.

Album Lyrics

DON’T BE SHY DON’T BE SHY JUST LET YOUR FEELINGS ROLL ON BY/DON’T WEAR FEAR OR NOBODY WILL KNOW YOUR THERE/ JUST LIFT YOUR HEAD AND LET YOUR FEELINGS OUT INSTEAD AND DON’T BE SHY JUST LET YOUR FEELINGS ROLL ON BY/ YOU KNOW LOVE IT BETTER THAN A SONG/ LOVE IS WHERE ALL OF US BELONG/ SO DON’T BE DHY JUST LET YOUR FEELING ROLL ON BY/ DON’T WEAR FEAR OR NOBODY WILL KNOE YOUR THERE ALFIE OOH DEARY ME/ MY LITTLE BROTHER'S IN HIS BEDROOM SMOKING WEED/ I TELL HIM HE SHOULD GET UP ‘CAUSE IT'S NEARLY HALF PAST THREE/ HE CAN'T BE BOTHERED ‘CAUSE HE'S HIGH ON THC/ I ASK HIM VERY NICELY IF HE'D LIKE A CUP OF TEA/ I CAN'T EVEN SEE HIM ‘CAUSE HIS ROOM IS SO SMOKY/ DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ONE CAN WATCH SO MUCH TV/ MY BABY BROTHER ALFIE HOW I WISH THAT YOU COULD SEE/ I ONLY SAY IT ‘CAUSE I CARE/ SO PLEASE CAN YOU STOP PULLING MY HAIR?/ NOW THERE'S NO NEED TO SWEAR/ PLEASE DON’T DESPAIR MY DEAR MON FRERE LITTLE THINGS THE LITTLE THINGS YOU DO TO MEARE TAKING ME OVER/ I WANNA SHOW YA/ EVERYTHING INSIDE OF ME LIKE A NERVOUS HEART THAT IS CRAZY BEATING/MY FEAT ARE STUCK HERE AGAINST THE PAVEMENT/I WANNA BREAK FREE/ I WANNA MAKE IT CLOSER TO YOUR EYES/ GET YOUR ATTENTION BEFORE YOU PASS ME BY WAKE UP DARLING SOMETHING FILLED UP MY HEART WITH NOTHING/SOMEONE TOLD ME NOT TO CRY/BUT NOW THAT IM OLDER MY HEARTS COLDER AND I CAN THAT IT’S A LIE/ CHILDREN WAY UP/HOLD YOUR MISTAKE UP/BEFORE THEY TURN THE SUMMER INTO DUST/ IF THE CHILDREN DON’T GROW UP OUR BODIES GET BIGGER BUT OUT HEARTS GET TORN UP/ WE’RE JUST A MILLIOON LITTLE GODS CAUSING RAIN STORMS TURNING EVERY THING TO RUST/I GUESS WE’LL JUST HAVE TO AJUST ON MY OWN IM ALWAYS UP LATE THINGING MAYBE/COULD THIS BE A BIG MISTAKE/HAVE I MADE THE WRONG DECISION/ IS THIS THE RIGHT ROAD TO TAKE/ I COULD HAVE HAD A 9-5 OR FINISH SCHOOL JUST LIKE MY PARENTS WANTED  BUT NOW IM FEELING SO ALIVE I FOUND THE SUNSHINE IM NO LONGER WANTIN/ AND I FEEL THE FIRE BURNING DEEP WITHIN MY SOUL STRUGGLING FOR PERFECTION/ WHEN I REACH IT LET ME KNOW/ AND I FEEL I NEED SOME GUIDANCE BUT MY PRIDE WONT LET IT SHOW AND ALTHOUGH THE ROAD IS FRIGHTENING IM GONNA MAKE IT ON MY OWN SECRET DOOR FOOLS ON PARADE CAVOT AND CARRY ON FOR WAITING EYES/ THAT YOU WOULD RATHER BE BESIDE THAT INFRONT OF/THE SECRET DOOR SWINGS BEHIND US/ SAYING NOTHING JUST GIGGLING ALONG/ EVEN IF THEY WERE TO FIND US I WOULDN’T NOTICE/ IM COMPLETELY OCCUPIED EVERYTHING  YOU’RE NOT YOUR DAKNESS WAS MY WEAKNESS BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT IT ONLY WENT SO DEEP/ A MEANINGLESS DIVERSION/ THAT IS ALL THAT YOU EVER MEANT TO ME/ AND I AM DONE WITH YOUR TWISTED SYMPHONY/ THE WORDS THAT HAD ME SOUND LIKE STOLEN POETRY/ I TORE THE PAGES AND I CAN FINALLY BREATHE/ NEVER WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS AGAIN SACRIFICE COLD COLD HEART/ HARD DONE BY YOU/SOMETHINGS LOOK BETTER BABY JUST PASSING THROUGH AND ITS NO SACRIFICE JUST A SIMPLE WORD/ ITS TWO HEARTS LIVING IN TWO SEPARATE WORLDS BUT ITS NO SACRIFICE/ NO SACRIFICE/ITS NO SACRIFICE AT ALL/MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AFTER THE FACT SENSITIVITY BUILDS A PRISON IN THE FINAL ACT/WE LOSE DIRECTION/NO STONE UNTURNED NO TEARS TO DAMN YOU WHEN JEALOUSY BURNS

Album Advert Analysis

 

This album advertisement of Lily Allen stood out to me from the rest due to the black and white effect. As both of these colours contrast each other it makes every detail stand out, especially her name. This black and white style has particularly inspired me for my own advertisement as I think it will work well with my artist as she has a similar look to Lily Allen. The music genre is also the same and wouldn’t cause confusion to the audience. This advert could also work with simplistic and limited text as the image of the artist is strong by itself due to the black and white editing. Furthermore, this advert doesn’t follow the usual style of music advertisements as most are edited to portrait. Due to this powerful image of Lily Allen being landscape I don’t think it would have worked as well on a portrait advert. I would like to use this style for my advert because of the similar image I have taken of my artist and because it is different from other adverts.  

 

Researching particular album magazine adverts has given me a lot of inspiration. This advert of Mumford & Sons has a simplistic style and is straight to the point as shown by the limited text. This is the type of look I would like to go for as it conveys that the album is a must buy as nothing else on the page needs to persuade the audience to buy the album. This particular album has gone for a different approach of promoting the album by simply calling it ‘The album’. This comes across as it’s the only album out in the market and that it must be brought.  Even though this is a very interesting approach I think I will go down the ordinary route by displaying the album name. The image on this advert portrays the bands genre ‘indie/alternative’ as the image isn’t of what you’d normally see walking past a shop window; it is very interesting and appealing. The band and their instruments and shown in the image which connotes that the band write and play their own music.

 

 

This magazine advert of Laura Marling has followed the usual conventions of alternative music magazine adverts as an abstract image has been used. This is disjunctive as the image doesn't seem to have anything to do with the album name 'Cross your fingers/crawled out of the sea' unless here is reference to other songs on the album. This makes this advert look interesting as the audience will want to know more about the image itself. This image is a drawing of natural forms as leaves and tree figures are shown and in the centre there is a colour flower which could be symbolic to the album. I think that the neutral colour scheme works well with the genre and also compliments the image colours and the orange text by contrasting against them. This makes the information stand out (name of the artist and name of the album). I like how the font style and orange colour work well with the image as it is quite feminine and shows that it is a female artist clearly. When looking through the magazine adverts this one stood out to me as the basic layout makes the advert more aesthetically pleasing due to the image and text being centralised. I would like to used this type of symplicity in my magazine advert as I think more people will want to look and read it. Having a powerful image on the advert will make it more visual and more eye catching.

CD Cover Analysis 2 - Ellie Goulding "Lights"

This album, “Lights” was released by Ellie Goulding in February 2010. The cover image uses a very interesting design that is simple and is able to attract the audience’s eyes. By using a simple coloured background and a striking image that grabs a second look at it confuses and messes with the audiences eyes abit. The position of the two heads is to set out a confusion of who it is and interests the audience to have another look in order to find out who it is. However even though there arn't props used the design is still very simple and can reflect that the music most likely on this album will be girly, simple and calming type music as well as this since the confusion in the image can also reflect her music as being quite different and out there. As this image of Ellie shows her with little makeup and her hair looking natural it can look and relate to the younger audience which connotes that the album is at the younger generation. Mostly the female gender is represented on this cover; the use of the simple artists face and litle makeup associate’s with teenage girls, this therefore connotes that this album is aimed at the female gender. As well as this since the image also shows the feeling of confusion it can also relate to the younger generation as they are young and arn't necessarily sure what they are doing with their lives.

CD Cover Analysis 1 - Lilly Allen "It's Not Me, It's You"





This album, “It's not you It's me” was released by Lily Allen in February 2009. The cover uses a very interesting design that is simple and is able to attract the audience’s eyes. By using a simple coloured background and a bold big font it reinforces the main information on the cover which is the artists name and the title of her album. The position of the big 'L' letter is based in the centre of the cover to show statement of who's album it is and is easily readable and recognisable for the audience. However even though there arn't props used the design is still very simple and can reflect Lily Allens personality and the type of music that is on the CD. The image of her laying on the big 'L' shows a relaxing, fun and random type of atmosphere which can reflect to the type of music which she produces on the CD.  As this image consists of her sat in a pretty pink dress and very teenage looking, it comes across as a teenagers attitude by laying down and chilled out which connotes that the album is at the younger generation for example teenagers.  Furthermore, the album title ‘It's not me It's you’ emphasis that this could be targeted at a young generations as these are some sort of phrases or feelings that this particular age group and most relate to when in relationships etc. Mostly the female gender is represented on this cover; the use of the colour pink within the dress associate’s with teenage girls, this therefore connotes that this album is aimed at the female gender.

Alfie - Lily Allen Animatic

Digipak Cover Ideas

Above are some album covers/images that I have collected to show how I would like to represent my artist. I think these covers all show a different style but all can relate to pop music and fits with this music genre as mine. Using a close up shot of the artist, Millie Evans, on my album cover willl attract the audience’s attention instantly as her face would be the first thing they see and espeically if I go ahead with my idea of using red lipstick which will clearly and bodly make the image stand out grabbing the audiences eyes. Each of these album covers use either a black and white or can be quite colourful. 

Font Ideas For Digipack





Here are some of the fonts that I would like to use as my artists name to go onto the front of the CD cover. I like how they are all a quite natural looking, bold or hand written. I have chosen these because I think they will go with thetype of artist I have and her personality. Evevn though they are quite simple I think they look very proffesional which is what can attract people to look at the CD. Making my font look this simple and natural will also tie in with girls being the main audience and listeners to the CD as girls sterotypically are neat and tidy therefore the font would match upto that type of stereotype.

Risk Assessment

For this section I am identifying the risks that could possibly occur whilst producing our music video. This will help us plan more in advance and help us recognise any obstacles that may get in the way of filming or be a hazard to someone getting injured. Below is the risk assessment I have constructed -

Hazard - Fall of people participating/equipment
Answer - Yes
Severity - 6/10
Likelihood - Low
Persons at risk - Everyone in the participation of the music video being made
Precautions - Minimise the chance of somebody falling or hurting themselves by planning exactly what they have to do in advance and how it will work. Also make sure all equipment is stable and secure such as all the house objects safely positioned on top of things or against things.

Hazard - Weapons
Answer - No
Severity - 0/10
Likelihood - N/A
Persons at risk - N/A
Precautions - N/A

Hazard - Tripping
Answer - Yes
Severity - 5/10
Likelihood - Medium
Persons at risk - People taking part in the video or people filming (Liv & Sammy)
Precautions: Warn eachother when wires are around the set and also any other obstacles or props which are left out. Ensure only objects needed in the scene are used and that all other areas are clear.

Hazard - Vehicles
Answer - No
Severity - 0/10
Likelihood - N/A
Persons at risk - N/A
Precautions - N/A

Hazard - Temporary structures
Answer - Yes
Severity - 6/10
Likelihood - Low
Persons at risk: Our actress when on the set and being filmed
Precautions: ensure that all props and structures we set up are safe such as an iron board being up on the side of the wall

Representations In Our Music Video

Who- In our music video there will be two characters; the main one being the artist, Milly Evans, and the other being a puppet called Alfie acting as Milly’s brother. Due to our song choice of a silly waltz rap, Milly will be singing to her brother and about her brother. This is significant to the song as it fits with the lyrics.

What- We have been inspired by other videos to make our music video look like a Looney Tunes episode. We are therefore going to use the same opening and closing parodies of Looney Tunes videos e.g ‘Merrie Melodies’. The main part of the video will consist of Milly acting out the lyrics and trying to persuade Alfie to stop wasting his life away. There will also be many shots of the puppet doing these things that Milly doesnt want him doing.

Where- We have decided to locate our video in a house using the settings of the bedroom and the kitchen. However to make our video look interesting we are going to use bright colours in these rooms. We will do this by changing the bedding and adding bright accessories.

Why- We have chosen to locate our video in a house and use a basic narrative so that the visuals go with the lyrics. We also thought it would make it easier for ourselves if we locate the video inside as we wont have to mess around with the lighting or any other sounds. We can also shoot the video at any time and if we make any mistakes they will be easy enough to correct. Furthermore, by limiting ourselves to these settings we can focus more on using a variety of shots and styling the artist and the house. We didnt want to use a complex narrative as it would confuse the audience so we have therefore kept it simple but sweet.

How- By using our story board, schedule list and risk assessment we will be able to create our video more effectively as we can overcome any problems we think we will face. When we are shooting we will organise the shots into the correct scenes so that we can save time instead of working through the shots in order. We will aso practice a few shots from each scene beforehand so we know how they will turn out.

Feedback

After showing our pitch to the class we have received a lot of positive feedback. We haven’t over complicated anything and on paper our ideas seem to work well together. However one thing we have had to think about it is how we are going to construct a puppet into our music video as positioning the puppet and moving it in time with the song could be tricky. We have thought about having the puppet on strings but it also might ruin the video if the strings are visible. We have discussed that we could add something else instead of a puppet like a young child but without the puppet the narrative will not make sense.  We will therefore have to do our best to hide the strings and move the puppet in time with the song.  

Examples Of Other Texts

This video 'Foundations' by Kate Nash fits very well with our genre and the look we are going for. This video uses a silly waltz rap just like our song choice, 'Alfie' by Lily Allen as well as the focus being on a female artist in a household setting. This video is entertaining and fun which is what we aim to do when making our music video. 

This video is a good example of the type of props we will be using in our music video. There are puppets and animations used which makes this video, 'Happy Ending' by Mika look interesting and appealing. There are also shots in this video that we will also be using such as the close up shots of the moving puppets and the transitions used. Even though our song choice is quite upbeat we are looking to use slower camera movements like this video. 

'Oh No' by Marina and the Diamonds is another good example of the genre we are focusing on. The colours that are used in this video is the main aspect we like about this as the bright colours create a very vibrant look and feel. This emphasis the genre 'mainstream-pop'. 

Audience Profile

We thought it would be appropriate to look into audience profile's so that we can get a clear view of who our music video would appeal to. 

Name: Hannah Wood
Age: 19
Occupation: Works in Selridges-Topshop
Studying Fashion Management at Birminham University

Lucy listens to artists such as Lily Allen, Two Door Cinema Club, Ellie Goulding, Lenka, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, Marina and the diamonds and The Vaccines. Her favourite shops are Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Lazy Oaf, Zara, River Island and Office. She likes to keep up to date with new trends from the highstreet shops as well as experiementing with vintage clothing from unknown stores near her university. In her spare time she has a shabby chic business where she makes home little gifts such as cushions and fabric decorations and sells them online on ebay and her own blog page. She enjoys socialises with her friends and going to the 02 academy arena to listen to new and current music. As she has has her own blog she is frequently on the internet. This is where she watches music videos by her favourite artists and artists that she hasn't come across before. 

Moodboard

Biography - Milly Evans

Milly Evans, born on 12^th November 1990 is an English recording artist, actress and fashion designer. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved alternative pop but after she had abandoned school, she focused on her music and concentrated on improving her performing skills. Afterwards, she created several demo songs and, near the end of 2007, she published videos on youtube and made some of her recordings public.

A contract was signed with the label Regal Recordings, as the views on youtube rose to tens of thousands. In 2009, she began to work on completing what would be her first studio album and its first mainstream single "Anything" reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart. Her debut record, “The Fear”, was well received on the international market, selling over 2.6 million copies and brought Allen a nomination at the Grammy Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.

Her second major album release, “Wake up Darling” saw a genre shift for her, having more of a mainstream pop feel, rather than the alternative influence. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts and was appreciated by the critics, noting the singer's musical evolution and maturity. It spawned the hit singles "Don’t Be Shy" and "Secret Door", popular mostly in Europe.

Our Song And It's Lyrics

The following are the lyrics to the track and this is something that we'll have to take into consideration when incorporating ideas into our final video;

Ooh deary me
My little brother's in his bedroom smoking weed
I tell him he should get up
cause it's nearly half past three
He can't be bothered cause he's high on THC
I ask him very nicely if he'd like a cup of tea
I can't even see him 'cause his room is so smoky
Don't understand how one can watch so much TV
My baby brother Alfie how I wish that you could see

I only say it cause I care
So please can you stop pulling my hair
Now now there's no need to swear
Please don't despair my dear mon frère

Ooh Alfie get up it's a brand new day
I just can't sit back and watch you waste your life away
You need to get a job because the bills need to get paid
Get off your lazy arse Alfie please use your brain
Surely there's some walls out there that you can go and spray
I'm feeling guilty here for leading you astray
Now how the hell do you ever expect that you'll get laid
When all you do is stay in playin' your computer games

I only say it cause I care
So please can you stop pullin my hair
Now now there's no need to swear
Please don't despair my dear mon frère

Oh little brother please refrain from doing that
I'm trying to help you out so can you stop being a tw*t
It's time that you and I sat down and had a little chat
And look me in the eyes take off that stupid fitted cap

I only say it cause I care
So please can you stop pulling my hair
Now now there's no need to swear
Please don't despair
Please don't despair
My mon frère

Artist Name Ideas

First Names
Ava
Lily
Milly
Esme
Talia
Lulu
Ali

Last Names
Carter
Harp
Evans
Oliver
White

We were unsure whether to stick to just a first name like artists such as Beyonce, Lenka, Rihanna and Birdy to make the artist’s name more catchy and memorable or whether to use include her last name such as Ellie Goulding and Kate Nash. But after discussing about it we came to a decision that we shall call our artist 'Milly Evans'. The reason behind this is that we wanted to keep her name quite simple and regular like our inspiration ‘Lily Allen’. If we had used more of a unique name it would have been quite hard to make our music video match her as an artist due to our song choice of ‘Alfie’. This song isn’t a powerful or strong song and it therefore wouldn’t suit an artist with a strong name. We also thought the name sounded ‘short and sweet’ and would go with the visuals of our music video.

Song Title

After taking a few songs into consideration for our final piece, as a pair we made a decision together on a song that we feel could let us develop a range of ideas in the build up to creating the final piece. The song that we have chosen to film our final piece to is 'Alfie' by 'Lily Allen'. Choosing this song also means sticking closely to our chosen genre of 'mainstream pop'.

Genre Of Music

After choosing a variety of different videos to analyse for the research and planing, deciding on a genre was something that we had to experiment with. After taking into consideration the different settings and atmospheres that would have to feature in songs of different genres, this then meant that it made it easier to straight away eliminate particular categories and genres of music. Once we had narrowed the genres down we came up with 2 genres that we feel we would both like to work with when creating the final piece. These two were, indie-pop and mainstream pop. The main reason for narrowing the choices down to these two was based on a decision revolving around the music that we are used to listening to and enjoy ourselves. After taking all our options into consideration we have chosen to pick a song that falls into the category of 'mainstream pop'. We hope to be taking inspiration from artists such as Lily Allen, Eliza doolittle, Florence and the machine and many others when thinking of ideas for our own final piece.

Schedule

A2 Media Studies Schedule 2012-13 Lutterworth College

Music Video Analysis'

Ellie Goulding- Lights

I have chosen to analyse this music video because I wanted to look into the different types of pop and in this case it is electro-pop. One of the characteristics of electro pop artists is usually the artists playing electronic instruments- Ellie Goulding plays the drums and tambourine in this video. There is a clear relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as Ellie is singing about how the lights can make her stronger “You show the lights that stop me turn to stone, you shine it when I’m alone, and so I tell myself I’ll be strong, and dreaming when they’re gone.” Different lights are constantly being lit up throughout the video so that the audience can feel the strength and the energy that she feels. The lights portray her as a confident and powerful woman and therefore match the lyrics. Furthermore there are many interesting camera shots that also fit with the lyrics such as low angle shots which have been used to represent Ellie as dominant and strong. The other long shots and close up shots have been very creatively done to make the video look interesting and lively, with multi-coloured and flashing lights. However the location doesn’t change as much as other videos but because of the different types of lights it ensures that the audience won’t get bored and will give them something exciting to watch. It also shows another characteristic of electro-pop as the electronic sounds and instruments match the visuals (lights). As well as the lights, the editing shows reference to the genre of electro-pop seeing that there are a lot of lighting and patterned effects on the black background. The use of this black background makes the different coloured lights stand out as well as making her, the star stand out.

Passion Pit- Take a Walk

The second video I have chosen to analyse is Passion Pit- Take a Walk because I wanted to look at the genre, indie-pop which is what Passion Pit fits into. The video also fits in with the disjuncture category as there isn’t a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals apart from the chorus ‘take a walk’ and the visuals being outside. I think this makes the video look interesting as the video doesn’t look like a commercial for the song; instead it’s more of a short film with no reference to the lyrics. As it is a very straight forward clip that chronicles the travels of a bouncing blue ball, it focuses on the motion and lyrics of the song which not only makes this artist quirky and creative but shows off the indie characteristics. 

Coldplay- Every Teardrop in a Waterfall

The third video I have chosen to analyse is Coldplay- Every Teardrop is a Waterfall. Coldplay mostly fit into the alternative genre of music which means this video would fit into the illustration genre of music videos. The video shows characteristics from the alternative genre, for example the contrasting effects of fluorescent lights and the slow motion jerky camera effects and movement.

I have chosen this video due to the style of editing that has been used. I particularly like this because it is very simplistic with the bands performance and a straight forward narrative which visualizes the music and lyrics. However even though a simple narrative has been used the editing techniques such as the shuddery effects, animations and colours make this video energetic and exciting. This could also indicate that watching them live has the same atmosphere and ambience and therefore could be used as a marketing tool for the band. Lyrics and drawings are shown through animations so that the audience can visualise the lyrics as well as listening to them. They are also up beat and fast moving just like the editing to keep the video constant throughout and to show the direct links to the song.

There are many different camera angles used in this video so that the video doesn’t become boring and/or lose the audiences interest, for example the camera follows the lead singer right through the video but then allows him to come in and out of scenes from all sorts of angles. This makes the audience feel more involved with the music video as it’s as if they are following him themselves. The paces of the shots are very quick to match with the beats of the music and to keep the energetic feel steady all through the video. The camera shots and editing go with the lyric meanings as there is reference to being young and innocent, and having a powerful energy and spirit. The bright colours that are used also help represent this and give off a positive mood. 

Lily Allen - Main Inspriation

Pop sensation. Voice of her generation. Fashion designer. Political activist. Mouthy blogshite. X-rated sexpert. Fall-down drunk. WAG-tagoniser. Queen of MySpace. Exhibitionist. Primadonna. Style icon. Celebrity girlfriend. Celebrity daughter. Celebrity sister. Paparazzi prey. Party starter. Princess.