Digipak analysis 2

A close up of the artist is used on the front cover as he is famous and therefore attracts audiences who already know him. 

The image has been edited very well and professionally. The effects seem very advanced and are appealing.

The colours used are quite bright, for instance pink, purple and blue. They are also put against a black background which increases how the bright colours stand out and therefore help gain audiences attention. 

The text is placed in the top left corner of the cover so that it does not cover up the image of the artist. 

The watch, the sunglasses and the colours connote the genre of pop and therefore audiences who like pop-music will be interested. The watch and the bracelet as well as the urban area edited onto his jacket relate to the rap genre. Since he is actually a rap/pop artist I think that the visual codes do their job well.

The font is easily readable and whilst the image on the cover is used to get the audiences attention, the back cover is used to present any necessary information. 
The image/colours on the cover clearly link to the back cover showing good consistency.

 

The style of digipak which this particular one has followed isn't really one I will be influenced by as the genre I don't feel the colours and eccentric effects on the images would be suitable for a singer songwriters digipak.

Digipak analysis 1

There are close ups of the artist as she is very famous and therefore recognizable. An audience who already knew and liked her previous music would be more attracted to this digipak as they can recognise her.

The image on the inside takes up all 3 panels which is quite creative and looks professional. The image on the inside definitely links to the cover through using similar colours and also an image of the artist. 

The font used on the cover is easily readable and yet not overpowering at the same time. The images of the artist make her appear quite elegant and the font definitely reflects this. The font is also quite thin and therefore doesn't cover much of the image on the cover. 

The size of the font is suitable for the digipak. It is not too large but is still large enough to read.

The image of the artist doesn't actually show any clothing and the bare shoulder suggest she is possibly nude, therefore being quite voyeuristic. The intention of this could be to draw in a male audience and this also supports the theory of Andrew Goodwin.

 

I particularly like the used of one image spread out over the whole of the inside of the digipak and I really like the thin font as it can be quite large but not cover up too much of the image at the same time. These are two things I will definitely consider using when creating my own digipak. 

Analysis of a music video using Goodwin's theory

Eminem - Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna





The first few shots of this music video already cover two of Goodwin's theories. We are introduced to the video with a close up of Rihanna, there are also multiple other close ups of both artists throughout the whole video, as well as both of the actors since they are very famous actors (Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan). However it is noticeable that Eminem has his own scenery setting whereas the actors share a location and Rihanna shares her location with Eminem. This could be because the song is titled under Eminem's name and is only 'featuring' Rihanna. 

The second of Goodwin's theories which the first few shots cover is the 'star image'. Rihanna's iconic hair colour is noticeable in these shots.

 In the music video there multiple relations between the lyrics and the visuals. One of the most noticeable examples is when we see a shot of Megan fox holding a flame whilst the lyrics "watch me burn" are sung. And there are also shots of both actors covered in flames at other points in the music video relating to the same chorus lyrics. 





















 More relation between the lyrics and the visuals is seen when Megan Fox walks away to match the lyric of "to walk away though". 












 Rihanna is seen wearing a low cut top with her cleavage on show. Also Megan Fox's character is seen in a very sexual way, pinned against a wall by Dominic Monaghan. 

 





It could be argued that this music video supports Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, especially since the director of the video (Joseph Kahn) is a male, and appears to construct females in other music videos he's directed in a sexual way. For example, in the music video of 'Toxic' by Britney Spears which Joseph Kahn directed, Britney is wearing an essentially see-through outfit with only her private areas covered by a shiny material.

  













 

Initial Notes On Music Artist Poster

Music Artist Poster

 

Many music artists use posters/billboards to advertise themselves, their albums and their singles. It's a really effective way of advertising to their audiences other than having their songs on the radio or having television adverts. I've noticed a large number of posters and billboards around London, this is because thousands of people will walk past them every day, maximizing the recognition. It wouldn't make sense to have a billboard of an artist in the middle of a rural area. 
However it is noticeable that only the mainstream artists have billboards advertising their music, which I can assume is due to the price to have the billboard. The music posters most regularly appear to be in music magazines, and around entertainment retailing companies such as HMV. 

The posters always have large fonts with stand out colours. The artists' name and the album/single is always the thing in the largest font, sometimes taking up the majority of the poster. Any sub-information is in a smaller font. A lot posters have an image of the artist(s)/band which also takes up a large space in order to get noticed, but it was noticeable that the image rarely in the centre of the design and if it was then the text was layered on-top of it as the text appears to be the most important thing. However some of the posters didn't have an image as the text is what they want to stand out. The colours on the page are all made to stand out from each other,  for example a light coloured font against a darker shaded background. 

The amount of text used on the posters/billboards was very limited and basic. This is so the text be as large as possible so that people passing can notice it better. Also if people are only passing it then they wont have time to stop and read paragraphs of text. 

Initial ideas on music video

My personal initial ideas for our music video was to include some kind of relationship themed video as I felt it would meet both the lyrics and theme/genre of our song. I had some rough ideas of locations and costumes also relating to our song. Location wise I felt including some scenic shots would enhance the look of our video and link with the emotional factor of our characters. With regards to costume I felt we should follow similar themes of James Blunt himself as this would link with the genre well.

Cultural effects and theories

Cultivation theory

The Cultivation theory is a social theory which explores the long term effects of media. The main point of the cultivation theory explains that the more time people spend "living" in the on screen world, the more likely they're to believe the "social reality" portrayed on screen rather than in the real world." Cultivation leaves people with a misperception of what is true in our world.

Cultivation theory overall suggests that long term exposure to media "cultivates" viewers' perceptions of reality.


Hypodermic Needle theory

The Hypodermic Needle theory suggests that the mass media could influence a large group of people by ‘injecting’ them with messages designed to trigger a desired response which can have a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences and they will absorb all of the intended information, unknowingly believe anything they see.




Andrew Goodwin's theory

Andrew Goodwin has identified 7 key features in music videos, including - relationships between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics, relationships between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music, genre-related style and iconography present, multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist, male gaze/scantily clad often plays a major part, especially in relation to females and Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.

Male Gaze Theory

The male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey suggests that the audience are put in a position where they view things from the perspective a heterosexual male, music videos and films are constantly focus on women’s curves and events that happen to them are portrayed from a male angle.


I have looked at different theories to get a better understanding of what is commonly seen generically in music videos so that we can use these when creating and filming our own video.

Lip Syncing

What is lip syncing?

Lip syncing is used throughout the music industry, it is where a singer moves their lips silently in synchronisation with a recorded soundtrack. It also includes the imitation of musical instruments in some cases. Singers often use lip syncing in music videos, there are a few reasons behind this. Firstly they may do it because their music video includes a dance routine or something similar this means they may not be able to produce their best singing voice while doing it therefore use lip syncing to hide this. If done properly it can look very professional however if done inaccurately it can ruin a whole music video.

Here is an example of lip syncing used well, it is a take that video called shine they have dance routines throughout and it is clear it is no a live performance therefore lip syncing can be used to effect here and they have done so.