Synergy in Real Media Texts - (Not so much)

Considering the fact that the survey said that 70.0% were more attracted to an interesting design that doesn't include the face of the protagonist from the video, I found myself inclined to research into other real media texts that did not include this aspect of synergy.

I have now noticed that in the Indie genre, it is not a convention that there must be firm synergy between the album cover and the music video.

There is evidence of this as shown below.

To me, I feel justified to design my digipak in such a way that:-
*does not hold strict synergy with the video
*does not hold this synergy with the video, especially on the front cover
*does not feature an image of the protagonist from the video on the front cover
*favours good design and interesting imagery over a recognisable face

I am doing this as this is what my target audience are evidently interested in.

I am doing the above because I received unenthusiastic comments towards featuring a face in the design, like:-

• when it's their face it's pretty unoriginal and unquirky, maybe?
• i like it when there's a weird picture to look at
• it's boring if it's just their face!
• indie covers usually dont have anyone on the front
• i don't care as long as the music is good!!
• a nice illustration or peice of photography is nice
• the face isnt important to me, i like interesting imagery
• i like art work

However, at the same time, I will be including the protagonist on the other sides of the digipak and on the discs, because I cannot ignore the fact that others said:-

• it's nice to have a face to put to the name
• they're usually quite nice on the eye
• when i see the video, it's easier to purchase the cd if i can make a connection between the faces. sometimes i'll buy a cd if i recognise the face especially if i cant remember the name of the band!

DELPHIC
































FRIENDLY FIRES

Results from the survey about digipak designs.

I advertised my survey on Facebook via http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P7MXYC3

SURVEY ON PEOPLE'S PREFERENCES ON DIGIPAK DESIGNS.

NOTE: I stated at the beginning of the survey that "you should only take this survey if you have an interest in the music genre: Alternative/Indie". This meant that I could find my target audience.

1. 16-25 year olds are are target audience

2. Females and males are our target audience

3. They are at university or college.

4. The majority did not realise what a digipak was before reading the explanation.

5. They preferred the digipak packaging to the jewel case packaging.

6. A complex design, bonus videos and any bonuses on a separate DVD are what they seek.

7. They prefer the design of 2 disc digipaks.

8. They seek interesting imagery, band name, album name, bonus material and song names when reading a digipak.

9. All 3 album cover designs were appreciated and they would buy them regardless of the music.

10. 67% found interesting designs that did not include the face of the protagonist from the video were more attractive.

Obviously, I will bear these in mind when I create my digipak. For example, ensuring that the essential information that they seek from a digipak is included and prioritised in size - meaning I would not favour the small print, record label or website in the design. Another example would be that I will take into consideration that my target audience appreciate an interesting design even if it doesn't include the face of the protagonist from the music video.

Construction and Feedback on the Introduction in Adobe Premiere Pro

I used the ProCamp effect which adjusts the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, and split percent of a clip's image.

I ajusted the Opacity so that it was translucent, so that it was possible to see the layer of footage beneath.

I added Noise, as this graininess is the intended effect.

I added a Luma Key which creates transparency for darker values in the image, leaving brighter colors opaque. It creates a subtle superimposition or keys out dark areas. I used it on the section where the protagonist is cheerleading to key out her figure so that you can see underlying footage of flickering.

____ADOBE PREMIERE PRO____

How I made the introduction to the music video:-

I used Adobe Premier Pro.
I had some previous experience from a course I had partaken in.
I wanted to achieve an effect that enticed the viewer, in particular the target audience.
The original footage looked too bland to appeal to a younger audience. The survey showed that they were interested in visual effects, and so I added flickers; used Lumakeys and colour keys to adjust the aesthetic; and overlayed two layers of footage. This to me added interest. Being the age of and having the same ideologies of the target audience, I was able to judge for myself as I produced it whether it was appealing.

However, to ensurethatthis was not a biased opinion, I asked others too.They reported back via Facebook Chat saying: "It looks much better that before! I like the way you've overlayed the two pieces of footage. It creates interest and is more unique than other ways I've seen people represent someone getting ready for a party"...."This reminds me of Ellie Gouldin;s music video! You know the bit when you can see two of her!? Cool!".
It's interesting to note that the editing technique used in Ellie Gouding's was raised! She has actually been an influence in my production; and this assures me that I'm on track with conforming to conventions of real media texts!


Feedback about the introduction to the music video

According to the feedback given by a 21 year old male and 24 year old female who enjoy Indie music:-
* "There was definite link between the design of the digipak and the advert despite their layout being different."
* They claimed that they would be able to link the digipak to the advert if they had been looking for it in HMV.
* They claimed that "it doesn't matter that the protagonist in the video wasn't on the advert/digipak" as they liked the design and were enticed by this. They appreciated the design as they were able to spot the iconography/symbolism.
* They did say that I could have made a connection between the three texts more powerful by using stars as an overlay on the music video [which I may try using Adobe Premier Pro]. However, initiallly, the fact that the artist was introduced in the video; that there were images of her on the other sides of the digipak; and that she is wearing the same outfit, all made up for it!

________ ADDING THE INTRODUCTORY TITLES TO THE INTRODUCTION_________

Adding the introductory titles

We later decided, after having uploaded it, to introduce the song and band in a similar way a music channel would. We looked at how MTV did this, and took influence from it. This would add verisimilitude/REALISM as the viewer will be familiar with MTV and recognise these introductory strips that appear. The viewer may even be concvinced that our music video is a real media text!
Using iMovie, we chose a coloured strip to appear with sans-serif fonted copy. Sans serif is considered modern, which appeals to the target audience.

Using iMovie

This year we have a newer version of iMovie to edit our footage.
This will improve the quality and professionalism of our production.
Today we went through all the footage, cutting to the beat. This was fun and interesting to me especially after having learnt how to do this on my recent work experience in France.
We went through the footage recently, using ellipses editing to get rid of any footage that was unentertaining to the viewer, and that included cast that were not wearing suitable clothing!
Through the editing process, I have learnt how to include approriate transitions. For example, we all decided that transitions like 'Ripple' were completely unsuitable for our production as it was not a convention in real media texts.

Filming Day to show off our Lip Synching Skills

Today, as planned, Rebecca and I filmed some additional footage for our music video.

We felt that the video was lacking in the way that it did not include anyone singing along to the words.

We felt that this was lacking, especially after seeing many Alternative music videos had included this key feature.


An example [BELOW OR CLICK ON THE TITLE] is Vampire Weekend's "Cousins" - in which, the entire song is performed directly to us, the viewer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0u11rgd9Q


So, for the filming, we:-

• We knew that we wanted to shoot the Rabbit and the Fox singing along to the song.
• We knew that we wanted the composition to be different for the Rabbit and the Fox. Thus, we shot the Rabbit on the left of the frame, and the Fox on the right.
• We knew that we wanted the female Rabbit to be superior to the male Fox as this fit with the idea of the fox chasing the rabbit. ======>Thus, we have shot the Rabbit on a metaphorical pedestal (on the kitchen counter) and the inferior Fox in the metaphorical pits (on the kitchen floor).
• However, we also wanted to reflect the vulnerability of both characters. ======> Thus, we have filmed both characters in medium-angle to give this effect.
• I (The Rabbit) put on the same costume as I wore at the party - for continuity.
• Rebecca (The Fox) wore black androgynous clothing and a fox mask.
• We shot it in darkness with just a lamp - to give the effect that it was shot at the party.
• We shot it in a kitchen, which could have easily been the kitchen we used for the party.

Photoshoot for Album Cover

We planned a few days ago to meet up for a photoshoot.
This photoshoot would be to gain some imagery for our Album Cover.
We organised ourselves, by ensuring that:
*we had masks to wear (Rabbit masks, and Fox masks - like in our music video)
*we had the party-scene costume for the protagonist to wear
*we had other props available to add interest and conform to the genre (such as roller skates, and bicycles - which are playful and carefree - and therefore 'Indie')
*the camera took good quality photographs
*we all knew what we wanted from the image. We drew out our visualisations beforehand, so we knew what to aim for.

Lyrics and Plans of What to Do with Them

We had some difficulty deciphering the lyrics, so Becki messaged the band, 'Happiness', via myspace and here are the lyrics!

Happiness- 'Look At That Rabbit Go!'


I see you on the side
Of my otherwise wasted time
I cant speakI cant breathe
when you're around

When the longest hour has passed
And we'll be out of ways at last
With the final rest at hand
We will know by then

Occupy my empty house
Bye byeGet on with life
Occupy my empty house
Bye bye
Get on with life

Can you afford to never let go at all
And everything points towards
You having no points at all
And every pause reflects your uncomfortable
You hide it of course

Now look at that rabbit go!

Occupy my empty house
Bye byeGet on with life
Occupy my empty house
Bye bye
Get on with life
Occupy my empty house
Bye byeGet on with life
Occupy my empty house
bye bye
Get on with life

PLANS:-

To add to our editing techniques and to make sure our music video is entertaining, we plan to add clips of the protagonist lip synching. I will be the one doing this, as I am the protagonist. I have discussed what my group imagine the clips to look like; and we have decided that the guideline are to shoot:-

*handheld *close up shots *medium shots *long shots *the same costume as in the music video's party scenes for continuity *try singing with passion *try to look as if you're having fun, at the party, sitting on the floor in the corner, singing to yourself drunkenly *with and without props, to see which version is the most effective. *props, if used should include party-related objects, such as alcoholic beverage bottles.

The Maccabee's Albums: COLOUR IT IN vs. WALL OF ARMS

THE MACCABEES - COLOUR IT IN (ALBUM 1)

I have chosen to analyse The Maccabee's Album, as this is the band that I used for my artist research.
The group's name is written in full, as they need to promote themselves as this was their first album, and not everyone knows of them yet.

The font used for "the maccabees" is all lower case, which juxatposes "colour it in" which is all in capitals. Although the general idea of capital lettering is supposed to be bolder and more eye-catching, I personally find that it works in the opposite way. The lower case "the maccabees" is more attractive to my eye; which is enhanced by the fact that it is printed larger than "colour it in". The colour choice works effectively, as the white of "the maccabees" stands out against the black background; and the alternating colours of "colour it in" fit in with the phrase, and match those used for the image below.

B. Nicholson describes this album as a "set of art-pop confections" and being "short on bite and big on cutesy, cuddly songs". To me, this links in, as the phrase "colour it in" evokes childhood.

The image, bluntly described, is a group of simplified cartoon men, of different nationalities, coloured in with a selection of 3 block colours: beige, lilac and eggs-shell blue. One 'man' wears a gas mask, one an Asian beard, one long "skater" hair, and one just appears to be a 'sack-man'.
The fact that they have featured such a variety of people signifies that the appeals to the 'everyman'. This may subliminally act to attract the customer. Although I say this, I am not completely sure of my beliefs, as the image does not include any women, and so couldn't truly appeal to everyone.
The style of the illustration appeals to the younger generation, meaning teenagers. I would also add that it may attract infants, due to the title, but then again, the album has not been marketed towards them specifically, and so may not reach them. Yes, infants would be more attracted to this if the colours were brighter - but the design manages to better appeal to the target audience with more mature pastel colours.

I have personally bought this CD, as it was recommended to me by a friend before the band became mainstream. Saying this, they are not very mainstream, even now, and I know this as my friends have not heard of them. This is probably because they were broadcast on XFM, and on MTV2, as opposed to their favourites: KISS, and MTV Base.
I think the album would give the audience a sense of their own identity or a feeling of belonging, as you have to be quite keen on music to know about them. This is because they appeal to quite a niche market, which is the 'indie-alternative fans'. I have chosen to analyse The Maccabee's Album, as this is the band that I used for my artist research.
The group's name is written in full, as they need to promote themselves as this was their first album, and not everyone knows of them yet.

The font used for "the maccabees" is all lower case, which juxatposes "colour it in" which is all in capitals. Although the general idea of capital lettering is supposed to be bolder and more eye-catching, I personally find that it works in the opposite way. The lower case "the maccabees" is more attractive to my eye; which is enhanced by the fact that it is printed larger than "colour it in". The colour choice works effectively, as the white of "the maccabees" stands out against the black background; and the alternating colours of "colour it in" fit in with the phrase, and match those used for the image below.

B. Nicholson describes this album as a "set of art-pop confections" and being "short on bite and big on cutesy, cuddly songs". To me, this links in, as the phrase "colour it in" evokes childhood.

The image, bluntly described, is a group of simplified cartoon men, of different nationalities, coloured in with a selection of 3 block colours: beige, lilac and eggs-shell blue. One 'man' wears a gas mask, one an Asian beard, one long "skater" hair, and one just appears to be a 'sack-man'.
The fact that they have featured such a variety of people signifies that the appeals to the 'everyman'. This may subliminally act to attract the customer. Although I say this, I am not completely sure of my beliefs, as the image does not include any women, and so couldn't truly appeal to everyone.
The way that the men are all drawn to be facing in one particular direction evokes an image of an audience. Maybe this is the audience that once came to see their show?

The style of the illustration appeals to the younger generation, meaning teenagers. I would also add that it may attract infants, due to the title, but then again, the album has not been marketed towards them specifically, and so may not reach them. Yes, infants would be more attracted to this if the colours were brighter - but the design manages to better appeal to the target audience with more mature pastel colours.

I have personally bought this CD, as it was recommended to me by a friend before the band became mainstream. Saying this, they are not very mainstream, even now, and I know this as my friends have not heard of them. This is probably because they were broadcast on XFM, and on MTV2, as opposed to their favourites: KISS, and MTV Base.
I think the album would give the audience a sense of their own identity or a feeling of belonging, as you have to be quite keen on music to know about them. This is because they appeal to quite a niche market, which is the 'indie-alternative fans'.

WALL OF ARMS - (ALBUM 2)

I have noticed that their second album's layout is similar to their first - men with glasses are arranged at different levels.

NOTES:

Research....

[[[ Review from Barry Nicolson http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-maccabees/10389]]]

Bookish tendencies are by no means a bad thing, but there’s always been an air of wimpy feyness about The Maccabees that suggests Orlando Weeks and his crew spent their art-school days stalking the corridors like nerve-wracked velociraptors, bobbing their heads appreciatively at fetching pairs of clogs. So while 2007 debut ‘Colour It In’ was a commendable set of art-pop confections, it was short on bite and big on cutesy, cuddly songs with titles like ‘Toothpaste Kisses’. The solution? Simple: The Maccabees have ‘gone dark’. Or at least, darker.By now you’re probably familiar with ‘No Kind Words’, given away as a free download and a genuine departure for the band, with Weeks’ dispassionate delivery about “Tempting disaster, testing water with another’s daughter” and Rupert Jarvis’ oscillating bassline lending a sense of gloom to proceedings. Suddenly there’s lovelorn cynicism where once there was doe-eyed optimism and songs about swimming pools, and this suits them a lot better. If nothing else quite matches ‘No Kind Words’, a lot comes close. ‘Colour It In’ was troubled by lack of cohesion; as Weeks himself has admitted, it felt like a collection of songs rather than an actual album, and a lot of them were merely pleasant diversions until the next single came along. That’s not the case with ‘Wall Of Arms’; from the anguished opener ‘Love You Better’ on, this feels more complete than its predecessor. There are subtle Arcade Fire influences (no doubt encouraged by ‘Neon Bible’ producer Markus Dravs) on the military march of ‘Can You Give It’ and the scratchy ‘Seventeen Hands’, while ‘One Hand Holding’ has a whimsical ’80s pop feel that’s underscored by more inner turmoil (“Why would you kill it before it dies?” demands Weeks). In fact, only when they revert to their puppyish former ways – like the title track, or the hatefully nice ‘Dinosaurs’ – is the spirit of Athlete terrifyingly summoned, like some over-amiable djinn from the ether. That aside, ‘Wall Of Arms’ sounds mostly effortless and unstudied. No longer too pop to be art and too art to be pop, The Maccabees are evolving into their own entity. We can’t wait to see where it takes them.

Positives & Negatives: Filming of the Party.

WHAT WENT WELL:-

The main characters in the narrative [the girl, and the young boy] met the day before, in order to build an aquaintance.

The young boy didn't feel comfortable with giving the girl a kiss on the cheek. In order to overcome this, we used his sister. We put the girls' costume and mask onto his sister, who has a similar appearance.

People co-operated mostly, by dancing.

In the end, the main girl was the only one who wore a mask. This meant that she stood out really well in the frame.

The handheld movements made it appear realistic. Also, it meant that people were more comfortable dancing, and being themselves; a camera on a tripod can seem quite daunting,
whereas a friend with a camera relaxes the actors.

The actors/extras in the movie often approach the camera, addressing the viewer, thus making them feel included in the party. Other shots where no-one approaches the camera seem more voyeuristic, and give the feeling of watching the party from the side of the room.




WHAT DIDN'T:-

The main characters in the narrative met the day before, in order to build an aquaintance. We hoped that this would encourage the small boy to be OK with giving the girl a kiss on the cheek. However, understandably, the boy didn't feel comfortable with it on the night.

We encountered some difficulty when dealing with the young boy. From hindsight, we should have predicted that, realistically, a young boy would not want to be involved in an adult-house-party; dancing amongst a crowd; wearing a Fox mask; or kissing the cheek of a stranger (me).
We found that the young boy was hard to co-operate with, in that he became tired, embarrassed, and disobeying.

People did not want to wear the masks that I had made. The boys who came to the party were too worried about the mask ruining their 'hard' appearance'; and the girls were concerned about their make-up. This meant that the movie did not come out as we had expected.

There was a lack of co-operation, when trying to congregate people into a particular room. We needed everyone to gather in one area, in order to give the impression of a full house. But quite a few shots only have a few people in the frame.

There was no trouble inviting girls to our party (as we attend an all girls' school); but we had to try harder in order to get boys to come. In the end, boys did indeed come. However, they were friends of friends, and they were not of the "INDIE" appearance that we required. The boys appear to be more suiting to a "RAP" video; they did not wear skinny jeans, plimsoles, or checkered shirts; and they danced like "chavs", as opposed to "indies".

I made 4 variations of bunny mask

I've made variations of the bunny, and the fox, masks. The reason being, so that the video will be more visually interesting; and so that it will make the people coming to the party more excited (and encourage them to come all the way to Epping, from Enfield). But, the main reason, is so that the main Fox and main Bunny can have a 'Better Mask'; so that they can appear more important in the frame. We plan to decorate the main masks in an interesting and eye-catching way; maybe with the use of Swarovski crystals.

I have collected card, so that the masks will be durable. The pieces of card for the Fox maks are orange and red. The pieces of card for the Bunny masks are white and grey.

NOTE: As you can see, the masks lack "Bunny-noses". We plan to draw them onto the guests' noses as they arrive, perhaps with black eyeliner. We could also add "Bunny-whiskers" to their cheeks.