For our magazine advertisement we will also use the theme of polaroids, to continue loyalty to the rest of the promotional package. There is not a set template for a magazine advertisement, but there are certain codes and conventions to be upheld;
album and artist name
information about the album
suitable artwork that matches the rest of the promotional package
As there is no set template, we have more flexibility with how we can make our magazine advertisement. For example, we could have one large polaroid as the whole poster, or have a series with different photographs on.
These are our four initial designs. The photos are taken from the internet or low quality images of an actor, but we will take our own original photographs for the final version of our magazine advertisement.
As polaroid photos are one of the main elements of our music promo video, we decided to include this in our ancillary tasks too. Continuity is important so using the symbol of a polaroid across the whole promotional package will continue brand loyalty.
This is a template with standard dimensions for a digipak. We will base our designs on this. There are four sides, the front cover, back cover, inside and the disc cover. There is also the spine on the outside of the pack. Therefore we have 5 separate elements of it to design.
We were inspired by Taylor Swift's digipak for her album 1989. She used the idea of polaroids throughout this digipak, which gives a sense of nostalgia to the album.
There are certain conventions we have to include in our digipak so that it meets its purpose;
the album and artist names
track list
record label
continuation of theme from the video/advert
These are our 6 initial designs. We took some images from the internet and some low quality images of an actor to create these. We would take our own HD photographs and create our own graphics for the final version.
Using the results of our survey and the lyrics analysis, we came up with 5 initial ideas for our music video: Idea 1: Establishing shots of a city at night, the male protagonist walks aimlessly down a street. As he passes he sees a variety of people having fun and enjoying themselves. Everyone is in muted colours, with a dark mise en scene. The he sees a girl at the end of the street who is wearing bright colours. There is a montage of them together, before he ends up in bed the next morning not remembering anything. He gets up for the day and finds a polaroid from the night before with instructions written on. He follows these instructions to find the girl, and eventually sees her at a train station, where she waves before vanishing. Idea 2: Photographer waking up unenthusiastically, ready for a photoshoot. Line about repetition - repeated shots of him getting ready and walking the same way in different clothes. He sees the girl he's taking photos of and he is intrigued by her. After the photoshoot she leaves a polaroid in his pocket, he follows the instructions on it and ends up in a final destination with her. Idea 3: Boy sees a girl on a shopping channel on multiple TV screens in the window of an old TV shop. He then tries to find her and follow her. Consumerism is addictive and causes him to worship it. Idea 4:
A girl has a vial of a solution called 'worshipper'. She gets ready to go out on a date, she puts some of the vial into the boy's drink. He drinks it and begins worshipping her. She walks down the street with him following her, she smiles before he pushes her and it smashes on the floor. The solution turns into gas before spreading around, suddenly lots of boys begin following her as they've been infected by the solution. Shots of her dancing with them, the boys doing things for her such as painting her nails. Role reversal - dominant woman. Idea 5: Montage style video of clips of a boyfriend and girlfriend together.
Favourite Music Video: Panic! At The Disco - 'Girls, Girls, Boys'. 'In particular, I like the interesting concept and aesthetic of the video. The music video is very simple and switches between only four different shot sizes.'
Most Important Feature in Music Videos: 'I like seeing the band performing their song because it makes the video seem more authentic.'
We want our music video to relate to our target audience - what do you suggest we do to achieve this? 'Keep the music video fast paced with regular cuts, as a teenager loses interest easily. I think narrative music videos are very good, however, in some instances they are too philosophical and not relatable to the viewer, if you are going to do a narrative music video base it around universal themes that are easy for young people to understand.'
Rebecca Bradley, 19
Favourite Music Genre: Rap, R&B
Favourite Music Artist: Blackbear
Favourite Music Video: Twenty One Pilots - 'Stressed Out'. 'It catches my attention and the music video makes me relate to the song even more'.
Most Important Feature in Music Videos: 'The quality is very important and keeping the editing simple so its easy to follow, but I like it when the music video is more detailed and elaborate'.
We want our music video to relate to our target audience - what do you suggest we do to achieve this? 'Listen to the song and try to live it, link that with the song and make the video with that vision'.
Abdullah Khan, 17
Favourite Music Genre: Pop
Favourite Music Artist: Ryan Tedder
Favourite Music Video: One Republic - 'If I Lose Myself'. 'It's my favourite song and I feel the director has matched the visuals to the music really well. The narrative video allows a variety of different stories to be told and intertwined in a single night, and it is a very clever interpretation of the song.'
Most Important Feature in Music Videos: 'The artist and their character. It needs to be honest, fans of a band know when their favourite artists present their art form well, e.g. it adheres to their particular style.'
We want our music video to relate to our target audience - what do you suggest we do to achieve this? 'The subject of the video needs to be aimed at your target audience and needs to interest them.'
Zach Penman, 17
Favourite Music Genre: Pop/Alternative
Favourite Music Artist: Sam Smith
Favourite Music Video: Sam Smith - 'Stay With Me'.
Most Important Feature in Music Videos: 'To portray the song well and meaningfully represent the lyrics.'
We want our music video to relate to our target audience - what do you suggest we do to achieve this? 'Make sure it is relevant to teenagers nowadays and what they would enjoy, and make sure it's original.'
Our target audience is male and female 16-24 year olds, who enjoy listening to alternative music. I created a survey in order to research our target audience. I kept it open for 24 hours, promoting it on social media, and we had 50 respondents. These are the results we received:
I first asked two demographic questions, so I would know how much of the results came from our target audience. 63% of the respondents were female, and 72% aged 16-24, showing that the majority of the answers on the survey would be from our target audience. The next highest age group was 15 or under, with 18%, so we have to ensure that our video is also appropriate for this age group as they may be watching it too.
I then asked about the respondent's favourite genre of music. I provided 8 options of the most popular music genres, and also added an 'other' option, for people to add their own music genres. As expected, the most popular music genre was 'pop', with 34% of people choosing this option. The next popular was 'alternative', which is our chosen genre for our music video. We received a number of 'other' responses, including 'indie', which is another way to describe the music we have chosen. Therefore we know that an 'alternative' video would be popular with out target audience.
I asked how many people actually watch music videos as knowing how much of our target audience would watch a music video is important. The answer was 50% yes and 46% sometimes, so it is safe to say our music video would be watched by our target audience.
I asked what they think the purpose of a music video is, so we would know what way to make our video in. 64% of people says 'to give a visual representation of the song', so this is what we will bear in mind while making our video. 26% said to promote the single/album, which is the usual purpose of a music video. It is therefore important that the track we are using is portrayed in the best way possible to make people want to listen to it or buy it.
Finally, I asked what the respondents would want to see in a music video. This was a multiple choice question, where they could pick more than one. I added 7 choices and included an 'other' option, so people could suggest other things they wanted to see. The most popular option was 'a storyline/narrative', with 60%. Therefore we will ensure we use a narrative in our music video. 'Acting', 'the artist', and 'the band/artist playing instruments' were equal, with 30%, so we will include these in the video too. We received 6 'other' responses, where people wanted things that relate to the song and express it in a visual manner. We will bear these opinions in mind when creating our video to ensure our target audience is satisfied and will enjoy the video.
'New Religion' by The Heydaze was released on April 14th 2017 as a single. 'Sonically, it's a companion to our first single, 'Hurt Like Hell,' with it's jangly guitar line and anthemic chorus. The song describes the monotony of everyday life, but how meeting the right person can make life feel meaningful and exciting again.' Since being released, its become one of their most popular songs, with over 800,000 plays on Spotify.
LYRICS ANALYSIS
The chorus is then repeated, and the song ends with echoes of 'You're waking me up in the morning'.
Island Records is a British record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group, founded in 1959. When it was sold to PolyGram in 1989, it was one of the largest independent record labels in history, having exerted a major influence on the progressive UK music scene in the early 1970s. They have three labels; UK, US, and Australia. The UK roster includes notable artists such as Ariana Grande, U2, Hozier, and Catfish and the Bottlemen. Due to the label's previous legacy, Island remains one of UMG's prominent record labels. In a 50th anniversary documentary, Island Records artist Melissa Etheridge said: 'If you want to look at world music, music of the last fifty years that changed the world, you need to look no further than Island Records.' Island Records most commonly sign indie artists, so their music videos would like use indie and alternative music video characteristics, as mentioned in a previous blog post. One of their most popular artists, Catfish and the Bottlemen, have music videos that are mostly in black and white. Hozier uses fated and busted colour grading, and U2's videos often feature them performing in unusual locations. Therefore, Island's music videos usually support the stereotypes of their genre, so we will refer to these to create a video in keeping with Island's preferences.
The Heydaze are self described purveyors of 'windows down/stereo up' jams. They are heavily inspired by Oasis and Tame Impala, worshipping their unique sounds and anthem choruses. They formed in 2013 after meeting in college, and released their debut ep in 2015. They have an authentic chemistry and camaraderie as a band. 'We like cheering each other on', says Jesse, 'but we can also be brutally honest to each other without taking it personally'. This comes across in their music allowing them to create a unique blend of pop and alt-rock, with messages that truly resonate. Their lyrics are honest and relatable to their listeners. 'We want to write about, sing about, play about things that every person has felt, and then say it in a way they've never heard before,' says Alexander. All the members are multi-instrumental, which helps their writing process. The fusion of their different styles and influences creates their evolving sound. Alt-rock is a style of rock music that emerged from the independent music scene in the 1980s. Alternative refers to their indie origins, and the originality in the music that differentiates it from the rock genre. Nirvana could be described as alt-rock, as well as U2 and Muse. The Heydaze take influence from this genre, primarily the intense, high-energy verses that contrast emotional choruses and verses.
When choosing the song for our music video, it was important to first gain permission to use the track. Copyright laws state that the creator has exclusive rights to their original work as a method of preventing plagiarism. To avoid being penalised for using the track we had to ask the artist permission for a 'fair use agreement'. This means that we would be able to use the track for a non-profit use, so the music video on YouTube couldn't be monetised. Due to the artist's activity on social media, we decided it would be most effective to contact them this way. We messaged them on Facebook to ask for permission, and this means we were able to keep their reply as evidence, should the copyright be questioned. Below is the message from my partner, Rhiannon, and the response we received:
Sundara Karma are an English indie/pop band. The band consists of singer/guitarist Oscar Pollock, lead guitarist Ally Baty, bassist Dom Cordell and drummer Haydn Evans. The band's name is derived from Sanskrit words, meaning 'beautiful karma'. They released their debut single 'Freshbloom' in July 2013, and performed at Reading Festival that year.
LYRICS
MISE EN SCENE
The video has 3 main sections with different sets, lighting and costume. The first one is a family in a living room, which has an old fashioned style. The floral wallpaper and dull yellow colour of the sofa are reminiscent of typical 1970s decor. The lighting is normal, daylight style, with more shadow on the left side of the shot. The costume is plain, each member of the family wearing a different block coloured jumper.
The second set features the band performing. It, too, uses elements that reminisce of the 1970s, with old fashioned televisions in the background of the shot. The scene is dark, giving the idea of is only being lit but the television screens. However, there would be lights offscreen lighting the band members. They are all wearing black and playing their instruments.
Throughout the video there an a number of cutaways to old video footage, such as people dancing or the army. These are bad quality, with grainy footage and in black and white, sepia, or very faded colours. These cutaways cold represent the shadows in Plato's allegory, the subject of the song.
SYNOPSIS
This video is a performance/concept based video. The conceptual parts relate to the subject of the song, Plato's allegory. The old video footage could represent the shadows, and the family repeating motions over and over could be the prisoners. The performance is a typical performance shot in a music video, where the band play and the singer lip syncs.
KEY MOMENTS
0:00-0:02 - As found in most alternative music videos, the video opens with strobe style textures, which then overlay onto the first shot. These give the effect of an old fashioned style, which is a trend in the indie genre.
0:02-0:08 - This establishing shot introduces the family characters, in an interesting way. It is a pan to the left revealing only a portion of the people's bodies.
0:12-0:20 - The family repetitively shake their heads throughout the video, in time with the music. There is a conveyor belt in front of them, and at this point four mugs come onscreen. The family drink from them and put them back down, on the last beat of the introduction.
0:21-0:25 - The first performance shot is the start of the vocals, and is a mid shot of the singer lip syncing into the camera, the conventional way to do a performance shot.
0:29-0:31 - This old video footage is of a freak weather accident, where a house is blown over. It is hard to know if this footage is genuine footage, as it looks very old, however the old effect is realistic, and it would be difficult to recreate on a modern camera.
0:36-0:40 - A takeaway meal comes onscreen on the conveyor belt in front of the family, and they pick up cutlery. These shots are repetitive throughout the video, where the family interact with each object that is on the conveyor belt.
1:00-1:04 - The harmony of the songs drops out at this point, and the singer onscreen lets go of his guitar and lip syncs into the camera. Not playing his instrument here matches the music.
1:06-1:08 - This old video cutaway is the titles from an old cartoon. Further research into this has found it is an actual cartoon, 'Ali Baba the Mad Dog of the Desert', from the 1940s. Therefore I can conclude that all the old video footage is genuine, and as there are some army shots, these could be from WW2.
1:09-1:10 - A spiral effect, where the camera goes inside the old fashioned televisions.
1:20-1:22 - The family scene again, but this time the dad character is replaced by a member of the band, even wearing the dad's blue jumper. This could represent how the singer feels he is one of the prisoner's in Plato's allegory. The family represent the prisoners in their odd reality, and the band member is part of that.
1:24-1:25 - The same thing is used, where the girl is replaced by a band member. He is wearing the same pink jumper the girl had on.
1:27-1:28 - The boy is replaced this time, with a band member wearing his green jumper. The family are still shaking their heads but the band member isn't, highlighting him as different.
1:33-1:35 - Finally, the lead singer takes the place of the mum in the family, wearing the white jumper. As they shake their heads, he looks directly at the camera and leans on the table, juxtaposing how the mum would behave.
2:08-2:11 - The lead singer lip syncs to the song in a different location - sitting on the sofa where the family are. It is a close up so we can't see the rest of the family.
2:41-2:45 - This shot mirrors the opening shot of the video. It is a pan to the left of the band members sitting on the sofa, wearing the same jumpers as the family was.
3:40-3:47 - There is a crossfade from the family on the sofa, to a series of tv screens against the floral wallpaper, all showing old tv shows.
The Hunna are an English alternative rock band from Hertfordshire formed in 2015. The members are singer/guitarist Ryan Potter, lead guitarist Dan Dorney, bassist Jermaine Angin, and drummer Jack Metcalfe. They take inspiration from a variety of artists, including Kings of Leon and Queen. Their debut album 100 was released in August 2016, which debuted at#3 on the UK Indie Chart. They have headlined at Reading and Leeds Festival, and toured the UK in January 2017.
LYRICS
MISE EN SCENE
Overall the video has a faded and muted colour grade over it, which is typical of indie music videos. A number of old and abandoned looking locations are used, further emphasising the style of the song. The first 4 shots of the video are very short establishing shots, showing the locations that will be used later on in the video. There are also credits over these shots, a convention only found in alternative music videos. These are the record labels and production company for the music video. The name of the band, title of the song and director of the music video are then over the next shots. After these credits the video properly starts, with a drum kick starting the main part of the song.
Some thing else that is used often in alternative music videos is overlays. In this video there are overlays and cutaways to textures and words that add to the 'indie' feeling of the video.
SYNOPSIS
This video is a performance video, where the majority of the video is the band playing the song. The rest of the video is made up of cutaways to people dancing and drinking, and there are tableaux style shots of the 'concert' attendees looking at the camera.
KEY MOMENTS
0:00-0:02 - The video opens with fast cuts of different overlays, reminiscent of old films. This is followed by a shot of the band, establishing who they are and introducing them to the viewers. 0:02-0:12 - There are a number of establishing shots of the various locations that will be used in the video. On these shots are the credits for the video and the track; record label, producers, band, song title, and the video director. 0:13-0:23 - This is where the video properly starts. There has been singing before this, but at 0:13 there is a drum kick and overlays onscreen that match the rhythm of the drums. The song picks up here, and the action onscreen matches it. There are a number of handheld style, mid and close-up shots showing a party happening. Alcohol and drinking games are shown, as well as some slow motion shots of the people enjoying themselves. 0:23-0:25 - This is the first of many 'profiles' of people in the video. Throughout the video, close up shots with a shallow depth of field are used to show the other people in the video. Sometimes they look directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, or they do certain actions such as smoking. 0:28-0:48 - This is where the chorus starts, and the first time we see the band performing in the video. There is a notable change in the style of filming for performance sections, while it is still handheld, the cuts are a lot faster and there is more movement. For example, at 0:29, there is an upward pan going up the guitarist. This is split in two, as a cutaway to a different shot comes halfway through the pan. This broken up style is used often, emphasising the relaxed style of the video. This could be linked to the laid-back attitude of people who have been drinking, who just care about having a good time. 0:49-0:51 - Another profile style shot, this time of a group of people. These shots are almost like living photos, where the people pose as though a photo is being taken of them, but there is slow motion movement. In this, there are some close ups of members of the group, where the other people are out of focus behind them. 0:58-1:02 - A number of shots of people dancing to the music. The first of these is a girl dancing, looking directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall. The other shots are of people dancing at the party, in slow motion. These are mostly close ups, again in the handheld style to show the movement of the people. 1:03-1:36 - Again, the chorus has the band performing. This chorus is slightly longer, but the style of filming is the same as the previous camera. The handheld and broken up style continues, with the fast cuts matching the pace of the song. 1:37-1:44 - A piñata is used in these shots, seeming out of place with the dark, grungy atmosphere of the video. However, it could be seen that the piñata represents the relationship discussed in the song. The singer is leaving the relationship behind, and the breaking of the piñata could represent the destruction of the relationship. 2:04-2:18 - This is the longest shot in the video, lasting 14 seconds. It is an extreme slow motion shot, with the band and the other people all crowded together. This is at a slow moment in the song, so the slow motion fits well. They are throwing streamers, glitter and confetti up into the air, seemingly in celebration. This could be celebrating the end of the relationship in the song. When the music picks up again, as it goes into a third chorus, there are a couple of shots of the same scene but up to normal speed. These shots cut in time with the guitar introduction to the chorus. 2:18-2:26 - There are fast cuts that fit with the fast chorus, cutting between the band playing and more 'profile' shots of people. 2:42-2:50 - The last note of the song is sustained as the singer turns away from the microphone. There are a number of shots of the people watching cheering and shouting, but these have no sound. 2:51-2:54 - A forward pan towards the singer sitting on the empty rooftop. There are strobe style overlays as it cuts to the singer in the same place, but this time with people dancing behind him. 2:55-2:56 - More overlays as it cuts to a spilled drink lying on the ground, the remains of the party. 2:56-2:58 - The final shot in the video is of the singer and the band members moving towards the camera, looking directly into it which breaks the fourth wall.
