Digipack studies

Here are a selection of existing digipacks that were analysed for my own dig pack research. The analysis of digipacks belonging to current artists allowed us to make decisions during the production as to the usage of appropriate fonts, colour combinations, cover composition.

My EP poster

Here is the finished poster design for my EP advertisement poster.

I made the poster in Adobe Photoshop by taking a drawing of the album cover. I used line tools to accentuate some of the shadowing and make the band logo more defined, after that I inverted the photo. Inverting the photo made the main cover design a white colour connoting purity, I did this because I wanted the cover to be a symbol; purity and positivity struggling in a dark, bleak universe yet still holding on. The text was sized and then added over the top of the image. It is in a clear yet slightly unconventional font, this is so that the poster design shares the genre ideologies, it is positive and show business in style but it contrasts with the darker nature of the album cover.



Below is my feedback from other media studies  students. The featured poster is my final poster prior to the finishing touches made to the text, image and colour contrast. The feedback helped to understand the emotions that the poster invokes in other people.

Music Video Storyboard - Feel Good Inc.

Sub Culture video - Paramore - Now

Band: Paramore
 
Genre: Alternative/Pop punk
Track: 'Now'
Directed by: Daniel "Cloud" Campos
 
Paramore's music video for their single 'Now' is a highly relevant video to the Alternative youth sub-culture. The video is about a war against oppressive behaviour, the suppression of individuality and the inevitable triumph of those who show love and compassion. Universal platonic love is an Alternative ideology that I have explored in my 'Youth  Sub-culture' study.

The side that the band are fighting is the side of love. This is made clear in the establishing shot of the video showing the two 'sides' of the conflict the production portrays. On the right side of the shot the pink hue of the fog and the bright hair of the singer, the pink hue and bright hair connoting happiness and love contrasts against dark form of the opponent and greyness of the fog, connoting lack of identity as well as oppression and lack of expression. The idea of the enemy being seen as oppressive is supported by the use of a grenade prop and his dark and heavy costume. The grenade shows how his power is something physically obtained through force and the costume, the trench coat especially, carries connotations of Nazism from the trench coat's popularity with the Third Reich's SS. From this the video alludes conflict (Strauss'  theory of media) to the audience in the form of this initial stand off.

The band takes on the role of anti-totalitarian rebels. Their costume is simple and ragged, this connotes many things: the simplicity of the clothing shows how love is a stripped down emotion, that love is something everyone has no matter who they are class or wealth wise and finally, that even the lowest regarded people by society can rise up and become powerful, not through material advantage but through the shear power of love. The band's concentration of love stems from their religious beliefs, yet they are liberal with their ideologies making the band more of a humanitarian band than a religious one, even though their religion of Christianity is a dominant feature in their music.

During the first chorus at 1:25 the lead singer, Hayley Williams, is walking through the battlefield untouched by the conflict around her. She is a symbol for love and positive ideas, this is shown by the colour of her hair being bright and her make-up having a white hue connoting purity and simplicity, linking to her costume. The symbol of the lead singer being untouched by the conflict portrays the idea of love's indestructible nature, no matter what happens around it, love will always stride forwards. Furthermore, the shot composition of Hayley  in the middle of the shot shows how she is the subject and she is almost detached from the conflict because she is the symbol for love itself, this idea can be re-enforced by the close-up of her at 1:38, it shows her facial expression that she is unfazed and defiant in the face of negativity. This part of the video shows how true love is not tainted by conflict.

At 1:52 the coloured smoke furthers the prevalence of bright colours in the music video. The colours stand out making the band's presence more dominant in the shots, enforcing Andrew Goodwin's music video theory of artist presence.  The natural lighting frames the subject against the sky creating a silhouette, this is almost a form of religious imagery, showing power and divinity. This idea is further supported by the low camera angle making the subject look tall and powerful e.i. a symbol for the power of love. However, at 2:18 the enemy forces apply gasmasks, this portrays the message that the things that supress the spread of love are adapt and are hard to beat, highlighting that the fight for unity and love is not an easy one. At 2:46 the band members seem defeated and are beaten by their enemies, their blood appears brightly coloured powder furthering the use of colour contrast techniques into the video. Furthermore, the sudden domination of the mise-en-scene by the brightly coloured powder is a visual manifestation of the audio's crescendo prior to the chorus, this links the to the association of on-screen visuals and the audio in music videos, part of Goodwin's narrative theory.

Even though the cause of the band seems hopeless, the low angle shots of the soldiers makes them look dominating and powerful yet, the band keeps fighting on. It can be suggested that this represents how seeing the victims of violence increases human sympathy and love for those people, that seeing them suffer unjustly drives people to fight against oppressive forces. This gives the lead singer the strength to keep fighting and break through the enemy ranks.
 
The climax of the video involves the lead singer finally breaking through to the leader of the oppressive forces and hugging him, making him see the light. This is literally manifested by the sun's brightness intensifying when this happens, the use of lighting connotes happiness and victory, the darkness ending. These emotions are verified by the close-up shots of the band member's faces, allowing the audience to see their relief and happiness at finally winning the war.

This music video is almost the perfect video that would appeal to my chosen sub-culture. The video's content correlates in a plethora of ways with the Alternative lifestyle and ideologies. Whether it's the theme of the spread of love and positivity, the use of bright colours and simple clothing or the anti-right wing political messages. There is no reason why any Alternative rocker should not love this music video.

Sub-culture and sub-genre research - Altnernative Rock

ABC Transition Project - Editing

Here is my ABC Transition Project to practice editing, parallel to music. This task helps to understand the editing software before starting our main artefact, therefore making our time in post production more efficient and of higher quality.

Editing tempo is key to the production of music videos. In this exercise I practiced



Editing software: Adobe Premiere Pro.

Music Video analysis #3 - Biblical - Biffy Clyro (2013)

The music video for Biffy Clyro's 'Biblical' explores life's cyclical structure through a repetitive storyline, as well as showing how some parts of life are inevitable no matter what you do.

The opening shot involves a close-up of the lead singer of Biffy Clyro, Simon Neil. Immediately Goodwin's theory of artist image is adhered to, the close-up allows the artist's face and tattoos to be seen in detail. The combination of the close-up shot and the use of a prop bed creates a sense of intimacy with the artist and the audience, which in turn links to the deep and sincere content of the lyrics .

The close-up of the telephone prop is used a narrative device as a symbol for new beginnings. The use of the telephone ring being much louder than the music highlight's it's role as a key aspect of the video's narrative.

The costume, hair and make-up in this shot is typical of the alt rock genre that Biffy Clyro belong to.dc The dark costume of the vest and shirt, juxtapose the orange background of the set, the vibrant tattoos on his shoulder and the dark hairstyle creating a clustered mise-en-scene to contrast with the next scene few shots of the video

Music Video Analysis #2 - The Neighbourhood - Let It Go (2012)

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The Neighbourhood's, music video for their track, Let it Go explores the themes of the corruption of capitalism and the persecution of women.
Their opening title is sans-serif , which is done in a 1950s style font, this connotes to ideas of the old and how capitalism and patriarchal societies that should be left in the past are still here, but becomes evident later on. The title screen is inter-textual with other videos by The Neighbourhood, the same title screen is also seen in Sweater Weather and Afraid; this links to the prevalence of the artist image, mentioned in Goodwin's narrative theory.
The mise-en-scene involves a close-up of a woman doing her nails. From the start of the video this foreshadows the messages of the product and introduces the fact that this music video is actually filmed from the perspective of a woman, a housewife who holds up a positive façade in the face of blatant lack of gender equality.

In this shot of the housewife character is going about the everyday, stereotypical life of a 1950s woman. Props like cookies are used as well as make-up, necklaces, feather dusters, wireless radios and cooking utensils. These items are regularly associated with the stereotypical, domestic life of a woman during the 50s, and were considered everyday essentials for the married females of that period.
The lighting lights the room well, allowing the audience to properly see the environment she's in and let them make the sexist link to women and kitchens. Furthermore, her face is well lit so that her forced expression of positivity can be easily identified, highlighting the repression of her emotions by society of the time.
The rule of thirds is also taken into account with the character's position being off-set to the right from the centre.

In this second shot (below) the lighting on set is reduced to create a darker scene with more shadows, connoting the darker nature of this section of the music video and how this is what she actually feels when not in the 'light' of social pressure. This darker scene juxtaposes the earlier scene and involves the housewife smashing the plate of cookies, a symbol for her domestication and her rejecting it. Furthermore, the housewife's hair and make up are made to look messy to denote her anger and frustration at keeping up the façade of positivity.
Throughout the music video the pattern of scenes depicting expectation and reality are repeated, this applies the same message of repression to different situations.

 

This second scene depicts a bedroom setting with both the housewife and husband. The bedroom setting is significant because it is meant to present an intimate scenario when in actuality it just shows how even in the most private areas women are still oppressed. The housewife is serving the husband, who is lying in bed, she is also getting dressed into her elaborate, un-revealing nighty while he sits there in a plain white t-shirt with underwear on. This depicts the idea of gender expectations and roles in the past, more was expected of women. However, this music video seems to empower women: the juxtaposing darker scenes show her expressing herself and seeing through the fickle nature of society her higher position in many of the shots involving her husband connotes power and control. The significance of the fact that we see her pulling off her tights and putting on her bra straps links to Goodwin's narrative theory and the presence of voyeurism in most music videos. Onscreen relation to the music can also be seen by the nature of the mise-en-scene changing with the tempo and pitch of the music e.g. the use of lighting in relation to the music like previously explored.

Yet again, the lighting is bright a harsh to suggest an air of normality and positive attitude. Props like the teacup are a symbol for upper classes as well as the domestication of her role in life.

The juxtaposing scene afterwards yet again uses the light to denote her view when she is not exposed, when she's in the shadows. The positions of her hands on her face suggest pure anguish in life and the make-up running down her face as a result of tears, re-enforces her negative emotions. Furthermore, her wedding ring is clearly visible on her hand connoting that perhaps marriage is a huge factor, if not the cause of her oppression. The double of her to the right of the shot is yelling at the husband who lays sleeping, in bed. The fact that there's a double suggests that there is so much that needs to be expressed that the director needed to incorporate her twice into the shot. Moreover, the two people showing different emotions is schizophrenic imagery linking to how the patriarchy is literally driving her mad. The only proper lighting falls across the face of the close-up of the housewife on the left. This helps the audience to see her emotion in more detail.

The mise-en-scene in this shot below shows the couple previously seen in the video and another couple sitting around a table, a staple image of everyday life furthering the impact of the everywoman idea. The touching of wine glasses connotes happiness and cheer as well as wealth and is the focus of this particular shot with the wine glasses being positioned in the centre of frame. After the previous two scenes within the video this situation seems like a total fabrication to the audience and makes it impossible to miss the over exaggerated emotions of the characters.
The costume of the male characters are suits linking to the almost completely male role in business at the time, the hairstyles of the men are similar as well highlighting the generality of men and enforcing the 'everyman' character in the music video.
The setting seems like a regular middle class dining room, yet again alluding to the theme of these characters being any one. They're normal people. Furthermore, the slightly elevated camera angle connotes and idea of false security, that these people are not as powerful as they think.

The final transition into darkness during the video comments on many more issues apart from female oppression. The housewife looks at the camera and puts her glasses on the lens, as this happens the lighting turns darker and her make-up runs just like previously in the video. This breaks the 4th wall and creates the impression that the characters know the audience is watching, the inclusion of the audience increases the power of the message behind the video because it is directly communicated with he viewer. This validates the previously conceived notion that the dark scenes are from her perspective. Furthermore, her glasses being put on the camera allows the audience to literally see the world as she sees it. Afterwards we see the male characters eating money instead of food and smoking roles of notes connoting to the vulgarity of capitalism. The cigar of bank notes is a close up because it forces the audience to concentrate on that symbol. The editing increase pace at this climax of the video to possibly show the chaos of materialism and how erratic society has made people.

The Neighbourhood's music video for 'Let It Go' (2012) is a commentary on the social injustices of our time and how they seem to be just as prevalent as they were 60+ years ago. The video comments on capitalism, oppression of women and the fickle nature of people. This links well in my studied sub-culture also, because the attitude towards the division of people in the Alternative culture is that we should concentrate on love and humanity not greed and individual success.

Gorillaz - Band - Who are they?

Gorillaz are a fictional animated band of the alternative Pop rock genre. The band only has four members yet in actuality it takes 9 musicians or more to bring the Gorillaz to life, including the lead singer of Blur, Damon Albarn. Created in 1998, the Gorillaz created their own unique alternative genre in the 14 years of the group’s existence; elements of rock, hip hop and pop converge in the music of the Gorillaz.

- 2D

Date of Birth: 23/5/78

Birth Name: Stuart Pot

Place of Birth: Unknown

- Murdoc

Date of Birth: 06/6/66

Place of Birth: Stoke-on-Trent, Britain

Band Role:  Bassist

- Noodle

Date of Birth: 31/10/90.

Place of Birth: Okinawa, Japan

Band Role:  Lead Guitarist

- Russel

Date of Birth: 3/6/75.

Place of Birth: Unknown – Current residence in Brooklyn, New York.

Band Role:  Drummer and rapper

'Feel Good Inc.' - Gorillaz Lyrics response

The lyrical themes of ‘Feel Good Inc.’ revolve around isolation and escapism. The lyrics commentate on the problems of fame and becoming complacent. The ‘Feel good’ in the chorus is repeated by the lead singer, called 2D, to attempt to regress back into the bliss of ignorance through convincing themselves that everything is okay in a world of violence and injustice.

"We were passing the wind turbines out near Palm Springs. He believed he was going to the Coachella festival or something, and he passed a huge field full of those wind turbines farming the land ... so he started really with the chorus section and then built it up from there." Murdoc - (Gorillaz, bassist)

At the end of the ‘Feel Good’ music video, 2D appears beaten by his surroundings, and returns to the state he was in when the video began, repeating the words "Feel good" until the video finally ends, in an exact reversal of the intro. Linking to the lyrics and further connoting the endless cycle of the modern condition.

Hahahahahahahahaha,
Feel good,
Feel good,
Feel good...
City's breaking down on a camel's back.
They just have to go 'cause they don't know wack
So all you fill the streets it's appealing to see
You won't get out the county, 'cause you're bad and free
You've got a new horizon it's ephemeral style.
A melancholy town where we never smile.
And all I wanna hear is the message beep.
My dreams, they've got to kiss me 'cause I don't get sleep, no
[Chorus:]
Windmill, windmill for the land.
Turned forever hand in hand
Take it all in on your stride
It is ticking, falling down
Love forever love is free
Let's turn forever you and me
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?
Laughing gas these hazmats, fast cats,
Lining them up like ass cracks,
Lay these ponies at the track
It's my chocolate attack.
Shit, I'm stepping in the heart of this here
Care bear reppin' it harder this year
Watch me as I gravitate
Hahahahahahaa.
Yo, we gonna go ghost town,
This motown,
With your sound
You're in the blink
Gonna bite the dust
Can't fight with us
With your sound
You kill the INC.
So don't stop, get it, get it
Until you jet ahead.
Yo, watch the way I navigate
Hahahahahhaa
Feel good, ahhhhahahahah [x4]
[Chorus]
Don't stop, shit it, get it
We are your captains in it
Steady,
Watch me navigate,
Ahahahahahhaa.
Don't stop, shit it, get it
We are your captains in it
Steady,
Watch me navigate
Ahahahahahhaa.
Feel good, ahhhhahahahaha
Feel good,
Feel good, ahhhhahahahaha
Feel good...

Director study - Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze was born on October 22, 1969, in Rockville, Maryland. Throughout the nineties, he directed many music videos and commercials. In 1999, he acted in and directed Three Kings. Jonze's first full-length directorial effort, Being John Malkovich, earned him an Academy Award nomination. He went on to produce Her in 2013, which earned him the 2014 Oscar for best original screenplay as well as working closely with the producing teams and the opening sequences of the ‘Jackass’ films. His most famous music videos include: ‘Sabotage’ by the Beastie Boys, which won 4 MTV music awards, ‘Weapon of choice’ by Fatboy Slim and Wonderboy by Tenacious D.

After inheriting a large family fortune he was heir to. He entered high school and adopted the name "Spike Jonze", He participated in competitive skateboarding and BMX bicycling throughout is younger years.

After moving to Los Angeles, for his first job, 17 year old Jonze began working as an editorial assistant at Freestylin', a biker magazine. In 1991, he helped found Dirt, a teenage male magazine that was not that successful. However, his first music-video job came in 1992, when he was hired to shoot video footage of skateboarding for Sonic Youth's "100%" and he continued with his pursuit of music videos from there in.

Jonze cemented his reputation for innovation and creativity with his eye-catching video for Weezer's ‘Buddy Holly,’ and ‘Sabotage’ by the Beastie Boys, both of which were set in the 70s. ‘Sabotage’ involved a old-style police chase and ‘Buddy Holly’ was set in the middle of what appeared to be an episode of the 1970s sitcom Happy Days. Furthermore, his diversity as an actor and director was seen through his acting roles in the 1999, black comedy ‘Three Kings’ and his music video for Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’.

Spike Jonze has been described as “wildly creative and eccentric” as well as having his productions described as being “quirky with an offbeat visual style”. Renowned for being incredibly well connected, determined and perfectionist, everything about the character and style of Jonze speaks to me as a student in an unprecedented manner. I will take his successful past productions and directorial into analysis to help me produce a better quality media product, but more importantly, create a unique and stylish music video that can be related to by everyday people.

   

 “If you compromise what you're trying to do just a little bit, you'll end up compromising a little more the next day or the next week, and when you lift your head you're suddenly really far away from where you're trying to go.” - Spike Jonze

My POP ROCK mood board.

 

In this moodboard is a collection of images that I believe associate with the genre of music I will be focusing around. Pop rock is a broad term and involves any sub-genre that can come under 'mainstream' modern rock. This includes: Indie, Alt Rock and Pop Punk.

The moodboard is comprised of images I have drawn or photographed myself, music video screenshots, Google images and blog images such as Tumblr.

Music Video Analysis #1 - Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz (2005)

In this extreme-long shot the binary opposition between settings is clear. On the left the brighter, more natural setting of the windmill (Noodle’s Island) connotes purity and freedom whereas the darker, more plain building on the right, Feel Good Inc., is ironically named because lifeless exterior and surrounding storm clouds (pathetic fallacy) suggest anything but feeling good. These juxtaposing images create impact on the audience in two primary ways: Visually the shot gives a sense of the balance between vice and virtue and abides by the rule of thirds allowing the shot to be highly aesthetically pleasing as well as having multiple artistic interpretations. The other way in which this shot creates impact is that it visually represents the music being played. It is the moment at which the two different parts of the track, the bass and acoustic, come together, just like the two settings on screen which are represented by the windmill and the tower.

In this close-up of the lead singer, the shot composition is very well thought through. The subject is in the right of the shot applying to the rule of thirds, his position at the side of the shot allows the audience to see both the close-up face to see the character’s emotions yet it also shows the surrounding environment and allows the audience to relate this to the character and bring their facial expressions into more context. The lighting also contributes highly to this shot. The shadows mainly fall on the featured character connoting his impurity and wrong doings, with the light coming from the left this links to previous shots in the video of the floating island outside, representing the goal and freedom from vices. It is also at this point that Goodwin's narrative theory can be related to the video. The onscreen relation to the lyrics is seen during the first chorus. The first line states 'windmill, windmill for the land' while on screen a windmill comes into frame. The video can also be related to Goodwin's theory because at 3 minutes and 38 seconds into the video we see the voyeuristic portrayal of women as objects. The bass guitarist is almost being worshiped by half a dozen scantily clad females and his elevated height over them creates the image that men hold more power and that women are more submissive. However, there is also the portrayal of young females, as the guitarist is a girl and is fully clothed as a teenager (as she is shown here) and when she's fully grown up in later videos. Her clothing remains practical and her role remains one of power in almost all the subsequent videos published by the Gorillaz. 

In this long shot the lead singer of Gorillaz is made to look small and vulnerable, the setting within the Feel Good Inc building can also been seen as well as a mass of entangled bodies, that seem to give off an air of inebriation, in the foreground. Also the lead singer appears in the middle of the shot going against the rule of thirds, this is done to create a sense of unease around the subject or to suggest that his role is edgy and unconventional. The dominant colour of red in the setting is prevalent throughout the video and perhaps connotes to the danger of their lifestyle and/or the immorality of the implied voyeurism and drug use within the production. The low lighting contrasts with the exterior of the set linking to possible connotations of it literally being a place for people to hide, escape which links to the atmosphere of the set being very drug-den-esque.