Research into Existing Digipacks and Advertisements

I have started researching into existing digipak's from famous artists and ones that have become successful and attained them high chart toppers.  Digipaks are most commonly used  Deluxe edition of albums, the design is used instead of the usual hard case. The digipak is more stylish and allows the artist to put more information on the case and promote themselves across the album. It uses the the leaflet inside to get across an image or to contain lyrics for the EP or album tracks. I have noticed the main typical conventions of a digipak are:

Front: The name of the artist and the album title and a related image (most are the artist themselves however many are abstract)

Spines: Artists name and title of the album again, the colour theme of the album usually runs across this too and contain a DVD logo and serial code.

Back: The track list of the album including all the songs in order, any parental explicit warnings, any special features, bar code, and disclaimers from the record label.

Flaps: Either a centered pictures of the artist fitting in with the color theme or a clear background image.

Many digipak do vary in conventions due to their genre of music. For example Rihanna's includes one image spread across 3 of the flaps where as Kesha's contains 2 different images. I have found some examples of digipak's from similar existing music genres to my own music video.
I particularly like Katy Perry's as her theme is continuous on the discs and each image used looks like it belongs to each other and you can see the whole 'candy' and 'fun loving' theme throughout the digipak, she is laid in candyfloss which is a metaphor for clouds she is laid in. This is very effective and works well throughout the digipak as Katy Perrys album was successful and released 4 top 10 songs from it.
Here are some examples:

Katy Perry uses house colours of pinks and blues, which alternatively fit in to her 'candy' and 'sweet shop' theme of the album. The CD discs represent a doughnut and a swivel lolly, all interlocking conventions. The images used are her lying in metaphors for clouds but also cotton candy, she's represented as sweet like sugar, yet poses firecly. It gives off a vibe of the whole album been fun and cheeky. The images used are medium close ups and long shots.

Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster

In this digipak the theme is a simple clear black and white, the font is white and stands out effectively across the grayish backgrounds. Lady GaGa is a pop music artist and goes against the conventions of pop music and uses dark colours which is unusual for a pop artist (you can see this in Katy Perry's album above) However, going against the conventions was a successful attempt as it is effective and has worked well. The black and white images of herself are strong statements and dark looking, especially with the make-up running down her eyes in the back image this also fits with the album title of 'monster.' The front image she is wearing a latex coat, which could be seen as her hiding her true 'monster' identity, her eyes are hawk like and create a creepy sensation. Lady GaGa is known for her wild fashion sense and lives up to her expectations on this digipak and doesn't disappoint fans.
Her hair is very straw like and fake looking as if it is meant to look unrealistic. The font on the CD covers is the same as the title font and is very basic and simple white block, yet effective in capitalization. The track listing is small printed on the right hand side diagonally, this makes the image of Lady GaGa more centralized and makes it clear that she is important and the 'mother monster.'

Rihanna -Loud 

This digipak has a house colour theme of red and blue and white which represents Rihanna's fiery hair colour as well as her personality. The main images are headshots of Rihanna which include a midshot image on the inside opening of Rihanna laid across some red roses. As the album title is 'loud' the red hair and lips fit the name as the colour is loud and vibrant, the text font is plain and simple white with 

Kesha's house theme is 'space' consisting of mainly black house colours with splashes of red, blue and purple. The space theme fits into Kesha's own personality as she is portrayed to be slightly 'crazy' and her own person. The theme also includes colours from the American flag blues, whites and reds which emphasizes her profoundness of her country. The digipak includes many different angled shots of Kesha, from close ups, mid shots and long shots. In all she is pulling a fierce or inviting face or in which involved in a full length pose. All images relate to each other despite been different and have a fully involved colour theme and costume throughout. 

Editing

I have began to edit my footage that I have already filmed. I have taken 9.35 minutes worth of filming for these scenes. I am cutting down each clip in the editing suite to the time I need it to be. I am also matching up the lip syncing to the song as well.
I still need to film Charlie's scenes which is going to be my next filming plan. I am hoping to film the outdoor scenes at any given opportunity weather dependent. As it is December the pavements are icy and it's recently been raining on and off so I haven't been able to film any outdoor scenes. However Charlie has several scenes indoors which I am planning to film over the next 2 weeks. 

filming diary

On Saturday 1st December I was able to film my bathroom and bedroom scenes for Paris. I found problems with filming the bedroom scene, as the lighting was much darker than I expected as I had no extra lights and because it was dark outside (5pm) I had no natural light to use to film with and only the bedroom lights. I feel that when I begin to edit these I will encounter problems with the quality because of the poor lighting and may have to re shoot parts, however I will have to wait and see.

The bathroom scenes where easily shot and shouldn't encounter any problems with these, I am going to start to edit my footage on Tuesday 4th December in the editing suite, I am hoping I can add an effect to these to make it look 'grim' as the mood in the scene needs to be  slightly depressed.

Here is what I have filmed so far: 


The bedroom scenes have very poor lightening and can be seen in the several shots used above, I would certainly like to re shoot these in the day time as well as using extra lighting. Although when using the editing suite and turned into black and white using the contrast, the shots look better and are more effective as well as feeling to the dark mood she is feeling whilst in bed without her other half been there. I would consider using these shots in black and white if I decided further down the line that they are better than the ones I am going to re shoot because they are effective in black and white. 
I have changed the coloring and brightness in matrix advanced primary level, you can see this clearly in a lot of the bathroom shots, I feel that changed the colour has a more professional feel to the music video as previously without I didn't like the colouring and believed it cheapend the video.
Many R&B/Pop music videos within my genre have the brightness changed in their music videos for example in Rihanna's we found love, there is a blue tint used in the bedroom scenes and then used at the skatepark there is a much softer tone used which I think works well within the theme of the video as it is a happier time in the narrative of the video.
I would like to incorporated these editing skills in my further developed music video using the editing suite. 

Saturday Filming Plan

I am going to film Paris's bedroom, bathroom, living room and dining room scenes on Saturday, because of the bad weather. As they are all inside, I am going to need very strong lighting to keep the quality of the film to a high quantity and that enables me to edit the lighting in the editing suite more easily to the look I want.
Bathroom
Props: Whiskey bottle, cigarette, glasses, bubble bath, bath
Costume: Skirt, stockings, bralett, red lipstick
Cast: Paris
Bedroom
Props: Bed, white sheet, bedside table, mobile phone, chair
Costume: shorts and t-shirt
Cast: Paris
Living Room
Props: Mirror, mobile phone, whiskey bottle, flowers, photo frame of charlie, table with papers candles photos drinks glasses ecct on.
Costume: lots of costume changes, leather jacket, lakers t-shirt, demin shorts, bodycon dress, leggings and bralett, beanie hat
Cast: Paris
Dining Room
Props: Paints, paper, paint brush, table, chairs
Cast: Paris
Costume: Dress and denim jacket

Wednesday Filming Plan

On Wednesday I am hoping to film Charlie's outside, dining room and living room scenes:
Shot 50: Charlie on the phone walking round ,long shot Shot 53: Charlie running down street left side, long shot tracking
Shot 54: Spilt screen of medium close ups Charlie and Paris
(weather dependent on the outside shots) 

Shot 24: Side shot of face cross screen of Charlie (close up)
Shot 37, 38 and 39: Note on table, Charlie head in hands, Knocks everything off of the table. (Extreme close up, medium shot, long shot)
Shot 40 and 41: Paris hugging legs, Charlie hugging legs. (Medium close ups)
Shot 60: Everything off table (long shot)
Shot 61: Fire (downwards tilt, medium close up)
Shot 58: Charlie head in hands, angry, medium close up
Shot 18: Close up of Charlie ripping letter up
Shot 19: Extreme close up of letter

Props list: Hand written letter, photo frame, matches, glasses, whiskey bottle, papers, mobile phone.
Costume: Denim jacket, chinos, 2x t-shirts, beanie hat, hoodie, jeans, jumper
Cast: Charlie
Filming: Myself
Crew: Gemma  

I have checked the weather forcast for the next week and Wednesday, If I am able to film the outside shots of Charlie in the morning then the weather should not affect the schedule. 

Shot Plan

Mise-en-scene Costumes for each scene

I have Paris try on all costumes that will be used or possibly used in my music video. These are all inspirations from my previous research of style icons and celebrities who are in the same music genre of my song.
I have created a mood board of clothing, accessories and make-up with items picked from Topshop (www.topshop.com) which all relate the the look of my artist.

The clothing is inspiration for similar items of clothing I want my artist to be dressed in and portray her personality through clothing choices. 

Mise-en-scene Actor

This is my only other main character in my music video, which is Charlie Sharkett. He will play the part of Paris's boyfriend in the music video throughout the break-up. Charlie will not feature as much as Paris in the video, but will still be an important role.

Mise-en-scene Actress

This is my actress and singer for my music video. Her name is Paris Hall and will be the main character throughout my music video: 

Health and Safety

These are the health and safety precautions I need to be aware of when filming in all locations to avoid any accidents.

Anamatic

I have put every shot from my story board together along with the song and put in the correct timings of each shot so I can get a feel and overall general look of how my music video will look before filming. This is a great way to see how it will look and especially if I notice parts I don't like or if certain shots would need changing to save time to change them after my filming. 

Story Board

Existing Genre Locations

I looked through music videos that have the same genre as mine and artists that produce music videos that I aspire from. I looked at the settings and locations they were filmed in hope to encorparte parts of the way they look into my own music videos. Here are some examples from the research I have found. 

A long shot of a bath scene used in a lively music video, I have not yet decided if I am going to fill the bath with water and bubbles or have it empty and just use it as a prop. This photo is useful to see how it would look, and how I could have my actress posed. 

I would like a similar medium close up shot like this of  my actress Paris from the living room window location. It portrays the darkness she is feeling inside, the emptiness and is very effectively used in a successful music video from Rihanna. Rihanna's music genre is also pop/R&B. 

 This is extreme long shot from a neutral bedroom scene in a famous Beyonce music video. The room itself is highly realistic and fits well within the theme of the music video because of the colors, similar to what I hope to use in my bedroom scene. 

 This medium close up shot shows Beyonce on an old fashioned phone, which she is crying into portrayed with the heavily make up she is wearing which is running down her face. This is exactly what I want Paris to look like after crying and arguing with Charlie in my music video and aim to have a similar medium close up like this. 

This is a long shot from another bedroom scene from a pop music video which I also would consider using. I also like the posture of the artist the way she is laid across the bed in pain. I would consider having my actress in the pose as it could show the pain inside she is feeling. However, I would use brighter lighting for the filming then edit it down after woulds.

Audience Profile

This is my target audience based upon my research through polls and interviews. I have established the type of audience my music video will be aimed at through what they enjoy, what they do, wear and shop and how they consume music through modern day technology.

Julian McDougall (2009) suggests that "In the online 
age it is getting harder to conceive a media audience 
as a stable, identifiable group." 

My audience relates to Julian McDougall's theory of audience profiling as my genre is a cross of RnB/Pop/Pop Rock/Dance. Because of the many genre cross overs it is harder to identify one pacific type of audience as my video will appeal to a wide range of different people from RnB, pop, pop-rock and dance music genres as it touches on each category. The audience is harder to narrow down through an age, the age gap for a target audience is becoming bigger due to the easy access of material through the internet on sites such as You Tube and Spotify which ables people all around the world at any time to listen, watch and consume music of their choice. 

Filming Locations

I will need to find suitable locations for each scene within my music video. Some scenes may be shot in the green room to able me to add backdrops to the film. 
However I need a set for the bedroom scene, this example shows a plain bedroom with neutral colors, something which I am aiming to find to film the scenes in. I want the bedroom to be plain because it can portray how she wants to feel 'normal' but instead she is very confused and upset hens rolling around in the bed. A bedroom can also mean a place which you sleep with your partner, and hers not been there will also emphasis the problems in the relationship. 

I need a place for the car scene, this example shows how I want the headlights to look on camera, as I want a close up of Paris's legs walking across them to give the impression she is getting into another mans car. The fact it will also be at night can give off the idea that she is possibly going on a date somewhere and also adds to the mysteriousness. 

I need a typical house setting for the argument, this example is a normal modern family home living room layout. I want this because the relationship is going through domestic arguing and fall outs. The home portrays where they should be happily together in stereo typically.Where as in reality nobody else is aware of the problems they are facing or the stress they are going through, and during the song it is expressed that the 'camera' meaning the media only show and portray the parts they want to see of her.  

I need a urban area to film in parts, this example shows a brick wall. This can have many connotations to her feelings inside. Its a hard brick wall, she cannot break down these imaginary 'walls' she has built inside herself to not be able to let her feelings and emotions out to the boy she is on the 'rocks' with. This wall portrays how hard and bitter she feels inside.

I need a bathroom for the bath scene, this is a small example, I just particularly would like a white bath with a tiled wall. The bath will be the main focus in the shot and will be filmed using medium close up and long shots. I want to film in this part of the house as it is a private place and possibly the only place you get some privacy in the house. And because of this I wanted to film parts in here as it is the only space she will get to be alone, drink, smoke and cry about her problems without anyone else been aware of them. 

I also want a park area for small part of the scene that is similar to urban wall, these will be some rocks in a local park near where I live. The park is a perfect urban area to film in which relates and fits in to the theme of the song and genre. I will need to film this when the weather is good as it will be hard to adjust the lighting outside.

Costume Ideas

Celebrity Inspirations For Scenes:

This medium close up image is of Rihanna. A very successful pop/r&b/dance artist who has established herself in music throughout the years and is still going strong. This image portrays attitude and sultry. She looks confident and a superior women who isn't afraid of anything, I love the way she looks here and portrays herself. I would especially like to incorporate facial expressions and postures like this within my own shots as I want to my artist to be an established confident woman.

This mid shot shows only half of her body, but is capable of showing her personality through her posture and costume/clothing. Wearing bright red lip stick is an iconic statement for this artist Rita Ora. The shorts and beanie hat are stereo typically linked to a 'hipster' dress sense yet it still partially unique.

This long shot of Lady Gaga shows her more 'tame' style in clothing. She is hugely famous and word widely known for outrageous fashion sense for grabbing headlines. This has hugely fueled her pop music career and helped establish herself world wide. I particularly like the use of her sunglasses and long shiny pink skirt. Her posture is shy like, which I also like because it can be used against people in the saying 'butter wouldn't melt' when in fact she is a person with a huge personality. 

This close up shot of Pixie Lotts face shows her hair and make-up which I am interesting in. I would like to add eye make up like this to my actress during the scene of her 'photo shoot' to make it look more realistic. 

This mid shot has a great pose and attitude, it is giving off the impression she doesn't care and is doing as she pleases as well as looking good. She is posing with the cigarette and as I have been considering using something like this in my music video to portray the artist more I would consider using it in a way like this photo has.

This long shot shows a popular girl band 'The Saturdays' I'm looking at their choice of herstyles and look of home made jeans which is effective in this picture. I like the long hair and tousled look. 

Long shot, as I am wanting to film scenes in the bath, I like the style of clothing and pose used in this picture of the pop artist. It gives off a fun vibe, whilst clutching a bottle of alcohol in her hand. I also am fliming a shot in which my actress has her legs across the bath and this would fit in with the lyrics 'act like I don't give a F**ck' The red iconic lipstick also out stands her lips and shows a womenly side. 

This medium close up is very effective and is showing her anger, frustrating and the fact and she doesn't care at this time towards the person she is signalling this to. It also manages to make her still look glamorous and beautiful even when she is been unfeminine. I have a lyric within the song that says 'middle finger when it comes to love' This would be a great shot to film for it.

This medium close up shows a fun loving artist and the fact that she has her arms in the air shows she is dancing and playing around whilst in the middle of dancing or speaking. The crown also represtents she is important and again shows she is still femine. 

Rob Kardashian shows an urban style in this long shot, with is layering of clothing and his trainers that stand out. He looks confident in himself and pulls off this style effectively,  I want my actor to have this similar affect even though he is going through a tough time.

This style again  is similar and 'indie' I want my actor to look similar to this medium close up.

Mise-en-scene of costume, hair and make-up will be a very important aspect in my music video as this is the way the artist will portray her image through. The clothing will be of an urban style which is used throughout many pop/rock and also Indie music videos and artists.   Her choice of clothing will change throughout different scenes within the music video to fit towards the lyrics and narrative. As I will also have another actor in my music video, his style will also fit the urban look and I have found several male celebrities which I will incorporate their style into his overall look. Make-up will also be essential in my music video for a scene in which the artist has been crying and is deeply upset, to portray this I am going to have lots of black make up running down her face and smudged cheeks and lips.