Assessments

Audience Feedback on Music Video and Print Products

On Monday 23rd November, as a class we all showed our finished music videos and our final print products. The audience gave me a positive feedback with the teacher saying I'd put together a 'great piece of work' and that it was 'excellent' and 'meticulous'. The class feedback was also positive, most of them saying that it 'works really well', the video looks 'professional' and they thought the actress acted appropriately and extremely well to allow the personality of the artist to shine through.

They all liked the print products, and thought the CD covers, front and back, related to the genre and thought I was reaching my key demographic with these covers. They did like the concert poster, however they thought they it should change a little bit as there's no real link between the concert poster and the CD covers. Therefore, I will change the colour scheme of the concert poster to the grey colour I used for the CD covers and also put the spiral picture on too and the blue pattern behind EVE's name as that could be her logo.

Music Video

This is my completed music video and overall I'm extremely pleased with how it has turned out. I feel that everything works well and reflects my choice of genre. I think I have demonstrated great skills in framing, editing and lip syncing, and the overall effect of the video looks professional. I edited the video on Adobe Premier, which made it easier to edit and lip sync the video as it's quite easy to use. I think the green screen background works really well with the flashing lights. I filmed the music video in one day, as I knew from the storyboard, what shots i wanted which made this easier to film. I wanted three different shots, a close up, a medium shot and a long shot. Therefore I did three or four different takes of the video and filmed it all the way through the song in these three different shots, which made it easier to edit and to lip sync.

Final Print Products

Front Cover



I'm really pleased with the front cover and I feel it reflects the genre of the music, but it's not conventionally black like most R&B pop album covers, so I'm challenging convention in that sense. The costume of the artist isn't glamourous, but it still connotes her personality and a stylish attitude towards things. In other R&B Pop album covers, the artist tends to be wearing 'slutty' clothing and showing a bit too much flesh, so again in my CD cover I'm challenging convention, but I feel that it works. Her position in the frame is central, which conntes her importance and how it's all about her. She's the main focus. Also, the image of the artist is shadowed and I airbrushed the picture to make it look a bit more illuminous, which connotes her start status. The picture of the artist looked nice on the grey background anyway, but I felt it needed a bit of an umph to give it more of an edge, so I put the grey and white lines running behind her, so it added style and sophistication to the cover and makes it stand out a little more and makes it look professional.


Back Cover



I also, really like the back cover too as the colour scheme continues from the front cover, which is typical of an R&B Pop album cover. I think the back cover looks really professional, as it has the record label's logo, the barcode, the copyrights the song titles, but it also has a couple of websites for the fans to find out more about the artist, and I feel that, that is knowing what the consumer wants, and I'm also reaching out to the target demographic. The picture of the artist is different to the front picture, but she's stil wearing the same clothing, which again links them two together. Also, her gesture is her having her hands on her hips, which conntes attitude and that's what I wanted to achieve, as the album is about her sending out a message to her ex-boyfriend that she is over him.


First Promotional Tour Poster



This was my final concert poster, but after the feedback from the class and the comments posted on here about the concert poster, I think I need to change it. I may keep the same picture as it's different to the other too, but I will definitely change the colour scheme to the same as the CD covers, and the spirals as thats what will link the three products together. So below is the new improved concert poster...


Final Promotional Tour Poster


This is the promotional tour poster that I created after my original final one, didn’t satisfy the audience in the class feedback. They said that there was no link between the tour poster and the CD covers. Due to that opinion, I decided to use the same colour scheme for the poster as the CD covers and I have also put the spiral pattern on there too as the audience will link the pattern to the CD covers and then the artist. As it is a promotional tour poster, it incorporates the venue, with the year date and there is also a website for the audience to find out more information and possibly book tickets. On the poster is the record label’s logo and the artist’s name is in huge black letters, which enables it to stand out on the page and draw the attention of any passers by i.e. the target demographic.

Shooting Schedule, Cast List and Other Features

Storyboard

A detailed blog Lizzie and you are reflecting on your decisions. Make sure you are considering your ideas and thinking about how you would critically deconstruct your texts.

Script with timeline

Script EVE – It Kills Me 3:40

11 secs. Worth of shots of artist before the first verse

Verse 1

9 sec. girl in studio

_I can tell the way you look into her eyes

_The way you see the night and I try not to cry (I try not to)

3 sec close up
_It’s not so easy seeing things up in my face

5 sec. studio shot again
_I see it nearly everyday and I don’t wanna stay (I don’t want to)

4 sec.
_Things aren’t how they used to be

6 sec.
_Connection with you ain’t there baby

_And I can’t change the plan

9 sec. close up
_I’m strong enough to understand

_You’re my one and only man

7 sec. studio – extreme close up attitude shots
_But I can’t see a happy place

_No noooo no


Chorus


6 sec. studio shot
_Things have changed dramatically

_I’m just trying hard to see

9 sec. attitude shot against wall
_The way you dropped me off and picked her up

_Boy it kills me


10 sec. close up of girl in studio
_You used to be so close to me

_I thought we’d have a family

6 sec. studio shot
_But you switched roles and turned the key

_Boy it kills me

Verse 2

5 sec.
_I can see the way you’re trying to be all smooth

7 sec.
_Trying to play me for a fool

_Thinking she’s a jewel (I ain’t no fool)

4 sec. attitude shot
_Baby I got news for you

4 sec. artist standing up against green screen in studio
_The only Jew that’s pulled you through

4 sec. studio shot
_Is standing directly in front of you (in front of you)

10 sec.
_Don’t you realise what you have

_You know she’s always got your back

_She lives her life for you

_Don’t you know

2 sec. girl in studio shot
_So tell me what it is you like

6 sec.
_You see the darkness in her eyes

_The way she smiles, the way she cries



10 sec. studio shot

_Things have changed dramatically

_I’m just trying hard to see

6 sec.
_The way you dropped me off and picked her up

_Boy it kills me

10 sec. studio shot
_You used to be so close to me

_I thought we’d have a family

_But you switched roles and turned the key

_Boy it kills me


5 sec. studio
_Ooooo you know it kills me

_You can feel it burning me

9 sec. standing up against the wall
_You can see the tears run down my face into a waterfall

_You make me go crazy

_But I can see what’s going on and I don’t know if I can stay or should I go

5 sec. studio artist talking to camera
_Oh noooooooo

_Oh nooooooooo
_Noooo no nooooo no

Nooo no noooooooooooooo!


7 sec. studio shot
_Things have changed dramatically

_I’m just trying hard to see

4 sec.
_The way you dropped me off and picked her up

_Boy it kills me (Boy you’re killing me)

8 sec. studio shot
_You used to be so close to me (yeah yeah)

_I thought we’d have a family

_But you switched roles and turned the key

_Boy it kills me


7 sec. studio shot
_Things have changed dramatically

_I’m just trying hard to see

4 sec. artist crouched down and talking to the camera
_The way you dropped me off and picked her up

_Boy it kills me

13 sec. dancing then with fade out
_You used to be so close to me

_I thought we’d have a family

_But you switched roles and turned the key

_Boy it kills me

_Ooooo

Mock Ups

Mock up Front Cover 1



This is my first idea for my CD cover. I think it looks quite good, but I'm not really sure it relfects my genre choice. I really like the image of the artist. I feel that it's a very strong image and it conveys how the artist feels. The album title is also 'Fool For You', so the fact that she's looking away may connote how ashmaed she may feel and how much of a fool she thinks she may have been. The image is also postioned in the centre of the frame, connoting her importance. The name of the album and the artist's name is in black therefore it stands out and is bold on the page. I like her costume in this image too, as the top connotes glamour, but the jacket connotes atttitude.



Mock up Back Cover 1



This is an idea I have for the back cover, however I'm not sure whether I like it as much as the back cover below. I really don't think the colour scheme works, especially for R&B Pop, but I could challenge convention. I really love the image I have used for the back cover, as it shows the artist bowing her head down which connotes how ashmaed she could feel and embarrased that she believed her ex-boyfriend loved her. I like her costume in this one as the top connotes glamour, but the jacket conntes attitude. Especially, when her posture is her having ehr hands on her hips, which also connotes attitude.



Mock up Front Cover 2



Again, for this cover I chose a top for the artist which connotes glamour, and this time she's wearing it without the jacket. She is positioned in the center of the frame, which connotes her status and how much power she may have. Her posture of ehr having her hands on her hips, again connotes attitude, and that she won't take any nonsense. The artist's name EVE is behind her at the top of the CD cover in big, bright, bold, yellow letter, which makes it stand out and is therefore eye cataching for the audience. However, what I don't like si the fact that the album title is so small and in the bottom right hand corner. It doesn't stand out as much and may not be so clear to the audience.



Mock up Back Cover 2



This is another idea I have for the back cover, and I actually prefer this back cover to the other one, as I feel that it reflects my choice of genre. Laos, the colour scheme is black, which again reflects the genre I have chose. However, the black could connote how the artist has a bit of an edge about her. The image also, reflects the album title as she's bowing her head, maybe in disgrace or disgust at herself, for being a fool and believing that her ex-boyfriend loved her, when he cheated on her. The bakc cover contains a barcode, the record label's logo and the copyrights, which is crucial for a back cover.



Mock up Promotional Tour Poster



I do actually really like this concert poster as it oozes R&B Pop, becuase of the colour scheme of black and yellow. The yellow makes it stand out, especially the yellow lines around the artist, and this is crucial as the poster will be something people will walk past, and the aim is to reach out to the target demographic. The tour poster is a promotional tour poster, so it contains the place and the year, to create suspense for the audience. It also contains a website for the audience to go on, which again is crucial as the audience will want to find out more about the artist and the concert.

Artist Profile - Myspace

To the right is a picture of my artist's profile. This includes a brief biography of the artist and a picture too. It will also contain the record label, the manager, the artist name and any copyright. I chose to use Myspace for my artist's profile as it is a website which is used by millions of people and where artists are able to be notcied by fans and their music can be listened too. It's one of the easiest and fastest ways to distribute new artists and to get them on the "map".

A2 Media Studies Advanced Portfolio Pitch

For my pitch I have the follwing powerpoint presentation and I had a board of ideas including a sample storyboard, a mock up of a concert poster and a mock up of a CD cover back and front.

A2 Media Studies Advanced Production Portfolio - Summary

A2 Media Studies Advanced Production – Lizzie Maddocks
Summary of My Findings

• Form
- Music Videos – Music videos are used as a marketing device used to promote the sales of music records. Great videos tend to increase a song’s sales, because viewers hope to see the music promo video again on the music channels. If they don’t see it quite often, it gets brought as a download before it goes on actual release.
- CD Covers – CD covers advertise the main contents of the product i.e. the song. The picture on the cover is also a primary image for promotional reasons as it will be there to represent the whole album. It will be extremely identifiable for the fans and the audience. It can also be seen as the copyright for that album too. A slim line jewel case tends to be used for packaging the CD.
- Concert Posters – These are again another type of marketing device, but this time for promoting a tour of the album. They advertise the event have clear information of when, where and what time it will be on. These concert posters can eventually become collector’s items, especially for certain big name artists such as Michael Jackson. Concert posters are a cheapish way to advertise the event as advertisements on the TV can be quite expensive. But concert posters can be shown anywhere.

• Codes and Conventions
Symbolic

- Stock Settings – After research many R&B Pop music videos, the main locations used were primarily studios with a green screen in the background, which enables the director to create certain effects. But also, locations such as the beach (Ashanti – ‘Rock Wit You’) or a New York street (Chris Brown – ‘With You’) or even iconic locations people can relate to are used. However, studio settings are mainly used as it is spacious for the dance routines and you can create your own effects. Also, for the CD cover and the concert poster, I will take the photos in the studio as with the green screen I can create any type of background.
- Stock Characters – The characters that tend to be in R&B Pop music videos, links into whether the song has a narrative. If the song is about empowerment of women and getting over an ex or a boyfriend has cheated etc, then there is obviously going to be the cheating boyfriend, the girl who is the artist and they may show the woman the guy has been cheating with. Also, people feel that only afro-American people represent the genre of R&B Pop, but that isn’t the case, for example, Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake. Both artists work within this genre and they have been just as successful as afro-American people, so in my music video I have a choice of who to cast.
- Narrative – For the narrative of the song, the narrative theory I would use would be Todorov’s theory of having equilibrium. This being maybe if the song is about an ex, you could have them seen together when they were happy, when the girl suspects her boyfriend is cheating, the girl then catches her boyfriend and cheating and in the end the girl is much happier without the boy, which links into the representation of gender, where women are shown to be empowered, whereas the guys tend to be shown as cheaters. However, Propp’s theory comes into context here, because the ex could be seen as being the villain and the girl’s best mate could be seen as the one who helps the heroin, so either narrative theory could be used.
- Iconography – The pictures on the concert poster and the CD cover will represent the genre and the artist. It will represent the artist and their picture will be shown on the front, however, it will represent the genre as it will have some characteristics of R&B such as the greyscale effect, which gives it a sleek look, which is associated with R&B Pop.
- Glamour and Style – Glamorous and stylish locations are used to convey certain glamour and help towards the narrative possibly. Huge well known locations can also be used, to help with the narrative of the song too, but it makes the video look a bit more spectacular. The genre sometimes can also be over-exaggerated with artists doing things out of the ordinary to create certain personas. Also you get old R&B artists returning with a more mature, update sexier image, such as Mariah Carey. They reinvent themselves.
- Dancing - Dancing is a main aspect for any R&B Pop music video, Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ video is an example of how dancing can be really effective, as she did a choreographed dance with two other dancers throughout the whole song in one cut and she got praised for that. It reflected how much of a star she is. Also, through the dancing the artist is able to show how creative they are to the audience, but their dancing could also reflect their idols. For example, Chris Brown. In his music videos he is always dancing, however, he dances like Michael Jackson and he was his idol. Another dancer is Usher, who always tends to have a break in his music videos to show a one minute part of him dancing.
- Costume – The outfits worn in R&B Pop music videos tend to be very fashionable and bang on trend. Normally in the videos the artists have at least three or four costume changes and many of them are very picky, most of them are also divas, artists like Rihanna and Beyonce are huge divas. The costumes are there however, to convey a certain image; it reflects their personalities and who they are. It’s their alter-egos. For upcoming artists the costume’s are used to get them on the map or noticed, such as revealing dresses. However, most of the time the outfits are worn to get them noticed e.g. Lady Gaga wears the most outrageous outfits, which makes her constantly, commented on.
- Framing – The artists is always the center of attention, therefore always being positioned in the middle of the frame, and dominating the video. Artists, especially the divas, love it when everything’s about them, when all the focus is to do with them.
- Props – Props such as mobile phones, laptops maybe and possibly a prop for the artist to dance with, e.g. Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ music video, she danced with an umbrella. These will be easily accessible.

Audio
- Non-diegetic Sound – The sound of R&B Pop has the soulfulness of R&B in it, but the fast pace of a Pop song. This type of genre is slowly rising and making a name for it, as it is also quite easy for DJ’s to remix the songs for clubs. They get promoted a lot more.
- Diegetic Sound – Diegetic sound such as a radio maybe at the beginning or hearing someone talk on the phone and seeing them, will be possibly in the music video.
Technical- Camera movements, shots and editing – The camera movements and shots tend to either reflect the narrative or the pace of the song. Pans tend to be used for fast paced songs, whereas tilts and still camera movements tend to be used for slower paced songs. Long camera shots are used to show the artists dancing, especially if it is choreographed and close ups are used to show the artists facial expressions, or certain parts of their body if they are promoting their sex appeal. For editing, jump cuts and continuous straight cuts are used in fast paced songs, to show the pace of the song, whereas they aren’t used so much in slower songs, as it may be a love song and it conveys the narrative.


• Clever ideas – Creating certain effects such as a greyscale effect, normally gives the videos or pictures a sleek look. This effect is sometimes associated with R&B. Special effects with the help of back lights and street lights connote the artists’ stardom, and give it a stylish and glamorous effect. Also clever editing and camera tricks help the videos become very iconic for example, Kanye West’s ‘All Falls Down’ video.

• Narrative theory/issues concerning representation
- R&B Pop songs tend to be slower if they have a narrative. For example, Beyonce’s ‘If I was a Boy’. The songs are almost always about love, so Todorov’s theory tends to be used in these videos as you see a couple together, then maybe the guy sleeps with someone else, the girl realises this etc. Concerning representation, R&B songs that are about getting back at an ex, tend to be songs sung by women artists and they represent the empowerment of women and how strong a woman can be. Therefore, the guy could be seen as the villain, because of how mean he has been to the girl. However, you could say that Propp’s narrative theory could also be used to show stock characters such as, the villain who is the ex, the girl who is the heroin and maybe the heroin’s helper who is the girl’s best friend. An example of an artist using this theory in the music video is Shaggy in his ‘It Wasn’t Me’ video.

• Target Audience- The primary target audience for R&B Pop music videos tends to be young adults, teenagers and people in their early twenties. But my target audience will mainly be 16-25 year olds. The reason for this being is because when you’re young you experience all these different emotions, you can experience love and the songs the artists bring out, are almost always about love. Therefore the teenagers and young adults can relate to their music making them the target audience for this genre. Afro-American people can also be the target audience for R&B music as it was a genre created by Afro-Americans and came from Rhythm and Blues. However, now it has become more contemporary, it appeals to everyone as the music is much more upbeat, and that is how R&B Pop got created as a sub-genre. Therefore, the two main demographics are age and ethnicity.


• Institutional Context- Record Label – ‘Def Jam Recordings’ is the record label I have chosen to represent my artist. It is a United States hip-hop record label which is owned my Universal Music Group, however they specialise in R&B Pop as well. The label represents huge artists such as Rihanna, Ne-yo and Amerie, who are big name R&B Pop artists. It was founded by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons in 1984. It has a distributing label Mercury Music Group (Def Jam UK) which is situated in the UK, so my artist is guaranteed huge promotion on their single and album, also on any concert tours too, they will have a successful team to help them. They are a huge record label and support my artist really well in starting up a great career.
- Music Channels – ‘4Music’ is one of the music channels that I wish for my artist’s song to be played on. It is a music channel in the Untied Kingdom owned by Box Television, a network by Channel4 and Bauer Group. The channel was formally ‘The Box’ but it was re-launched as 4Music on 3rd August 2008. The programmes shown on the channel are things like ‘Today’s 4Music Top 10’, ‘This weeks 4Music Top 20’ and ‘4Music Big Ones’. This one in particular plays pre-leased singles. Smash Hits music channel is another channel I would want my artist to be played on and this would be possible as it is owned by Box Television too. ‘Kiss’ again is a music TV channel which is owned by Box Television. They play mainstream Urban R&B, R&B Pop and Dance. It was launched in 1998 and is very successful music channel.

• What have you learnt and how will it aid your planning?
I have learnt quite a lot from researching R&B Pop music videos. I know much more now than I did at the start. I know in detail about my institutions and the ones I fell are best for promoting my artist. They are successful and steady, so they do not carry a risk. I know how to promote an artist and what needs to be put on the cross media products. There are little things that make a difference to the products in a big way and have a huge impact on the target audience. I know what needs to be done for the music videos and how to represent the artist and whether or not to have a narrative or a more upbeat video. I clearly know my target audience, which helps a lot of as I am a young adult myself I know what we like to see. I know I should be creative in my work to get the best possible result.


Video of Research Findings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Dn4bIslNo

Institutional Context

This is the powerpoint I created for my institutional research. It contains a few record labels that sign artists of my genre and a few music television channels that distrubte R&B Pop music videos. I weight up the pros and cons of them all and decide which one I feel is right for my artist.

Research - R&B Pop CD Covers

Beyonce – I am Sasha Fierce

Sasha Fierce is Beyonce Knowles alter-ego, who is strictly for the stage only.
This album promotes and formally introduces Sasha Fierce, Beyonce’s alter-ego.

The picture is coloured in grey scale, possibly to connote that this is the real woman behind the music and the songs. However, it could also suggest that this is how fans should see Sasha, as a completely different person to Beyonce.


The greyscale colouring is generally used in R&B videos and is normally associated with this type of music. Therefore allowing the audience to realise what type of genre the music may be, before even listening to it.

Her movement and gesture of her scraping her hair back and she’s wearing no make-up, could connote that she is now revealing herself as a new woman or as her alter ego Sasha and that she may have been hiding behind the appearance of Beyonce. She is also giving us the impression she is naked too, which could connote her revealing her true identity as well.

The style of writing for the title and ‘Beyonce’ is pretty simple with the greyscale colouring; however there are some light parts on it possibly connoting the stardom she has gained and how famous she is. The shiny parts of the words itself connotes glamour.

The camera shot used is a close up shot, which could connote how the audience will get up close and personal with Sasha Fierce in the album. It shows she is not afraid to reveal herself. The position in the frame of her is that she’s central to the picture. She takes up the whole frame connoting her importance.

For the back cover of the album, Beyonce is in a very sexy pose showing that she is flexible, and quite a strong independent woman, linking to her alter-ego of Sasha Fierce. She is positioned in the middle of frame which connotes her high status and that all of the attention should be on her. The back cover is also greyscale the same as the front and it has the song titles and has a barcode and the copyrights including the record label.







Cassie – Cassie

This is the debut self titled album by R&B pop singer Cassie, which was released in 2006 by Bad Boy records.

The costume of Cassie isn’t really shown much in the album cover, however, you can see she is a beautiful woman and they wanted to give the album an identity.

Her gesture with her arms folded and her head resting on top connotes a certain attitude, like I’m not bothered kind of attitude. She also looks very serious because of her facial expression.

She is positioned in the middle of the frame, therefore dominating the whole cover, which again is another connotation of R&B pop singers. They like to be the center of attention.

Her name in the top right corner is in a gold colour, which makes it stand out and shows a glamorous side to it all.

For the back cover, the same image of Cassie is used, although it has zoomed out now and you can see the rest of her arms, which I think is quite cool. She is positioned in the middle of the frame connoting her status and so that the focus is on her. The back cover also contains the barcode, the song titles and the copyright of the record label and Production Company.








Danity Kane – Welcome to the Dollhouse

This album is the debut album from P Diddy’s band Danity Kane and was released in 2008. The band were formed on Diddy’s programme ‘Making the band’, but have recently split up.

The costume of the girls connotes and innocent yet playful side to them, which links into the title of the album. The make-up used has made them look very fresh faced, yet doll like.

The bluey-white background also adds to the innocent portrayal of the girls and their personalities.

The fact that they are entwined or leaning up against each other connotes how close they are how and how comfortable they are with each other.

The girls are positioned in the middle of the frame, therefore dominating the picture connoting that it’s all about them and they’re the main focus.

The style of writing for the words ‘Danity Kane’ seem to be quite harsh suggesting the girls have a bit of an edge, however, the words ‘welcome to the dollhouse’ are written in a soft way, connoting the girls have a soft side to themselves as well.

For the back cover, the picture is of a blank room covered in white, which connotes an angelic theme suitable for dolls. On the floor there are also a bunch of roses, which connote love and links into the songs on the album.
The song titles are scribbled on the wall, which is quite interesting and connotes a childish feel about it.
The back of the album also has a barcode and the copyrights.






Keri Hilson – In a Perfect World

This again is the debut album from American R&B pop singer Keri Hilson. It was released in March 2009 by Mosley and Zone 4 and was produced by Timbaland.
The title of In a Perfect World... with the dots at the end connotes that nobody’s perfect and the world isn’t perfect and the songs relate to this as they’re about heartbreaks. The songs are there for women to relate to and this certainly comes across.

The costume of Keri is very glamorous and stylish, very up to date.
Her name is in flashing lights at the top of the cover, and this is so that it stands out and is possibly the first thing you see. She’s like a star.
Her position in the frame is to the right of the cover, as this way the sun can be seen to be shining through, which again connotes how much of a star she is and makes the cover instantly stand out.

The background colour again makes the cover stand out as it is a metallic purple, which brightens up the cover straight away. It glamorises it.
Her movement and gesture in the cover is that she has an ‘I’m not bothered’ attitude, which links in with the album creating a certain power for women.

The back cover seems very glossy and is typical of an R&B Pop CD cover. R&B Pop is about glamour and Keri conveys this on the back cover, what with the bold, bright colours. Also the stars could connote how much of a star she has become. The back cover contains the barcode and the copyrights and logos for the record label.