CD Inlay Research

this disk is the Arctic Monkeys, it is plain and features AM on it, which obviously stands for their band mane,this makes their name memorable.

This one is by N-Dubz, who are a hip hop/ RnB genre. it features the three people in the group and their name and album name. it is very successful.

Here is one by Oasis. this shows a completely different style as they have chosen to feature the songs on the CD to be listed on the actual CD itself, I like this idea.

Front of CD Research

I have looked at digipacks as a whole, now i am going to focus on the front and back of CD cases.

Being the most important part of the digipack because it is the first thing that a person will see I will do the most research into this.

These are some examples that i have found of front covers on the internet.

This one by The Kooks uses light very effectively. it is simple yet you are drawn to it. the name of the album is written in neon lights a nice effect with a clear purpose.

This one by Beyonce is a different genre of music to most of my research, i think that it uses brighter colours to fit it with the nature of the music, she is shown wearing diamonds and is looking very prerogative, this is a typical style for RnB genre digipacks. Her name and album name is shown discreetly in the corner as the attention is wanted to be drawn to the photograph itself.

Razorlight are a well know band. they have gone for simple black and white, it shows the band members, who are well known faces and may draw people to the CD. the band name is very clear and bold. it is simple. they do not feature the name of the album however which is unusual.

This is one of the Arctic Monkeys albums, the photos are bright on a dull background which allows them to really stand out. the album name and band name is written effectively in a writing style that suits the style and fits in with the photograph, it looks very computerised.

This is another cover by Arctic Monkeys, it is a very famous one of theirs, simple yet effective, it shows the lead singer, he is smoking. he looks relaxed which gives an insight into the nature of the music and the colours are kept very plain also outlining this.

the digipack has no mane featured however the band name stands out with a bright background and a contrasting back for the font and it is used in the style that is specific to the Arctic Monkeys so it makes it memorable.

Digipack

When Digipacks were first introduced when CD's were invented, they were made of cardboard, however today we used plastic to make them so that they are stronger and more professional.

A digipack is the packaging of a CD,.

it includes the front page of the case; the cover.

which will normally have to artists name on and the name of their single or album.

the inside page of the case.

which may have information about the artist on or a photograph of them.

the actual CD and the space behind it.

This normally features the artists logo or again a photograph of them or what/who their song is about. The same photo or logo is usually used for the CD and the space that it covers, but can be seen when the CD is removed.

The back of the CD case.

Most of the time will feature a photograph again but is sometimes left plain, this is were the artist will include a list of their songs and normally the details of their record label and sometimes also their artists website.

the front and back of a CD case are extremely important, they need to be intriguing and eye catching so that the viewer is drawn to the CD if they have not yet had a chance to heat the music. the style of the CD digipack normally depend on the artist and their genre so I am going to research into some different digipacks.

The digipack below is very plain and simple. it sticks to the same colour theme throughtout and alothough it seems quite boring, it is still eye catching to a certain extent because the colour is so bold.
This is a photograph that i found on the internet, it is obvioulsy made to appeal to a yoing age group but it is very good in the way that the colours are bright and fun and therfore the sort of person that it is for would be expected to be drawn to it.

This is a 4 panel digipack, like the one that we will be producing, it has a front back and two pages inside.

This Digipack follows a similar theme to the one that I have described, this is more of the sort of thing that Jessica and I wish to produce.

the photos are eye catching and the colours are bold, yet correspond the the genre of music therefore it attracts the right people without actually listening to the music.

One interesting thing is that the photographs are all of the same thing and seem to be from the same photo shoot, this is something that we will bear in mind as we start to design our own digipack.

This digipack is a 6 panel digipack, which is not actually what we will be making.

This digipack is from an album by Oasis, this is more of the genre of music we are following.

the colour, style and photos are kept simple, but they are effective, the band is very well know and liked so they do not have to make their digipack stand out quite as much because people will be searching for the CD. the digipack follows a similar style to the one that i mentioned, you can see the songs featured on the CD clearly listed on the back page.

Arctic Monkeys

After looking at two main types of music i have decided to focus more on rock type of genre.

Arctic monkeys have had many big hits, one including 'fluorescent adolescent'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma9I9VBKPiw&feature=PlayList&p=E799A29BA8B1C703&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

This video is mainly about the joys of being an adolescent, that adolescence is not something that we should take for granted.

in the official video the camera is very shaky, as if somebody is running with it, the camera angles are sudden and vivid. the video is very fast and fits in well with the song.

my favouriteidea of this video is that the speed of the film goes with the speed of the music; when the music slows the film does also.

Videos and Genres

in contrast to the libertines i have decided to look at a different genre of music to compare the video styles.

a video that i like very much and feel is very effective is 'Crazy in love' by Beyonce. this song falls under RnB genre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6HPJJjqvG0

the main differences between this video and the libertines ones that i have researchede are that they are filmed in a much more caring way, for example the cameras are keot very still and the angles are more precise. the main difference in the actual videos is that the way the libertines and others of this genure tend not to have any dancing in the videos, howver videos that fall under the RnB catagory and such tend to be made up mostly of dance routines.

in RnB songs, generally speaking sex is much of the storylines and the attraction of men to women and the women are portrayed as sex symbols. this also occurs in the storyline ofthe song lyrics, for example 'crazy in love'. whereas more rock genre songs tend to have a deeper meaning.

however i do reallly like this video, the camera angles are carfully thought out and there are many differnt types of camera shots shown, for example, panning shots and tracking shots.

my favourite part of this video is when beyonce is hsown dancign next to tall buildings, however it has been edited so that she is bigger than these building, it shows her as very superior and eye catching.

The Libertines

The Libertines are an English rock band. Formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât(vocals/lead guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/rhythm guitar), the band also includes John Hassall(bass) and Gary Powell (drums) for most of its recording career.

'What a waster' was the first song by the Libertines. however there is no official video to go with this song.

one of my favourite videos is 'Time for Heroes'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwhHdeHJ1Yk&feature=related

this song is very fast and jumpy and so the video follows in the same style, i like the way that the video is split into two throughout and we can watch two different scenes at once, it adds intrigue and interest. the video seems quite amateur and the camera is shaky but it fits in with the style of the song, the scenes are cut with different fading effects, the brightness changes throughout but the scenes are mostly bright. the video doesn't follow a particular storyline but mainly outlines the madness of the lives of Pete and Carl.

My favourite video by the Libertines is 'What became of the likely lads'...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4SAY2NhE7Y&feature=related

i LOVE this video, unlike 'Time for Heroes' it follows more of a storyline however it is mainly used to focus on the progression of a relationship over a long period of time. the song appears to be about two young lads and their lives, however it has deep meaning to the relationship of the band members and what they 'have become'.

i like the way the video is focused on young 'lads', it makes the story poignant and intriguing, also outlines how fast time can go and how things can happen so quickly.

the video starts with a shot of a baby, this immediately shows the viewer the nature of the video.

the video features the boys doing things together as best friends such as play fighting, spitting from balconies, playing with phone boxes and pretending to smoke. it is really effective to show them doing the exact same things together because you can see the connection that they share.

the camera angles and shots are very basic, as are the fades from scenes, however it is the actual filming and ideas that make the video a success.

Video Research

Camera Shots

EWS (Extreme Wide Shot)
The view is so far from the subject that he isn't even visible. Often used as an establishing shot.

VWS (Very Wide Shot)
The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment.

WS (Wide Shot)
The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible. AKA long shot.

MS (Mid Shot)
Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

MCU (Medium Close Up)
Half way between a MS and a CU.

CU (Close Up)
A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.

ECU (Extreme Close Up)
The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail.

Cut-In
Shows some (other) part of the subject in detail.

CA (Cutaway)
A shot of something other than the subject.

Two-Shot
A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

(OSS) Over-the-Shoulder Shot
Looking from behind a person at the subject.

Noddy Shot
Usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.

Point-of-View Shot (POV)
Shows a view from the subject's perspective.

Weather Shot
The subject is the weather. Can be used for other purposes, e.g. background for graphics.

Video Research

After looking at the beatles i think that i would like to focus on bands as the theme for our music video.
im now going to look at differetn bands whos songs we may be interested in using for our music video.

Video Research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8tYwyphInk

This the link for the song 'Love Me Do' by The Beatles. They were amoungst the first to make a music video. This was thier first ever single and it achieved UK mainstream success in late 1962.

The video consists of film of the band performing...

and individual photgraphs that are shot on the screen...

Again it it very amatuer and plain but effactive and gripping as the song was such a big hit.

Research

Music Videos.

'A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song.'

When sound films and talkies arrived in 1926, many musical short films were produced.

Warner Bros produced Vitaphone shorts (1926–30) these featured bands, vocalists and dancers.

The series entitled spooney melodies was the first true musical video series. The short filsm were normally about six minutes long, and featured art deco style animations and backgrounds along with film of the performer singing the song.

This series of shorts can arguably be considered to be the earliest music videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g4hnwt8jdU - This is Spooney Melodies: Crying for the Carolines (1929) one of the first 'music videos' ever.

It is very old fashioned, the pictures are slow and obviously back and white, and there are shots of the man singing. it is very simple and plain and shows the lack of technology!