Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Magazine analysis
Bon Iver
The following image is a magazine advert for a male indie artist “Bon Iver”. The advert is very minimalist the heading at the top consists of an eye-catching bold block colour (orange) and has Bon Iver written in a time new roman style font which is shadowed by another Bon Iver written in a different more artistic font, just below this read “THE NEW ALBUM OUT NOW”. Under the main heading has an image of Bon Iver’s album cover, the image holds elements of painting being set in a rural landscape the misty lake and trees give readers an idea of the artists music as a cover such as this wouldn’t be seen for a rock band or pop singer. At the bottom of the advert is quotes and star ratings from various magazines and newspapers.
“Album of the month” **** MOJO
“A spellbinding album” ***** UNCUT
“He’s out of the woods and the view is beautiful” **** Q
“Bon Iver is a beautiful swoon of an album” SUNDAY TIMES
Overall the advert is very well present it’s layout is simple therefore makes it easy for readers to look at and understand, it hits target audiences which is of his genre indie folk. The main image is interesting to look at it allows people to find something new within it each time they look. This would be a magazine advert I would like to create, however I would try and involve more photography.
Arcade fire
This Magazine advert is for another indie band called “Arcade Fire” this advert has more to it compared to Bon Iver’s. The ad has everything from colour to photography, images, interesting fonts, links to the album, album information etc. The advert is based upon a chipboard effect background and then has another layer of a slightly lighter colour. At the top of the ad is a quote and star rating from a magazine in a bold outstanding red coloured font, it read “THEIR MASTERPIECE *****” from Q magazine this has a lot of effect on reads, getting a popular magazine’s view on an album and giving it a high rating is subliminally makes readers want to purchase the album without even having heard it. Just below this an image of a teenage boy standing in the suburbs which is clearly shown through the background, on top of the image is written “scenes from the suburbs” in the same font in which is displayed on the album this creates links between the advertising and the products. Further down the advert is written the bands name and next to it is placed an image of the extended album of the suburbs with CD/DVD written next to it to show what the product consists of. Below this is written what is included within the product, giving readers a better understanding for what the advert is trying to advertise. Then at the bottom of the page is the date in which the products becomes available and the band’s website URL. Overall the advert is very well presented the layout is easy to look at having a heading, main body and large footer allows the designers and promotion’s to get all the needed information in.
Kurt vile
The following image is a magazine advert promoting the indie rock artist Kurt Vile unlike the other two adverts I have analysed this one is presented in landscape orientation and the full advert it covered by a photograph of the artist himself sitting on a sofa with a guitar in his hands. The image is shown in black and white with makes if very minimalistic allowing the focus to be on the information. At the top of the advert is the singers name written in bold capitals just under this is also written the album name both coloured in white. A gap is left for the reader to see the image and then more information is given at the bottom of the page. all the writing is written in a white or grey font depending on the importance of the information such as the star ratings are colour white to make them stand out however the magazine it’ given from is coloured in grey. Slightly under this comes a small piece of information showing tour dates. Overall I think this advert is very plain from the total black and white colour scheme which could be improved through coloured text however I like the layout of the advert.
Friday, 9 September 2011
Research into digipacks
Arcade fire digipack
Arcade Fire is an indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists of the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, along with Will Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, and Sarah Neufeld.
There were in total eight different versions of the cover to arcade fire’s recent album “the suburbs” all of the album Artwork was designed by Caroline Robert Art Direction by Vincent Morisset Photos by Gabriel Jones.
The front cover of the album consists of a suburban house with a car parked in front of it, the bands name is written in the top right hand corner in an artistic way. The front cover is very simple but effective it conveys the albums title “the suburbs” and brings interesting artistic designs to the rest of the digipack and inlay. Colours and effects are used throughout with changes contrast, brightness exposure and colour temperature, tint and saturation. Below is a picture the opening to the digipack, it shows another image of suburban houses.
This is the front and back cover to the inlay, the cover is simple with only white and black colours being used. The same style of writing used for the digipack cover is copied here to create continuity. On the back page each song and its duration time is written down in a simple italic front. I think the understates of the cover allows more impact for when the inlay is opened; because of all the images and effects used it creates a good contrast between simple and innovative.
The pages also contain white misshapen squares with the lyrics to each song on the album. The lyrics are shown in a freehand style font with various mistakes, scribbles and cut ins which makes it feel more personal to someone reading.
Kings of Leon inlay
Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill, Ivan Nathan Followill, Michael Jared Followill, with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill. The band's third album was titled Because of the Times, The album showed a clear evolution from Kings of Leon's previous work, as the band's trademark dirty, southern-fried swagger was replaced with a more polished, clean-cut sound.
Photography for Kings of Leon’s 3rd album was done by James Minchin; the front cover of “because of the times” is artistic as well as minimalist. The cover holds a background colour of purely black with a large image of a skull in centre page above the striking image the bands name is written in a capital letters with a bold and simple font. Just besides this the album name is written in a smaller thinner but still simple font; however the colour is changed to an orange. The small differences between artist and album name shows the designer has created something visual to look at without using over the top images or effects, with involving colour on the album name allows it to stand out against the boldness of the artist name. Just above this is placed a light bulb braking, this image is also directly above the skull head and to me this suggests the two images are linked in a creative way.
Inside the inlay continues the theme of the black background and the white and orange, bold and thin writing. Throughout the inlay each song’s lyrics on the album are shown with the number it’s on the CD along the top just below the title of the song with it’s duration time alongside it in the same design as the bands name and album title is on the front and the songs lyrics just below. Colours and small images are used inside this to make the inlay interesting to look at; the lyrics are shown in a dimming effect starting with white and going down to a bright red.When in the centre of the inlay the two pages fold out to show four images of each member of the band, this is an effective way to get imagery included and it’s useful if fans want to display the images within there room. However I think it would be more efficient to have images displayed upon the pages; this would make it more interesting for people to look through the inlay.
Razorlight inlay
Razorlight are an English indie rock band formed in 2002. Up All Night was the band debut album and it was released in 2004, the image above it the front and back cover to the album. Compared to the other digipack’s and inlays I have analysed razorlight’s is the most creative and artistic, the front cover has a white background but the focus is upon the cluttered items congregated from the bottom right corner to the middle of the page, with the free space being taken over by the band and albums name. The bright red and orange colours make the cover look more eye-catching to buyers as well as the various objects that suggest a connection to the title.
When the inlay is opened a similar theme is used with various colourful images. The designer of this has taken a more artistic approach to forming the inlay only two pages within the book consists of writing from the band thanking various people and giving information on the album such as record labels, who’s written songs, producers etc.
Seasick Steve digipack and inlay
Steven Gene Wold, commonly known as Seasick Steve, is an American blues musician. He plays mostly personalized guitars, and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work. YouCan’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks is the fifth studio album by Seasick Steve. The image above shows the front and back cover of seasick Steve’s album, the front cover is shown in black and white, the photograph of the old dog links to the albums name which is located on the bottom “you can’t teach an old dog new trick” the title is written in capital letter in a bold but simple front and is coloured in white. On the back page is a simple image of Steve and a drummer with what appears to be at a festival, warm lighting is highlighting both Steve and the drummer from the landscape of mountains and clouds, located in the left hand top corner is the tracks listed upon the album and there duration times. The image below is the inside of the digipack where the CD is located the same image as the front cover is placed and on the left and side the inlay in secured into place.
Inside the inlay contains pages such as the ones to the left; each page is filled with a different song on the album. At the top of the page is the number and title of the track and in the centre hold the lyrics to the song and the particular guitar Steve has used to perform the song. The pages have a simple background of the ripples of water seen on the front cover (where the dog is located). I think the inlay is present well it simple yet artistic the pale background allows the focus to be upon the lyrics and the instruments.
This is the last page in the inlay, it holds an image of Steve and his drummer, the image is very natural in the two men’s body language. The image appears to have been edited though a higher contrast which also goes with the rest of the inlay. On the opposite side shows details on how the album was produced etc and a small thankyou note written by Steve thanking people to creating the album with him. Research Questionnaire
I created a questionnaire on survey monkey and sent a link out on social networking sites to get a variety of answers
Although mojority of audiences said they prefered Bonfires, Saint Raymond wished for us to make a video for she said no and we thought we should take into account the artist's preferance as audiences wouldn't actually choose what music bands release.
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Research into Music video directors
Music video directors
A music video director is a male of female director of a music track. The music video is used as promotional tool for artists to advertise there music and a particular single. The earliest music videos were directed by television and film directors; by the 1990s music had become a specialized field.
According to Jake Taylor a music video director the essentials you’d need to have to create a music video is “a camera an idea and passion to go and create something interesting and put it to music.”
Emil Nava
Emil Nava is a successful music video director who has directed all of Jesse J's music videos to date. At school he knew he loved music and drama but only discovered his true talent when he picked up a video camera. He's worked his way up through lots of hard work and determination to become one of today's most sort after directors.
The following link takes you to a video of Emil Nava giving information on his background and how he came into directing, his thoughts on being a music director and how he got himself to where he is at the present.
He has directed most of Tinchy Striders videos, Ndubz, and is really at the fore front of the UK urban/pop scene. He has also picked up the award for Best Music Video at last years Rushes Soho Shorts Festival 2010, for his promo ‘Our House is Dadless’ by Kid British and has directored the new video for super star artist JessieJ ‘nobody’s perfect’.
Both these videos are completely different Jessie J’s ‘nobody’s perfect’ is bright, colorful and vibrant with and has a mixture of over-the-top bright costumes. The first shot is of Jessie J sitting at the head of a massive dining room table filled with ridiculous caricatures and continues with Jessie J singing while in weird environments, like a tar pit. I do love certain elements to the video like the atmosphere, the colours and characters but I think the video is very over the top for the track, Jessie sings about not being perfect and nobody is I think the music would have best suited a less dramatic approach showing a more natural side of the artist. On the other hand Kid British ‘Our House is Dadless’ is very down to earth with minimal effects and natural lighting, the video goes though a variety of shots with the four members walking through various gardens and alley ways within there street, which goes with the has context with the track effortlessly.
Mark Romanek on Johnny Cash's Hurt (2003)
The following text is a small article from Mark Romanek point of view on the creation of Johnny cash’s cover of Trent Reznor’s Hurts which was to be Johnny’s last video, Romanek filmed both Johnny and his wife June at their Nashville home for the singer's last video. They both died within a few months of its completion.
"Johnny's producer, Rick Rubin, played me this track long before its release and I was so struck by it I said, 'We have to film something to go with this.' I'm a massive Johnny Cash fan and had been lined up to shoot a video for him a few years before which Anton Corbijn ended up doing instead. So this time I made Rick promise me I could make it. He called me on a Tuesday and said, 'Johnny's going on holiday to his ranch in Jamaica on Saturday so if you want to make this you better make it quick.'
I'm someone who usually takes a minimum of two weeks to prep a video but this was Johnny Cash. So I jumped on a redeye to Nashville with my producer and a cameraman and arrived on Friday with no idea of what I was going to make. I looked around the house and made a few suggestions of where we might film Johnny performing. I was making it up off the top of my head. Then I went to the House of Cash Museum and found it in total disrepair.
There was no time to clean it up so I decided that I'd just film it, and Johnny, exactly as they were. He was no longer in his prime - he was fading and that was what I wanted to show. While I was filming the opening segment of Johnny playing guitar in his living room, his wife, June, came down the stairs and watched. The look on her face was so complex: full of love and pride and concern for her husband. So I asked her if I could film her too and she agreed. But the most important element was when we discovered a film archive in the museum. When we looked back at the rushes we'd filmed at the house we thought they were good but not great. But once we dropped in the archive footage of Johnny we realised that was the soul of the video. The whole thing was so spontaneous. It's made me realise that sometimes you can be too prepared and that there's some value to urgency."
Watching the video directed by Mark Romanek was incredibly moving, the way Mark uses cuts and dim lighting to capture the essence of Cash, both in his youth and in his older years is extremely intriguing. In the montage of shots Mark includes twisted imagery of fruit and flowers in various states of decay seem to capture both johnny cash’s past and the reality of the present. As well as dimly lit images of a weathered Cash playing piano and guitar in his home is mixed with glimpses of flood-damaged Houses, the Cash museum and archival footage of the country legend as a young man. The video was named the best video of the year by the Grammy Awards and CMA Awards, and the best video of all time by NME in July 2011.
Videos are supposed to be eye candy, hip and cool and all about youth and energy. This one is about someone moving toward the twilight of his career, this powerful, legendary figure who is dealing with issues and emotions you're not used to encountering in videos. This is what makes it so unique, emotional and memorable to watch. Romanek, who has directed videos for Madonna, Beck and Audioslave, as well as last year's film "One Hour Photo," said he made the clip with no commercial expectations or calculations, fully expecting that it would not be shown on major video outlets.
Research into the music industry
The industry
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. A record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protection of sound recordings and music videos.
“A record label is the brand name for a music release. The major labels today are all 4 media conglomerates that operate a number of specific label imprints - the actual company logo stamped on the recording. Major labels account for 70% of music sales worldwide and 85% of music sales in the U.S.”
The first of four major record labels are
1. Universal Music Group
“The Universal Music Group sells more music than any other major label. They accounted for 25.5% of the market in 2005, according to IFPI. The group's well-known label imprints include Geffen, Interscope, Island, Motown, and Universal.”
Universal music group is comprised of artists covering the full field of music around the world, making UMG the leader in both international and local repertoire. Artists signed to UMG throughout the world include:
North America
Justin Bieber
Rihanna
Lady Gaga
Nicky Minaj
Maroon 5
Europe
Florence + The Machine
Snow Patrol
Jessie J
Mumford & Sons
elbow
Latin America
Enrique Iglesias
and other artists coming from Asia Pacific
Justin Bieber
Rihanna
Lady Gaga
Nicky Minaj
Maroon 5
Europe
Florence + The Machine
Snow Patrol
Jessie J
Mumford & Sons
elbow
Latin America
Enrique Iglesias
and other artists coming from Asia Pacific
Key facts
· With 51 offices in 43 territories, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is the industry's largest global music publishing operation.
· UMG has offices in 72 countries. UMG’s corporate headquarters are located at 2220 Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404 and 1755 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
· UMPG represents music in every genre from some of the world’s hottest songwriters and catalogs including Abba, Adele, Lily Allen, Maroon 5, Mumford + Sons, Coldplay, etc.
Universal Music Group 2010 history
· The Black Eyed Peas become first group to sell over 6 million US digital downloads with “I Gotta Feeling”
· VEVO named #1 online music destination by comScore
· UMPG acquires publishing assets of Emack music Rondor Music Publishing partners with Nacional Records for Canciones Nacionales
· Universal Records South merges with Show Dog to create label, Show Dog–Universal Music Lady Gaga becomes first artist to have her first 5 singles reach #1
2. Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment is the second biggest major record label in music sales.
“They accounted for 21.5% of the market in 2005. The company's well-known label imprints include Arista, Columbia, Epic, J, Jive, and RCA.”
“Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company boasts a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. It is home to premier record labels representing music from every genre.”
Sony music entertainment has featured artists including
Beyonce
Avril lavigne
Briteny spears
Foster the people
Chris brown
Foo fighters
3. EMI Group
The EMI Group is the third biggest major record label in music sales.
“They accounted for 13.4% of the market in 2005. The group's well-known label imprints include Astralwerks, Capitol, EMI, Mute, and Virgin.”
EMI Music brings artists and fans together by driving action and creating value wherever music is experienced. Emi’s record labels include “Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Latin, Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Records Nashville, Manhattan, Parlophone, Virgin Classics and Virgin Records.”
Artists on EMI labels include Bat For Lashes, The Beatles, Beastie Boys, Lady Antebellum, Katy Perry, Pink Floyd, Corinne Bailey Rae, Tinie Tempah, Thirty Seconds To Mars and many more.
key fact
EMI Music’s first websites went live in 1993 and 1994 and in 1998 EMI streamed the first complete album over the internet, ‘Mezzanine’ by Massive Attack.The following year EMI was the first company to release a digital album download, David Bowie’s ‘…Hours’.
EMI also launched the first internet video single in 2001.
EMI also launched the first internet video single in 2001.
4. Warner Music Group
The Warner Music Group is the fourth major record label in music sales.
“They accounted for 11.3% of the market in 2005. The group's well-known label imprints include Asylum, Atlantic, Lava, Reprise, Rhino, and Warner Bros.” WMG comprises an array of businesses aimed at helping artists achieve long-term creative and financial success while providing consumers with the highest-quality music content available.
The following link show a timeline of Warner music groups history, dating back to 1800 to the present date http://www.wmg.com/
Research into Genres
Music genres
A music genre is a categorical construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music. Music can be divided into many genres in many different ways, due to the different purposes behind them and the different points of view from the period during which a musical composition was written, its style, its instrumentation and treatment of those instruments, its form and function, its means of transmission, its means of dissemination, and the location of its geographical origins.
There is a whole variety of different genres that are out there, with mainstream genres and then sub-genres coming of the mainstream music; for example Alternative with indie rock and punk, R&B with disco and Contemporary R&B and pop with teen pop and pop/rock. Other genres that music is categorised in is blues, country, electro, folk, hip-hop, jazz, metal, rap, to name but a few.The following link gives examples of mainstream genres and shows videos, reviews and artist of the certain genre.
Indie
Indie or independent music is music that is released on smaller labels that operate independently from the mainstream music industry. But more often "indie" refers to a specific genre of contemporary music that is based on combining aesthetics of classic rock, punk, garage and art rock.
Indie music isn’t a definite style of music; most indie bands are influenced by each other causing a similar sound. The sound is harmonious; the instruments are simple and well textured. The genre includes a simple but original guitar riff, another guitar riff layered to complement it, bass doing the same, simple drum beat (but fitting the song well) either a keyboard or violin or something to bring out the underlying melody, and soft vocals, usually well harmonized. The lyrics are powerfully emotional but not whiney, they spark emotion.
Some well known indie artists/ bands
Arcade fire |  |
The libertines |  |
Bon Iver |  |
The kooks |  |
The maccabees |  |
samples of indie music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az_2oiccZNo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY9hnzKv89g&feature=fvst
Rhythm and Blues music, or R&B music, was originally termed "race music" and basically included any form of music intended for black audiences. A combination of jazz, gospel, and blues, the term "R&B" was originally coined in the late 1940s in the United States to be used as a less offensive marketing term.
Some well know R&B artists consist of
Chris brown |  |
Nicki Minaj |  |
Drake |  |
Kanye West |  |
Alicia keys |  |
Samples of R&B music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co0tTeuUVhU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JipHEz53sU&ob=av2e
Rock
Rock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960’s. The sound of rock often revolves around the guitar back beat laid down by rhythm section of electric bass guitar drums, and keyboard instruments
Well know rock bands consist of
Linkin park |  |
AC/DC |  |
Bon Jovi |  |
Kings of Leon |  |
U2 |  |
Samples of Rock music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPBbMbKSZrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qF_qbaWt3Q&ob=av2e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPBbMbKSZrQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qF_qbaWt3Q&ob=av2e
Country
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the Southern United States in the 1920s. The term country music gained popularity in the 1940s in preference to the earlier term hillbilly music. The term country music is used today to describe many styles and subgenres.
Well known country singers consist of
Taylor swift |  |
Garth Brooks |  |
Lady Antebellum |  |
Billy Ray Cyrus |  |
Carrie Underwood |  |
Samples of country music
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a confluence of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music.
Well known jazz artists consist of
Norah Jones |  |
Frank Sinatra |  |
 | |
Ray Charles |  |
Samples of jazz music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBKcKQHZXks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIiUqfxFttM
Pop
Pop music is a music genre that developed from the mid 1950’s as a softer alternative to rock ‘n’ roll. It focuses on commercial recording, often targeted towards the youth market, usually through medium or relatively short and simple love songs. The basic form for pop music is the song and usually a song consisting of verse and repeated chorus. Most often the songs are between 2 1/2 minutes and 5 1/2 minutes in length. There are certain characteristics of pop genre music which consist of;
- Focusing on the individual song or singles, rather than further work such as albums.
- To appeal to a general audience particularly teenager.
- A tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive developments.
- It’s intended to encourage dancing, or it uses dance-oriented beats or rhythms.
- An emphasis on recording, production, and technology, over live performance
Britney spears |  |
Justin Bieber |  |
| Rihanna |  |
Lady Gaga |  |
Michael Jackson |  |
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