Final magazine advert

Changes that we made:

• We felt that the website address was too big, as this information isn't as important as everything else on the advert, so we made this smaller, and placed it closer to the bottom so it stood out more against the colour of her hair.
• We changed the writing 'Follow her' to 'Follow her on' so that it was clearer to the audience where it would be possible to see more from the artist on other sites.

This is our final magazine advert. We decided to have the same image as we had on the front of the digipak as this would create brand identity, and the audience would be able to associate both products with each other. Also the image of the female artist filled the whole advert so this implies that she is important, the direct eye address with the audience allows them to feel closer to her and she is attracting their attention. We placed the 'Out Now' writing in red, and we used the same font that we used on the digipak again to create brand identity and also the red draws the readers eye into the image. We then placed the 'Alice Hare' and 'On My Own' writing in the top right of the advert and placed them in red and black to both contrast with each other. The connotations of red imply love and romance, which is one of the main themes of the song and the connotations of black imply the heartbreak and loss and this is again showed in the song and we thought both colours are used well and help imply the themes of the song, and again this is the same colouring and font that we used in the digipak. We decided to use a quote from a pop magazine 'Heat' and we thought it would be a good idea to include one because it shows that other people have listened to the song and watched the video, and they liked it and gave it a high rating and this would have a high impact on whether people would buy the album or not, because if it was a low rating it wouldnt have much impact on whether they just glanced at the advert or bought the album. Another way to help the audience decide whether to buy the album or not, is the rating stars as if it was a low amount of stars this would show that it isnt a very good song, whereas having more stars would show that it is a good song, and this would influence the choice of the audience. Having other ways to contact the artist to see more about her and more songs, we chose to have the 'Facebook' logo and 'Twitter logo on the bottom, and these are both social networking sites that our target audience spend a lot of time on talking to friends. Again the website address at the bottom of the advert is another way that the audience can contact the artist, and we chose to place this on here because after looking at other adverts in our genre we saw that they all provided a website address, and we wanted to stick with the generic conventions of pop adverts so we placed one on as well.

Overall I feel that this magazine advert does a good job of promoting the artist successfully, and the audience are able to see brand identity clearly as we have used the same picture on the front of the digipak and the advert. I also feel that it doesn't give too much away about the music video, as this is what i wanted to happen as this causes enigma and leaves the audience thinking what is about to happen and how will see cope? The colours and quotes used help influence the audience whether to watch this video or not.

Magazine advert draft

Changes made to the digipak

We made the font size smaller, and then placed it onto the area that was brighter. This was because the audience couldn't see the word 'On' clearly 

 The layout and the images are perfect and the audience liked them, so we didn't have to make any changes to these.

We cropped this image, so that it doesnt look stretched.

We got rid of three of the songs we had originally put on here as we wanted to keep  with the conventions of the digipak. Also we changed the font size from 16 to 18 so the back cover doesn't look empty. I have to find white colours on the company logos so it stands out well and also I have to change the black colours on the copyright  because this wasnt clear. We placed the bar code on the bottom of the digipak instead of the top because there was too much information at the top.

Magazine Advert Draft

We placed an image of the female, the same one that we used of her on the front of the digipak as this gave us brand identity. The facial expression is simple as this allows the audience to focus on all of her face, and we wanted to have her direct eye address with the audience as well, as this created a more personal feel. The typography that we have used is the same as what we have on the digipak, as again this is brand identity and also we felt that the font stood out against the background. The colouring of the font would be black for the writing 'On My Own' and then red writing for 'Alice Hare' as these two colours contrast each other, and they both stand out from each other. We wanted to place the 'On My Own' title at the top of the advert so this framed the image of the female, and then placed the 'Alice Hare' writing underneath her face where her neck is, and this again frames the face. We placed the facebook and twitter logos in the bottom left hand corner as we thought that this was more appropriate for the pop genre adverts compared to what a rock or indie advert.

Our second draft had more information on it, but we showed the class this idea they felt that there was too much for a pop magazine advert, and it was too much information and pop adverts tend to have a little bit less information. They did think the idea of including other hit singles that have been popular with the target audience before is a good idea, because if they know other songs and like them they will want to buy the album to see more. Placing an image of the female in the centre of the picture allows the audience to know that she is the main focus.

After all this feedback we felt that it would be better to go with the first draft as this matched our genre better, and the class felt that it portrayed the female artist more positively and would attract a larger audience than what the second draft would, even though they said they liked things on the second we could try and include them on the first.

Feedback from magazine adverts

When we showed our magazine advert drafts to the class, we got a range of response from this, both good and bad so that we had ways to improve our drafts.
Good points:

• They liked the close up of the female in the centre of the advert, and we thought the best way to get the audience's attention would be to use direct eye address
• The class thought that the image of the female, is the same one that we used on our digipak so there is brand identity and they would be able to identify with the other products as well.
• Placing the magazine reviews at the top of the advert showed the audience that other people had rated it high, and this would make them want to buy the album.
• They thought that we had promoted the female artist positively, and this was evident in all of our products.
• Placing other song's that have already been released that appear on the album would make them want to buy it more.

Bad points:

• They felt that the best font to use would be the same font that we used on the digipak, as this was brand identity, compared to the font that we was going to use that was different
• It was better to keep it simple yet effective instead of trying to fit loads on all at once.

Ex Student magazine advert analysis

I chose to analyse this magazine advert, as it was in my chosen genre. The main image used, is taken from the music video so i felt that this helped me to identify with both the music video and the digipak. I felt the image that they chosed helped sum the whole video up, as it shows the female sat on the floor with the camera pointing down onto her so the audience is looking down to her, it could also match the way she is feeling as the song is about heartbreak and you feel down after you've lost someone you love. Having the wooden marinettes in the bottom left of the image also shows that she is being controlled by something, again this is something that happens in relationships. The black writing of 'Avril Lavigne' stands out against the pale colour of the wood, and then it contrasts with the red colouring of 'My Happy Ending'. The typography used is simple but effective, as it didnt want to take away any focus from the female, but it told the audience the name of the song. Placing the magazine review on the top of the advert, and placing the stars in red help it to stand out, and therefore the audience can see how many stars it has been rated. Placing the words ''Her best yet - Kerrang'' in the top right corner show that Avril Lavigne is a famous and well known rock/punk singer, and placing good reviews is only going to want the audience to see it if other people think it is good.

Overall i think that this magazine advert is good because it allows the audience to identify with the music video and the digipak together as the image used allows this to happen. Its also simple but yet effective as placing the reviews on the top of the advert make people see that other people and famous magazines have rated it highly would make them want to see it, and buy it as well.

Magazine Advert Analysis

What is brand identity?

This is where all the promotion packages, (CD/DVD/Poster etc) look the same, for example the image, font, colour scheme. This is done so that the audience can identify what the poster is trying to promote/sell whether this is the artist or the song/album. The band/artist has particular things that people can relate to, so they know who it is when they see it. For example they may have a particular image or logo to show the audience who the band is, and they will automatically know who it is without seeing or hearing them.

The outward expression of a brand, including its name, trademark, communications is brand identity. Because the identity is assembled by the brand owner, it reflects how the owner wants to percieve the brand. Furthermore, the brand name should be on target with the brand demographic.

We made sure that there was brand identity with our products; magazine advert, digipak(front cover, inside panels, back cover) and our music video. This allowed us to help the audience identify with what each product was trying to promote/sell.

Magazine Adverts

Ancillary Task 2; Brief

A magazine advertisement for the digipak( CD/DVD package)

Final Digipak

This is our final design of our digipak. We have chosen the images we have as we felt the close up of the female on the front cover promoted her well, and we achieved this by having a photo-shoot and finding the right image we felt would portray her positively. We also chose to have images from the music video as our back cover, as this reminded the audience of our video.

We chose to have a close up of the females face on the front of the digipak as this met the conventions of pop digipaks, and we felt this was the best way to promote the female artist positively. Using an image that filled the frame allowed the audience to focus on all of her face including her facial expression and detail on her face, and again this matches the conventions of pop digipaks. We placed the writing on the bottom right of the image so this wouldnt take away any focus from the females face, but it would stand out against the colour of her hair. The 'On My Own' font we chose to put in black colouring but also larger than the 'Alice Hare' writing as this was more important. Also placing the 'Alice Hare' writing in red draws the audience's eyes into the image and contrasts against the black. We challenged the conventions of pop digipaks by placing the writing in black as we felt there was a mix of other genres in the song as well as pop.

For the inside panel, we chose to have the background as the footprints in the sand and we chose this image, paticulary as we felt that this image portrayed the hearbroken theme in the song. The footprints imply something that used to be there but isnt anymore, and this matches with the females situation as she used to be with someone that isnt in her life anymore, and we have showed that with the images scattered along the floor as well as this implies something that she used to have but she doesnt have it anymore, like the images are being left behind as memories. We also placed the lyrics down the left hand side of the page, as we wanted them to be on the cover but not take away any focus from the images. Placing the writing in white allowed it to stand out and also the connotations of white; purity and innocence match with the female artist.

Also for the other inside image, we wanted another image of the female artist, but we placed her against a plain background and then made the lighting emphasise her more, as we wanted the audience to see just her without anything else on the cover that might take away focus from her. The connotations of the white top again imply purity and innocence, whereas the blue denim jeans suggests she's just an everyday girl and she is no different to any other teenager.

On the back cover we chose to have the female walking away down the path, that we see her walk down at the start of the music video, and also she walks back along it at the end of the video as well, and we chose to do this as we felt it created a circle in the story, that the video showed a normal day of her life. We felt the best cover to place this image was the back because it shows her walking away and leaving everything behind. The copyright information, and the record company logo are positioned at the bottom of the image so this didnt take any focus away from the female. We placed the tracklisting on the top left of the image and in white writing as this stood out against the green of the trees.

Inspirational digipaks

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream was an inspirational digipak because i felt that it portrayed the pop genre and the artist positively and this is what we wanted to achieve in ours.

 

 

The fact that this isn't what you would expect to see in a pop digipak, as the female is positioned seductively to attract the readers attention, but i feel this is a good way to do this as it does attract their attention and they have more chance of buying the album. The theme of the whole cd is evident as candy/sweets are shown on each side and this is highlighting the personality of the artist which again is something that pop digipaks are good at doing. When looking at a range of digipaks from the pop genre, the one that we remembered after looking at all the others was this one, as the colours are bright and vibrant and stay in your memory even after seeing other ones.

 

Again her other album One of the boys again matches her personality, but is completley different to her other album. The way that Katy Perry portrays herself and then also so that the audience know her album is from the pop genre, helped us as a group to decide how we would position our main female character but also what colours and clothing would we use to help establish this.

 

When looking at these albums, the things we thought would help establish the genre of the album and also catch the readers attention are to use: bright colours, place the artist on the front cover as well as the back but to then have something simple on the inside so it doesnt take too much attention away from the other covers and to have some sort of prop or something that would help highlight the genre.

Feedback of digipaks and response to them

When we presented our three ideas for our digipaks to the class we got both a range of good and bad feedback.

Good points:

• they felt that the close up of the female on the front cover was a good idea as this matches the conventions of pop digipaks.
• the footprints on the inside panels look good, and were effective. They also reminded the audience of the music video.
• the female walking away down the path on the back cover, rounded off the whole thing, the digipak summed up the story of the music video.

Bad points:

• They felt the egg timer on the inside didnt work as well, as it was too simple and needed something else to go with it
• The shot of the female from the side with her looking down, wasnt as good as the other two front covers

After presenting them to the class, we had to decide which front, inside and back covers we felt would work well and we decided on these:

Front cover - we felt the close up of the female was the best choice as this showed the audience who the whole music video was about, and the close up allowed them to feel closer to her, and also show her emotion which may help highlight the emotion of the whole song. 

Inside panels - we felt the footprints were the best things to put on the inside, as this was simple but yet effective. The footprints also match the theme of the whole song, as the female used to have something but doesnt have it anymore whereas the footprints imply something that used to be there but isnt anymore.

Back cover - we felt the female walking away down the path was the best thing to have on the back as this rounded up the whole story behind the music video, and gives some idea as to what happens in the music video.  

Overall we felt that the images we have chosen to put onto the digipak match the theme of the song, and the images are evident as to which theme it is. Also the colours and the writing we want to use will also help to highlight this.

Software we are using to create our digipak

Adobe Illustrator is the software that we are using to create our digipak. 

Pop Digipak Analysis

Digipak Analysis on Prezi

Conventions of a pop digipak

Digipak Ideas

Front cover

Inside panels 

Back cover

Idea one:

Front cover- We chose to have a close up of the females face on the front so that the audience knows its about her and they can immediately focus onto her. Filling most of the front with her face, then allows the audience to identify with her, and is able to see her emotion. The two different types of font that are used in this image help create feeling in the image, as the 'On My Own' writing is curly and handwritten which gives the image a more personal feeling. The 'Alice Hare' writing, is bold but small which allows the writing to stand out against the background, and we didn't want writing to take focus away from the image. 

Inside panels - On the inside we wanted to have the lyrics down the left hand side, so that the target audience would be able to understand how the singer is really feeling and understand her situation more. We also wanted to have the flower also on the inside as this object is quite feminine, and also implies that she is quite a girly girl but it also has the connotations of innocence. 

Back cover - On the back cover we chose to have the female walking away down the path which we see at the start and the end of the video, and we thought the best place to put this image was on the back so that it looked like she was walking away from everything, we placed this image on the right hand side so that the track listing could go on the left. Also the record company logo, copyright information and the bar code went along the bottom so that it wouldn't take away any focus from the rest of the image on the back. 

Front cover

Inside panels

Back cover

Idea two:

Front cover - We placed the female on the left hand side of the image, but only showing half of her face so it left that sense of mystery with the image with not showing everything so it wouldn't give it all away at the start. The two different types of font used help to create a sense of emotion, 'On My Own' writing is bold and simple so that it implies its getting the message across straight away whereas the 'Alice Hare' writing is fancy but yet simple so that it shows there are two sides to everything, just one side some people don't realise. We were going to place something on the right hand side of the image in the background but didn't know what, as we wanted something that connotes the romance genre, but something that didn't take any focus away from the female. 

Inside panels - On the inside we chose to have the lyrics down the left hand side again, but then placed footprints along the right as this connotes that someone that once was there but not anymore which fits with the theme of the song, that she used to have something but she doesn't have it anymore. The background would be plain so then it wouldn't take away any focus from the images. 

Back cover - On the back we wanted to place the female on the left hand side and then take a long shot of the beach, as this would highlight her isolation and the beach was a good place to show how alone she feels now. The track listing would be in the middle of the image, but placed where the sky would be so that the writing would stand out against the background. The record company logo, the copyright information and the bar code would again be placed at the bottom of the image so that they don't take away any focus from the image. 

Front cover

Inside panel

Back cover

Idea three:

Front cover - We chose to place the female on the left hand side of the image, but have her looking down to the right as if she was distracted that there is something that reminds her of something, which is another feature of heartbreak. Her expression on her face, would be just simple and down so that the audience could see that she isn't happy and something is on her mind. The writing again would help show emotion 'On My Own' writing would be bold and normal sized font, so that it doesn't take away focus from the female but it does stand out to the audience and they can see what the whole song is about. The 'Alice Hare' writing would again be quite fancy but yet simple so that it stands out against the title of the song, but would be smaller as it isn't as important as the title. 

Inside panels - We wanted to place the lyrics again on the left hand side of the image so that the audience could feel like they understand the situation of the female more. We chose to place the egg timer on the right hand side as this is an object that we used in our music video, as we felt that it was different to a clock and you could actually see the time slowing fading away, and something that you won't be able to ever get back again, which fits with the females situation about something that she used to have but she doesn't have it anymore. The egg timer is simple and different to a clock which you see every day and we wanted something different. 

Back cover - On the left hand side we would place the track listing, so the audience could see what songs are included, but also it wouldn't take away any focus from the image of the female on the right who we would position showing that she is ready for anything, and isn't going to let anything get in her way anymore, which again is a connotation of what happens after heartbreak as people pick themselves back up again and carry on. The copyright information, the company logo and the bar code would be placed down the bottom so that no focus is taken away from the image and also so that it looks professional. 

Ex Student Digipak Analysis

Ex Student Digipak analysis

I chose to analyse Avril Lavigne - My Happy Ending because this song was the best one that fitted into my chosen genre.

Front cover:
I liked the front cover of this digipak because i felt the image reminded me of the music video well, and the facial expression of the artist matches the whole theme of the song. The way that they have placed the name of the artist and the name of the song on the wood, allows the writing to stand out against it, and therefore the audience can see it clearly. The direct address to the audience allows the image to have a more personal feeling, and having it taken using a high angle shot implies that the female isnt worth a lot and after the heartbreak she is feeling down, and this particular shot helps emphasise this.

Inside cover:
I felt that the red of the petals works well against the black of the background, but without the stem of the rose, i wouldnt of been able to work out what they were. I also feel that the white writing works well against the black background, but you cant read the writing over the stem. The colour theme of white red and black is evident all the way through the digipak, and also reminds me of the music video as the female wore these three colours. I like the way that they have the lyrics down the left hand side of the page, and then the petals leading across both pages.

Back cover:
I like the use of silhouetting the male on the back, as it leaves the audience thinking why can't you see the facial expression of him, and why has he got his back to the audience like he is hiding something or shying away from people cos he doesnt want to show his face to them. Placing the writing in red again is evident the colour theme is red black and white. I found the writing easy to read as it stood out well against the black of the background, and the company logo, copyright information and the barcode was placed at the bottom so that it looked professional and didnt take away any focus from the image itself. 

Overall i liked this digipak, but i didn't like the inside of it, as it was harder to read the writing.  

Conventions of a digipak

Front:

• Artist name
• Album name
• Image(usually of artist) or (maybe original art)

Back:

• Tracklisting
• Barcode
• Background image
• Record label
• Copyright information
• Where its made?

 Inside panels:

•  Writers+producers(basic song information)
• Lyrics?
• Back catalogue
• Artist information
• ''Thanks to....''
• Tour dates/competitions -  usually a freebie/cards

Spine:

• Name of the song
• Name of the artist
• Record company
• Logo

Digipak Brief+What is a digipak?

• A cover for its release as part of a digipak(CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak(CD/DVD package)

What is a digipak?
This is a style of CD or DVD packaging that promotes the artist

Conventions of a music video

Camera Shots:
Music videos usually tend to include a range of shots, for example long shots, close up's and mid shots. These are used to create emphasis on the artist, location and emotions. Also, close up's are used not only to show emotions but to reflect the words of the song with the movements of the lip of the artist



Camera Movements:

Camera movements in a music video are used to follow and track the artist or band, or sometimes even the dancers. To do these, they include tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots.




Mise-en-scene:
This refers to the arrangement of performers and props on stage or in a scene for a music video. Mise-en-scene puts an importance on the representation of something. A music video which shows this well is 'Neyo-Mad', as the mise-en-scene involves him walking down a road alone, being in an isolated room. This reflects the isolation from his lover. Also the props, and colour of the clothing used represent the down mood of the song. Similarly, the lighting is kept very dark as it is black and white; this connotes the angry and depressed mood

Editing:
The predominant editing technique used in a music video are jump cuts, this is because this allows a sudden change from one scene to another and vice versa. Also transitions such as fades and dissolves are very common in music videos as they create a different effect to cuts, and can also match to the mood of the song.

Costume:
This goes with the scenes in the song, and reflects the genre and sometimes even the artist. Costume is an important factor because it has a slight influence on how the viewers will dress because they use some of the celebrities as role models.

Colour:
Colours are used in a song, to set the mood of the song through creating an atmosphere. For example in rock songs such as Kings Of Leon darker colours like blacks are used whereas in pop and hip hop music videos there tends to be brighter colours used more.