This is my DigiPak template, as you can see I have ordered them in the way in which the templates will unravel. For example (bottom left) "The Omega" page will be the title page which once the DigiPak is closed over will be the first image viewers see, I have chosen to make this the title page as it clearly displays the name of the band causing no confusion with other albums. Wednesday, 30 March 2016
Template for DigiPak
This is my DigiPak template, as you can see I have ordered them in the way in which the templates will unravel. For example (bottom left) "The Omega" page will be the title page which once the DigiPak is closed over will be the first image viewers see, I have chosen to make this the title page as it clearly displays the name of the band causing no confusion with other albums. 
Thursday, 24 March 2016
How is genre represented in your media product?
Modern music has now created divisions in the music population as genre based clans have become prominent causing young people, who stereotypically listen to music such as pop or punk, to adapt their dress sense and style according to the conventions of their favoured genre. Their image represents their music choice and personality; they may even adapt their speech to adhere to the colloquial language of said genre.
My chosen genre was pop / Indie Pop. As I researched these genres and in viewing videos from Lana Del Ray and Florence and The Machine it was immediately obvious that the genre had a exclusive dress code. The dress code can’t be defined as fashionable as the whole concept of being individual is subverting ideas of trends and mainstream ideas that are seasonal. Being indie appears to express the idea of appreciating what is or was good; it is timeless. Because of that, indie people generally appreciate vintage items and ageless pieces. This is obvious in “Summertime Sadness” and “High by The Beach” by Lana Del Ray and “Shake it off” and “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and the Machine as their clothing adheres to an almost bohemian theme diversified by the inclusion of vintage wear. Typically the Indie Pop artists and followers attempt to distance themselves from conglomerate brands such as Top Shop, Nike etc as they pride themselves on being individual, therefore, buying clothing from boutiques. My chosen genre was also Pop, a very mainstream idea, gaining its name as it refers to “popular” music. Typically the Pop genre uses branded lavish clothing and “Hollywood” ideas such as saturating and colourising it’s music videos vivaciously trying to grab and attain the viewers attention. In reference to clothing Pop music stereotypically display males, well dressed in branded styled clothing and females in short tight clothing’s displaying their features, in many ways pop music sexualizes its music videos.
We considered this for our video and attempted to adhere to the stereotypes of the genre, on choosing the outfits for each band member we rigorously looked through our combined wardrobes choosing unbranded, unique clothing, for example, the jacket I wear in the film is from a boutique for Cadiz in Spain! The unbranded clothing wasn’t a problem, however our music video also adheres to the pop genre therefore we had to incorporate stereotypes of this genre also, therefore we decided to created a combination of Indie and mainstream clothing to create an element in our music video that represented both genres. We subtly introduced pop culture into our clothing as Luke our protagonist wore shoes from Top Man whilst I wore Vans, these are two stereotypical popular brands and subtly incorporating them into our music video gave us the right fusion of the two genres. Moreover our antagonist wore uniform, a clothing closely associated with standard, repetitive and typical ideas juxtaposing the clothing of our antagonist, therefore visually portraying contrast in styles of the Pop and Indie genre. This is an example of Levi-Strauss binary opposition- unique vs. mainstream.
Pop and Indie Pop bands are usually shown playing their own instruments. Coldplay in “Hymn for the Weekend” often play their instruments in the middle of the on-going narrative therefore creative a meta-narrative and using their own music playing as a sub plot s making their own music playing a sub plot. We didn't use this idea in the final cut of the music video however we planned to cut shots from live music interspersed with the narrative that made up our main plot line. Instead we chose to use a narrative which incorporated a sub plot, of our singers, which took place in locations visited in the video (maintaining the continuity), this occurs in the pop song by Rhianna “Love The Way You Lie,” This proved opportune as the continuity of the narrative was undisturbed. Despite the clear grand narrative, Jean-François Lyotard would approve of our work as the separation of singing and the main narrative provides our music video with a meta-narrative an idea which Jean-François Lyotard was keen to introduce. We chose to do this as our plot would be too complex if we were to include singing within the narrative, therefore the separate singing offered viewers a break in action to contemplate what has happened.
Indie Pop artists are usually male and in there twenties therefore music video narratives tend to explore love and fulfilment from a different point of view form that of the rose tinted clichés in Pop music. The 1975 begin their song “Girls” with a speech from their lead singer “were not a pop band and this video feels very poppy and that’s not really what were all about.” This displays that Indie Pop is a totally different genre to Pop and artists seem desperate to distance themselves from the “cheesy” stereotypes of Pop music. Instead of displaying sweet teens on their first date, they include women playing instruments dressed in lingerie a sexualisation which wouldn't be suitable for the target audience of a Pop genre, however as the 1975 are a individual group they can choose what they want to do and their audience, who a like minded will respect the unique ideas they display. We couldn't replicate this as our product had to be Catholic friendly therefore we played on stereotypes of a Pop boy-band, however instead of replicating the typical two band members fight over a girl we added a refreshing twist to this, introducing the idea that our female antagonist cheated on our lead member with and other member; an individual idea which is ambiguous and unstereotypical of a Pop genre yet unique such as a Indie Pop genre. Our Artist was, however, alone singing identified by Saussure as a semiotic linked to self-reflection and the idea of music acting as a problem solver. We felt this also suggested gratification theory as viewers may put themselves in the shoes of the artist as they may have experienced a break up or being cheated on therefore, allowing the audience to relate to our product. We used this device to show the protagonists personal struggle to overcome his anger, jealousy and frustration prevailing as a single independent male.
The editing was a huge part in our production, in most music videos it is a general rule that shot changes should be in time with the beat (typically the drums) This occurs in Bastilles “Pompeii” we chose to include this in our production as it adheres to the conventions of both the pop and Indie Pop genre, moreover it allowed our narrative to develop naturally as the picture and music converged fluently allowing us to produce a coherent music video.
We considered this for our video and attempted to adhere to the stereotypes of the genre, on choosing the outfits for each band member we rigorously looked through our combined wardrobes choosing unbranded, unique clothing, for example, the jacket I wear in the film is from a boutique for Cadiz in Spain! The unbranded clothing wasn’t a problem, however our music video also adheres to the pop genre therefore we had to incorporate stereotypes of this genre also, therefore we decided to created a combination of Indie and mainstream clothing to create an element in our music video that represented both genres. We subtly introduced pop culture into our clothing as Luke our protagonist wore shoes from Top Man whilst I wore Vans, these are two stereotypical popular brands and subtly incorporating them into our music video gave us the right fusion of the two genres. Moreover our antagonist wore uniform, a clothing closely associated with standard, repetitive and typical ideas juxtaposing the clothing of our antagonist, therefore visually portraying contrast in styles of the Pop and Indie genre. This is an example of Levi-Strauss binary opposition- unique vs. mainstream.
Pop and Indie Pop bands are usually shown playing their own instruments. Coldplay in “Hymn for the Weekend” often play their instruments in the middle of the on-going narrative therefore creative a meta-narrative and using their own music playing as a sub plot s making their own music playing a sub plot. We didn't use this idea in the final cut of the music video however we planned to cut shots from live music interspersed with the narrative that made up our main plot line. Instead we chose to use a narrative which incorporated a sub plot, of our singers, which took place in locations visited in the video (maintaining the continuity), this occurs in the pop song by Rhianna “Love The Way You Lie,” This proved opportune as the continuity of the narrative was undisturbed. Despite the clear grand narrative, Jean-François Lyotard would approve of our work as the separation of singing and the main narrative provides our music video with a meta-narrative an idea which Jean-François Lyotard was keen to introduce. We chose to do this as our plot would be too complex if we were to include singing within the narrative, therefore the separate singing offered viewers a break in action to contemplate what has happened.
Indie Pop artists are usually male and in there twenties therefore music video narratives tend to explore love and fulfilment from a different point of view form that of the rose tinted clichés in Pop music. The 1975 begin their song “Girls” with a speech from their lead singer “were not a pop band and this video feels very poppy and that’s not really what were all about.” This displays that Indie Pop is a totally different genre to Pop and artists seem desperate to distance themselves from the “cheesy” stereotypes of Pop music. Instead of displaying sweet teens on their first date, they include women playing instruments dressed in lingerie a sexualisation which wouldn't be suitable for the target audience of a Pop genre, however as the 1975 are a individual group they can choose what they want to do and their audience, who a like minded will respect the unique ideas they display. We couldn't replicate this as our product had to be Catholic friendly therefore we played on stereotypes of a Pop boy-band, however instead of replicating the typical two band members fight over a girl we added a refreshing twist to this, introducing the idea that our female antagonist cheated on our lead member with and other member; an individual idea which is ambiguous and unstereotypical of a Pop genre yet unique such as a Indie Pop genre. Our Artist was, however, alone singing identified by Saussure as a semiotic linked to self-reflection and the idea of music acting as a problem solver. We felt this also suggested gratification theory as viewers may put themselves in the shoes of the artist as they may have experienced a break up or being cheated on therefore, allowing the audience to relate to our product. We used this device to show the protagonists personal struggle to overcome his anger, jealousy and frustration prevailing as a single independent male.
The editing was a huge part in our production, in most music videos it is a general rule that shot changes should be in time with the beat (typically the drums) This occurs in Bastilles “Pompeii” we chose to include this in our production as it adheres to the conventions of both the pop and Indie Pop genre, moreover it allowed our narrative to develop naturally as the picture and music converged fluently allowing us to produce a coherent music video.
Wednesday, 23 March 2016
Representation in my A2 Media Production
Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. Rather than examining media representations as simply reflecting or mirroring “reality,” we will be examining how media representations serve to “re-present” or to actually create a new reality.
Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. The groups and communities portrayed in the media can include gender, age, race, sexuality, and social class. In our production, both genders are represented, with both male and female characters this worked in our favour as it broadened our viewer demographics. It is normal that male characters are more often associated with the public sphere of work, rather than the private sphere of the home, yet we chose to pursuit the issues and problems related to personal issues as we believed it was a change from the monotonous issues of work life, therefore making our production a niche market. Luke is portrayed as the ‘Strong Silent Type’ as he regains power acting decisively, yet he also subverts the stereotypes of this genre as he fails to contain emotion displayed through the numerous close ups within our music video displaying Luke’s dismay. This stereotype should reinforce the assumption that men should always be in control, and expressing one’s feelings is a sign of weakness yet we use the emotions of Luke to our advantage subverting the genre. Laura Mulvey suggests the theory of the male gaze yet we subvert this idea as my research shows that 44%–81% of music videos contain sexual imagery. Women are far more likely than men to be presented in provocative or revealing clothing and sexually objectified, however we subvert the convention as Alice is fully clothed and unsexualised within our music video as we would prefer our audience to understand our narrative rather fixate on Alice . Furthermore women are frequently portrayed as decorative objects that dance and pose such as Emily Ratajkowski in “Blurred Lines,” they do not play any instruments. Our music video adheres to this stereotype as Alice is objectified and is portrayed as a lusty character as she cheats on Luke.
Our age range is predominantly between 17-18, we tried to adhere to our target market as the viewers were able to relate themselves to the situation playing on the media theory ‘two step flow’ as our audience witness the breakup of Luke and Alice and are able to decode the narrative as a story of hope to whichever situation they have experienced in their own lives. Our cast are all of white British origin as we have an all-white cast, heterosexuality with heterosexual relationships portrayed, and we portray the upper class, as the young characters live in a stately house people their age can rarely afford. Our video adheres to Marx and Gramsci’s idea of hegemony involving the domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class, who manipulate the culture of that society, as we feature white characters in a society where other races are still minorities, this was not on purpose as we live in an area lacking racial diversity, however we believe that as the rest of the band is of White British origin, they can help Luke to overcome his problems.
Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. The groups and communities portrayed in the media can include gender, age, race, sexuality, and social class. In our production, both genders are represented, with both male and female characters this worked in our favour as it broadened our viewer demographics. It is normal that male characters are more often associated with the public sphere of work, rather than the private sphere of the home, yet we chose to pursuit the issues and problems related to personal issues as we believed it was a change from the monotonous issues of work life, therefore making our production a niche market. Luke is portrayed as the ‘Strong Silent Type’ as he regains power acting decisively, yet he also subverts the stereotypes of this genre as he fails to contain emotion displayed through the numerous close ups within our music video displaying Luke’s dismay. This stereotype should reinforce the assumption that men should always be in control, and expressing one’s feelings is a sign of weakness yet we use the emotions of Luke to our advantage subverting the genre. Laura Mulvey suggests the theory of the male gaze yet we subvert this idea as my research shows that 44%–81% of music videos contain sexual imagery. Women are far more likely than men to be presented in provocative or revealing clothing and sexually objectified, however we subvert the convention as Alice is fully clothed and unsexualised within our music video as we would prefer our audience to understand our narrative rather fixate on Alice . Furthermore women are frequently portrayed as decorative objects that dance and pose such as Emily Ratajkowski in “Blurred Lines,” they do not play any instruments. Our music video adheres to this stereotype as Alice is objectified and is portrayed as a lusty character as she cheats on Luke.
Our age range is predominantly between 17-18, we tried to adhere to our target market as the viewers were able to relate themselves to the situation playing on the media theory ‘two step flow’ as our audience witness the breakup of Luke and Alice and are able to decode the narrative as a story of hope to whichever situation they have experienced in their own lives. Our cast are all of white British origin as we have an all-white cast, heterosexuality with heterosexual relationships portrayed, and we portray the upper class, as the young characters live in a stately house people their age can rarely afford. Our video adheres to Marx and Gramsci’s idea of hegemony involving the domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class, who manipulate the culture of that society, as we feature white characters in a society where other races are still minorities, this was not on purpose as we live in an area lacking racial diversity, however we believe that as the rest of the band is of White British origin, they can help Luke to overcome his problems.
Saussure developed the idea of signs and semiotics. In semiotics, a sign, something that can be interpreted as having a meaning, which is something other than its literal self, and which is therefore able to communicate information to the one interpreting or decoding the sign. In our production, we use examples of semiotics. We used light as a signifier, depicting the idea of hope and a new way of life after Luke’s breakup. Our music videos lighting is key as after he breaks up with his girlfriend the background is always dark, yet in the later stages of our video the lighting and contrast increases displaying Luke overcoming the depressing shadow which covered him previously.
Our production boasts a strong, positive message to our audience, about relationship breakdowns and friendship helping with recovery. By showing this breakup and how the heartbroken character fights to recover his broken heart, it empowers those that may have struggled with the same situation themselves, (two step flow) moreover it sends a positive message to the youthful population: they can recover from broken heart, there is always a way out of problems with the help of their friends. We don’t see a resolution within the music video, but it is obvious that Luke will overcome the depression he immediately feels, the fluctuation of emotions another representation of the pop genre.
Our production boasts a strong, positive message to our audience, about relationship breakdowns and friendship helping with recovery. By showing this breakup and how the heartbroken character fights to recover his broken heart, it empowers those that may have struggled with the same situation themselves, (two step flow) moreover it sends a positive message to the youthful population: they can recover from broken heart, there is always a way out of problems with the help of their friends. We don’t see a resolution within the music video, but it is obvious that Luke will overcome the depression he immediately feels, the fluctuation of emotions another representation of the pop genre.
Friday, 18 March 2016
Most Updated Version
I am currently in my Media Studies lesson and have just finished what i think my final version of my front cover for the DigiPak will be! I may need to fiddle around with it slightly and i am debating changing the opacity of Luke's face, however apart from that i am happy with the cover!Thursday, 17 March 2016
Timeline of Digipack Tile: Track List
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| This is the earliest stage of production of my Track List, as you can see i have merely established the track names and dark background. |
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| I have now began to incorporate the 'rainbow of life' into the background |
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| Luke's face has been layered behind the text on purpose, therfore he takes nothing away from our tracks which is the main focus on this tile. |
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| Lastly the background has been layered, the deep blue blurred colourisation reflecting the emotions of our protagonist in our music video. |
Wednesday, 16 March 2016
Digi Update
Tuesday, 15 March 2016
First Attempts At DigiPak
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| Photoshop Work |
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