Group discussions/ Art Director ideas

Job title.

Producer/art director: Hannah

Cinematographer: Muhaimin

Editor: Laura

POP PROMO QUESTIONNAIRE

Age: Sex:

How many pop promos do you view a week?

Have you ever heard of The Martells?

What kind of music do you listen to?

Do you watch pop promos? (If yes, where?)

What do you prefer a music video to have? Narrative or Performance or Both?

Do you like music without lyrics?

NARRATIVE:

at the beginning of the song, there is 18.06 seconds of music. for this i would like to have a mix of the band playing. it would then cut to the two characters at the train station in the day time. for the small town girl bit the camera will focus on her and then she notices the boy for the part talking about him. the camera will then focus on him. they will then both be in a bar and notice each other again in the smokey room, it will then fade to black and come back to the band performing. at 1.55 the band will stop and more narrative will be show. until 2.28. the band will then come back in. it will then be flittered between the band and the 2 characters meeting.

COSTUME:

the characters will be wearing casual clothing that makes them look like their characters. for example the city boy will be wearing low jeans, jewellery, hoodie. the small town girl will be wearing simple clothes and will look a bit lost.

LOCATION:

the location will make both of the characters look uncomftable and neither of them should look like they are in their comfort zone. it will be what neither of them are used to.

PROPS:

no props are needed for the characters in the pop promo.

LIGHTING:

for the outside scenes there will be no extra lighting, only natural lighting will be used. for the live band footage artificial lights will be used aswell as the bands own lights to draw peoples attention to them.

Planning and design for print advert

me and my group were aware that the print ad would have to reflect the cd cover so that people would put the two together and so that they would be associated as a package. therefore the main piece of the print ad is the graffiti tea and guitar. the name of the band is also in the same font as on the cd cover and we incorporated a picture of the band on the print ad so that people would know what they looked like. this was done in the bottom corner so it were not to take over the focus point of the ad. as with the cd cover, on the print ad we also had to put copyright labels and record label info. we tried to make it look as much like the cd as we could but we knew we had to put extras on to sell the cd such as slogans and reviews. there were not any other versions of the print ad as we made the cd cover first and knew they had to match.

Analysis of 3 print adverts for band. 1 similar

Artist: Jay-Z

Album: The Blueprint

This is a print ad for Jay-Z's album. it clearly shows him as the artist, it shows him to look slightly scary and powerful, a well known trend for this genre of music. it says the albums name. it tells the consumer when it is available to buy. it also have information about the record label and copyright info. it appears that he is taking money out of a safe which was hidden behind a picture. this shows that he feels he has to hide his money from people who may want to steal it. crime is a very big part of the hip-hop genre.

Artist: Joe Cockers

Album: Vocal cords

In this print ad the artist is not visible. the picture of the skull is scary looking and the scissors and wire only intensify this. it makes the consumer curious and wonder what the album is about. the name if the artist and the name of the album are visible on the ad, although the word 'cords' is spelt wrong. it also has a slogan and some small print.

Artist: James Blunt

This is not so much a print ad for an album but iPod is advertising James Blunt as James Bond, this is obvious because of the font of the writing. it has become what james bond is recognised by. the red and black makes it look stylish and expensive, which reflects the iPod and James Blunt. it makes james blunt look and seem powerful. the gun also emphasises this.

Planning and design for cd digipack

after i analysed three cd cover designs i realised that i would have to think about what i put on mine more than i thought i would have too...

... me and my group came up with various ideas such as a simple picture of the band, which would have done the job but may not have court the eye. another idea was of an instrument which would have suited the band but we thought that it was a bit plain. we made mock ups of these ideas on photo shop. here they are.....

i remember driving past the train station in ipswich and seeing a graffitied wall which was clearly done by a professional. i noticed that next to each other was a mug of tea and the top of a guitar which instantly made me think of the cd cover. it fitted the band because of the guitar and it also suited their age range with the cup of tea, but alsoo appealed to a younger audience because of the graffiti. i put this idea to my group and they all decided they also liked it. we decided that because the band were not well known that we would have to incorporate a picture of the band somewhere in the cd cover. we decided to put it in the inside and have the members names underneath to introduce them to the buyers. we also knew that we would have to put on a barcode and copyright labels and record label info and we done this. the name of the band and the name of the album are also important which is why we made the font big and easily seen. here is the finished thing...

Analysis of 3 cd digipack album covers. 1 similar

Artist: Kelly Clarkson

Genre: Pop

Cover contents: Edited picture, artist, name and title





This album is by Kelly Clarkson. The design of this is that of fantasy. It is very dark and mysterious and has been heavily photo shopped. It displays a picture of the artist at the bottom of a stair case and has no immediate connection to any of the songs on the album. it is very eye catching as the backround of the cover is in dull and dreary colours whereas the artists dress has not has its colour saturized., this makes her stand out. the font of the writing also stands out as it does not fit in with the kind of the fantasy theme of the rest of the cover.

Artist: The Fray

Genre:

Cover contents: natural picture, artist, name

This album cover is by the band 'The Fray'. it is a simple cover but very effective, it gives the consumer all they need to know, the name of the band and a picture of them. it looks like a natural picture as none of the members are looking directly down the camera lense. it would seem that they are waiting for something. a train or something maybe. it seems to be a very small budget album cover with minimal effort. the font of the name is very simple and easy to read, it fits in with the simple picture.

Artist: Ne-yo

Genre: Hip-hop/R'n'B

Cover contents: edited picture, artist, name, title

This is an album by 'Ne-yo'. it is a very classy and expensive looking album cover. this is a typical trait for the hip hop and r n b genre. this is also commonly seen in many of this genres videos. the focus point of this cover is the artist. the font of the album title is in very stylish and elegant writing which gives the cover added class, but the name of the artist is in a clear font and easy to read. this is because the artist will be able to sell enough of the albums with just his name and he doesnt need the name of the album to stand out.

Rough treatment

18 second intro - various shots of the band performing their instruments.(artificial lighting, band set up, wearing all black)

Just a small town girl - GIRL WALKS OUT OF TRAIN STATION (natural lighting, simple clothing)
Livin' in a lonely world - SHE LOOKS AROUND
She took the midnight train - SHE LOOKS LONELY
Goin' anywhere
Just a city boy - BOY WALKS OUT OF A TRAIN STATION. (natural lighting, low jeans jewellery)
Born and raised in South Detroit - HE LOOKS AROUND (sees girl but thinks nothing of it)

He took the midnight train - HE LOOKS LOST BUT IS PUTTING ON A BRAVE FACE
Goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room - GIRL SITTING IN BAR (artificial lighting, looks sad and lonely, playing with her glass)
A smell of wine and cheap perfume

For a smile they can share the night - BOY WALKS IN AND SEES HER (artificial lighting)
It goes on and on and on and on - THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER (he sits down at the bar looks at her and orders a drink)

pan to the band performing

Strangers waiting - VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE BAND
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night - SHOTS OF BAND END

Workin' hard to get my fill - GIRL IS SEEN WALKING THROUGH TOWN (natural lighting, looking at everything around, looks lonely)
Everybody wants a thrill -
Payin' anything to roll the dice - BOY SEEN WALKING THROUGH TOWN (looking around at everything)
Just one more time
Some will win - THEY WALK PAST EACH OTHER AND SEE EACH OTHER (looked shocked to see each other again)
Some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends - THEY LOOK BACK AT EACH OTHER. (turn heads round and stare)
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting - VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE BAND
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night

[Instrumental Interlude]

Don't stop believin' - GIRL SITTING AT A TABLE (natural lighting, playing with phone, looks up)
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights, people - BOY COMES AND SITS NEXT TO HER (smiles)

Don't stop believin'

Hold on - THEY TALK AND LAUGH
Streetlights, people

repeated - THEY LEAVE TOGETHER. FADE TO BAND. FADE TO BLACK

Detailed synopsis for whole pop promo

Journey - Don't stop believing

For our pop promo we are going to have a narrative running right the way through and some performance of the actual band. the lyrics of the song we have chosen are really easy to picture, therefore the narrative will just follow these. the lyrics are......

Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train
Goin' anywhere
Just a city boy
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train
Goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night

Workin' hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Some will win
Some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching
In the night
Streetlights, people
Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night

[Instrumental Interlude]

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights, people
Don't stop believin'
Hold on
Streetlights, people

fades in from black.

the song has an 18 second intro, for this the band will be shown performing in a variety of shot including close ups, mid shots and long shots.

when the lyrics begin a young girl who is by herself and clearly from a small town walks out of a train station. she looks confused and lonely. she looks around and checks her phone.

5 lines into the verse a young boy is seen leaving the same train station he doesnt look as lonely and confused as the small town girl as hes from the city and has more confidence. they both leave the station seperately

there is then a fairly long instrumental, the band are on screen in various shots as before.

when the lyrics start again, the young boy walks to a bus stop and sits down, a few seconds later the young girl also walks over to the same bus stop and sits down. they catch each others eye and note each other but dont pay too much attention at this point.

this is when the chorus begins and the band are seen performing again in a variety of shots.

when the next verse begins the young girl is walking through town, looking around. it is clear that she is not used to these surroundings. the young boy is also walking through town towards the girl when they pass each other they lock eyes and pay more attention to each other and repeatedly look back at one another.

the chorus then starts and the band is seen again

after one chorus it cuts back to narrative, the girl is sitting at a table alone playing with her phone and drinking coffee. the boy sees her and walks over and sits at the next table he gets her attention and they start to talk and laugh. they eventually leave together.

fades back to the band and they perform the end of the song.

fades to black.

Rough synopsis for whole pop promo

• it will start of with the band for the intro
• for the first verse there will be narrative following the lyrics.
• instrumental - more band footage
• back to narrative
• the band will be shown for the chorus
• then the next chorus will show the band
• for the second verse there will be more narrative this will not follow the lyrics but the characters will notice each other
• band shown for one chorus.
• characters meet again and fall in love.
• fade to black for end of song

My ideas for pop promo

after careful thought about the type of band me and my group are making a pop promo for i think it would be best to include a combination of narrative and performance in the music video. i think this because the band are not so well known, it would be a good idea to let the audience know what they actually look like seems as the pop promo is promoting them. i think that it should be broken up with bits of narrative to keep the audience entertained rather than showing just the band for so long as the song is over 4 minutes long.

therfore, when the song goes into the chorus the band with perform as this is the main part of the song and the part that people are mor elikely to remember. for the versuses and bridges the narrative will be taking place, the narrative will follow the lyrics as they already have made a narrative. for the 18 second intro the pop promo will be introduced by the band playing their instruments. then it will cut to the two characters walking out of a train station and noticing each other, they will then see each other in various places that the lyrics say. at the end of the video they will eventually meet and talk and walk of together thats when the song ends. it will end with the band then fade to black and end.

2 pop promos similar to my chosen band

• Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPm4GH3UUC8

• Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuJrEBtmM1Q

CD designs and adverts for similar bands

Research/report of similar bands

The band that me and laura and muhaimin are making a pop promo for cover songs by a range of artists dating back from the 1950's right up to the present day, as this is the case the i am going to research a few of the bands that the martells cover.

Ronan Keating - Became part of the band 'Boyzone' after auditioning for Louis Walsh when he was 16, although the band never officially broke up, they hadn't released a single since 1999, but started releasing more when they reformed in 2007. During this time Ronan became a solo artist and clocked up 14 UK top 10 singles including 4 UK no.1's. In 2008 the band began a 29 date reunion tour.

Pink Floyd - Became famous in the late 1960's as an English rock band. During they're time they have sold over 200 million albums worldwide. They formed in 1965 and originally consisted of university students - Rogers Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright and Syd Barrett. They were very popular in the London underground music scene and released two charting singles and a commercially and critically successful debut album. Wright and Waters left the band but Gilmour and Mason later joined by Wright continued recording under the name Pink Floyd. Waters disapproved and tried using legal means to stop this but they agreed in a out of court settlement. Although the relations between them are sour, they reformed in 2005 for a final one off performance at Live 8.

Journey - Became famous as an American rock band in 1973, although they're strongest success didn't become apparent until the late 70's to early 80's. The group split and then reformed successfully in the mid 90's. Throughout their time, In 3 decades, Journeys albums have achieved gold status twice, platinum three times, multi platinum 8 times and diamond once. Their most famous song 'Don't stop believing' is the top selling song in iTunes history with more than 3 million downloads. In the US Today Opinion Poll, Journey came in fifth of America's greatest rock bands in history.

Analysis of 3 pop promos of my choice

Beyonce - Me, Myself and I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV10Jl4ivGI

There is no use of interesting mise-en-scene, there are a few different locations but nothing that would stand out.There are also no interesting use of cinematography, only standard camera shots and angles.

The most interesting part of the video is the editing and the visuals. The entire pop promo had been reversed, although the lyrics are spoken the right way.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as she is singing about being alone and the video is of her leaving a man and she spends the majority of the video alone.The music and the visuals sit together comfortably.

There are characteristics of the genre within this pop promo, the artist is represented as very classy and she clearly has a lot of money and power. This is a typical part of the genre.

The whole video is narrative, although throughout the video the artist is singing.

The pop promo promotes the artist in a positive way as she is standing up for herself and she is independant enough to be alone and not need a man.

Jagged Edge - Let's Get Married

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1deGOhW6OE

There are no interesting uses of mise-en-scene or cinematography.

The most interesting use of editing is when the narrative rewinds and the audience physically see the pop promo rewinding.

There is a strong visual between the lyrics and the visuals as the song is about getting married and so is the visuals.

There is also a strong connection between the music and the visuals as there are a lot of genre characteristics in this pop promo. The men are covered in strippers and surrounded by money.

There is an equal amount of narrative and performance.This pop promo promoted the band is a positive way as they are showing that people from this genre are ready to settle down and respect women.

The Fray - How to Save a Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UksIFm8Ru6s

There is no use of interesting use of mise-en-scene as the video is very simple and only has the band in a white room.

The cinematography is also simple to suit the visual aspect of it.

There is no obvious connection between the visual and the lyrics as there is no narrative, only performance. There is also no obvious connection between the music and the visual, only that the music is sung by the people in the visual.

There is no use of intertextuality or characteristics of the genre.

The pop promo promotes the band in a positive light as they are not doing anything that people would disagree with.