Further Inspiration For Digipack

Besides looking at my artist Ellie Goulding's album covers I also researched other albums who focus just on the artist. Most of the images of the artist are close ups or mid shots but The Vamps one is a long shot. This may be because the artist is the most important thing and they are the one being promoted. Some of the pictures also contain props such as the stool in Ariana Grande's album cover. These make the covers less plain but the pictures as a whole are relatively simple so this is what I am going to recreate. I have noticed that there is a mixture on whether the artist;s name is bolder and bigger than the name of the album. However I would like to just put the name of the album on the front cover which isn't usual so I hope this makes my album stand out. I noticed the colours are usually very simple and don't use lots of colours (except Iggy Azalea's).

Inspiration For Digipack

I have looked at many different album booklets and seen how various artists promote themselves in non-identical ways, and how each album booklet is different for each artist. 

I have looked at many of Ellie Goulding's album covers because she the artist of my chosen song. I want to have some similarities between my digipack and hers.

These album covers all focus on the artist, showing lots of close-up or mid shots. I like how simple these album covers are, with nothing too big to take the attention away from the artist, and the way her head is held back and her hair is. This has inspired me to do something similar for my cover. 

Digipack Research- Nivana

Nivana- 'Nevermind' Album Booklet

Nivana's album booklet is something I haven't come across previously in my research. I wanted to have a chance to see what other genres of music do in their booklets and to see how it is different to pop. Therefore I have to option to gain ideas from this booklet and add some flavour to my digipack. Nivana is a rock band so it is no surprise that their booklet is different to some of the pop artist I have been looking at. Lots of bright colour is used in the booklet apart from the black and white page, but the font on this one is interesting because it looks like the words are waves in water, which links to the photo on the front cover. Each member of the band is in the three photos, which is unusual because usually you have a photo of each individual band member. This booklet is not what I want to replicate because I feel the font is too distracting on the black and white pages and it is too chaotic and colourful. I would like mine to be more simple than this.

Nivan's website:

Digipack Research- Olly Murs

Olly Murs- 'Never Been Better' Album Booklet

Olly Murs' album booklet contains a lot of focus on the artist, as there is a picture of him on every page. This is a good example of an album booklet because I believe that the focus should be on the artist as they are the ones being promoted. It also allows the fans who have brought the CD to feel more connected to him. I also like the fact that there is a handwritten note from Olly to his fans because it feels like he has written it for you. Therefore I am going to use this idea on my digipack. The colours also vary from black and white to colour which I like because it means there is variety. However, I think there needs to be a theme running through so all my photos are going to be in black and white.

Olly's Website:

Digipack Research- Sam Smith

Sam Smith- 'In The Lonely Hour' Album Booklet

This album booklet doesn't seem to have that big a focus on the artist. This is because there is only three photos of the artist. The background of the images are a simple grey, black, brown or white colour. This means they don't take the focus away from Sam. However, because the artist is wearing black the backgrounds are dark colours, I think that he sort of blends into the background which is not what you want in a album booklet as the artist should stand out so they are the focus because they are the ones being promoted. Therefore I feel that this is not the best example of a album booklet so I am going to make my artist stand out more than Sam does. 

Sam Smith's Website:

Digipack Research- Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift- '1989' Album Booklet

Taylor Swift's digipack has a vintage, polaroid theme to it, so every page has a polaroid picture on it and different pastel colours are used on each page, with a neon title. The fact that the whole vintage theme relates to the title of the album means that it isn't just randomly chosen, it has been carefully thought about. Having this consistency of the polaroid photos makes it seem more attractive and more memorable to the consumers. There is also a clear focus on the artist, allowing the audience to build a connection to the but unlike some digipacks she isn't particularly sexualised because that isn't what her image is about, her image is about having fun and being a strong, independent woman. The vintage look is very original because it is quite personal as these are mostly photos she has taken over the time she has made this album and this hasn't been done before.

Taylor Swift's website:

Digipack Research- One Direction

One Direction- 'Four' Album Booklet

One Direction's digipack done in plain and simple colours. On most pages there is a picture of the band. The pictures also have a page for each band member, allowing you to get to know each of them.  This gives me the impression that it is important that the digipack be centred around my artist, as they are the ones being promoted.  All the pictures are different portraying different images of the artist in different clothes and positions giving the digipack more variety and excitement for the audience. 

One Direction's Website:

Equipment Used For Filming And Photo

IPhone:
For filming my music video, I am going to do the majority of it on my iPhone 5S because I feel that the overall quality of the film is better and therefore will make my video look more professional. I also am going to use this for taking my digipack photos.

Panasonic Film Camera and Tripod:

However, when I was filming the fireworks and sparkler scenes I needed there to be no shaking so I had to use a Panasonic camera so that it would connect to a tripod to keep it steady.                                                                                                                                    

Apple iMac:

Everything I have filmed will be uploaded onto this and I will use software such as InDesign, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro to change and edit my footage and photos.

Filming Schedule- Music Video

Working With My Artist:
Because my artist is mostly at boarding school I will do some filming when I can, for example when she is at home during the christmas holidays. This means that I have plenty of time to edit the footage and film some more if I need to. 

I am going to film on the 12th, 13th and the 19th of December

12th December -  filming with artist in two different outfits using the green screen
18th December - filming outside shots such as sparkler shots and walking
20th December - filming extra shots (without artist) such as the tea lights and fireworks
I will edit these and if I need to film any other shots I will do it in January when I have free time.

Props and Outfits

The props I used for my music video, poster and digipack are as follows:

• Tea lights
• Fireworks
• Chinese lanterns
• Candles
• Sparklers
• Car (headlights, lit up dashboard and front lights with indicator on)
• Lanterns
• Various forms of lighting eg lamps 
• Green screen
• Bowl full of water to float tea lights on
• Makeup (mascara, eyeliner and red lipstick)
• Fire

The Clothing I used in my music video are as follows:

• A black long-sleeved baggy jumper
• Skinny dark blue jeans
• Light brown Uggs
• Black, knee length, short sleeved dress
• White crop-top
  

My Storyboard

The storyboards I have done provide me with a rough guide of some of the shots I want to replicate. I have included lots of different shots of lights, which is the theme of my song such as long shots and close ups so that the focus is not entirely on the artist. My video is going to be a showcase music video as I plan to show lots of close-up, mid and long shots of her, as shown in my pictures. Therefore my music video will be centred around the artist.

I know from doing my Thriller opening sequence for AS Media that a storyboard is very useful to have as a guide while you are filming, however, it is unlikely that I will rigidly stick to it as I might have an idea while filming in the moment. It might also not be possible to film some of what I have suggested such as the Chinese lantern, as it might be too windy. This is just for inspiration.  

Evaluation Of Target Audience Research Questionnaire

 I have managed to gain a good idea of what my target audience like to see in music videos by getting them to fill in my questionnaire. I asked 15 teenage girls a range of questions to do with their taste in music and what they like to see in music videos, which would help me when coming up with ideas for my own music video because it meant I could use it to create a video that my target audience will enjoy. 


For question one, the majority of people listed pop music videos as the music videos they most like to watch. I was surprised that every category I listed gained at least one vote because I didn't think my target audience would enjoy genres such as country. 

In question two, the majority of people preferred to listen to song lyrics that contain a meaning, in other words they have a message. This didn't surprise me because it is easier to connect to the artist and understand why they wrote the song if the lyrics have a meaning to them and you lean something from them.

Again, in question three, people preferred to see music videos that reflect the lyrics of the song.
   
For question four, the majority chose happy songs which fits in well with my song choice 

In question five, my target audience said they enjoy seeing special effects which also fits with some of my ideas of using special effects such as a green screen. 

For question six, a big proportion of people said they prefer slow paced shots which surprised me because I thought that they would have said fast. However, I am going to do fast paced shots but just not as fast as they could be. I know that my target audience were thinking of shots that are 1-2 seconds but I am thinking 3-4.

In question seven, the majority of people said they prefer songs with a storyline however with some of the ideas that I have come up with my video will not be following a storyline but will be very closely related to the lyrics of the song. 

Finally question eight showed that people don't mind what type of music video it is however most people voted for intertextual or a narrative, and both of these fit in well with my ideas.

This research has helped me finalise some important decisions I have to make and has influenced some of my ideas. 

Results From Target Audience Research Questionnaire

1. What genre of music do you like?

2. Do you prefer lyrics that contain a meaning or not?

3. Do you like music videos that reflect the lyrics of the song?

4. Do you prefer happy or sad songs?

5. Do you enjoy seeing special effects within a music video?

6. Do you prefer fast paced or slow shots?

7. Do you like seeing a storyline or narrative in a music video?

8. What type of music video is your favourite?