Pitch

Description of Performance: Initially we had planned to have the artist miming within various scenes and blend these shots into the locations of the narrative. However, we decided that this would be too much like the existing video of ‘We Found Love’, where Rihanna is seen in a series of shots entwined within the narrative. The video will features a number of shots that establishes the turbulent relationship of the couple. This will be achieved through dramatic acting which is a performance in itself. The reasons we chose to go for this style of performance was largely based on the existing research we undertook, especially the style in which Calvin Harris mimes in the narrative of many of his videos. I feel it will add an artistic and subtle edge to the video and will not blur the message of the song.

Description of Story: 

The lyrics of the song are mainly based around the words “we found love in a hopeless place” so we thought it best to create a story that conveys the idea of finding love despite being in a dark and hopeless place. To do this we decide to portray a young couple who have a troubled relationship which develops further throughout the video until they final embrace to show they’re feelings for each other. We want to depict this in a very subtle and artistic way in order to keep the audience interested and let them engage with the story. The reason we have chosen to do this is because our audience research showed that a key feature in a music video  people expected  was a storyline that conveys a message but also makes you feel good when you see and listen to the video and also something which attaches meaning to the lyrics.  

Description of Locations: The locations we're going to use in our video are derelict places, places we have in mind are, an abandoned factory, empty roads and an urban road underpass to portray that clearly show two people coming together in hopeless places, this will also add into the portraying of a message that we got from our audience research and also represent visual aspects which are emotive.

Description of Characters and Costumes: The style in this video will depict that of the urban, contemporary style that is evident in many of Calvin Harris’ videos. This style will fit in with the age range of between 17 – 20 years, much like the characters in the video and the audience viewing the video. The two main characters in the video will have to convey a look that is fashionable because our audience research found that people are often influenced by the fashion they see in music videos . We also found out from our video research that Calvin Harris’ previous videos feature characters in the same light, would are fashionable, including Harris himself.   

Audience Research: Survey Results

Survey Results

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Audience Research: Interviews

Audience Interviews

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The Prodigy Advertisement

This is an example of an album release advert for The Prodigy’s Invaders Must Die album. The advertisement features the same black and white image that is featured on the front cover of the album so it is easily recognisable in stores. This differs from the style of image that is used on the Calvin Harris and Tinie Tempah advertisements as well as the rest of the dance genre. The same jagged hand-written style font has been used on the advert as well as the album cover. This is a style that has been carried on throughout The Prodigy’s albums and advertisements. Much like the Calvin Harris advert only three colours have been incorporated into the advertisement. These colours are black, white and orange.  The advert gives the basic details of when the album is going to be released. It also adds the Prodigy web address for fans to view. The HMV logo has also been featured to make the audience aware of a reputable retailer that sells the album.

Tinie Tempah Advertisement

This is an example of an album release advert for Tinie Tempah’s Disc-overy album. The advertisement features a similar image that is featured on the front cover of the album so it is easily recognisable in stores. Much like Calvin Harris’s album advertisement a portrait style image of the artist from the shoulders up has been used. This is a popular image choice among the dance genre. The same bold white style font has been used on the advert as well as the album cover. This is a style that has been carried on throughout Tinie Tempah’s albums and advertisements. Unlike the Calvin Harris advert, more colours have been incorporated into the advertisement due to the colour photograph.  The advert gives the basic details of when the album is going to be released. It also adds that the album features a popular single that is already in the charts. This information has been included so the audience can associate a familiar song with the album itself.

Calvin Harris Advertisement

This is an example of an album release advert for Calvin Harris’s I Created Disco album. The advertisement features the same image that is featured on the front cover of the album so it is easily recognisable in stores. The same futuristic style font has been used on the advert as well as the album cover. This is a style that has been carried on throughout Calvin Harris’s albums and advertisements. The advert gives the basic details of when the album is going to be released. It also adds that the album features a popular single that is already in the charts. This information has been included so the audience can associate a familiar song with the album itself. The Amazon website address has been featured on the advert to let the audience know where the album is available. Record company logos are also featured on the advertisement.       

Example "Playing in the Shadows"

This is Example’s second album, Playing in the Shadow. The front cover is similar to the two previous Calvin Harris albums. A black and white photograph has been used again with a dark shadow cast over one side of Example’s face. This could have been used to suggest that he has a split personality. This also ties in with the album title, Playing in the Shadows. His name is featured in a bold, yellow text and the album title is in a white font. The style echoes that of Calvin Harris’s albums, featuring only a photograph or image of a head. The album cover also features a parental advisory label. The overall mise en scene of the album cover fits the dance genre.     

Calvin Harris “ Ready for the Weekend”

This is the front cover taken from Calvin Harris’ second album Ready for the Weekend. The front cover could be considered minimal as the only colours used are black and white. A black and white photograph, with a girls face has been featured on the front cover as well as Calvin Harris’ name and album title in a futuristic style font. This style echoes that of  the first album by Calvin Harris. The same style glasses have been featured again to carry on the futuristic theme. The sunglasses have even been sold as Calvin Harris merchandise. The fact that an attractive young girl has been featured on the album cover is in keeping with the dance genre and how it is marketed.

Calvin Harris “ I Created Disco”

This is a limited edition version of Calvin Harris’ first album I Created Disco. The album has a limited edition glow in the dark front cover. The front cover could be considered minimal as the only colours used are black and white. I pop art style image of Calvin Harris’ face is featured on the front cover as well as his name and album title in a futuristic style font. This style has been carried through to other Calvin Harris products, adverts and albums. The album cover has a 80’s feel and is in keeping with the disco theme. The album cover features a sticker letting the audience now that the album is a glow in the dark limited edition of the featuring huge hits, such as Acceptable in the 80.  

Example "Changed the Way You Kiss Me"

Band: Example

Song: Change the Way You Kiss Me

Genre: Dance                 

Location: The first part of the video is located in an apartment / hotel bathroom. The second half of the video has been shot at a live venue with a large audience. This is a realistic and believable location which matches the fast paced nature of the song.

Costumes: The costumes featured in this video consist of urban (jeans, t-shirt & trainers) which again matches the genre of music. The clothing featured in this video is typical of the clothing that an Example fan may be seen wearing.

Storyline: In the video we see Example preparing for a live gig. He seems to be anxious and expresses his feelings of fearing the unknown.

Performance: The video features a live performance with a band and a large audience. The intense atmosphere of the gig works well with the fast rhythm of the song. Again this is a realistic and authentic performance that creates the right mood.

Style: This style is typical of the dance genre. The idea of a live performance seems to be a tried and tested style used again and again by different dance artists.

Colour: The video has been shot in black and white. However, the video does not appear dark because of the bright strobe lighting featured in the live performance.

Notes: The fast cutting shots are nicely matched to the fast paced mus

Calvin Harris "Girls"

Band: Calvin Harris

Song: The Girls

Genre: Dance

Location: This video has been shot against a plain white background.

Costumes: Calvin Harris is wearing a plain white outfit which consists of white jeans, a white jacket and a white t-shirt. The girls that appear in the video are wearing different coloured bobbed wigs, hot pants, coloured tights and turtle neck tops. The girls are all wearing different bright coloured clothes that stand out against the white background (green, blue, yellow, pink, orange and purple). The costumes in this video appear to be sixties inspired.

Storyline: Calvin Harris is surrounded by a large number of girls who all represent a different type of girl. The storyline of the video reveals that when it comes to girls, Calvin Harris has no preference. He likes every type of woman.

Performance: A dance routine is performed throughout the video. The girls who appear in the video all dance in formation. The style of dancing could be considered alternative or expressive.

Style: The video appears to be influence by the style of the 1960’s. The costumes and hairstyles would suggest this. The video is very basic, but seems to work well with the song.

Colour: The video is very bright and colourful. The use of bright costumes against the white background gives the video a striking and memorable appearance.  

Calvin Harris "Feel So Close"

Band: Calvin Harris

Song: Feel So Close

Genre: Dance

Locations: This video features two very different locations. The first location is set in a rural western, American location with a large mountain range visible in the background. This land appears to be lonely and baron. The setting echoes the typical western movie style backdrop. The second setting is juxtaposed with the first as it is a typical suburban, American neighbourhood with identical white houses.

Costumes: Several different costumes are featured in the video which are all very contrasting. A cowboy costume is featured in the video as well cheerleading and ballet costumes. The other costumes worn in the video consist of urban style clothing such as jeans, caps, trainers, hoodies and trackies. The urban clothing is fitting to the genre of music featured in the music video.  All of these costumes represent many different social stereotypes.

Storyline: The video represents the idea of coming together in my different situations. Whether this is forming new and unlikely friendships or finding love. This video challenges the stereotypes by suggesting that completely different personalities can come together. For example, in the video the street dancers form an unlikely bond with the cheerleaders.

Performance: The video for Feel So Close features several different styles of dancing. These include street dancing, ballet dancing and cheerleading. Another form of performance featured in the video is the lassoing demonstrated by the cowboy.

Style: It is obvious that this video was inspired by old western cinema judging by the locations and costumes used. However, this video has taken on a new and unusual twist by juxtaposing the western setting with young urban characters.

Colour: The video has been shot in colour. Although, the colour is quite subdued giving the video a gritty and realistic appearance. Shadows and contrasting light has also been used in the video.     

Music Video: First Ideas

Genre:

I am interested in featuring some type of indie or alternative music in my music video, as this is the genre of music I enjoy and listen to regularly. I would also consider some form of dance or rock music as I believe a interesting music video could be produced using this genre of music. I did consider  featuring  music from the 60’s such as The Beatles, however, I think it may be difficult to produce a music video that would appeal to a specific audience in today’s society using a track that was popular more than forty years ago.

Artist:

I am particularly keen to use music by artists such as The Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks or Vampire Weekend. These are indie / alternative bands that I am familiar with and enjoy listening to. I believe that an interesting video could be produced using one of their tracks.   

How is a new album marketed?

This is an example of an album release advertisement that was featured in Q magazine, a popular music magazine. The advertisement is for Noah & The Whales new album, Last Night on Earth.  The advertisement features the same image that is used on the front cover of the album so it is easily recognisable in stores. The album and band name is positioned at the top of the advert. A bold, black font has been used to make it eye catching. A quote from Q magazine has been used on the advertisement. This persuades the audience to purchase the album as it is rated highly by a reputable music magazine. The advert gives the basic details of when the album is going to be released. It also adds that the album features a popular single that is already in the charts. This information has been included so the audience can associate a catchy song with the album itself.     

What is a Digipak?

Digipak is a patented term, belonging to AGI media. The Digipak is typically made up of a book style outer binding, with plastic disc holders inside capable of holding a CD or DVD. Digipaks are an alternative to the conventional jewel cases used by most major record companies.  The Digipak style is premium packaging which is often used for special edition albums or re-released albums. Digipaks are usually with graphics or photographs inside and out. This is one feature which makes them more visually appealing to audiences than the traditional CD cases which only feature paper inserts and booklets.

Bombay Bicycle Club Flaws Digipak Front and Back Cover

Inside

  

Statement of Intent

Hi my name is Chloe Rhodes. I am currently studying English Language, English Literature, Film and Media Studies at York College. The purpose of this blog is to showcase my media coursework, which is to produce a music video,  a digipak and  an advert for an album release. I will also use this blog to present evidence of the planning and research that went into my coursework.  Last years AS coursework was to produce an authentic music magazine that would appeal to a specific audience. I hope to achieve a good end product that is authentic and would be appealing to music fans. I also hope to improve my team working skills as I usually dislike working in groups.