Album Cover Idea (One)

Album Cover Ideas

In our artists album cover 'Crystal Rox', I want to include a close up shot of her face as she is a new artist and the artist needs to be recognisable to the buyer. I have thought about including an aspect of the artist

s name in to the album cover. However, I thought about including a crystal in the album (the artist could be holding it)

but when after further research I had found out that Lady GaGas album 'The Fame' has a crystal microphone, I want the album cover to be unique so I will not use the crystal. Whilst researching CD covers I came across Ke$has single cover for 'Tik Tok' (left) and I really liked that her glitter eye shadow matches the glitter that she blew in her hand. I have decided to include glitter as it gives a crystal feeling but I will not have our artist blowing the glitter.

The image on the left is a photo shoot from America's Next Top Model, I tried to think how I could include glitter with out copying Ke$ha. I thought about using glitter paint on our artists face. I would put silver, grey or black glitter eye shadow around her eyes and i would apply black lip stick. Although, I am worried that artists emotion and personality will not show through the glitter and dramatic make up and our artist may look too young for such dramatic make up. So I have decided to not use this idea as it could limit our target audience, as it could be controversial.

I love this photograph from America's Next Top Model and I woud like to use this photograph to inspire me for the album cover. I will sprinkle glitter across our artists face but I do not know the colour I will use yet, even though crystals are silver, I do not think silver would stand out due to the lighting so I may use black glitter. I will use a black background for the photo shoot and I will have Michaelas (our artist) hair tied back but I may have some curly strands of her hair down. I love that in the photo shoot the models look innocent but the dramatic make up portrays them as rebellious, which would suit the album cover perfectly.

(Draw album cover idea)

Example of Our Opening

In our storyboard we were going to have seventeen different quick shots of seventeen different romantic gestures with out showing the actors in the video such as, a couple holding hands, hands creating a heart and a wide shot from the side of the couple showing them hugging. The seventeen shots were going to be the same as the seventeen beat opening the song. We then started to experiment with different ideas of our opening such as the seventeen different shots of the couple (original idea), seventeen photographs being placed of the couple or seventeen different shots of the artist introducing her as she is a new artist.

We have decided to change and develop our opening to fit with our new narrative, the new opening is going to have seventeen different photographs of a couple at their wedding. We will use my grandparents wedding album photographs, we chose these photographs as we loved the contrast between the black and white photographs and the red cloth. The cloth that we have decided to put the photographs on is red which has connotations of love and passion, the design on the cloth is hearts which fits well with the wedding photographs.

Below is an example of our opening and how it fits with the opening beats:

(note: these are example photographs, we will not use them in the final)

However, in our music video we will not have the hands, only the photographs which gives the opening an animation element. Also, we will use the wedding album photographs in the opening.

New Narrative

Our previous narrative for our music video was a girl who meets a boy at a train station and the video would of explored their relationship and the dates that they went on for example, winter wonderland, restaurant and a walk around London. Then towards the end of the music video the girl would be watching footage of her and the boy ice skating at winter wonderland and she would pause the television when she sees the boy holding another girls hand. The scenes would quickly reverse which was inspired by Kids in Glass Houses- Matters At All, this would of taken the audience back to the meeting of the couple it would of become apparent that the girl was stalking the boy. Also, in the 'dates' the boy would of been with his actual girlfriend, we would of shown this by wide shots and at the restaurant scenes before there would of only been close up shots or back mid or wide shots. Both girls would of been wearing similar outfits so the audience would not of been able to tell them apart. However, when we was going to film there was snow so we had to delay our schedule as we wanted to film in London and some train services had been canceled. The night before we was going to film one of our group members could not get in contact with the boy who was an important part in our music video, he did not return our calls so we had to decide on another narrative as his withdraw from the music video was very sudden.

We then changed our narrative to the singer getting ready to go out and then we would have people performing in to the camera with objects or photographs of people that they love to represent our interpretation of teenage dream lyrics, which is love and connection that teenagers feel with people. Michaela and Emily had filmed this but we thought it looked too cliche of a female pop music video and our music video would not stand out and it would not be memorable. We thought about including a twist to make the video more interesting for example, the girl in the video getting ready to meet her girlfriend, so she is a lesbian.

But after much consideration we have decided to change our narrative again, this is our final narrative that we will use in our music video.

We will have a girl getting ready it will be implied that she girl is getting ready to meet her boyfriend through cut away shots of a wedding album, roses, couples holding hands etc. We will film the performer in three different locations for example, walking down a street, laying down with different couple materials on the ground and singing in front of a white background. We may include shots of different dancing to convey the pop genre. Towards the end we will show the girl meeting another girl, the audience will see that the person who they actually thought was a girl is actually a boy who is a transvestite. We will trick the audience to thinking it is a girl by different cut away shots of feminine objects such as nail varnish, shoes and hand bags. And at the end we will show the transition between the boy changing in to the girl, this will be memorable to the audience and they will be able to watch the video over again, the boys teenage love is wanting to be a girl and the love for his girlfriend. The message of our music video is to not judge couples and to have an open mind about every relationship. We feel very happy with our new narrative and we feel confident with our story and the performance.

Lady GaGa- The Fame Track List

Lady GaGa- The Fame

Conventions:

The conventions of the back of a CD cover include: track names, amount of tracks on the CD, running order of tracks, image, colour, logo of the band (if applicable) and production details. On the back of this album cover there are the track names, an image of Lady GaGa, black and white colouring which makes the album seem more sophisticated which contrasts Lady GaGas persona in her music videos, iconic symbols of Lady GaGa such as the lighting bolt on her eye, production details and links to her website, myspace and the production and record label.

The spine:

The spine has the name of the artist 'Lady GaGa' which is in bigger font than the name of the album 'The Fame', both the name of the artist and the album title appears on the spine to make it easier for the buyer to find in shops. The symbol of the lighting bolt is on the spine which is symbolic for Lady GaGa as in her first video she had make up of a lighting bolt around her eye and this song reached number one in six countries. The lighting bolt is a good symbol for Lady GaGas first album as lighting represents power and a change, which implies that her music will change the pop genre.
Image:
On the back of the album cover there is a photograph of Lady GaGa, she is holding a crystal microphone which is the same object that is in the front of the album, this makes it seem like she is performing to the buyer which makes the album more personal, as the buyer feels like they are at one of her concerts. The aspect of Lady GaGa performing on the back of the album cover portrays that every one who buys the album is a fan, which forms a bond between Lady GaGa and the buyer. There is white around Lady GaGa which makes it seem like she is glowing, this attracts the buyer as they immediantly look at the front and then the back of an album their eye is drawn to the artist. The clothing in the photograph is a black cat suit which conveys that Lady GaGa is promiscious this is reinforced by her pose, the designer for the album used this photograph of Lady GaGa as in the front of the cover only shows her face. Lady GaGa has her hood up which portrays mystery and it would appeal to the buyer as they are intriged to know how her album sounds like. Lady GaGas make up is of a lighting bolt (image on the right), the lighting bolt is used on the spine of the album and in her first single Just Dance, which presents that the lighting bolt is used to symbolise Lady GaGa. Lady GaGas name is three quarters of the way down on the back of the album, the name seems like it is balancing just above her hips, this guides the buyer to look at her figure which would appeal to females as they would 'want' her figure and men as they would objectify her figure.

The Font Style:

The track names are in capitals which present the 'classic' album which contrasts to pop artists albums, all of the songs are in the same size which represents that all of the songs are important and relevant not just her singles. There are no numbers on the album which gains more attention on the song titles.

The Production Details:

The production details are in small print which shows that they are not as important to the fans. The extract sontains details and legal information for example, copyright, record label and the production team. There are different links to Lady GaGas website and myspace and the record label and production company, the font colour is white and one work is red to make it stand out. This makes the album seem more personal as fans want to access this which is another way of the way bands can be marketed.

The Use of Colour:

The colours in the album are white and black which contrasts pop albums. The colours in the album are supported by what Lady GaGa is wearing in the photograph on the album. It has a glossy finish which makes the seem smart.

Lady GaGa- The Fame Album Cover

Lady GaGa- The Fame
Main conventions of a CD Front cover are seen: an eye catching image, colour, name of artist and name of the actual CD album. CD covers make the audience feel like a 'real' fan which is demonstrated through the image, the colours used, lettering and the mise-en-scene. This is related to 'uses and gratification theory' who means that the people use the media to make feel like they 'belong'.

Genre:

The largest image in the CD cover is of Lady GaGa which makes it the most eye catching element of the album cover. Lady GaGa is known for wearing different and unique glasses, this make the buyer recognise Lady GaGa and they will buy the CD. The crystals on the glasses represent Lady GaGas glamorous lifestyle which is believed to be from the fame which the album is called. The studded crystals on the glasses portray her as rebellious which separates her from other pop female artists. The front and the back of the cover has the artist, however in the back it has Lady GaGa performing with the crystal glasses and a crystal microphone. The buyer will be attracted to the front and back of the album as it makes Lady GaGa seem like an icon as the use of the crystals shows that she is famous and glamorous, as the buyer usually looks at the front of the album cover and then the back. The artist name is at the bottom of the album and the writing is large as she is a relatively new artist. The title of the album is on the glasses but in small font than the artist to draw more attention to Lady GaGa. In the hardcopy of the album there is a parental advisory sticker on the bottom right corner, to warn the buyer that there may be offensive language in some songs.

Lettering/Font styles and sizes:

The lettering of the artist is Times New Roman, this portrays that Lady GaGa is sophisticated. The artists name is placed at the bottom of the album and it is the biggest, this makes the buyer attracted to the album as they are immediately drawn to the name. The album title is placed on the glasses, so it seems like it has been scratched on to the glasses or like hand writing. The font of the album title is usually used for Pop Punk bands, this challenges the pop genre and it represents that Lady GaGa is pushing the boundaries in pop. The font of the album title is smaller than the artists name.

Image:

The album cover is a close up photograph of the artist. Lady GaGa is wearing natural make up such as clear lipgloss, blusher and foundation, her eyes are covered by the sunglasses. The sunglasses are Lady GaGas signature style as she is known for wearing outrageous glasses, an example of Lady GaGa wearing
glasses in her first single which got number is shown on the left. The artists face is the only thing that is shown which is eye drawing and it would make the buyer know that it is Lady GaGa. Half of Lady GaGas face has bright lighting but the other half is blacked out, which creates mystery. The use of the black back drop in the photograph makes Lady GaGa stand out. The artist is looking in to the camera which makes the album seem more personal as it seems that she is looking at her fans, her lips are lightly open which makes Lady GaGa seem promiscuous. It could be said that this album cover shows Lady GaGas rebellion in compelling to the artists in the pop genre although this contrasts the innocence represented through her natural make up.

Stars/Icons:

The buyer would expect to see Lady GaGa on the album cover as it is her first album and the costume of the glasses are iconic for Lady GaGa. The CD cover represents her image as she is separating her self from the usual pop artists.

Representation:

The CD cover reinforces Lady GaGas sexuality and promiscuity as her lips are open, which is linked to the stereotypes of female pop artists such as Rihanna, Beyonce and Kelis as they are criticised that they are selling their sexuality through the poses and clothing. Female pop artists music and image (sexuality) usually come hand in hand as it is one of their selling points.

Audience:

The audience for this album is very varied as it has sold over 15 millions copies worldwide. But I think the main target audience are females aged 15-23, as Lady GaGa tries to target women through her clothing range and her dance moves in the music videos. People have bought this album as they have been influenced by the radio and television programmes as they promoted Lady GaGa and recommended her album.

CD Digipak Research

CD Digipaks are usually used for CDs (usually the CDs are special edition) and DVDs, there are usually advertisements with information, ringtones, the cut slot has a booklet with information of the artist, photographs of the artist and the lyrics of the songs.

This is taken from Wikipedia 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak', this extract explains the

materials that Digipaks are made from and the advantages of digipak 'Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD at

tached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot" rather than a full plastic tray.'

Digipak covers are more expensive than jewel cases and the covers tend to rip easily due to the lack of protection.

The measurements and material of the digipak cover are:

Material: 300gsm card

with matt or gloss

varnish. Or lamination or embossing available.

Dimensions: (based on standard 4pp Digipack) 139.5mm x 6mm x 125.5mm.

Examples of Digipak cases are:

Madonna: Sweet and Sticky tour

Oasis

This is a video taken from YouTube 'http://www.youtube.com/watchv=9wJpOgPZY1E' of Lady GaGa- The Fame Monster Limited Edition

Narrative Theory

The Scribd presentation explains what narrative theory is, the theorists and the importance of narrative in film, music videos etc.

I found this presentation on this website: http://www.scribd.com/doc/8332523/Narrative-theory-notes

Narrative theory notes

Narrative Questions

We have recently been focusing on the narrative of our music video and the significance of narrative. We have discussed what narrative is, how is narrative important and the significance of narrative in a music video depending on the genre. The narrative draws in the viewer, however when creating the narrative in a music video you have to be aware that we can not include some elements such as, swearing, drinking alcohol etc. as it will not be shown on some music channels, which limits your target audience.

Below are questions based around the narrative of our music video which makes us consider why we chose the narrative and how it will appeal to a wide audience. I will be answering these questions along the way of creating the music video, as when we come to editing we may decide to change our narrative, if we feel that it does not suit the song.

1. How is the narrative organised and structured?
2. How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
3. How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
4. How are characters presented? What is the narrative function? for example, the creation of heroes and villains?
5. What techniques of identification/alienation are employed?
6. What is the role of such features as sound/music/iconography/genre/mise-en-scene/editing/ within the narrative? i.e. lyrics as narrative?
7. What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?
8. What is the narrative structure of your product?
9. How do the specific elements of your product relate to the narrative structure?
10. Does your product adhere to or subvert narrative conventions?
11. How does the narrative support the establishment of the chosen genre of your product?
12. How have narrative techniques been used to appeal to the audience?

CD Cover Research

Pop CD covers tend to be a close up of the artist to appeal to the potential buyer, bright so the cover can be eye catching whilst on shops shelves and unique so it will appeal to the buyer. Some times pop CD covers include both bright colouring and the artist or just one of the main elements, but they all stand out so it will appeal to the buyer in the shop. Below are examples of pop music album covers which have similarities and differences:

Rihanna- Loud

The album cover is a close up shot of Rihanna's face which only focuses on

Rihanna this immediately shows that it is her album, the font used on her name is small which establishes that she is a well known artist. Rihanna is looking down which makes her seem angelic and naive, this is reinforced by the editing on

the album cover as her face seems glossy. However, her innocence is quickly contrasted by her red lipstick and her red hair which makes her seem promiscuous. Rihanna's hair and lipstick makes the cover bold supports of the title of the album 'Loud'. I

really like this album cover as the photograph is simple but bold.

Girls Aloud- Out Of Control

This album cover shows the whole of the group but they all stand out due to the different style and colour dresses. To make every person in the group stand out they are standing or sitting in different ways, the album cover is very bold due to the outfits and the title of the album. The bright colouring makes the album and each member stand out.

Madonna- Madonna

The album cover on the left is Madonnas first album and the photograph of her takes up the majority of the album. The

photograph of Madonna represents her style, and many people saw her as a style icon. It could always portray her religion as her cross earring is clearly shown. The lighting is shown across Madonnas face which makes her stand out as the background and her clothing is all black. Her name and the album title 'Madonna' is medium font, but I am surprised that the font is not bigger as she was a new artist. This album cover contrasts the album cover on the right which is 'The Immaculate Collection', the use of her logo shows that she is a very popular artist. Madonna does not need a photograph of her self for it to appeal to the buyer. The album title is bigger than her name which shows how established Madonna.

Possible Shots for Teenage Dream

We have experimented with a range of shots and a variety of angles for our music video. Due to the numerous amount of beats in Teenage Dream we need to have a range of camera shots to keep the audience entertained and to have enough footage for our music video.

Our first possible shot is of Michaela sliding down the wall, we wanted this shot during the long note 'You.....' to show the realisation that the relationship was imaginary. However, this clips lasts for too long and it is very dramatic and theatrical. So ultimately I think we need to make it more emotional so instead of her just being angry, she needs to be upset.

The second shot has been edited to make it faster as the original filming was very slow due to this it was very difficult editing this shot as the lip syncing did not match the music. When filming this Michaela would have to sing very slowly, or it will have to be a cut away shot with out the lip syncing. I really like this shot as I find think it matches the narrative, I think that the fast pace editing gives a disorientated feeling.

Thirdly, the close ups of Michaela's face was inspired by Swedish House Mafia featuring Tinie Tempah- Miami 2 Ibiza, we want the facial close up shots to be the opening in the video as when the lyrics start the audience will be fully introduced to our lead singer Michaela.

Extra Footage from Lip Syncing

The video below is our extra footage of when we filmed Michaela lip synching, we feel that creating a video to music has improved our editing skills as we have improved our timing on the beat and we have improved our variety of different shots.

I love the shot of the reverse editing when Emily took her jacket off and the girl running, as this shot suited the piece of music as it was an instrumental part of the song. I love the element of dancing in this video as I feel it will suit our genre, so I think we should consider applying music in our video.

Also, in this video we experimented with lighting such as the dark lighting in some of the dance sequences and the sunlight shining on to the camera, we considered having this lighting technique in our video before and after watching this we have decided we want to include. However, due to the weather we may have to use artificial light but it may not have the same affect.