Digipak Analysis

This is the digipak that was used by Justin Bieber for his album 'Believe'. I am analysing this digipak as the research could help me in designing my digipak for my artist and my genre.

Justin Bieber who is the main artist is promoted in 5 out of the 6 panels and they are all images of him. This shows the record label demands and it shows that the main aim of this digipak is to promote the artist as a brand and to generate more sale and fame of this particular  artist.

The colours used are quite clashing, theres the use of dark colours and light colours in each panels and this was done via editing or through the use of lighting when taking the pictures of the artist. This makes this digipak recognisable and keep to its theme. The text used is bold and its a unique font so it acts as a branding for the album and it also stands out as its very easy to read. The text used is also used in the artists poster as well.

The use of warm colours makes it stand out even further such as the clothing worn by the artist is very dark and it contrasts and makes him stand out. The colours also blend well together as there are no harsh colours and lines which is more pleasing to the eye. The images are well balanced and the there are some use of the rules of third components which are met with the photography, such as the centred positioning of the artists and the positioning of the background.

This digipak also consists of a barcode on the back and the record label copyright information along with the trackless on the back with legal information. here are main features of the digipack along with the front and back cover, the spine, a poster and the two CDs.

The Animatics

This is the animatic for our music video. I created this video on Final Cut Pro where I edited in the song too. The drawings were rushed as my group understand our narrative and we know how we are going to film the music video but it just isn't shown very clearly in our animatics. Underneath the drawings we have notes and writings of whats happening in each shot so its much clearer for my group and I to understand the narrative and when we film the music video it will be clearer for the audience.

Our Audience Profile

This is our audience profile for King J, this was created by one of our group members James Covill and we decided on who and what our target audience was gonna be.

My Group And I Have Made A Mood Board

My group and I have created a mood board in the shape of a pyramid to represent the record label comply "Tri-Angle". The mood board has the Clothings worn by Hip Hop Artists, props used such as Cars, Jewellery and other hip hop artists and usual settings for Hip Hop Music videos. Everyone in my group made this mood board we printed off conventional hip hop pictures and put in on our mood board to help us with a music video idea.

The idea to make an exact 3D pyramids did not work so we decided to leave it as 4 triangle sides.

Mainstream vs Independent Record Labels

Mainstream Record Labels

The Big Three record labels are the three major records labels. They are:

• Sony BMG
• Universal Music Group
• Warner Music Group

In this blog today I'm going to talk about the Sony BMG Record Label.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is owned by Sony Corporation. It is one of the biggest music companies. The record label featured some of the Biggest Artists in the world such as the King Of Pop Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Shakira, Britney Spears, Elvis Presley, Calvin Harris and Skrillex as well as many more famous mainstream artists.

                        

Sony Music is a subsidiary of Sony Corporations but it too has many subsidiary record labels such as Columbia Records, RCA Records, Epic Records, Arista Nashville, RCA Records Nashville and Columbia Nashville. Sony BMG have also been involved with many of the biggest music videos such as "Beyonce - Sorry", "Bryson Tiller - Exchange" and "Meghan Trainor - Me Too". This is all shown in the Companies website. 

On their website we also see some pictures of the artists that Sony BMG have worked with or still work with on music videos.

Independent Record Labels

There are many independent record labels. One of these record labels is a UK Independent Record Label called "Boy Better Know". Boy Better Know is an English Record Label mainly associated with Grime. It was founded in London, 2005 by Two brothers JME and Skepta who are both Grime Artists. They created the record label as an independent record label in order to release their own music but the label is now slowly increasing in fame since one of the largest Hip Hop Artists in the world "Drake" recently signed to the label. The current Artists associated with "BBK" are:-

• Jme
• Skepta
• Wiley (2005–present)
• Jammer (2005–present)
• Frisco (2005–present)
• Shorty (2006–present)
• Solo 45 (2006–present)
• Drake (2016–present)

Boy Better Know Website

This is the website for Boy Better Know. Its a very simple website and it just shows some music videos that they are involved with and some of the artists that is all. Its a very bland and boring website and you can tell its by an independent record label.

Adorno and Horkheimer

Adorno and Horkheimer are German theorists who came up with the theory of the Culture Industry. Adorno and Horkheimer claim that the media create products and services to meet demands of its audiences and to suit their type of target audiences. The media knows that its audience will want to buy products and they therefore mass produce products for consumers to buy them.

Whether it is TV entertainment, News, Film Industry or Music Industry, they all show traits of using the culture theory in order to make more money as they know consumers will buy products related to their industry. Music artists create products for its consumers to buy, Drake is a Hip Hop artist who has T-shirts with his record label on it to promote himself and to make more profits as well as expanding his fanbase. Drake promotes these products through marketing, he markets and advertises his shirts on his music videos and on is websites to show his fans that they can buy these products. The people wearing the shirts will then automatically promote the artist for free as they are walking around with the logo on the shirt which other people see and it expands Drakes audience and fanbase because of the power of word of mouth.

These large companies produce products and then promote it to the audience in a way to make the audience feel they need this product. This makes them buy the product as they make it appealing and they make the product feel like it is most wanted.

Biography of our Music Video Artist

Artists Name: King J
Age: 19
First Album Name: Born 'N' Bred
Record Label: Tri Angle
First Hit Single: Day 'N' Nite
Born: 13th February 1997 in Brooklyn New York
His Favourite Artists: J Cole, Jay Z and Drake were inspirations to King J as they were the artists that he liked and the type of music he liked.

Background Story: King J is also known as Jacob King and was born and rasied in Brookyln, New York. He grew up with his single mother however as he grew up he became involved in gang activities and started selling drugs. At the age of 15 his best friend was shot jumping infront of a bullet meant for King . His friend had aspired to leave the drug business and become a muscian. Upon dying King thought to take his friend's dreams with him and became a musican. At the age of 18 he finally found a record label Tri Angle and obtained his first hit song Day N Nite.

Clothing:  Designer clothing with Jewellery. Similar to artists like J Cole, WizKid, Drake, Kanye West and 50 cent.
                      

Hip Hop Artists - 50 Cent Research

50 Cent is an American rapper, actor, businessman, and investor. He began selling drugs at the age of twelve during the 1980s, Although he left drug-dealing to pursue a musical career, he was struck by nine bullets in a 2000 shooting due to gang involvement. In 2002, 50 Cent released his Album "Guess Who's Back?" where he was discovered by Eminem and signed by Shady Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. After being discovered by Eminem, 50 Cent then received a lot of fame. 50 Cent now has his own record label G-Unit records and his also the founder of SMS Audio an audio electronics company. 50 Cent has won three awards from six nominations at the annual American Music Awards. His also won 4 Pop Music Awards, 7 Rhythm and Soul Music Awards, 4 AVN Awards, 3 BET Awards, 1 BET Hip Hop Award, 13 Billboard Music Awards and 16 Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards as well as many other awards.

50 Cent has many female models in his music videos and they are usually shown in a sexual way to attract male viewers. 50 Cent also wears a lot of Jewellery known as "Bling" with a lot of sports clothing or expensive designer clothing in his music videos to show his wealth and richness. He also features expensive and luxurious cars in his videos to show his luxurious lifestyle.

50 Cent ft. Chris Brown - I'm The Man (Music Video Analysis)

The music video starts off showing the setting is a high angle tracking shot. The setting is a expensive and big mansion to show the viewers wealth and luxury. There are various shots of inside the house to show how luxurious it looks. We then see close ups and slow motion shots of female models who are represented in a sexual way. This is all done to create a build up until the audience gets to see the actual artist. The audience then gets a small glimpse from behind of the main artist 50 Cent, this is to build up suspense in the Music video as the artist hasn't done a music video in a long time. We then see mid shots and close ups of the artist who is wearing Gold Jewellery and expensive clothing. In between these shots we also see shots of some female models, this is done to attract the male target audience as the models are represented in a sexual way, this supports Goodwin's theory of how women are represented in music videos. The audience then carries on seeing the switch between close ups of the artists and models and then shots of the house the are in. There was also editing used for simple fading transitions between shots and some shots of the female models in slow motion. The music video is filmed and presented in a very high quality and classy way, and this is very commonly done with most hip hop music videos and my group and I want us to present our music video this way as well.

Hip Hop Artists - Dr. Dre Research

Dr. Dre is a American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. Dr. Dre has worked with many of the top Rappers such as 2Pac,The D.O.C., Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Xzibit, 50 Cent and The Game. Dr. Dre does Hip Hop, Gangsta Rap and G-Funk music genres. Dr. Dre has been nominated 20 times and won 6 times the Grammy Awards and he has been nominated 11 times and won 2 times the MTV Video Music Awards. Dr. Dre clothing is usually designer clothing or sports clothing with jewellery sometimes.

Dr. Dre - Still D.R.E ft. Snoop Dogg (1999) (Music Video Analysis)

The music video starts off showing who the production company is. This shows the record label demands and this supports Goodwin's theory. Theres a high angle shot showing some expensive luxury low-riders with female models all inside the cars. Theres also close up of the Gold Alloy Wheels which shows the wealth they have due to the value of their cars. There are many panning, dolly and high angle shots of the cars which is to show the richness, this is very conventional in hip hop music videos. Editing was also used with simple fading transitions between the shots. The music video is filmed and edited in a  high quality way to make the video look smooth and classy. There are also many close ups and mid shots of the artists which is to promote him in the video. The shots of the female models are in slow motion when they are dancing, this is to present them in a  sexual way and it appeals to the male target audience the music video has. The video also has some scenes where two shots are shown in one scene, this was done through editing and it make the video more visually interesting. The rappers in the video are also wearing designer clothing or have gold chains and jewellery.

Hip Hop Genre Research

We have decided to chose Hip Hop as our genre for our music video. I have researched into Hip Hop such as the conventions, sub genres, history and some of the Hip Hop Artists.

Genre Dance: Beat It - Michael Jackson (1982) Old Music Video Analysis

The music video starts off with a long shot of a small cafe with the camera displaying a dolly/tracking shot of the front of some men walking. The cinematographer then shows various angles and shots of members in a gang while the music starts to begin. It also showed a close up of a woman smoking a cigarette which emphases the characteristic of her and the people she is with. The camera then again follows three men but this time follows them from behind with a dolly. The camera cuts to a dark mid-shot showing the three men who are walking and there were also some side shots of these men too. The the video cuts to a shot with Michael Jackson the main artist and it pans around him showing that he is the artist singing in this song and it shows him to the audience. This supports Goodwins theory who claims that the record labels demands is to promote and show the artist in the video. There are various slight low angled shots looking up at the gang members, this represents their power. The music video then has various other shots of the gang members and it also has close up of Michael Jackson and some long shots of Michael Jackson which shows him dancing and singing to the song. Theres then various panning and dolly shots of these two gangs that have clashed and they are about the conflict with each other. When they conflict with each other it is shown with a high angle shot to emphasise the tension and the amount of people who are there. Michael Jackson then stops the argument between the two gangs and the camera is angled up which shows it is looking up at Michael Jackson, showing that his is now the bigger man as he stopped the argument. This links with the lyrics of the song, "No one wants to be defeated, Showin' how funky strong is your fight, It doesn't matter who's wrong or right".

The song also uses editing in the music video. The first shot cuts to another shot when the door slams to create a transition from scenes. Some other scene just have simple cuts betweens, other forms of transitions between scenes were close ups of clothes with zoomed out. The sound is also very well synchronised with the lip syncing that Michael Jackson did. Miss-en-scene was also heavily used in this music video. The characters had clothing that suit their characteristics as well. The use of lighting also emphasised the setting and the character as well as the mood of the music video. The gang members had very little lighting on their faces where as Michael Jackson had more lighting which again shows the record labels demands on promoting the artist.

I feel like this is a great music video, it has narrative, great shots and great miss-en-scenes for a music video from 1982.

Genre Ideas

In this picture you can see the page my group and I did where we listed a few music genres and then did a key for the ones we were most interested in, genres that might be a maybe and genres we are not interested in.

I will now look at some music videos in the genres that we were interested in and then my group and I will make a final decision on what genre we decide to choose. Currently I feel like it may be in the R&B or Hip Hop genre that we will decide to choose for our music video. 

Moby Gratis Research

Moby is a music artist who has created a website called Mobygratis.com and its for providing copyright free and free to use music for independent, non profit film makers or film students. I am using his site to see if i can find music or genres that I may be interested in or if I find a music video made from one of Moby's song that gives my group and I an idea for making a music video.

This is the homepage of the mobygratis.com website and it introduces the website and shows what he is doing with this site and why he made it.

The Catalog tab shows the list of music that Moby offers for free of use for people to use for non profit films. The site has many genres and types of music with various lengths and rhythms.

The videos tab shows some of the videos that were created with songs found on the Mobygratis website.