Digipak analysis

In this digipak the artist David Guetta is represented as leading a rich and famous lifestyle as he is wearing large sunglasses that cover up a large portion of his face, sunglasses symbolize success and fame particularly in the music industry. These sunglasses connote the power and authority that comes with the famous lifestyle. Also the sunglasses are black and translucent so they do not allow the audience to see a lot of the artists face, this could represent the artist as being secretive as he is famous people want to know what, where and when he is going somewhere or doing something. Also the shot of the artist is taken on a canted angle and quite close to his face which could show that this is similar to a picture by a paparazzi photographer who only target famous people therefore backing up the point that he is famous. This artist artist could also be represented as a slightly urban styled artist as the picture of the artist is done in black and white which gives the picture a dull and grittier theme which is often associated with urban locations. Another reason why this particular picture of the artist appears urban like is that there is graffiti on top of the image in the corner, graffiti being an iconic of urban built up but run down areas. 

However the rest of the digipak is based around a white canvas that is covered in a range of bright and luminous colours that connote happiness and energy which are both things that are associated with dance and the music that goes with it. The picture of the artist is predominantly done in black which connotes authority which backs up the fact that this artist is famous and successful and maybe powerful.
    
The design and layout of this digipak further enhances the importance of the artist. This is done by the artist being featured on the most important face of the digipak which is the front cover, also his face is the largest image on this particular slide and covers a big proportion of the image. The images used in this digipak are a variety of shapes and patterns produced in a wide range of bright colours, the bright colours represent the dance genre as fun and energetic as the colours connote youth which also attracts the target audience as these colours are popular within the age group that consume this artist's music. Also there are some prints that resemble graffiti on the front cover placed on top of the artist, this could represent the distant urban routes in which the dance genre derived from. This links in with the typography used which is again taking into consideration the persona of the artist. It is done in a white font to stand out against the black and grey background, the artist's name has been done in a specialist font unique to him so that his audience can recognize it and therefore acts as a kind of signature and is the largest font size within the digipak to again reiterate the importance of the artist.         

Analysis of a magazine advert.

This is an advert for Calvin Harris from inside a magazine. This artist is represented as a colorful character but also has a private and secretive side to him as he is wearing sunglasses. The sunglasses also connote a celebrity lifestyle so he is represented as a famous music artist and DJ. The background colour used in his advert is black which could represent the darkness of the night clubs that play his music and the location of his performance being advertised. The picture of Calvin Harris' head in this advert is bright yellow, this is to make him stand out against the dark black background but also connotes the fact that he is a star as stars are bright against the dark night sky and further emphasizes his fame. All of the colours used in this advert are bright and luminous colours which stand out against the black background but are also colours popular within the dance scene as these colours are shone out through lasers and spotlights and help to create a dance and clubbing atmosphere within the advert. These bright and contrasting colours also contribute to connoting the upbeat and energetic feel that comes with the dance genre.

The design and layout in this advert represents Calvin Harris as an important person as his face is the largest image on the advert and is positioned in the center of the advert, this shows that he is the most important persona in the advert and possibly at the event being advertised in the magazine. Also his name is right next to his face which makes it clear that it is him, because the advert is in a magazine the reader will only be flicking through the pages so the important information has to be easy to read, therefore the date and location of the event are at the top of the page so it is read first in order for the audience to know about the event. The typography used in this advert represents the night club scene as  the font is brightly colored and glowing which replicates the neon lighting used within clubs, the font is also digital like in appearance with could connote the style of the music being electronic as it is dance music.

The style of the language in this advert is very straight forward, colloquial and instrumental. This has been done as the text has to be easy to read and easy to remember as it will only be viewed by the reader for a short period of time. This advert promotes the artist as a definite dance music artist as the theme of the advert is based around clubbing and dance night life. This advert promotes the artist as a successful musician with a rich and famous persona as he is wearing sunglasses which symbolize wealth and success within the music industry. This advert also promotes the whole of the dance music genre, it shows the genre to be modern and upbeat. The modern feel comes from the typography as it is digital and connotes the modern times and digital things. The upbeat feel comes from the fact that the colours are all bright and contrasting which represents an energetic and euphoric feel. These things are commonly associated with the dance genre. Because of this it is more appealing the target audience as it is representing the dance scene within clubs which is where our target audience will be spending a lot of their free time at night. Because our audience is still relatively young they will probably have an interest in modern technology and gadgets which is another thing shown in the advert.

style of language 

how does the advert promote the artist

how does it promote the music genre

how does it attract the target audience

In this advert from a magazine of David Guetta there is an image of the artist standing alone above a small grouping of words. This artist is represented as a colorful character but also has a private and secretive side to him as he is almost looking away from the camera or whoever is looking at the advert which might suggest that he does not want to be seen. He is represented as a celebrity and a fashion icon as the image shows that he is wearing stylish and up to date clothing which is popular within the artists demographic which is mainly young adults and teenagers. The artist is represented as a fun and energetic character as he is surrounded by a bright and luminous pink which connotes fun and euphoria which are two traits commonly associated with dance artists and the dance genre. This shade of pink is also linked with youth which is attractive to our audience who are relatively young. Also the actual artist in this image is in black and white, this could help to connote the urban routes that dance was influenced by as the many shades of grey used could represent the inner city and all the buildings and concrete within it.

The artist is shown to be a success because he is the biggest and therefore most important image and feature of the advert, also his name is directly underneath him to make it clear that the image is of him. The artists name is done using the largest typography in the advert, this again is emphasizing the authority of the artist and showing him as a well known and successful artist. the rest of the text is done in a spray paint effect font which could connote the dance and club life as it is commonly used to advertise clubs as it is sprayed on walls in the surrounding area of the club or bar. Also this font style is representative of and bears resemblance to graffiti which again backs up the consistent urban feel to the advert.

This adverts style of language is very basic and colloquial, this is done to make the advert as easy to read as possible as the advert is in a magazine which the audience will most likely be 'flicking through' or browsing at and therefore will not be likely to stop and analyse the advert in any great detail. This results in the advert only containing the vital information in it, this contains the artists name which is the biggest selling point of the advert and relies on the artists persona, the song name is also included which is very important as the audience need to know the name of the song otherwise they may not listen to it as they cannot find it. Finally at the bottom there is the release date so the audience know when the song is available to them. The urban styled font attracts the audience because it is associated with youth which makes up a large proportion of this artists demographic. 

  

Artist's image within planning

how is artist going to be represented  nihilistic
costumes?
how can your audience build relationship with artist - characters

In our production of our music video we will be representing our artist as the protagonist in our narrative. This character will be followed on a journey, at first he will be shown as a slightly lazy and nihilistic character with a self destructive personality with no drive. This character will be rebellious but will develop into  a successful person that will emerge at the end of the narrative.

Our artist will be dressed in very ordinary and casual clothes, he will be wearing a plain and dull coloured t-shirt to represent him as a boring and a very ordinary person. this item of clothing is also popular among our target audience. He will also be wearing tracksuit bottoms as these are also a popular item of clothing within our demographic and is often stereotypically associated with poverty.

Because our artist will be represented as a typical young adult the target audience of our video will be able to build a relationship    

Lighting and colour within planning

styles of lighting?
conventional to genre?
main colours connotations?

In our video we will be aiming to incorporate a wide variety of lighting techniques and colour schemes. First of all we will be looking to use high key lighting, this is when the overall shot or scene contains lots of light and it is easier to see everything in the frame, in most of our shots as this will give us the best possible quality picture for our video. This high key lightning will also be used as we will be filming in the day time and using natural lighting which means using the sunlight as the main source of light. High key lighting is typical of the dance genre as it is meant to be in keeping with the upbeat theme that is associated with the dance music genre. Natural lighting is also conventional to the genre as the videos are usually set in exotic locations in which there is a lot of sunshine to be used by whoever the artist is for lighting in their video.

Colors used in our video will be predominantly dull and contain a variety of mundane shades and colours. This will be done by using a grey or antique fashioned filter over the top of our filming when we reach the editing stage of our production. We have done this to emphasize the lack of emotion and excitement in the world around our character when he is feeling down as it helps convey his sadness as his surroundings reflect how he is feeling inside. This will be used to create contrast as when our protagonist reaches a happy stage in the video and the eviroment around him changes to a world full of colour and happy emotions. This will again help the audience see how the character is feeling in the video therefore helping them to build a relationship between them.          

Cinematography within planning

There are going to be many different styles of cinematography in our video but there are four main shots that we want to focus on.

Close up shot

The first that will be used is a traditional close up shot, this is a key shot for us as it will clearly show facial expressions of our characters which will help show emotions of the characters and therefore maximize the relationship between our protagonist and the audience as they will be able to emotionally involved with the characters as they can see what they are feeling and thinking. This may make the audience want to watch the video again. The conforms to the conventions of the music genre as there are usually a lot of close ups of the artist to help improve awareness of the artist and boost their popularity.


Dolly/Track shot

The second shot we are going to be including is the dolly/tracking shot, this is an important shot to use in our video as our video is narrative based and will be telling a story. In order to do this we will need to follow the characters, this can be done through the use of tracking and dolly shots as they literally follow a subject rather than having to keep cutting to another shot which might not suit the mood of the video at particular times in the song. This does not conform to the typical conventions of dance as videos in this genre contain a limited amount of tracking/dolly shots and focus mainly on establishing and close up shots.



Point of view shot (P.O.V)

Another shot that we will be using is the P.O.V shot, this will used to help the audience empathize with our main character and therefore become more involved with the narrative which will encourage them to watch the video all the way through as they will be more curious to discover what happens in the end of the story. This shot is used a lot in this genre of music for putting the audience in the clubs and parties, therefore it conforms to the conventions of the dance genre.


 Mid shot

One more shot that will be used in our video is the mid shot in which the shot usually focuses on one character but is wide enough to show what they are doing. This will be used to show what our protagonist in the narrative is doing when he is important scenes in the story as this will be important to know. These shots are commonly found in the dance genre as they are a good shot for showing the artists expressions but also to show them doing various activities, usually dancing in this genre.

Iconography within planning.

List of our props.

Car - Ford Fiesta/Sliver

This prop is a car and will belong to the protagonist in our narrative. This is a popular car within our target audience as it is a new model and is considered to be cool. It is one of a limited choice of cars for us, out of the choice we had available to us we felt that this was the most appropriate model for our audience. It conforms to the dance conventions in terms of cars as it is a new model and cars in the dance genre are always new fancy models to convey a famous and rich lifestyle.

Money - Cash

This prop is money in the form of bank notes and will be used to show our protagonist as a success at the end of the narrative. We have chosen this as it is an iconic symbol and will represent wealth and success. This conforms to the conventions of the genre of dance as it is all based around wealth and connoting a rich and famous lifestyle. It is going to be used as a way to show the protagonists journey in making a success of himself.  


Suit Jacket / Leather Bomber Jacket

This grey suit jacket will be used as a symbol in our video as our artist will wear it as a visual metaphor to show our artist becoming successful  as a suit jacket represents success and wealth. We chose a grey jacket over a black one as we felt a black jacket carried to many negative connotations such as death. This will be replacing a black leather jacket which is warn to show our artist as a thug like character as leather and bomber jackets are a classic item of clothing within the criminal community.  

Jewelry/Bracelet

We used a bracelet as they are often associated with wealth and are seen as being very expensive which   is good as our artist is stealing it to become wealthier. This will contribute to the transformation of our artist.




Alcohol - Bottles


We are using alcohol in our video as there will be a scene replicating a party in which there will be people drinking alcohol.  This props is common within the dance genre as it is connoting a party lifestyle in which people are in euphoria, dancing and having fun. We have decided on ordinary bottles of beer and vodka as these are the most common and believable types of alcohol to use.