It's now the third week into A2 Media Studies and some decisions are still to be made!
At the moment I am still working with the same people as I did in AS; Callum, Oli, and Jem. However this is not 100% certain, due to 'creative differences'.
I think its crucial for all members of the group to love the song we want to use for the music video.
At the moment it seems we are using "All of the day and all of the night" by 'The Kinks'.
I really love this song, along with Callum in the group! Reasons for this is that this song has a lot of potential to make a successful music video. One reason for this would be that this song does not have an existing music video because of the time period in the 1960's. Therefore this means that there is no music video made by 'The Kinks' to compare to the music video made by me and the group. Even more so, it means that I or members of the group will have no influence from a music video that does not exist as in the 1960's music videos were not as demanding as they are in 2013 (now a necessity). This means we will have free rain of our interpretation of the song, therefore our ideas will be fresh and original.
Callum and I especially love this song because it is a very famous (possibly the most famous song) from the band 'The Kinks' and with their being no music video, we can put our own interpretation and modern twist on the music video we will create. Also with what the brief demands it allows us to have a lot to talk about within research but to also be very creative when it comes to the digi pack (CD insert), CD front and back cover and also the magazine advertisement. This song will allow us to create a theme throughout of old and vintage juxtaposed with modern twists.
‘Pop
performer and Pop star is not the same thing’
Richard Dyer's star theory suggest that a 'pop performer' is an artist/band who is simply know for their musical talent and no other reason. However a 'pop star' is also known for their music but even more for other factors which influence their career which promote their music, (they have a persona/ identity that does not restrict solely to their music). Its important to consider that promotional factors are purposely done by the star's management/record label and not by the star themselves. However a true 'pop star' has a lasting significance, appealing to a wide audience over a
long period of time, and not be forgotten by their number 1 fans a few years down the line.
Miley Cyrus is a recent example of no longer wanting to be a 'pop performer' but a 'pop star'.
Negative press has been extremely popular with Miley Cyrus recently. This negative press has been constructed through what Richard Dyer proposes. Miley's record label (possibly from her influence) are beginning to get the message across that she is no longer a Disney Channel star but a woman. This main message is that she is now targeting her music at a very different audience and not just females.
Richard Dyer proposes their are 4 stages to follow in order to create a'popstar':
Stars as constructions: This suggests that a 'pop star' is an image and is no longer the real/true person. The image's constructed in advertisements and magazines are not a true reflection of the star.
Industry and Audience:The star's are created to serve a purpose to the music industry. The manufacturing process is filtered in order to reach the demands on what the record label think fans will respond to in order to buy records. Furthermore this suggests that record labels shape and nurture their stars.
Ideology and Culture:Stars will always promote a certain ideology. A star may star a fashion trend with fans copying, never mind how outrageous it may be. For example Lady Gaga 's infamous meat dress maybe not a trend fans would follow but its outrageousness attracted a lot of publicity where her record label may have encouraged her behave in more of an outrageous and dysfunctional way in order to stay in the limelight. Richard Dyer would suggest that we has fans seem to have an insatiable appetite for information about them. This links to stars benefiting from cultural discourse, (Twitter and Facebook, etc.) as the more follower's or more subscribers the star has represents the star power.
Character and Personality:A star always begins as a 'real human'. The star transformation is based upon that person. Its important to keep some of the 'real person' because the star needs to capture and establish their character and personality through songs.
Michael Jackson is a prime example of Richard Dyer's star theory and how is stardom changed him completely. For example, one obvious/ drastic change would be the colour of his skin. Furthermore the amount of plastic surgery! Michael Jackson was a completely changed man towards the end of his musical career, even unrecognisable in comparison to how he looked and acted at the very beginning. Michael Jackson applies to this theory in almost every way, even though some moments in his career were very controversial he was still being talked about, he set fashion trends and dancing trend but most of all he is still famous now, even after his death.
Overall Richard Dyer would suggest that a pop star's persona, therefore, as depicted in terms of character and personality, is a fragile thing which needs constant nurturing, and is the product of constant discourse between the star and his or her audience.
We have finished editing the footage captured along with the music and downloaded it onto a DVD, which is now in the CD case. Here is the preliminary music video!
The group won two awards for this video; best lip syncing and best video (voted by the class).
Today we finished the CD front/back cover, insert and the magazine advertisement. They have all drastically changed from when they were last posted on the blog.
Front CoverWe decided to have different levels for the front cover, in order to stick within the genre conventions of 'pop'. Also we came up with the idea to have a photo taken from the front of us to see our faces for the front cover but to then take another picture as we were but from behind us. We though that this would be quite effective. We decided to have a black,white and red theme. We edited the photos to be black and white and wanted the band name to be in bold black font and then the tile of the song in red italics. We did the same with the spine on either side of the CD.
Back Cover This shows the ides of what I was talking about previously with the photo being taken from behind us for the back cover. As you can see we have standardised a running theme of colours and fonts. The usual bar code, record label logos have been included on the back cover to make it as professional as possible. Also an itunes label has been put on at the bottom in order for advertisement purposes.
Insert These images are included in the insert. We decided not to include he black,whit and red theme and decided to focus more on genre conventions of 'pop' and wanted to portray a boy band having run. We also included the lyrics of the song on the image below, however they haven't copied onto the blog.
Magazine Advertisement We decided to have the front cover as the image of the advertisement so that it creates a sense of familiarity in order to sell the single. Also we included the QR code created, record label, and itunes for further advertising purposes. Also the release date has been put in a white font and bold to stand out as this date is key in the advertising of the single. We also decided to include star rating to further advertise the band and the single.
Overall we have standardised the CD front/back cover and magazine advertisement to stick within the theme to create the familiarity of the single and band for selling purpose. Sizing hierarchy is used throughout, (band name, release date, song title, music label) in order of importance. The insert cover differs in order to stick to the conventions of 'pop'. We hope that our CD front and back cover insert and magazine advertisement have represented running theme of 'pop'.
Today as a group we will create a magazine advert for the single. Its important to create consistent uniformity; this is where there should be synergy between the magazine advert and the cd cover.
For example:
- Same colours used throughout. This will create a running theme of the single which will make either magazine advertisement or the cd instantly recognisable.
- Same font should most definitely be used, especially for the band name. This would have to be the most important factor to consider keeping standardised. This is because the band name is essentially the brand name because it acts as a logo for the band. For instance when you see a big famous band name like ACDC you always see it in the exact same font which again makes the band instantly recognisable and this is why the font should always be kept standardised.
- Same imageshould be used as to the one that is on the cd cover. This again creates the sense of familiarity which will sell the single. One Direction is a pop band and in order to stick to the conventions of this genre it’s necessary to use a picture of all the band members.
- Record label should definitely be included somewhere on the magazine advert because not only does the record label promote the band, the band also promote the record label.
- Release dateis also a factor to consider because the point of a magazine advertisement is to advertise the single and promote the band so fans or public in general buy the single. Without a release date being on the advertisement fans will not know when they can actually buy it. The release date acts as the purpose of the magazine adverts.
- Sizing hierarchyneeds to be kept consistent where the band name needs to be of the biggest font size on the advertisement following in order of importance, e.g. single name, release date etc.
All of these factors need to be carefully considered in order to create an effective magazine advertisement to increase sales of the single! Also by including other ways of selling the single would be adding itunes logos and QR codes which add a technical dimension to the advert which again may increase the sales of the single which is essentially the aim of the advertisement.
We have started filming the preliminary music video. We have only got a few shots at the moment because of weather conditions, but hopefully on wednesday the weather conditions will have improved but concidering this is England we cannot be sure. We have about 20 seconds left to film which is the chorus which should be done in one lesson. Hopefully we will be editing by Thursday!
Callum and I especially love this song because it is a very famous (possibly the most famous song) from the band 'The Kinks' and with their being no music video, we can put our own interpretation and modern twist on the music video we will create. Also with what the brief demands it allows us to have a lot to talk about within research but to also be very creative when it comes to the digi pack (CD insert), CD front and back cover and also the magazine advertisement. This song will allow us to create a theme throughout of old and vintage juxtaposed with modern twists.
