Evaluation - Question 2

Evaluation - Question 1

Evaluation - Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? 

For my advanced portfolio media production, I had to create a 3-5 minute music video for an existing song from the genre of my choice. We began to create our own individual artist's music video alongside ancillary texts such as an individual magazine advert and digipak to help with promotion. When creating the music video we had to take into consideration the narrative, style and concept of the music video, to keep our target audience engaged and to create an overall successful music video. 

A music video or song video is a short film which combines song and imagery together. The music video is produced for promotion purposes to advertise the artists new piece of music which then results in profit for the artist as this will increase their sales which is typically used with modern music videos as a source of marketing. There are many purposes of a music video. One purpose could be to advertise the song towards the artists target audience, the colours, writing and style of the advert appeals to particular audience members as certain connotations will intrigue the audience as this helps to represent the artist in a certain way. Additionally, advertising for artists can also be seen on a varied range of technology and may appeal to different target audiences. For example, a music video may generally reach a younger target audience as they may be able to use and access different types of technology easily and be interested in the genre of music which stereo typically have a music video to their music. Another purpose for a music video is to give the audience a better understanding of the song. A music video can help to tell a narrative and show a different meaning or the story behind the song and how it was created.

Music videos are a way of engaging the artists target audience. Modern music videos are usually made as a source of marketing towards the artists target audience, which ultimately promotes the sale of music recordings. There are many different genres of music videos, which appeal to different target audiences depending on their age, where they come from and the individuals interests. For example, a younger audience member may stereo typically enjoy mainstream, pop music such as an artist who is current in the charts at a particular time. A music video may generally reach a younger target audience as they may be able to use and access different types of technology with convenience and ease as this is second nature to them, in which most current and up to date artists will release a music video via social media platforms. This contrasts to possibly an older member of the public which may enjoy my selected genre of music, which is soul based on experiences in life which they have encountered and may find comfort in a soulful voice and lyrics with hidden meaning in which they can relate to.

There are many conventional aspects that can included in the soul music video that helps towards the success of the music video. Close up shots are a cinematography technique which is conventional to the soul genre. This shot usually helps to frame a person or object tightly which is used within films. I researched many successful music videos in order to see which conventional aspects needed to be included and were most effective. I analysed the music video by Paloma Faith "Only Love Can Hurt Like This". In which several close ups were used in order to convey the artists natural and raw emotion to the audience. I have used this particular shot multiple times throughout my music video when the artist is singing, a specific example of this is when the artist is performing the song against the brick wall. Close up shots help to display facial expressions and the passion and emotion as the artist is singing to the audience. A close up shot is the most conventional way for the artist to portray their emotion as the camera is so close to them that there is nowhere for the artist to hide or cover up as their genuine emotion unfolds. The audience maintain their respect for the artist as she is perceived as a down to earth person as she is willing to show her true and raw emotion for the benefit of the audience to feel as though they are not alone, and with the help of the artist can get through their current situation. In which helps to build a relationship as the audience feel as though they are beginning to know the artist on a more personal level. Furthermore, this shot is conventional to the genre as it helps to represent the artist stereo typically. This shows the artist in a vulnerable light as she is reminiscing on subjects which are sensitive and personal to sing about. This again, allows the audience to relate to the artist as they see her as an ordinary girl as somebody who they can relate to as she also has feelings much like the audience. The close up helps to conventionally show the music video and engages the audience as it is predominately based on emotion and heart felt topics which the audience may be interested in watching and listening to.

Another conventional aspect of the soul genre is the editing which is used commonly throughout the music videos. Slow pace editing is used throughout my music video, a specific example of this is when the artist is walking over the pavement through the street. I incorporated this technique from inspiration from Adele's music video "Chasing Pavements" this is used as the actress is laying on the pavement, and also walking along the pavement. The purpose of

this technique in the music video was so that the audience could focus on the narrative, and could analyse what had happened in the background, behind the artist singing. This is conventional to soul music genre as this allows the audience to see clearly the emotion of the artist. The slow editing of the shots allows a longer period of time for the audience to think about the connotations of the editing style along with them being able to sympathize for the artist as they have more time to focus on the emotion portrayed. This technique also helps to again help the audience to understand the narrative more clearly as it is predominately based around the artists feelings and emotion as she is referring back to her childhood before she found fame. Furthermore, the slow editing can make the audience sympathize for the artist as this could almost represent the overwhelming mix of emotion and feelings as though she is feeling faint and dizzy. The audience may be able to relate to this mix of emotion and overwhelming feeling, so feel as though they have something in common with the artist.

Furthermore, black and white filters are a conventional aspect of soul music videos. This certain convention is used throughout my music video. I have incorporated this into my music video as I have taken inspiration from the music video from Adele "Someone Like You" as the predominate use of colour throughout the music video was black and white. This allowed the audience to infer the artists emotion as she began singing the lyrics.  A specific example of when this was

used in my music video could be when the artist is with her friends, which is a flashback. The use of the colour black helps to represent the artists emotions of sadness and depressive state, as she is no longer happy with her lifestyle and fame status, comparing this to her past. This may gain the artist respect from the audience as she is showing her raw, and natural emotion for all to see in order to benefit and comfort the audience who may be going through a similar situation, which presents her as down to earth. The colour black contrasts dramatically from the second use of colour, white. This is because the colour white stereo typically connotes innocence and vulnerability. Making the audience sympathize for the artist as a combination of the emotions of vulnerability and depression can leave the artist feeling very low. Furthermore, with both the colours being used together, this helps to suggest both positivity and negativity. Possibly in which the audience could infer, and how this is meant to be portrayed as a memory. In which she was reminiscing on. This is conventional to the soul genre as this helps to show the narrative clearly to the audience and allow them to understand the black and white filter is representing a memory. Additionally, the audience may be engaged with the music video as they sympathize for the audience as they may have been in a similar situation themselves.

The narrative of my music video is also another conventional aspect of the soul genre. Research was essential to creating a successful, conventional narrative. I analysed Paloma Faith's music video of "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" and found that the narrative was conventional to the soul genre, as the artist is singing based on the topic of love and heartbreak. I incorporated this into my own music video, so that the narrative audience can relate.

The narrative in most soul genres contains issues surrounding heartbreak, love or personal family matters. All of which the target audience may be able to relate to in some way due to their age and experiences they may have had to have gone through throughout their adult life. The topic in which my artist is singing about in the music video is conventional to the soul genre as she is singing about personal and upsetting experiences. In which may be relatable for the audience as they may reminisce, feel sad, lonely and isolated at some point in their life, all maybe slightly different from the artists situation. This may be engaging for the target audience as they may find comfort in knowing that somebody else has gone through a similar situation and they are no longer alone. This is something that the artist was trying to achieve with her music video, to give a different approach to what artists usually do and to try and build a relationship with her target audience.

The music video has also followed conventional aspects such as performance style. The video is both narrative and performance based. This is conventional as this is the part which helps to explain what is going on throughout the music video and how for the audience to understand the lyrics and the message which is trying to be given across to the audience. The performance side of the music video helps to show why the audience originally began to like and take interest in the artist due to her soulful voice and passion for music, which can easily be distracted from due to aspects of the music video diverting the audiences attention. However, both the narrative and performance aspects of the music video allow for conventional camera shots and cinematography techniques which help to display the artists emotion conventionally in order to engage and captivate the audience as they sympathize for her.

Lastly, another conventional aspect in which I have included in my music video is the location in which the music video is shot. I have taken inspiration from Adele's music video "Someone Like You" as she has shot the video in a relatable location, Paris. Many of the audience members are able to identify this due to the landmarks which are shown in the video. Stereo typically, the location is somewhere personal to the artist and relates to the subject which they are singing about.

In my music video locations include the streets of London, a stage for the performance aspect of the video and the artists home. All locations are something personal to the artist and something in which has gotten her to where she is today. This is something personal to the artist, so the audience feel as though they are beginning to know the artist on a more personal level, not only with the trust of the artists emotions, but to be let into a place which means something to her and for a specific reason, which she may find hard opening op to others. This may also allow the artist to feel more comfortable as she is singing topics she feels strongly about and will give her full attention and passion to the song in which she is singing. This helps to build a relationship between both the audience and artist as the audience have been aloud in to something which is personal to the artist, and builds a sense of trust between the two.

Overall, I believe that I have followed conventional aspects of the soul genre when creating my music video and ancillary texts. This is because most of the aspects I have included are typically seen also in other soul music videos and their individual magazine adverts and digipak, however I have adapted them slightly in order for them to make sense and fit my individual video. This can include points in which I have listed above. Close up shots have been used frequently throughout my music video to help express and convey the artists emotion based on the topic she is singing about. Additionally, the use of the black and white filter helps to suggest to the audience that the artist is reminiscing on the past and helps to reiterate the narrative to the audience members.

Rough Cut

Rough Cut

In order to improve our rough cut of our music video, feedback from our audience played an essential role. Strengths and weaknesses are highlighted in the feedback stage which is vital for further improvement of the production. Feedback allows our group to gain an insight to a second opinion where  slight or major mistakes/corrections that need improving can be seen which we are oblivious to due to re-watching our product so many times which could result in a dramatic change of the product from slight alterations. This also beneficial because audience can also suggest additional changes which can be applied to the music video in order to improve our product further. We received audience feedback from various screenings of our production. Firstly, our media class viewed our entire production and gave us feedback immediately afterwards. However, we also uploaded our production to YouTube and social media in which our audience commented and left both constructive and positive feedback. Other ways in which we received feedback was through questionnaires asking varied questions in order to see what the audience thought of our video and how we could improve. Feedback is vital to the production as it allows a second opinion to suggest changes and improvements which can be made to make the final product something the audience will want to see. Minor or major changes can be adjusted which makes the music video more stereotypical to the genre and something which the target audience are engaged in watching. This is beneficial to the music industry because the product is improved due to feedback from the rough cut and improve the product into something which targets their specific audience and can overall mean that there is an increase in sales which results in a higher profit for the music industry. 

The feedback which we received from our audience was from both, screenings of our production during class time but also from comments on social media and YouTube. The feedback which we did receive was a mix of both negative feedback which is constructive for the improvement of our production. Yet also positive feedback, which shows us what our target audience are engaged by and like to see in our music video in which we shouldn't change. One positive comment which we received on our music video through YouTube is the editing techniques that are used. More specifically the audience has commented on the use of the overlapping technique which has been used throughout our music video frequently. This gives the video a unique feel which has not been used in many music videos of the soul genre before. Overlapping is interesting for the audience to see instead of an ordinary filter added on top which may not be as engaging for the audience to watch. The audience may also begin to think of connotations used with the overlapping of the shots and could be inferred as the overwhelming amount of emotions the artist is displaying  through the lyrics. This may engage the audience further as they could possibly relate to how the artist is feeling. Furthermore, another piece of positive audience feedback we received was that the use of cinematography is of a high standard and have used multiple shots to make the music video more interesting to watch. Some of these shots which have been mentioned by audience members in our media class are the point of view shot at the beginning of the video which slowly comes into focus. Not many music videos include this, and the audience feel as though they are watching the artist perform in person which is a unique feel to the video and can help to build a relationship between audience and artist as they are able to see them from a closer perspective. Other cinematography elements which have been mentioned are the panning shots which are included of the candle panning over to the memory pictures of the artist when she was younger. This shot is favoured by the audience as it helps to reiterate to the audience the narrative of how the artist is reminiscing on her past before she found fame. Furthermore, another piece of positive feedback which we received was how the audience enjoyed the different paces throughout the music video, as some scenes where slower whilst some scenes had an increased pace. One audience member mentioned that this engaged them as it suggested that it was almost like the artist was watching the world go by, which is often what happens when detaching themselves from all emotion and aspects of the 'real world'. This suggests to the audience and reiterates how lonely the artist is feeling. In turn, making the audience sympathise for the audience yet also seeing her as down to earth as she is showing her true emotion for everybody to see. Lastly, audience members mentioned that one piece of the music video that they enjoyed was the fact it was filmed in several different locations. An example of this is how we filmed specific scenes in London. This made a positive impact for the audience as it helped to show how the artist was reminiscing on the past and where she came from. This also engages the audience further as for most, London is a recognisable place in which they feel that they have something in common with the artist and as though they are beginning to get to know them.

Negative comments which are constructive and beneficial to our music video is that we could add additional scenes which would make the overall narrative clearer for the audience. Suggestions of which scenes we could add are the artist leaving or having an argument with her friends which could then show why she is reminiscing on past times as she has left them to find fame. When watching our music video back we did realise that the narrative may be unclear for those who did not know what the narrative was beforehand. So including these additional scenes may make it clearer for the audience to understand and follow along easily in order to sustain the audiences attention throughout the entire video. Another comment which has been made about our music video is how effects can be added to the product in order to make the overall narrative much clearer for the audience. An example of how we can improve this is to add a black and white filter onto the scenes which are meant to be memories. The black and white filter is stereotypically known for representing a memory, which is what we want to create to show the audience that this is what the artist is reminiscing on. Another negative comment we received which was constructive in order for our music video to improve was the fact that the performance scenes were included too many times and became too repetitive for the audience to watch. To improve this we could film more scenes of the artist performing, however in different scenery such as a piano room so the audience does not become disengaged. +Furthermore, the filter used will also be able to help express and represent the artist further. The black helps to show the depressive state the artist is currently in, whilst the white helps to show the vulnerability she is feeling as she is alone. The two combined are not a desirable emotion which further helps the audience to sympathise for her. 

Examples of feedback which we received:

To improve on our music video we will try to incorporate suggestions that have been made to us through the feedback we received. Firstly, we are aiming to film additional scenes to include in our music video to make the narrative more clear for the audience. Scenes which we aim to film are the friends arguing around the artist leaving and becoming famous. This will help the audience to understand the rest of the narrative how the artist is reminiscing on the past, when she wasn't lonely and show the audience why she is feeling this way. Another piece of feedback which we have taken on board and aim to improve is adding further editing techniques to the music video to again, help the narrative become more clear.  An example of an editing technique which we will include is adding black and white filters onto the scenes with the friends before the artist was famous, enjoying themselves. This will help to reiterate to the audience that this is a memory the artist is reminiscing on, and again how lonely and vulnerable she is now. Not only does this help to show the narrative more clearly, but also helps to represent the artist and builds a relationship between as they begin to sympathise for her. 

Analysis of Individual Digipak

Individual Digipak Analysis

Aswell as creating an individual magazine advert to promote our music video and our artist, I have also created an individual digipak. A digipak is a paperboard or cardboard binded style book which contains one or more plastic trays. The reason for creating our own individual digipaks was to promote the artists album to the specific target audience. Along with this, elements contained within the digipak will represent the artist conventionally and may suggest which type of music the album may contain, influencing the audience to purchase the album. I have been inspired by several digipaks, but one in particular is from the artist Duffy. This is because Duffy is a similar artist to our artist as she produces music also from the soul genre and has also included conventional aspects in which I would like to include in my digipaks to help represent the artist stereo typically.

My individual digipaks includes many specific elements which help to promote my music artist and her album effectively and successfully. One element of my digipaks which is conformed with effectively is the use of colour. The main and repeated use of colour throughout my digipak is black and white. This is used throughout as main uses of colour, but also as an effect on specific slides such as the two images that are included in the digipak. The colours black and white help to convey the artist stereo typically. As black helps to represent the artists depressive state and emotions. Whereas the colour white represents the artist in a different light as vulnerable and innocent which is a combination which could concern and make the audience sympathize for the artist as this could leave the artist with low self esteem, and in a low place, in which the audience may be able to relate in some way if they have been put in a similar position. The two colours combined help to suggest both positivity and negativity which could suggest to the audience that the artist is reminiscing on old memories and events which have occurred. From the two pictures specifically of the artist of people in the background walking past in black and white, could suggest this is what she is reminiscing on. Her friends and family which she has lost since she found fame.

Another colour which I have included throughout my individual digipak is the use of the colour red. This colour is bold and helps certain parts of the digipak to stand out, and allow the audience to think of the connotations which are linked to the artist. Examples of this which I have included within my digipak is the "18" and the lips. Red is not a stereotypical colour which would be used in the soul genre ancillaries and is subversive to the genre. This is because the colour suggests confidence of the artist, whereas usually the artist is perceived to be quiet and shy. However, this may motivate the audience and give them hope that the current situation that they are currently in will come to an end. However, the colour red can also infer to the audience what the album is based upon. Also conforming with the genres stereotype, red has several connotations which the love and romance and could be a clear indication that this is what the album may contain, allowing the audience to gain an insight and see whether or not the album would interest them or not. A similar portrayal as the colour red, is pink. This has several connotations with love and romance which could infer to the audience what the album could include. However, a negative portrayal of the colour could suggest a lack of self-worth and indicate an overly emotional nature, which could suggest the representation of the artist. This may influence the audience to purchase the album as it may be comforting to them to listen to somebody else in a similar situation in which they can relate to. 

Another aspect which conforms with the conventions of the soul genre on my individual digipak is the images which I have chosen include. Two of the images used, which are included on the front page of the digipak and the last page show the artist to be looking downwards. This is the two images which the audience will mainly see, so I made this a predominate feature which would represent the artist stereo typically and give the audience an insight as to what they can expect from the album. The artist looking downwards could suggest she is day dreaming, which is detaching yourself from your current surroundings for a short space of time. This could suggest that the artist may be wanting to escape her emotion and possibly guilt. In which this may be relatable to the audience and could infer this may be what the content on the album may contain. Additionally to this, the audience may find respect for the artist and find them admirable as they are showing their true, raw emotion. This allows the artist and audience to gain a relationship as the audience begin to gain an insight to the artist and their personality, how they are down to earth. Furthermore, the images used in the digipak in the middle show the artist almost gazing into the distance with an emotionless expression. This could be due to the fact she is in deep thought, possibly of regret and has blocked off all her surroundings. Many of the audience members may be able to relate to this and may find comfort in somebody else trying to make sense and express the similar feelings they share. The image used on the CD in the digipak displays an image of Big Ben. This may immediately draw in the audiences attention due to the fact it is a recognizable and iconic landmark in London. Secondly, this may give the audience indication that the music contained in the album could be something to do with the location of London, in which may be interesting and engaging to the audience depending on their interests, hobbies and backgrounds. Lastly, the image used on the page which includes the message from the artist is a candle holder which is made from multi-coloured glass. The tones throughout the image are mainly warm toned full of oranges and pinks which represent love and positivity. The flame itself which shines through the glass helps to possibly represent fear and pain which may be the internal emotions of the artist in which she is feeling due to the situation she is currently in and reminiscing on. 

The images are subversively used on my digipak as stereo typically images remain central to the page so that the audience is not distracted as this is usually the focal point. Although the image is slightly of centre, this gives a unique edge to the digipak which will draw the attention from the audience. The image remains a focal point as the digipak itself has a simple theme throughout with not much writing so the attention of the audience can not be diverted. This allows the audience to still sympathize for the artist as they can still see the emotion clearly and may be able to relate to the artist.

Additionally to this, the typography which I have chosen to include in my individual digipak conforms with the stereotypical conventions. The handwriting style font I have used on several slides of my digipak, this includes the main (front) page, the message to the audience and finally the track list. This gives a unique approach to the digipak, in which not many artists may have included before as it could be seen not to "stand out" as much as another font may. However, the white, glowing effect helps to engage the audience as this contrasts against the dark, black background drawing in the audiences attention. This also helps to reiterate to the audience the topics which could be included in the album, such as memories and reminiscing which can be inferred throughout the use of the contrast of black and white. The simplistic approach to all fonts included in my digipak conforms with the conventions of the genre and helps to represent the music which is included which does not shy away from focusing on subjects which may be relatable to many, and simply explain how they may be feeling. I have applied a hand writing type font on my digipak as I feel this creates a personal approach to the digipak which suggests that the artist has written the album for the audience. This also could suggest that the artist is wanting to get to know the audience by helping them in the current situation by being able to relate to the audience, empowering them. The artist can be seen as admirable to the audience as they are humble and down to earth, willing to show their emotion to benefit the audience. 

The language which I have used throughout the digipak is quite simple and has included a minimal amount of wording. The language which is included is the main information which the audience would need to find out information about the album and the elements which would engage them, this includes the title, message to the audience and the track list. The main reason for this is so that the audience is not overwhelmed with a large amount of information on the digipak which could ultimately divert their attention away from the album altogether. The message to the audience however, brings a unique approach to the digipak as it contains the artists songs which helps to create a message to the audience. Most artists would not take the time to think of such a unique way to thank their fans, so suggests to the audience that the artist is humble and down to earth due to the fact she cares about the audience and wants them to feel as though she is trying to get to know the audience better and are interested in their feedback.

Although I have managed to create a digipak which conforms to many conventional aspects, I did encounter many struggles and weaknesses during the process. One issue was finding a font in which I thought was appropriate for my digipak and came across to the audience in the way I wanted it to, to show to the audience that thought had been put into the digipak in order to show the artist as down to earth and humble. To overcome this problem, I downloaded fonts from a different resources and downloaded them to the software, this was an easy task as after the font was downloaded it was easy accessible from the software. Another issue was with creating an entirely black background and the image remaining in colour. I tried originally with cropping certain aspects which I did not want to be in black, and used the fill background, however aspects of the digipak where also filled in black too. To overcome this, I then used the paint brush tool to zoom in closely and trace the edges around the artist to ensure the background changed to a plain black background. Aside from this I did also encounter strengths with using the software which i hadn't before. One strength was dragging the image into the software which I wanted to use and make it to the appropriate size which I wanted. Furthermore, I also found changing specific aspects of the image to black and white an easy task after I watched a tutorial on YouTube which explained easily how to use this and it was easy to use the specific tools needed.

In conclusion, I think that my individual digipak conforms with the genres stereotypical conventions as I have included many conventional aspects. I believe that this engages and appeals to my target audience because I have conformed with many of the key conventions. This includes the images which helps to portray the artists emotional state to the audience in which they may be able to relate to. Furthermore, this may be engaging for the specific target audience as I have also included locations within my digipak which may be engaging for the audience as they may be able to recognize the locations such as London and feel as though they can relate to the artist. However, I do believe that my digipak also adheres the conventions due to the font which I have selected. I believe that not many digipaks have used a similar font to the one I have selected which represents the artists handwriting. This gives a unique touch to the digipak almost as though the artist has created this for the audience, this would engage the audience as not many artists would have done this before and allows the audience to feel as though they are beginning to know the artist, engaging their attention further.

Meetings

Meetings

Meetings with all members of our group are essential throughout the filming process. The reason for this is so that every member of the group knows what is happening during the production process. It also allows our group to discuss ideas based around the task we have been given. Examples of discussions which have been based on during group meetings are deciding on the artist and the song, aswell as planning aspects of our music video such as mise-en-scene and cinematography elements. In which we recorded a list of every meeting we encountered alongside what the group have discussed and decided on so that we could refer back to our notes to see what we had decided or wanted to include in a certain aspect of the video. Furthermore, group meetings allowed individuals to express their ideas for our music video which may not have been thought of and could enhance our product. Additionally to this, it allowed other members of the group to expand and broaden the idea further, to create ideas which were more intriguing for the audience, or beneficial for the group. To organise our time efficiently, we made sure that we planned every aspect of our production to the best of our ability so that this would save time. This included which members of the group had a certain role in the task to help, so when individuals had done specific tasks they could continue with the next one. This saved alot of wasted time as different roles were completed efficient, with not every member of the group completing the same task which did not necessarily need all 4 members help.

Overall, I think that our group did work well together. This is because I felt as though we corp-orated with a strategy of completing different tasks either as individuals, and as a whole group which enabled us to use our time efficiently depending on what we needed to do. Our group showed good communication skills through taking on board each others individual ideas and suggesting ways in which we could incorporate this into our music video or planning. This was also showed us working well together as we could take into consideration others ideas, but also expand and broaden the idea to help out the individual but also benefit the group. It was beneficial of our group to keep a record of what was discussed in our group meetings as we could refer back to our notes if we had forgotten any elements which we may have wanted to include or expand on. This also gave us a plan of what we were hoping to create, or important notes on how to move forward in our next phase of the production. Meetings helped the entire group to stay on a similar page with everybody knowing what needed to be done next in order to develop the product, and see which role they needed to undergo in order to achieve this.

Photoshoot

Photoshoot

The purpose of taking pictures throughout our filming process, is so that we can include these images in other tasks of the course. It makes sense to take pictures at the time of filming so that we do not need to go back and take the pictures another time which can be time consuming. Instead, the artist will already be in the correct costume and location which helps to create the desired effect. The images that we took throughout the filming process have been included in our linked tasks to our music video, such as the digipak and our individual magazine advert. It is essential that we take multiple pictures which are varied. This is so that our group members can use different pictures to make the products individual, however all have a similar theme. Additionally to this, varied pictures are engaging for the audience as they do not want to be looking at something too similar throughout every side of the digipak for example. The varied pictures also help to represent the artist and convey different emotions, which may engage the audience as this gives them an insight as to what the albums content may contain. 

One image which I have taken is an image of the artist overlooking scenery of London, more specifically overlooking Tower Bridge. I intend to use this photo on my Digipak. This is because I do not feel as though the image is engaging enough for the audience to use as the main image on my individual magazine advert. However, this is a good image to use on one of the multiple sides of the digipak as this is conventional to the soul genre and allows the audience an insight to what the album may be based on. I think this specific image works well as it helps to build a relationship with the audience through the use of facial expressions and representations of the artist. Within this shot the audience can see the emotionless expression that the artist has, which could suggest how low and vulnerable she is feeling, almost as though she has given up. The audience may be able to relate to this as they may have been in a similar situation at some point, and can sympathise for the artist. The overlooking of the London scenery could suggest that the content could be a mix based on the surroundings, and the artists emotion, which is our aim as our music video to "Hometown Glory" is based on the artists low emotion, and reminiscing on her hometown and past life which is based in London. When I came to the editing phase of this specific picture, I decided to use multiple layers to keep some of the picture remaining in colour, whilst the rest remains in black and white. This suggests to the audience a contrast between positive and negative thoughts which could further suggest that the artist is reminiscing on memories. This also gives a unique edge to the photo as the audience are engaged, questioning why the photo is styled like this. 

The next image is similar to the previous which I have used, as this is overlooking London standing on a bride, however is surrounded by different scenery. I have taken this particular image as the scenery is simplistic, allowing the audiences attention to be focused mainly on the image and not diverted elsewhere. It also allows the audience to focus on the artists facial expression. I intend to use this picture on my digipak on a side where this just has one image on. This is because the image is not suited to the main cover of the digipak/advert as it needs to be mainly focused on the artist. I think that this image is conventional to the soul genre as it captures the emotion of the artist. It almost seems as though she is day dreaming, making the audience sympathize for her as this suggests the artist is trying to escape her surroundings for a short space of time. This could suggest a theme of guilt or unhappiness throughout the album and content of the lyrics, which may in turn build a relationship with the audience as it may seem as though the artist is singing for them, and they can relate as they may have been in this situation themselves. The image presents the artist as down to earth and humble as she is willing to express her natural emotion for the benefit of the audience, to empower them and make them feel as though they are not alone.

Another image that I have used is of the artist standing on a bridge, looking downward. I intend to use this specific picture on my digipak on the track list side. As again as previously mentioned I think that the image I want to use for the main side of the digipak will be a close up shot which represents the artist and the album in a unique way. I have taken this particular image as it has several typical aspects which represent the artist conventionally. The artist is looking downwards, this suggests that the artist could be day dreaming, possibly wanting to escape her thoughts and emotions which she is feeling at the current time or situation that she is in. This can be inferred to the audience that the artist is feeling guilty, possibly based around the subject of love and family. Not only does this make the audience sympathise for the artist, they could possibly relate as they may have been in this situation before and are looking for comfort in music to show that they are not alone. Additionally, the audience may admire the artist as she is willing to show her raw and natural emotion for every body to see in order to comfort others, this enables the audience and artist to begin to build a relationship as they feel as though the artist is humble and down to earth.

I have taken an image throughout the filming process of a candle holder, which has many different warm tone colours, which I intend to use on my digipak, more specifically on the message to the audience. I have taken this image as I feel as though this is a unique image to use on my digipak. Most of the sides on my digipak include some picture of the artist mainly a close up or her looking somewhere else as though she is day dreaming. I feel as though this image is both conventional and subversive to the soul music genre. It is subversive due to the fact that not many artists have chosen to do something like this before, because as previously mentioned most digipak are kept quite simple with a black, or dark background or with a picture of the artist to show the emotion and passion in the lyrics. However, I do believe that this is conventional to the genre due to the colours that are used. Pinks and red symbolize love and romance which is what the album is based upon, giving the audience an insight to what they can expect. Furthermore, the orange tones used throughout suggest positivity, which gives an insight to the artists personality as even though she is clearly in a depressive state and feeling low, she is still trying to remain positive in hope for the "light at the end of the tunnel". This shows the artist as strong willed, which the audience may begin to build a relationship with the artist as this is something that they admire her for.

Another image which I have included on my digipak is shown on the main, front slide. This is of the artist looking downwards. I have chosen this image as it again represents the artist stereotypically. It seems as though the artist is upset and down about a particular subject, which could suggest the themes which run throughout the album. This may interest and engage the audience as they may gain an insight to the humbleness and how down to earth the artist is. Additionally, may make the audience build a relationship with the artist as they feel as though they are not going through the situation alone, as though they have someone else who is also going through the similar situation. of the artist trying to forget about something she feels guilty about, by staring into space. Furthermore the picture is conventional to the soul genre through the representation of the artist. It could be portrayed to the audience that the artist is staring into space. This is where it is known to have "zoned out" of the current time not being intact and forgetting about their inner emotion. Inferring guilt which could be a possible insight to a theme which occurs throughout the album.

Lastly, I have taken this particular image to be the main image for my individual magazine advert. This particular image is conventional to my chosen genre of soul due to a number of conventional aspects. Firstly, the use of colour is conventional to my individual magazine advert through the main use of the colour black and white as this is the effect of the whole advert. The effect helps to represent the artist stereotypically. Black suggests the artists depressive state and emotions swell as the colour white contrasting this with connotations of innocence and vulnerability. The two colours combined allow the audience to sympathise for the artist as feeling both vulnerable and depressed must be difficult to cope with. Allowing the audience to build a relationship with the artist as they can empathise with her, or may have been in this particular situation themselves. This presents the artist as down to earth and ordinary which the audience can relate to as she is similar to the audience, just like a regular person. The use of black and white could also suggest to the audience how the artist is reflecting on her past life and reminiscing on happier times before she found fame, which could lead to an insight of what the audience can expect from the album. Another conventional aspect of the image i have chosen for my individual magazine advert is the positioning and facial expressions of the artist. The artist is seen to be looking down in the image, with an expression which makes her look fed up and upset. It appears as though the artist is day dreaming, which she is possibly trying to escape her current thoughts of guilt and inner emotion. This could be family or love based which makes this more relatable for the audience. In turn, this could begin to build a relationship between the artist and audience as it seems as though the artist is able to trust them with how she is feeling, this also may feel to the audience that they have somebody to talk to about a situation almost like the artist is the audiences friend, which may be comforting to them. 

In conclusion, I found taking pictures for the photo shoot an enjoyable and easy task to complete. This is because all we had to do was take several photographs of the artist in which she was already in the clothing from filming previous to this. We had taken photos even in natural states and random places to capture what may work well on our digipak. The more images that we had taken, the more chance we had of finding an image which would work well with our theme. We felt that the shots that we took worked well as we took images that helped to portray to the audience what our music video was based upon, this could be seen through scenery and facial expression of the artist which gives an insight to themes which occur. One problem which our group encountered with picture taking is that the majority of our group liked the same picture in which one would want to have for a specific reason. Looking back, we could have taken even more shots to avoid this problem and have planned out specific images we needed to take rather than the artist posing naturally as we had multiple shots which looked similar. 

Individual Magazine Advert Analysis

Individual Magazine Advert

Alongside creating our music video we also created our individual magazine advert. The aim of creating my own individual magazine advert is to promote the artists album to the target audience. The magazine advert includes many conventional aspects to the artists genre which will engage the audience as this is something they are wanting and expecting to see. Additionally to this, the aspects included in the magazine advert allow the audience to think about certain connotations which may suggest what the content of the album may contain, allowing the audience to decide whether or not they may be interesting in purchasing the album.

Within my individual magazine advert I have included certain elements which I have aimed to engage my target audience to promote my artist effectively. An element which I have included in my individual magazine advert is the use of colour. The predominant use of colour in my individual magazine advert is black and white. This helps to ensure that other aspects of the advert are bold and stand out to engage the audience, an example of this is the artists lips, and the first letter of the title 'Amy' and the second part of the title '18' which is not obvious but can be seen if you look into the advert in depth. The colours black and white are a typical convention of most soul magazine adverts, as this helps to convey the artists emotions. The black used within the effect helps to suggest the artists depressive state and sadness. This allows the audience to sympathize as they may be able to relate in some way, additionally the artist is allowing the audience to see her true and natural emotion which shows her as down to earth. The white contrasts this and suggests innocence and vulnerability of the artist which could again make the audience sympathize for the artist as the combination of both vulnerability, sadness and depression can be a mix that leaves the artist feeling very low, in which the audience may be able to relate or realise this is not a state of mind which any person should be in. Furthermore, both colours combined help to suggest positivity and negativity which may infer events which have occurred in her life. This could help to show to the audience that the artist is reminiscing on memories in which she was most happy before she found fame. Additionally, another colour which I have included in my individual magazine advert is red which is subversive to the music genre. As apposed to the colours which are usually conventional, red is not the stereotypical connotation of a soul music genre as this suggests that the artist has a lot of self confidence, whereas stereo typically the artist may be perceived as shy. However, this suggests to the audience that the artist is a down to earth person who has determination to reach the 'light at the end of the tunnel' which may gain admiration from the audience as they then can believe in themselves to have the same motivation as the artist to get through a particular situation they may be in. Furthermore, the colour red represents the artist stereo typically because the topic in which the artist is singing about is based on love, passion and emotion which are connotations of the colour red. This allows the audience to have an insight of what the album may contain and whether this would interest them or not. 

A conventional aspect of my individual magazine advert is the image that I have used. It can be seen that the artist is looking down in the image, which has several typical connotations. The image which we have used is a close up shot of the artist which helps to convey her facial expressions and body language. This helps to show the artists eyes looking down, this could be seen as the artist is almost day dreaming, which is where it is as though you are not in the moment as you are thinking about something deeply for a short space of time and are not involved in your surroundings, inferring to the audience that the artist would like to forget about the current situation she is in. This pose also has connotations of guilt, which the artist may be feeling. Additionally, this could suggest not only guilt, but possibly regret as she is channeling her inner emotions which could relate to love or family. Not only does this represent the artist, it also enables a relationship to build due to the audience believing that the artist almost feels as though she can trust her audience by exposing her feelings and personal situations in a raw and natural state which the audience may admire as they see the artist in a different light, as a down to earth and ordinary person. This also helps the audience to gain and insight into what the artists music may be based on and consist of, as they may be able to relate in some way. Furthermore, the layout of my individual magazine advert is conventional to the genre. This is because although my image that I have used isn't central to the advert is is the most predominate feature which the audience will focus their attention on most. The reason for this positioning of the image is that the attention that the audience is focusing on the advert is mainly on the artist and isn't diverted away to secondary information such as the title or release date that may not be important as the recognition of the artist which will remind the audience to look at the album. This again allows the audience to focus on the emotion of the artist which reiterates how vulnerable she is again making the audience sympathising for her. Additionally, allows the audience to have an insight into what the album may contain. 

Furthermore, the font which I have included for my main title of "Amy 18" is in a bold, yet simple font which has also been written in capitals to capture the audiences attention immediately. The simplicity of the font ties in with conventional aspects of the soul genre as this relates to the music of the artist with the lyrics explaining simply how the artist is feeling, presenting her as down to earth and allows the audience to begin to build a relationship as they gain an insight to the artists personality. The black and white shades used in the title help to reiterate how the artist is mainly reflecting on her past throughout her album, as well as the subtle red shade behind specific letters enabling the audience to realise the album contains topics surrounding love and heartbreak, which engages the audience as they sympathize for her. This may also draw the audience in as they can relate to these situations and are looking for comfort in somebody who can relate to them. Additionally to this the secondary piece of information and the language used stating the artist "presents her new album" which engages the audience immediately as this could be a raw talent which is not discovered for many which they could possibly enjoy due to being able to listen about different voices and opinions on a subject that they can relate to. In relation to the typography used, the style in which I have made this font is similar to hand writing, which is conventional also as this again does not divert the audiences attention but is enough to engage the target audience due to the simplicity. The font style helps to give a personal approach and touch to the advert, as though it has been signed to the audience and written for the audience. This helps the audience to feel empowered as they feel as though the artist may be in a similar situation and have someone to relate to. This also represents the artist as humble and down to earth as it shows they have not let fame get to them, and showing that she wants to still keep in contact with her audience and show them that she is grateful for all support, in which the audience admire. 

To create my individual magazine advert I used Photoshop, in which I encountered problems with using specific tools on the software. Firstly I struggled with the concept of using different layers on the advert in order to place different effects or titles which I wanted on my advert. The reason for this is so that it is easier to move and change the different layers instead of creating a confusion with what needs to go where. I did however quickly get used to this aspect of the software as I realized the concept which made sense and was easier as then multiple effects and layers would not interrupt the use of another. Additionally to this, another concept in which I struggled with was creating the desired effect which I wanted to include. For example, I wanted to create a vignette effect which is a darker, shadowed border surrounding the image which changes the feel of the image as it creates a focus on the main image. I did not know originally how I was going to create this effect as I had not used the software much previously to this task, and the multiple tools seemed very confusing. To overcome this problem, I researched what I wanted to add to my advert on the internet and came across a YouTube video which gave a step by step guide of instructions which I paused during every step and ended up with the result that I wanted. Aside from this, I did have some strengths in regards to using Photoshop software. As I came to grips with using the software it became clearer of how I would achieve my main aspect of the advert, which is the removal of the black and white filter to leave out the parts of red such as the lips. This was created by using the eraser tool on top of the black and white filter which left the original colour of the image, I feel as though this helped with creating a successful advert as it allowed the audience to think of the connotations of this colour and gave them an insight of what they can expect from the album.

In conclusion, I believe that by individual magazine advert conforms with the soul genres stereotypical conventions, as I have included aspects which are included in similar artists adverts to appeal to my target audience. An example could be the image used, which helps to represent the artists emotions, this may engage the audience as they can relate to the artist and feel as they may not be alone in a situation. Additionally, the handwriting style again makes it feel as though there is a personal approach to the advert almost as though the artist is signing the album over to them, or has written it for them, this engages the audience as this is an admirable touch which the audience may feel thought of during the process of making the album.