Wednesday, 26 November 2014

Digi-Pack Coursework : Before & After Photoshoot

In preparation for the photo shoot we drafted sketches of what we thought we wanted for our music video.
These are what they looked like :




 They were more or less our storyboards and we didn't create a shotlist as we knew what we wanted and we saw that we were prepared enough to go without one.

Although, it took weeks of communication as we each were both had busy timetables, we eventually came across a date we could all do and met at the 'Bounty' pub where we had done the shoot.
The photoshoot went really well. It took about 30 minutes to an hour and he was very patient and understanding of our product. Also,  he knew this would benefit him because he could use the ancillaries for his music career.

This is the photoshoot for the ancillary task and instead of posting all of the photos on here, putting it on youtube as a video form you can see all the photos.

Digi-Pack Coursework : Genre Related Research

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Digi-pack Coursework: Analysis of Tour Posters

I have looked at a variety of different concert posters from various genres, this is because I wanted to see the difference between these genres and how they are represented to the audience.


This Rihanna concert poster is very simple, although it follows typical conventions of an R’n’B music poster, due to the element of sophistication through the use of a strict colour scheme of red, white and black which creates a classy image. The use of red is only used as her hair colour; this is striking, eye catching and is the main focal point I look at when I see this poster. This is what draws my attention to the poster and gives Rihanna her own identity and image because her appearance is so unique. To me, I like how a picture of the artist takes up the majority of the page and underneath the image is her name in the largest and boldest writing, the white writing on the black box is really effective. However, there is not much blank space throughout the poster as information about the concert has fulfilled this which I admire.  The information below is easy to read on top of a black background, especially the white writing as it is most evident and simply puts across the details to the audience effectively. I feel it would be fairly easy to re-create a poster like this, simply because the conventions of a typical tour poster are used throughout this, therefore would be easy to re-create. Although I would not like to recreate this mainly because considering it is an R ‘n’ B artist I feel it would not suit the audience I am hoping to target (singer-songwriter/indie audiences). 




Taylor Swift concert photo sums up her character, basically because the photo taken is very natural and we can obviously see that see is live on stage. In addition, Taylor is creating a heart with her hands; this represents Taylor as a loving, friendly and down to earth woman, which I love. Even though her image is represented as a young joyful girl, there is a slight representation of sophistication and class from her glittery silver dress. I absolutely LOVE this because it shows two sides to her music. The colour scheme is clearly purple although the splash of gold stands out against the background and is the main focal point of this image. The mixture of classy colours gives it an indication of pop/country music; this is because the colour isn’t as bright to appeal to all pop audiences. The gold instantly gives a powerful and strong appeal. The variation of colour keeps the information looking interesting. In addition, I admire how the writing in the centre of the page looks as if its hand written, looking as if she has written it herself. We can evidently see important information around the edges of the poster. In my opinion, I actually prefer if all the important information about the tour at the bottom of the compositional frame so it is all placed together, rather than having it all separated, like Taylor Swifts poster, although it does make it distinct which I like. I like the fact that the album cover is shown at the bottom of the frame, promoting the album as well as the tour dates, these details are put across to the audience effectively. 


This tour poster follows more usual conventions of a concert poster. The Script concert poster looks very sophisticated, classy and professional due to the colour scheme of blacks, whites and gold, which gives the band a higher-class image, therefore is an indication of an alternative rock band. In this concert photo, the name of the band is most predominating with lights in the background, brightening up the photo overall, this looks like the image was taken at a live performance. I love how the main band member, Danny O’donnohuge is posed which looks natural. I like the way in which the band seem relaxed, rather then posing for the camera. I love the whole composition of this poster because it’s unique and engaging. This poster has a lot more information based on the concert and the information takes up half of the compositional frame and gives the audience information on dates, times, ticket prices, ticket websites etc. Although the details of the tour are small and at the bottom of the poster, they are still clearly visible due to the contrast of the white writing on the black box. The white writing against the black background works well together. In addition the album is placed in the centre left hand side of the composition, which makes it much easier to see.

I think each poster has a unique and different aspect to them and I particularly found key points that I want to take away from this. These are:
  • Don't make the writing too small
  • Make it identifiable who the artist is
  • Make the colour scheme relatable to your artist
  • Make it obvious that a tour is going to happen through tour dates etc..
  • Put a website they can find more information on.
  • Show the album itself - or anything about the album.

Digi-Pack Coursework : Research of CD Digi-pack


1975's Album

The digipack has low key lighting, which anchors the idea of Indie Rock as it is stereotypical to the genre. The white light that outlines the speakers also anchor the idea of the indie rock genre as it is stereotypical for artists of this genre t be focused on their music shown by the musical equipment of speakers. As most videos of this genre include a performance element , it is another way for the band to portray to their fans its all about the sound.

As well as this on the front cover, highlighting the bands name emphasises exactly who they are without getting in your face. Its a simple yet effective way of composing a Digipack to appeal to wide audiences. Its very interesting in the fact that there are no band members on the front or back of the covers, juxtaposing the amount of times they are composed in the music video. This creates not only an enigma to the new listener but also anchors ideologies about those who create indie rock and how they want to present themselves

Another thing that is interesting between the two print pieces of text is that they’re symmetrical in the colour scheme, font style and the background image. By doing this it creates a trademark for the band and gets them noticed worldwide, as people will see this colour scheme and instantly relate to the 1975. 

The fact the colour scheme is black and white is also significant as it again anchors the ideas of indie rock as it is conventional within the genre as it connotes a sense of isolation and being on the outer edge translating to being different which of course what “indie” means.

Taylor Swift's Red Album

Compared to the other album she has, Taylor Swift's fourth album is very bold. She has made a statement as she has a bold font compared to her girly font beforehand. Her album has strayed from country music and now has gained a more of pop stereotype with her album.  It focuses on her as an artist and female rather than her country artist with her guitar as before.  Taylor is seen with a top hat hiding her face apart from her lips which is red. 'RED' the word is seen very bold throughout the whole album, maybe for the artist to convey a bold statement about something and this could be about relationship, friendship or her life in general. Also, red is the colour of extremes. It’s the colour of passionate love, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Taylor Swift may want to convey these conventions throughout her album songs. Her on the front cover slightly hidden might suggest that there is more to uncover than we expected and give audience curiosity and 
Taylor Swift's name is on the front cover album highlighted bolded as well (although a tad smaller than the album name). This shows the audience boldly who the artist is from the first glance at the cd.