Research

The brief i have chosen to do for my A2 media coursework is a promotion pack for the release of a new album. The brief includes a music promo video as the main task together with two pleminiary an album cover for its release and a promotional magazine poster for it's release.

Before starting the design process of each task I will have to research into the different media types. I will analyse similar texts and find typical forms and conventions of each, research into different music labels and also interview a targeted audience. This research will help me produce a professional looking Music video, Magazine poster and CD cover.

Audience Research

The first part of my research was to ask a targeted audience (girls 13-18 years old) what they look for in each of the tasks. Such as what colours they look for in a poster, what they like about music videos and what attracts them to buy CD's.

Targeted Audience Interview

What sort of music do you listen to?

Emily: I prefer girly pop music, like Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift
Jess:  I listen to all sorts of music like indie, rock, R’n’B but I love Justin Bieber! I love the type of music he does, I suppose its pop music, so yeah I love pop music.

Emily: yeah I like Justin Bieber as well

Do you watch the music videos to the songs that you like?

Jess: Yeah, I like to see how the singer actually sees the song and also shows the story to the song so I think that it’s good to watch the videos

Emily: I only watch the videos to songs that I really like. I watch all Miley Cyrus videos because like jess said it shows you the story of the song and how it is supposed to be interpreted.

Where do you usually watch music videos?Emily: Mainly on the internet because there easy to find on there like YouTube, you can type in the song and the video comes up.
Jess:  Same, I watch them on the internet. I watch them on celebrity gossip sites like oceanup.com. I also watch them on MTV on the television.

What do you like to see in a music video?

Emily: I love to see the story behind the song. Like when there’s a love story and they break up then get back together I love to see the bit at the end when they make-up. I think it’s really cute! It also shows clearly what the song is about.

Jess: Yeah I love that but I also love to see dancing when the song gets louder and faster.

Emily: I love Justin Bieber videos because he’s always dancing and makes the song fun even when there quite sad and slow.

So, you prefer love songs and watching the story behind the song?

Emily: yeah I think it’s more interesting than watching a band play in like a room or something

Jess:  Yeah I agree.

Do you usually buy the CD’s from the artists you like?

Emily: I usually download and buy off iTunes as I find it much easier but if I really like the artist I’ll buy the CD so that I have something to keep.

Jess:  Yeah I buy CD’s of the artists I like. I put them in my mom’s car so we can listen to them when we go out.

What attracts you to buy a CD?

Jess:  I love bright colours. Like Katy Perry’s new album has pink clouds and really girly colours. I bought that album because of the colours and it looked like a really fun album.

Emily: I agree but I also like when it’s simple like Miley Cyrus’ ‘Time of Our Lives’ album,

She’s sitting there in front of a light purple background holding a guitar. I loved this album cover because it showed what sort of music that would be on the album because she was holding an acoustic guitar.

          

Do you look at magazine adverts because you like the product or do you look at other factors such as colours?

Emily: Colours always attract me to a magazine advert. I love bright colours as whenever I see bright colours I look at the advert. But I would also look at it if I liked the product.

Jess: If it was for a DVD I would look for the DVD on the advert and like Emily said I would be drawn to the advert by bright colours or a funny picture.

Emily: A big picture of the product would also be good. It would attract me to look at an advert in a magazine. If the picture was small I probably wouldn’t look at it.

Jess: I agree

From this research I found out what girls liked in a mdeia video.I found that they like music videos to tell a story.I will use this inforamtion to create my own music video. I will also use the inforamtion that i found about the colours they like and what sort of magazines they read. This will help me design my magazine poster and CD cover.
Institutional Research

For my institutional research I have researched into different music labels that would be the type of label that would sign my artist. From this research it enabled me to find what sort of music label I would have to sign this artist and it also gave me a background of how different sorts of music labels sign different sorts of artists such as small independent labels to big labels like Sony and Hollywood Records.
Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment is part of one of the largest music and entertainment companies in the world. It has a broad array of local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalogue comprising of some of the most important recordings in history.

Sony Music Entertainment is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big five" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America. They sign various artists from rock, pop and RnB.

Sony Music Entertainment would be the type of company to sign my artist as they sign a lot of similar artists such as Natasha Bedingfield, Jordin Sparks and Britney Spears.

This record company fits into the context of my area o

f institution because it is quite a big record company compared with other record companies such as Hollywood records. Sony Music Entertainment signs many popular and well known artists and I think the artist that I will be using would fit into this category.

My completed music video would be seen on music channels such as MTV. It may also be seen on the Disney channel as my artist is from Disney. It would also be shown on YouTube and Internet sites that would target younger girls such as gossip sites.
My DVD to the music video would be seen in shops such as HMV because this sells a lot of music Cd's and DVDs and it is a popular shop where many of my targeted audience would go to buy music.

Music Record Labels

I have also researched into different music record logo, this was to help me create my own music label's logo. When looking at these logo i found that they all have different ways of showing that they are representing music labels. All but one have text

t with the  labels name on. If they did not have text on we would not see that they are representing music labels. The EMI label isn't very clear as to what it is representing. If i saw this i wouldn't no it was for a music label.

Media/ Music Video Research

For this part of my research i looked into similar music videos that had the same genre as the one i was going to use for my own music video. I looked into Miley Cyrus as she is a young female music artist similar to Taylor Swift i also analysed Taylor Swift's video to 'Tear Drops on my guitar.' This same artist that sings my music videos song and i also analysed Demi Lovato's 'Don't Forget' She is also a young female artist targeted at teenage girls.

Miley Cyrus - When I look at you

This song by Miley Cyrus is a slow pop song about a girl and boy.

At the start of the video the camera focus is blurred and comes into focus on a black grand piano on a pier by the ocean.

It then focuses on a girl, which is the singer, Miley Cyrus.

The camera then fades in and focuses on a tall male walking towards the grand piano. The camera shot pans up starting from his feet and becomes a wide shot.

Because this is quite a slow song the camera movements are slow and fade in gently.

It then shows the video of the singer playing on the grand piano as this is the main instrument playing in the song. The girl is dressed in a long white dress. This gives the impression to the watchers of a slow light song as the dress sways lightly while she walks.

When the singing starts in the video there is a close up of the singers face. She then starts singing. The singer, Miley Cyrus has minimal make-up and a fresh looking face. This could be because the music is slow and it wants to create a soft setting instead of bright colours and fast camera cuts.

The male in the video walks up to the grand piano and finds what looks to be the singer’s pieces of music. Again the camera fades out slowly and shows the singer playing at the grand piano. The camera shot zooms out. There are several different shots of the singer playing the grand piano by the sea in a long white dress.

When the chorus of the song starts the music becomes louder and the setting changes.

The clip fades into the girl playing the grand piano by a big house in a garden. She is wearing denim shorts and a peach coloured top. She looks more casual. They also use an orange light which look like sunlight that helps the shot fade out and again show the singer singing on a pier by the sea. It shows a mid-shot of Miley Cyrus singing the chorus and then shows a close-up of her face in a different setting by a tree singing the chorus. The background of each of shot is out of focus but the singer is in full focus. This keeps everything simple as it is a slow song that’s trying to tell a story and wants the background to look calm.

There is then a wide shot which pans to the left of the male again sitting at the grand piano looking out at the ocean.

It then goes back into the chorus where there is a close-up of Miley singing. Then again the setting is changed into Miley playing at the grand piano on the beach next to calm waves. This is a quick wide shot which doesn’t quiet fade all the way in. This shot is just to show where the setting is. This also plays relevance to the song as she is singing “When he waves are flooding to shore.”

This then goes into a close up again of her singing and playing the piano on the beach.

There is then a wide shot of the singer and the tall male playing on the beach by the waves. This shows that the song is about love and this could be who she is singing about. This shot pans to the right and then fades out using the orange sunlight effect they have used earlier in the video

The video then overlays two clips. One of the singer singing and playing the grand piano on the pier wearing a white flowing dress and then one of the singer and the male playing on the beach together. This makes it look as though she is thinking about the time they have together and looks like her memories of him. The clips then both fade into another setting where the singer is playing the piano in a forest. She is wearing a long green dress which again is flowing when the wind blows.

This then fades into a close up of the singer smiling while she is singing.

The shot then slowly fades in a mid shot of the boy looking at the camera while the background is out of focus this is to create a calm affect as the song is slow and calm. There is then a mid shot of the singer looking at the lad.

Just before the song becomes louder it shows a mid shot of the male and then a mid shot of the girl walking towards the camera. This looks as though hey are walking towards each other. They are both smiling and happy, suggesting they are happy to see each other.

It then shows the two people hugging each other on the pier. Showing that they like each other and the song is about them two.

The shot fades out and then goes to a wide shot of the singer playing the grand piano on the beach.

It then goes into a shot where the boy is throwing red rose petals over the girl and she is laughing. As this is a love song this goes well as it is in slow motion to fit the song and shows how much she likes him. When the singer sings the lyrics “when I look at you” the girl and the boy are sitting closely together looking into each others eyes. There is then a sequence of shots that fade in and out of the singer playing the piano on the beach and close ups of her face when she is singing.

The video then shows the girl and boy on the beach by the ocean kissing.

The next shots show the boy sitting next to the singer while she is playing the piano as if she was singing to him. It gives the impression that really likes him and has written this song for him and wants to let him no how she feels.

The last chorus is the loudest and the singer breaks out into a louder voice. It shows the singer in the forest and the camera zooms around her while she sings. As she is singing with her eyes closed it shows emotion and how she really feels about this boy. At the very end of the video the music becomes quieter and slowly fades out along with a wide shot of the black grand piano on the pier with the calm ocean behind.

Taylor Swift –Tear Drops on my Guitar

Tear Drops on my Guitar by Taylor swift is a country/pop song. It is about a girl who is in love with a boy who doesn’t love her back.

At the start of the video there are a girl and a boy at school talking to each other. The first shot is a two person shot showing both people talking to each other. It then goes into a close-up of the boy who says he has met a girl. There is then a close-up of the girl. This is to show her face clearly to show that she is upset and hurt by what the boy has told her.

The song then starts. The setting is in her bedroom. The colours are dark greens and blacks and the bedroom is shown to be only lit by a lamp on her dressing table. It shows the girl lying down on her bed holding a guitar. This shows relevance to the song as she is sad and holding a guitar. It is also the main instrument used in the song.

There is then a close-up of the girls face as she starts singing. She has soft glittery eyes and sparkly gems at the side of her face which could represent the tears. Her face is lit brightly and we can see that she is upset as she sings.

The camera then shows a crane shot of the girl lying on her bed. She isn’t looking at the camera which could suggest she is singing to herself about the boy that she loves. It also shows emotion.

There is then a close-up of her face and she look into the camera and sings. Again you can see that she’s holding the guitar.

The shot then fades out to black and shows the girl and boy in a library together. This looks as though it is a memory of what she had with him. The shot fades out to black and then shows a shot in the library. While this shot is shown the girl sings “drew looks at me, I laugh cause it’s so damn funny” this is relevant to the shot shown as they are both laughing together. It the goes back to the girl lying on her bed with her guitar singing. This makes the video clearer that she is singing about this boy, Drew.

When the chorus starts it shows a crane shot of the girl singing on her bed holding her guitar. This is relevant to the song as she sings “he’s the reason for the teardrops on my guitar”. While she sings the chorus it shows several different shots of her lying on the bed such as a close-up of her face into a mid-shot.

After the chorus she then takes about Drew again. The shot fades to black and again shows a memory she has of him. It shows a close up of science equipment. This suggests that she’s at school in a science lesson. As she sings “and there he goes so perfectly” he walks behind her and distracts her from what she’s doing.

Again it goes into the chorus and the shot fades into a wide shot of the girl singing the chorus standing by the fire place. She is wearing a long green dress with a big trail. The lighting is dark and the only lighting is coming from the fire place. This shows the emotion in the song. The shot then shows the girl and boy both walking towards each other smiling in the busy school corridor. This shot is in slow motion to build up to what is going to happen. As they approach each other Drew walks straight past her to see another girl.  There is then a close-up of the girls face to show her emotion clearly. We can see that she is upset. There is then a shot of her by the fire place in the green dress singing with her eye closed. This shows emotion of sadness and pain.

There is then a mid-shot of Drew and this other girl kissing and then a close-up on the singer face to show that she is upset and hurt. This shot then zooms out into a wide shot to show her just standing in an empty corridor. This could represent the fact that this boy is moving away from her.

There is then a close-up of the girls face when she is lying on her bed with her guitar. A tear rolls down her face which clearly shows she is upset and goes with the title of the song. The final shot is a crane shot which again shows the girl lying on her bed with her guitar. The shot pans to the right until you can’t see the girl anymore. While the camera pans the shot fades to black slowly and the music fades out.

Demi Lovato – Don’t Forget

Don’t Forget is a slow pop song by Demi Lovato. It involves a girl singing about a past relationship where her boyfriend has forgot all about the relationship they had together.

At the start of the video the camera zooms in down a small corridor to a girl sitting on sofa. There is an electric guitar next to her which could suggest that this is the main instrument used in the song. The girl is wearing dark clothes and dark heavy make-up and is looking out the window. We can see from her face that she is clearly upset and is leaning against the window make her look fed up.

As the song start there is a close-up of the girls face. She has red puffy eyes which indicate she has been crying and is upset. She sings into the camera as if she was talking to the person who had made her upset.

There is then a wide shot of five men on a talking and laughing but one man is sitting furthest back and is on the phone looking upset. The lighting is quite dark and we can see that it is dark and raining outside. The camera zooms-in slightly on the man on the phone.

Again it goes into a close-up of the girl singing into the camera as if she was talking to this boy asking him questions. Her eyes are watery and it looks as though she is crying. It then show a mid-shot of her sitting and leaning against the window. We can see that it is night time and heavily raining outside.  There is then a wide shot of the bus that they are on stopping and the 5 men running off. They have there jackets over there head as it is raining. It then shows the girl singing looking out the window at the lads running in. This looks like they have forgotten about her and have left her in the bus.

There is then a shot of the girl walking towards the camera in the tour bus singing while closing her eyes this could indicate emotion such as sadness and pain.

The next shot shows the girl stepping off the bus. She is holding a black umbrella and wearing a black coat. This gives the impression that this is a sad and emotional song.

There is then a shot of lights from a fair ground ride. This shot is out of focus and shows the lights blurry. This helps the clip fade into the girl standing in front of a carousel ride in the rain. It shows a mid-shot of her singing.

It then again shows the lights out of focus and then fades out into black. The clip then fades into the girl soaking wet from the rain. We cannot see the girls face as it is darkened but the background is very lightly lit. The video then shows a wide shot of the girl with an electric guitar and 3 other people with guitars behind her as well as a drum kit. 

Water then shoots up from behind them and the music becomes louder and a faster tempo. The whole stage lights up and there is a very quick close-up of the girl face which shows that she is angry. There is then a quick wide shot of the rest of the band with blue lights and water shooting up. There is then a sequence of shots of each player in the band with the background lights changing from blue to bright purples and pinks. This could be because the music has got much louder and busier there needs to be more going on in the video. There is then a close-up of the girl’s face that starts singing the chorus. When the girl is not singing there are sequences of different shots of the guitar players and the drummer. As the music gets louder the camera cuts are more dramatic whereas when the music was quieter and softer the changes are much gentler. The music then becomes softer again and there is a gentle zoom in from a wide shot into a mid shot of the girl.

The shot then goes back to the girl standing in front of the carousel ride under the umbrella. The shot-zooms from a wide-shot into a mid-shot while the girl has running make-up and is singing into the camera as if it was the person she was taking to.

The last shot is then of the girl back in the bus sitting on the sofa where she was before. It shows a close-up of her face and we can see clearly that she is crying as she has tears coming down her face. She then sings the last part of the song and the video fades to black.

Poster Research

For my plemininary task I was to create a advertisement poster to put in a magazine. Before doing this  i wanted to research into similar texts so that I create a poster at the right audience and also so I knew what to include on the poster such as the release date and what sort of picture to use. I analysed several posters from similar artists to my own artist. I had problems when trying to find this research as i found the magazine posters hard to find on the Internet and when looking through magazines I couldn't really find any music posters similar to my artist. Because of this problem i had to analyse the only posters i could find that were the most similar to my artist. I found pop bands posters which were similar to my artist because she is a pop singer.
From analysing the posters I found a typical form and convention was using a picture of the artist/band as the main image on the page. I also found that they have the release date in a bigger font then the rest of the text on the screen.




 



CD Cover Research

The other pleniminary task that I plan to do is a CD cover for the  video. I was able to find these easily and found CD from similar artists. From analysing CD covers I found similar in all of them that a picture of the artist is used. I also found that the album title and artist name were written in different font types and sizes to separate them. I used this research to help me plan and design my own CD cover for my artist. All the CD i analysed are targeted at the same audience, girls aged13-18. I noticed that similar colours are used such as Pinks, blacks and whites.





Demi Lovato Album cover

 





Selena Gomez Album Cover

 



Miley Cyrus Album Cover





Taylor Swift Album Cover





Justin Bieber Album Cover



Permission



Before starting to plan mymusic video I had to ask forpermission by the original artists record company. This was to ensure that the video would not be taken as copyright. As I wanted to use Taylor Swift - Fifteen I researched into her record company and sent an e-mail through the Big Machines website.

Dear, Big Machine Records,

As part of my A-Level Media coursework, I have been asked to produce a music video.

I am required to chose a song to make this video to and was asking your permission if I could use Taylor Swifts – Fifteen. I will not be publishing the video anywhere apart from to the OCR examining board.

I would appreciate permission as I know this could be copyright.

Yours sincerely

Kelly Westwood



I did not receive a reply from the record company so I assumed that it would be ok to use the song.

Now that i have finsihed my research i can now start planning my music video.