Creating our digipack: Fonts

When choosing a font we wanted to keep in the style of our genre and have a typical pop music style font. We looked at some album covers to research fonts.






We then looked around the web to find some fonts to download and test our album title. Using photoshop we come up with some versions of our titles.



We decided to use the font 'ClementePDaa' it's the third font in the list. We used this font because we thought it font represent our genre best. We found a similar font on Adele's album 21. We looked round the web and found other similar fonts used in the pop music industry, so decided this would be appropriate for our album cover.

Creating our digipack: Colours

When we were creating our digipack we wanted the colours to play a big part in creating effects. We looked at album covers with black and white artwork to see if we wanted this effect.



We thought the black and white effect made the album cover look interesting because of the lack of colour can give emphasis on music rather than artist image. We decided to go with black and white for our cover. However we added a purple colour to the title on the cover, similar to Adele's album 21 where the '21' is highlighted green.

Ways of advertising songs/albums

The biggest way of promoting a song is making a music video to go alongside it, which is exactly what we have produced for our media production work.
Other ways of promoting songs and albums:

• Magazine and newspaper advertisements


• Internet e.g. youtube, itunes, social networking sites, pop ups


• Billboards


• Concerts


• Magazine and newspaper reviews.


• Advertisements in shops such as HMV


• CD signings and special events

Audience Feedback - Family friends and close ones

As well as creating a quetionaire which we gave to random people to watch, we decided to show our family friends and close ones our music video. We thought that it was better to ask people who know us well as they would speak the honest truth about the video. We wanted people to tell us about what they liked and what they didn't like and things we could improve on. We decided to ask these questions,

1.Overall what do you think of our video?
2. What did you like best?
3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?

Emma's mum:
1.Overall what did you think of the video?
I thought the video was really good, I think the way you have all worked as a group to produce this piece is great, and the two actors look like they have also put a lot of effort in and are enjoying themselves which makes it a lot more realistic!

2. What did you like best?
I liked the way the different clips were put together, sometimes faded and some not, it looks really creative. I also liked the different simple shots which together work really well, I can also tell that a lot of effort has been put in.

3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?
If I have to be picky I would have liked to see some of you in the group to appear in the video, but if you feel shy then that can't be helped! If you could improve on anything I would say add some more creative shots like the love heart because it works really well.

Emma's friend:
1.Overall what did you think of the video?
As I do not do media, first of all I was amazed by all the effort that has been put in to produce this. I think the lip syncing is perfect and in time, but over all I love the video I think its great it looks really professional and I would have loved the opportunity to create one my self.

2. What did you like best?
I loved the way the characters have been made to really look like they are enjoying themselves, and the way the shots have been taken in the part which look very natural and realistic, I also loved the part where it fades in the background into a heart shaped shaddow I think that worked well.

3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?
I liked the clothes which were chosen as they look very casual, like they dont have to put lots of effort in with each other because they are really in love, but I would have liked to see more colour in the video but that might just be a personal thing as I like really bright summery colours.

Jades dad:
1.Overall what did you think of the video?
I think the video fits in very well with the chosen song and the locations and clothing fit in perfect. I think you should all be very proud of what you have achieved.

2. What did you like best?
The parts I liked best were the creative parts which have been added where the girl is in shaddow and her boyfriend is stood next to her, this looks very professional.

3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?
I liked the shots which were in the studio but I think if you could improve I would have tried to play around with another location, and if it looked too much then look it out, I think you should have done a few shots in a cafe etc but overall I enjoyed watching the video.

Jade's friend:
1.Overall what did you think of the video?
First of all I personally don't like the song which put its at a massive downfall but matching the lyrics with the song have been done really well, I know a lot of thought and planning has been put into the video and the outcome is really good, you all should be very proud.

2. What did you like best?
I loved the fact they got the girl to sing and dance the song even thought it is sang by a boy, I think this is very creative and she also looks very confident and well into it, I think this is a good thing as it makes the video much more interesting and unique. I basically thought all the clips which were took were done really well so I cant critisise them much!

3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?
I would like to see more of a costume change and different hair styles on the boy and makeup etc on the girl to give it more of an edge, even though they do look good how they are!

Michael's mum:
1.Overall what do you think of our video?
The song isn't a personal favourite of mine but the video its self looks good! I like the way it has been edited and put together using the different fades and the jump cuts which makes the video flow really well, with perfect timing.

2. What did you like best?
I like the shots which were took in the park as they look more natural and realistic, the couple also look very happy which is the perfect image for the video, I also liked the different fades into the love hearts. You can also tell that a lot of effort has been put it and it has really paid off!

3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?
I least liked the studio shots, the quality of the cameras look really good but I think there was too many, you could have added more props to give it more of an edge but it still looked great!

Michael's friend:
1.Overall what do you think of our video?
I enjoyed watching the video, I got really into it as it was very eyecatching! I also loved the song and I think the chosen shots fit in well with the typical love story which runs through it.

2. What did you like best?
I liked all the video, there is nothing in which I could say I liked best because I really did like it all.

3. What did you least like and what could we improve on?
Again I liked everything about the video but I would have loved to see the people which created the video to be in it even for a few little shots, but maybe that's just me being picky!

Inspiration for our video

We got the idea of the shadows from Jason Derulo's In my head music video.





The idea of the romance and love, cuddling on the sofa from Just the way you are by Bruno Mars





The faded lighting of the sun from Fix you by Coldplay.

Jason Derulo background information

Derülo was born in Miami, Florida, to Haitian parents. His birth name is Desrouleaux, but he changed the spelling for his stage name to make it easier to pronounce.
Derülo has been performing since the age of five. He wrote his first song, "Crush on You", at age eight and was heard singing part of the song on a Galaxy FM interview. Derülo spent his youth studying opera, theater, and ballet. He attended Dillard Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.

Derülo has been writing songs for artists including Diddy, Danity Kane, Donnie Klang, Sean Kingston, Cassie, Lil Wayne since he was 16, intent on becoming a solo performer. On August 4, 2009, Jason released his debut single, "Whatcha Say". It was produced by J. R. Rotem with additional production by Fuego. The track samples the Imogen Heap song "Hide and Seek". In late August 2009, the song debuted at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number 1 in November 2009. He released the second single from his album, "In My Head", on December 8, 2009. It debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number five.

Derülo's debut album, Jason Derülo, was released on March 2, 2010. Derülo's second studio album, Future History, was released on September 27, 2011. Derülo is currently detailing his journey recording the album via a series of webisodes that are posted on his official website every Friday.

Costumes

In terms of costumes, we wanted them to reflect the urban style that's demonstrated in the song.

For Raees , our male lead character, we decided him to wear clothes that are in fashion. (Similar to below)

For Ruksana, again we wanted her to reflect modern, in-trend fashion which is a convention of pop music videos. We had her dressed in clothes similar to:

Costume Ideas - Male Actor

From watching Jason Derulo's video "It Girl" We can see that He is very smartly dressed in a dark patterned blazer and black pants which makes him look very immaculate and tidy. we usually associate this colour clothing with smartness and wear this kind of clothing for things such as job interviews. He also had a typical clothes change and also wears a white suit which is a sign of purity and cleanliness, which again links in with his super clean professional image. We also see him wearing a black vest top, which indicates even inside he still keeps this high status. He is also clean shaven and his hair also looks perfect. I think this "clean" image would be great for our music video as it is basically what Jason Derulo is about. I had a look at some different styles of clothing to see what I thought might fit in with the music video.



From searching around on the internet we found this stylish blazer which we thought would be great for "Jason Derulo" to wear in our music video as it is still plain but the white around the edges gives it a very funky edge to it however, after thinking hard we decided not to use this as it was firstly very costly and cost around fifty pounds which we couldnt afford. We also thought that it would it would be copying the original and we wanted to make our video quite different and unique. We decided to think further about what would be a suitable jacket to wear and we decided that Raees would have a look at home to see if he had one he felt comfortable wearing which took up less time and money.



I also looked at various ideas for the style of pants in which we would like Jason Derulo to wear. I like these pants as they are quite plain and look quite classy. I dont think that they look too over the top for "Jason" to wear. I quite like this idea but I think that as the orignal video is quite dull I think that the pants we choose should be much more colourful but still be quite plain. I have also researched about buying the pants by looking at shops such as primark and can be purchased for around ten pounds! Raees himself also said that he has a pair of these at home which he doesnt mind wearing.

Costume Ideas - Female Actor

From looking at the orginal video of Jason Derulo's it girl it comes to my attention that the girl who is in the video with him is a huge part of of this video and is really important as to creating the full "love story" therefore when we chose the suitable clothing for this character we choose something which makes her stand out. The young mixed race girl in the video, just like Jason Derulo looks immaculate, her hair is neatly curled and she looks very pretty and perfect. She is pictured wearing a a black smart hat black short dress which is quite skimpy and revealing, we tried to have a look around for something which might fit this image which doesnts look to over the top and we found this dress



The dress is a black layered lace dress which could fit in to a day dress or a night dress and can be purchased from AX paris in the Trafford centre for thirty pounds. This is one of the ideas we thought would look good for a while but when we thought about it Ruksana didnt feel as comfortable wearing a dress like this as it is quite short. After thinking much more it gave me some ideas about giving it quite a different look and instead of wearing short dresses etc the typical "girly girl" image which is portrayed in the video, we could show her wearing comfortable "tomboyish" clothing and linking it to the boy in the video. So I researched into various jackets and pants which she could wear.



I quite liked the look of the girls blazer but we decided as a group that it was quite plain and boring it didnt suit Ruksana as well as something would do to make her character stand out like a main part


We all decided that denim is a really good look as it does make her look to girly or to masculine, Ruksana also agreed that she has some denim jackets at home which she feels comfortable wearing and we thought it would look great in the video as she still looks very fashionable. We also asked some opinions from other people who wernt in the group and they also agreed that she would look great wearing denim



Denim being worn on the catwalk!

Q Magazine

When looking into the music industry, I discovered how influential the music magazine Q was. Being a frequent buyer of the magazine I realised the impact it had on me when buying albums. The magazine is published monthly in the United Kingdom and looks at all different music genres. The magazine is well known for compiling lists. It has created many, ranging from "The 100 Greatest albums" to the "100 Greatest '100 Greatest' Lists". In the Q magazine I purchased, the magazine features a list of the '100 best thing I've heard all year' and '50 albums of the year', these reviews on the best songs and albums of the year may persuade the reader to buy the album/single. This has a impact on the reader when deciding on what is the 'right' album to buy, this is a way of promotion for the artist.

The magazine also features an array of advertisements from albums to live concerts. The magazine also advertises the ipod, stereos, headphones and places such as HMV where we can buy the music from. The magazine is mainly focused at lovers of music and is used to advise them on what to listen to.

Artist Inspiration- Banksy

Banksy is an unknown graffiti artist which is based in England. His style of work consists of very detailed grafiti artwork and is mainly done outside. His work is very distinctive some with humour, each one is very unique. He mainly uses spray paints and creates a look as if he has used stencils. I have chosen to research Bansky as I have seen pieces of work and I think his style would look quite good when being created on a photoshop. I think it appeals to both males and females and would fit in great with Jason Derulo's song "It girl"



I like this image which has been created with bold red spray paint on a white paited brick wall as it is very different but simple. I think the spray paint look looks really good as would fit in well with our chosen song as our album cover. I also think it would look good if this style was created on the computer as we could not only use this idea but also use are own unique ideas aswel. The position of the man on the right would also be a good position for Jason Derulo to be pictured on the front cover.

Artwork inspiration - Alex Bown

From looking at various designs for the cd covers we have decided to look at various ways in which we could make our cd cover look unique. For this I researched some artists for inspiration for our work. I firstly looked at an artist called Alex Bown. Alex is a textiles artist from Manchester who creates her work based on creating different patterns and layering images together. She uses lots of bright colours to create different shapes which look really abstract and effective. Her work consists of random objects such as lines or dots which have been but together in a creative way and then are digitally printed on to bags and clothing etc. The designs she creates are very unique and I think would look really good being created using photoshop and being put onto a cd cover for our digipak

I love her artwork as it is very bright and colourful however, after looking more into her artwork and thinking about the designs I dont think it would be the right sort of artwork to use for our digipak. I think her work looks more appealing to females and is more female related and the artist we have chosen is Jason Derulo. I think it looks very bright and happy and it would be quite hard to create this this effect on photoshop. Im glad however that I researched into Alex Bown's work because it has given me lots of creative ideas and possibilities.

Mood board - Planning for video

Once we had chosen our song, I decided to do my own research at home based on our ideas. I had a look through my magazines at home and created a mood board by cutting out images and sticking them on bright yellow paper. I have used some random ideas and some connected to do with props, setting and even shots. I have tried to show the "Love story" theme and I have cut of images of famous celebrities, Kelly Rowland and her boyfriend, and David and Victoria Beckham. They look like really happy together which I think would be great to show with in our video. The silouette images also look like a creative idea to use as it makes them stand out very boldly. I thought about different settings and took cut out pictures of autumn leaves, the snow and also the sun in the sky which looks really effective.



I have also found some different ideas of clothing and what looks fashionable for men and women at this time of year and I love the idea of the glittery dresses and high heels. I have also found some bright red lipstick which could be worn which symbolises love and passion. I have also found some props for ideas which I think will be good, this includes a pink girly vintage chair which I think if we could get hold of would look great. Also, I have ideas for the rooms which could include pink and black cushions. I have also looked deeper into props and I thought that using a mobile phone would be good especially a blackberry as it is about a young love story and blackberrys are phones which are used by many young people


I have included lots of bright colours to create quite a "happy" feel to it. I have also cut out drawn images of hearts and rings and an orange and pink pattern in the top left corner which I think would be a good style design for our magazine advert as it looks simple but effective. Over all I have tried to make this quite creative and have thought a lot about the ideas we have shared as a group and also ideas I have thought of to add to our group.

Jason Derulo's typical audience

Typically, Jason Derulo's music appeals to a younger audience. Listeners of his music normally range from around 14 into their 20's

A stereotypical fan of Jason Derulo is around the age of 15. He's released two albums so his music is gradually reaching a wider audience; his music is more mainstream popular music so is more recognized and appealing.

Rihanna - Only girl in the world lyrics

La la la la
La la la la
La la la la

[VERSE 1]
I want you to love me, like I'm a hot ride Be thinking of me, doin' what you like
So boy forget about the world cuz it's gonna be me and you tonight
I wanna make you bad boy, then imma make you swallow your pride

[CHORUS]
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
Only girl in the world...
Like I'm the only one that's in command
Cuz I'm the only one who understands I will make you feel like a man
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
Only one...
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/r/rihanna/only_girl.html ]
[VERSE 2]
Want you to take it like a thief in the night
Hold me like a pillow, make me feel right
Baby I'll tell you all my secrets that I'm keepin', you can come inside
And when you enter, you ain't leavin', be my prisoner for the night

[CHORUS]
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world

Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
Only girl in the world...
Like I'm the only one that's in command
Cuz I'm the only one who understands, like I'm the only one who knows your heart, only one...

[BRIDGE]
Take me for a ride
Oh baby, take me high
Let me make you rise Oh make it last all night
Take me for a ride
Oh baby, take me high
Let me make you rise
Make it last all night

[CHORUS]
Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world
Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love
Like I'm the only one who knows your heart
Only girl in the world...
Like I'm the only one that's in command
Cuz I'm the only one who understands how to make you feel like a man
Only girl in the world...
Girl in the world...
Only girl in the world...
Girl in the world...

Rihanna - Only girl in the world

From looking at the lyrics and the video I think Rihanna is talking about wanting a particular guy to love her like she's the only girl that he will ever love. I also think that she is refering to them sleeping together and she makes sexual comments towards him about this such as, "hold me like a pillow, make me feel right" From looking at the video wich is set outside in LA we can see that Rihanna is a very powerful strong person as she shows know sign of sadness or fear about being alone, almost as if she is trying to show him that she's his perfect girl.

In an interview with, Rihanna explained the filming of the video and the video's simplistic theme, "It's really, really beautifully shot in these crazy, crazy, crazy places, We shot landscapes that we found a couple hours outside of L.A. It looks so unreal. It looks fake, like something out of a postcard with the beautiful hills… We had a lot of sunshine those couple of days, so it really worked with the whole essence of the video. But really, the video just shows this big landscape and the only person there is me" I think she has tried to make her video very girly and appealing to her, to show the guy what she really has to offer. The whole video is very saturated and full of colour. It opens up with her stood in the field which looks at first like she is wearing pearly white clothing, I think that she is reffering to herself the way she is stood as some sort of angel with high importance and extreamly powerful however, her hair is fiery red which although it could mean love it is also a sign of danger, fear and devil like. It gives me the impression that she is trying to portray this perfect image but yet is still showing him her bad side. When I look closer at her the clothes she is wearing have actually been tinted these colours and the way they move in the wind look like a strong flame.

The whole theme of the video is closely linked with the style of her album cover "LOUD" which again is showing by the title that she is not this sweet quiet person. There are quite a lot of long shots of her, the colour is quite saturated into yellows and oranges which is the colours of happiness but also the colour of fire. She has various clothes changes, she changes near the start of the video to quite a skimpy white top with a flowery skirt, the skirt however I think think looks quite childlike. She is smiling and looks quite happy. It looks to me like she has created her idea of perfection, basically saying that if he was with her everything would be so perfect. The way she dances and stands next to the flowery bushes looks she she is trying to tease him. She is also pictured in some extreme close up shots which I think are aimed to get her image out so that people can see, she also looks very fashionable.

The song is quite a fast paced song and the way she moves she is again showing her power. When she is stood alone in the field we see all the flowers blow quite violently around her, almost as is she has great powers, she also talks to the camera with quiet a fiesty angry look which looks like she is quite mean and maybe controlling. Overall I like her video as I think it is very creative and well thought out, and is very appealing to her as an individual

Poster Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is a recent artist who has just came into the music industry. His album '+' is a highly antcipatied album becoming number one. One of the ways used to promote his album is through posters. I frequently purchase the music magazine Q, a highly respected music magazine and this is where I found this poster.

The poster features a picture of the artist Ed Sheeran with a close up of his face. The artist is looking down smiling which reflects on his personality. The smile suggests to me that he is proud of the success of the album. The colour of the poster has a reddish brownish hue highlighting the ginger hair of the artist, what he is most commonly reconginised for.

There is little writing on the poster which demonstrates the simple nature of Ed Sheerans music, it informs the reader of some of the songs which are included 'A team' and 'Lego House' which are big hits, this might make the audience want to buy the album more. There is also a quote, 'what really sets Sheeran apart is his skill at painting pictures with posters', this gives a positive input to the artist and suggests that his music is as beautiful as a painting. The positive review of the album is also reinforced by the four stars at the bottom of the poster suggesting it is very good.

Overall, I think this is a very effective poster and we will use similar ideas in our own album poster.

Magazine Advert: 'Lady Gaga - Born this way'

Born this way is Lady Gaga's latest album released in summer 2011. It was highly anticipated so the 'haus of Gaga' (her production team) had to think of ideas to promote the album. One of the most effective ways they promoted the album was though promotional posters. The one shown was the one mainly used to promote Born this way.

It features a close up of Lady Gaga (the artist) that fills the whole poster. There is a red sketchy title that says 'GAGA' which indicated the artist. As the album was so highly anticipated there wasn't any need for a name because everyone knew about the album.

The poster also uses religious connotations to indicate the release date of the album. This suggests her music is also going to reflect a religious nature too.

I don't think we can just use the artists name on our poster because the album isn't as well know as Born this way. However, some features used like the large scale image and reflecting the music style in the image of the poster could be used on our poster.

Album cover research: 'Beyonce - 4'

I've chosen to look at Beyonce's album '4' artwork because her music fits into a pop genre, similar to Ellie Goulding's.

The cover uses simple colour tones that go well with each other.

The artists name (Beyonce) is in capital letters which suggest she is the most important thing about the album. This is also reinforces when a large picture of the artist covers part of the name and most of the album cover. Which we could use a similar idea in our own artwork.

Beyonce's pose is very suggesting; she's looking away from the camera holding her arms in the air, suggesting she wants the audience to look at her body. She also wears revealing clothing, only a fur item over parts of her chest, this also suggests that her image is as important as her music.

The back of Beyonce's album has a similar title although it's not covered suggesting it's been striped back, for people to take it serious. This could also suggest she does want her songs, which are listed, to be taken serious.

However, she is still a main figure in the image, but she's turned away again suggesting it's mainly her music which is important.

Album cover research: 'Katy Perry - Teenage Dream'

Katy Perry, the artist, is clearly in the front, and centre album artwork. This suggests that she is the most important thing about her CD, not her music or fashion but her image. This is also conveyed by her naked image, again suggesting image and appearance is very important.

The album features a fun font suggesting although she has a serious pose she is fun, which could also reflect the type of music she sings. Or, the fun font could reflect the album title 'teenage dream', that the fun fonts and her naked would be a 'teenage dream'.

However, the minimalistic nature of the album (having only her and the title on the front) could suggest that she isn't fake and this is her and her music striped back.

The back of the album cover continues with the fun font, even through the 'serious' album information. The song titles take up most the back cover, this could suggest that music is most important to katy.