Flatplans for Digipak.

Below are i have featured some initial ideas for the layout, colour and general look of my digipak.

Flat plans #1
                                                          
On the left is my first set of flat plans(front and back cover) and most probably the ones i will based the final design of my digipak on. I wanted to make the groups logo one of the most noticeable features on the front so it would be instantly recognisable to the audience, the groups logo varies in colour for different pieces of their work.  I have decided to use a bright colour such as yellow or red to give it the best chance of standing out from the background which i am planning to be much darker in comparison. I want to include a photo at the bottom of the front cover featuring three of the actors that i plan to use in my music video, i  want to photograph the subjects in typical rap poses which i have explained in previous blogs.Their costumes will also include bold colours which are similar to those featured in the logo, i think having a colour scheme throughout the digipak is good idea so in doesn't end up looking too random and unplanned. Their costumes will also include jewelery and other accessories such as flat caps which are typical of the genre.I don't plan to include much else on the front cover other than the name of the song, this is to avoid having to much going on at once and taking attention away from the photo and logo which in my opinion are the most important features. As for the back cover i plan to keep the colour scheme the same and again use a dark background so the groups logo and  the photo are the centre of attention. The photo on the back cover will also feature similar costumes and subject matter to the one on the front cover but this time will include more actors from the video, they will adopt similar poses to that of photos on other Hip- hop digipaks i have studied. The font used for the track listings will have to have some relevance to other work by the group. In my research i have found that Asian culture has a lot of influence on the groups artwork so i think finding a font that incorporates this would be good one to use.

 On the inside cover of my digipak i want to include the lyrics of the song i am making my music video for these will bin in the same font that i plan to use for the track listings on the back cover to keep continuity. I also want to include another photo behind where the Dvd is placed, this photo will be similar to others i have used in terms of posture and costume.
 






Flat plans #2

 With this flat plan i have decided not to feature any photos on the front cover, instead i want to have one large image of the groups logo dominating the whole page. This i so that even from a far the digipak can be easily recognised and associated with the group, again i think it is important to keep the background as dark and as plain as possible so it doesn't steal any attention from the focal point of the front cover ie. the logo. The back cover will be similar to the last in both content and layout but will not feature the logo and instead will just feature the name of the group.

 Flat plans #3

 For flat plan number three i plan to go for a slightly different approach and incorporate a photo which takes up the whole of the front cover and then layer text over the top of it. The subject in the photo will be a character from the music video, the text layered over the top will be in a colour that contrasts with the tones in the photograph so it doesn't blend into the background. It is important that i make the text as bold and as clear as possible because of the fact that the logo doesnt feature on the front cover so it will be harder for the audience to recognise that this is the work of Wu-tang.The back cover also has a different layout from the previous two as the photo is now portrait instead of landscape, the track listings are also in a different layout to the previous two flat plans.

Because i decided not to feature the groups logo on the front cover i have decided to incorporate it on the inside cover instead because i feel it is important to feature it somewhere in the digipak as it is present in nearly all of the groups media products.










Possible Wu-tang logos.

Below are some variations of the Wu-tang clan logo that i could use in my digipak as you can see they range from very simple designs to designs which has a lot more going on.

It was only after producing this blog that i discovered due to copyright laws that i am unable to use Wu-tang Clans logo in my digipak, this means that the digipak i produce will look very different from the my original flatplans and ideas. Although using similar aspects in my final design many of my ideas changed when i started working on my actually digipak, when trying to produce a digipak similar to those in my flatplans i discovered that what might have been a good idea did not work so well in practise. The photos we took were also different from how we planned meaning that my ideas developed around these rather than my original ideas.

Digipack.

Promo pack

A promo pack includes all media products use to promote the song, for example posters, digipak and television advertisement. Promo packs are used to advertise a band or artist to the general public and encourage them to purchase and/or listen to their work.

A digipak is a form of packaging used for Cd's and DVD's, a digipak will usually be made from cardboard but other material is sometimes used in certain cases.

Wu-tang digipak.

                                             

On the left is an image of a digipak used to promote a documentary about the group, one of the main things that catches your eye is the red background. The colour red is often used in the media to represent violence, for example a violent scene in a film may use red lighting to amplify the mood of the scene, this may also be why it used on the cover of this digipack. However the colour red can also be associated with love and passion meaning that the cover gives off multiple connotations. In my opinion the use of this colour seems quite random at first because it is not a predominant theme in any of the groups other work, though it perhaps has some relevance to the contents of the dvd. The overall look of the digipacks fits in fairly well with the genre although some elements do seem more sophisticated than what is typical of a Hip-hop album cover or poster. The font used for example has little connotations of urban culture in fact it is reminiscent of a font you might find in a broadsheet newspaper, this is ironic since the group comes from the opposite end of the social scale. Another important feature on the digipak is the New York cityscape located at the bottom of the cover, it has been incorporated because the city is of great importance to the group since nearly all of them were born and brought up in the city, it is also a common topic in many of  their lyrics. The cityscape also represents the urban culture that is closely associated with Hip-hop, the genre has strong roots in New York so it would seem very relevant to feature it on the front cover of a Hip-hop digipak. A key feature on the front cover is the inclusion of the groups members and its logo it allows the digipak to be instantly recognisable to the target audience, because of the fact that they have already become familiarised with the symbol as it is use on all of the work that Wu tang produce. The photo of the group members is the most important feature on the cover, the photos chosen have deliberately as they portray the persons of those featured in them. Respect and status are very important in the Hip-hop world this why the photos must show the tough attitudes of the group to keep up their persona.

Back cover.

                                                  Continuity is very important in any media product so the audience can become familarised with certain recurring trends that the group uses, that is why the themes from the front of the digipak have been continue on the back. Panorama style photographs have been used to break up the text, not only does this mean that there are no large chunks of text dominating the back cover it also offers a chance for different photos of the group to be shown. Again the photographs shown have been selected very carefully as they do not portray any vulnerability as this would result in the group losing respect amongst both their peers and fans. they are also useful because they give the audience some sense about what the footage the video will contain.

Biggie smalls digipak.                       


                                        

This is a digipak for the documentary about the famous American rapper Christopher Wallace a.k.a Biggie Smalls, it features very similar themes to that of the Wu tang digipak because they are both members of the east coast rap scene and were at the height of their popularity at around the same time. Another feature the two front covers share is the use of the colour red, this in my opinion is either because it of some relevance to the artists or because of it violent or passionate connotations. It also allows the name of the artist 'Biggie Smalls' to really stand out from the rest of the cover which contains no colour, the bold heading and the photo are the largest features on the cover this means that it catches the eye of the viewer before anything else, this has been done intentionally so that the photo and heading are the focal point of the front of the digipak and means the cover is instantly recognisable to the audience. The photo used strives to portray toughness rather depict any vulnerability this is because of the constant struggle within the genre to appear tough.
 The Artwork around the the main heading which includes a crown and other motifs is reminiscent of a royal banner, this again can be related to the huge importance place on respect and status in the Hip-hop world as it could be seen to imply that he is king or at least he considers himself to be. All information such as the production company has been kept as small as possible so it does not take any attention away from the rest of the front cover.


Back cover.


Similar to the front cover the back cover contains little use of colour other than the occasional small red splats, which would appear to represent blood.This relates to both the artists lyrics and lifestyle which were both renowned for being violent and aggressive. The lack of colour gives the back cover a serious and quite dramatic look, the use bold colour might suggest happiness which is not the intention of this digipak. New York city is again shown on the background which would suggest it is of great importance to the artist, the other photos that have been included on the back cover have been used to portray the artist in a certain way showing his tough attitude and persona.

My digipak.

Front cover -

inside cover -



Evaluation.

 

I decided to create a questionnaire so i could get some feedback about my both my advert and digipak. I am very happy with the outcome of both the inside and outside cover of my digipak, the majority of feedback was very positive and confirmed that the genre of my digipak was clear and easily recognisable, this was one of my main goals when i started to create my digipak and i am pleased that i have achieved it. I purposefully used the same fonts for both my digipak and advert not only to keep continuity but also so it was clear to the audience that the two products are clearly linked, i feel it would have been strange for the advert to be presented in a different style to the product it is advertising. After studying other  Hip-hop digipaks i thought it would be important to include photos that present the artists as strong and dominant, this is a factor that i have included in all photos in both my digipak and advert. In these photos the audience wont see a hint of emotion or vulnerability, the portrayal of a tough persona is key in the Hip-hop world so i thought it was very important that i present the artist in this way. My front cover is a key example of this, the photo has connotations of a strong and dominant person and fits perfectly into the genre. I am also please with the composition and layout on the front cover as i think it is well  balanced,  the text and images are spread out evenly over the cover. In all my photos i have used costumes and accessories that are associated with the genre this is so the audience are constantly reminded what genre the digipak is. I have tried to used fonts in both my digipak and advert that have that can be associated with Hip-hop  and although the graffiti style font might not directly associate with Hip-hop i believed that it does have urban connotations and doesn't look out of place on a Hip-hop digipak.

I am pleased with all aspects of my outside cover and i don't think it is too far from looking like a professional digipak. However i think that i could make some changes to both the fonts and colour in an effort to make them more subtle, at the moment i think some of the colours are too bold and draw attention away from the rest of the digipak, it is also these bold colours and fonts that make the digipak look less professional. I wasn't entirely sure on what to include on the inside of my digipak as i struggled to find any relevant examples, however despite its simplicity i think that my inside cover is compatible with the genre and works well with the rest of the digipak. Although i am happy with the outcome of both my digipak and advert i think that if i had more time i would try to make them look more professional, because of my limited knowledge of Photoshop and the fact that some of the fonts and colours are too bold the outcome doesn't look as professional as it could. Despite this i think i my digipak is very relevant to my genre and would appeal to my target audience.

Shooting diaries.

The main problems the group encountered when it came to filming the video was finding a time when all cast members were available to participate. Unfortunately our original plan of having six actors in our video failed because we struggled to find six potential actors that were both reliable and had enough free time to able to participate in a three hour long shoot. We also encountered problems when it came to finding a suitable place to shoot as many of the facilities the college provides such as the studio are often in use, however we used are initiative and improvised the best we could by using a Green screen in an empty classroom, we were also able to use lighting rigs which meant that the effects produced were almost identical to those that would have been produced in a studio.
Once we had arranged the day to shoot and found three reliable actors to star in the video we encounter many more problems, having already learnt some key elements about both the camera and cinematography we were able to conduct nearly all of the filming with out running into any major problems. Any small problems we did encounter we were quickly able to solve.
My personal contributions included helping to position the cameras and lighting correctly, i also feel i took charge to some extent by adopting the role of director, i also had a large involvement with the movement of the cameras and helped the actors with feedback on their performances.

Shooting schedule

09/02/2011
plan to pick up camera from media technicians at approximately 12.00pm, we will then head to the studio and begin shooting at 1.00pm once the cast and studio have been prepared and costumes have been assembled. After the cameras and lighting have been positioned correctly we will begin shooting.

- between shoots we plan to capture back and view all the footage from the first shoot. This will allow us to more easily keep continuity despite large gaps between filming.


09/03/2011
plan to shoot at 1.00pm and shoot till 5.00pm. The plan will be the same as before, we will pick up the cameras and allow approximately an hour for preparation and setting up the studio.


Equipment list:
-3 x Xm2 cameras
-2 x portable lighting rigs
-3 x camera tripods
-1 x greenscreen

Costumes:
-various hoodies & jumpers
-6 x flatcaps
- various jewelry

health and safety

When shooting our video we made sure that all the cast and crew members were aware of the potential hazards in the studio such as hot lamps, and wires that could cause harm to those working around them.
Being aware of the possible accidents that could occur we took precautions when shooting to make sure that we were working in the safest environment possible, ensuring that all wires, lamps etc. were sensibly positioned so there was little of anyone injuring themselves.

We also thought it was important for our cast to to take regular breaks and keep well hydrated due to the fact that filming can be very stressful and they would be spending long periods of time on their feet.

Storyboard

Because there wasn't great variations between the shots in our video we decided not to stick too closely to our storyboard. instead of listing every single shot we decided instead to illustrate the positions in which we wanted our performers to stand and used these as our guidelines. Because we planned to use three cameras all shooting from different angles we were able to get a variety of shots at once, and it seem unnecessary to list every single shot. Although the storyboard was useful when it came to filming, many of our shots were very similar and only the costumes changed, so we didnt really find much use for it.

Mise-en-scene

Setting/location.

I thought the urban scenery of Brighton would be a perfect backdrop for the music video, since many Hip-hop videos feature similar urban settings. Numerous Hip-hop videos incorporate urban areas because of its ability to portray themes such as poverty and diversity, these are subjects that feature heavily in the lyrics of many Hip-hop songs because they can be used to depict an artists or groups rise from poverty to affluence.

 Brighton has a diverse range of cultures which means it provides lots of great locations to film our video, the strong artistic influences in the city means that we can include pieces of street art and  graffiti both of which have strong links with the genre. Since the genre itself originated from the streets it would seem appropriate to incorporate an urban landscape such as the city of Brighton.

Costumes/props.

When it came to costumes for the video we decided to stay as true to the genre as possible, we wanted to dress our characters in clothing that is commonly associated with the genre such as baggy hoodies and designer brands so that the genre of the video is instantly recognisable.

Jewelry is often used in Hip-hop videos to portray wealth, so we intend to incorporate items such as gold chains which are one of the most common items of jewlery warned by Hip-hop artists,











Below is an example of one of the costumes we may use for our music video, the model wearing it will feature in the video so these images are a good  indication to how our video may look.Unfortunatly we were unable to include any jewlery in this particular shoot, but the clothes do still give an idication of the type of clothing we intent to use in the video



We also tried to include the postures and mannerisms in our photos which are typical of many Hip-hop performers, most of the time these postures will have aggressive connotations because artist put alot of emphasis on appearing tough, these are values respected by the rest of the Hip-hop community. This is why we thought it was important to include these types of mannnerisms in our video as it will help the video fit in more with the genre.

Change of plans.

For various reasons myself and the group decided it would be better if we filmed our video in the studio, we believed that in doing so we would be able to exclude such variables as the weather and the public. We thought that filming in public might result in the cast feeling uncomfortable and reduce their willingness to film. We also thought that it would be more accessable for both cast and crew if we film in the studio located in our college, this will also allow us to have more control over lighting and compostion and in turn result in our video looking more proffesional. We also found evidence of other Hip-hop artists that have created their music video in a studio with either little or no props so our  idea is still relevant to the genre.

The pitch.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B2Wje3AgrgPlZGY5YzMxNjItZTljMi00MzhlLWE4YjItOTg1ZGFkYzdkOGUz&hl=en

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B4-5YKV5LgbpY2E4ZmZhNDgtMmJkZi00OThkLWIyODEtZmRkN2QwNzY5OWIx&hl=en

This is my groups pitch which we filmed last week, it also includes the powerpoint presentation that featured in the pitch.

Video Analysis

Wu Tang Clan- Da Mystery Of Chessboxin' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl6jwab3HWk&feature=related

Something that seems to be a recurring theme in many of the Wu Tang Clan videos is the fairly frequent advertisement of the groups logo, this logo appears in nearly all of the videos and albums covers and helps the audience become familiarised with the group.Using an Asian style font in the logo for example allows the audience to recognise and identified the groups work before the video has even begun.  The genre of the video is easily identifiable because of the clothing and mannerisms of the characters that feature in it, baggy hoodies and jeans are items of clothing that most members of the audience would instantly associate with the hip hop genre, the 'street' style and posture of the characters reinforces these stereotypes further. The video does conform to stereotypes of African-American hip hop artists and there attitudes, this is portrayed in the video through body language which occasionally verges on aggression. The video has been made in this way to amplify aggression because many rap artists strive towards a tough guy persona as characteristics such as this are usually admired within the Hip hop world.
Unlike other music videos in the same genre this video does not go to great lengths to convey the affluence and wealth of the group. Despite the strong influence of urban culture in the video, influences from different cultures are also included. Like many Wu Tang Clan music videos there is a strong Asian influence in the form of martial arts and imagery that is typical of Asian culture.
The narrative of the video is reasonably clear and like many music videos has some relevance to the title of the song, the fact that the videos storyline is easy to follow allows the audience to become more involved in the video and also enables them to become familiarised with each individual members personality.

Notorious B.I.G - Juicy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsT8FaZnzdE

This music video differs greatly from the first one i analysed, the video depicts a journey and has a much clearer storyline. However this video does share some similarities to the last one such as its representation of African Americans again the main protagonist of the video is wearing clothes that the audience quickly recognise and associate with urban street culture this also means that the genre of the video can be quickly identified by the audience. Unlike the first video this video goes to greater lengths to try and portray the artists wealth and how despite his new found affluence he is staying true to his social background. The video is likely to appeal to a predominately African American audience although obviously its not exclusive to other ethnicity's as my research has shown. The video is also likely to appeal to the same social groups as the previous video because of the artists working class background and how the video depicts his rise to fame

Initial ideas

Myself and my group thought it would be a good idea to challenge traditional media stereotypes that are frequently used in Hip-Hop music videos, these videos typically portray women as sex objects for example in the Wu Tang Clan video 'Gravel Pit'  females are scantily dressed and act in submissive fashion whereas men are depicted in positions of power and dominance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV3wh2VPcd0
In our video we want to reverse these gender roles and place female actors in  a position of dominance, we are also planning to change how females are typically dressed in Hip-hop videos. Dressing the female characters in clothing that is usually associated with male Hip-hop artists will help us further challenge stereotypes and will hopefully add an element of humour to our video.
In an effort to make our video instantly recognisable as a Hip-hop music video we plan to film it from a low angle using a fisheye lens, this is a technique used in many music videos of the same genre. This technique combined with certain clothing and mannerisms will hopefully result in the audience instantly associating our video with the Hip-hop genre.
Aggressive mannerisms and body language are a recurring theme with many Wu Tang Clan videos, we plan continue this theme with our video and portray our characters in a similar manner which will also help the audience associated with the genre.
We found that in was common in hip-hop videos for the camera to be fitted with a fish-eye lens as this can result in the subjects looking more imposing, we want to feature this technique in our video as we believe that making the characters appear powerful is an important factor in a hip-hop video, filming from a low angle can also amplify this effect and allows the subject to dominate the screen.

Target audience

After studying the Wu Tang Clan Myspace and looking at their fans i discovered that they have a very broad fan base, including a large variety of age groups and people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. The fan base of Wu Tang Clan also doesn't appear to be gender specific, after looking at the group's myspace page it became apparent that both genders share a keen interest in the group.


After viewing their Myspace page i have concluded that the target audience is very diverse and may be fairly hard to categorise.

I have some examples of the diversity of their fans on Myspace which i will demonstrate below.

On the left is male whose age is 42 and on the right is a female who is considerably younger at the age of 28, they are both clearly from different ethnic backgrounds, but despite their many differences there does seem to be one recurring pattern with the fans as a large majority of them are American. This may make

In an article by James Surowiecki evidence is presented that the Hip hop magazine market is growing in popularity (with 'Source magazine' leading the way)  as well as the genre itself. Because Wu Tang Clan have been featured in 'Source Magazine' on numerous occasions  i think it is important to take this expanding target audience into account so i am able to identify them and  target them more efficiently. I think it may also be useful to find out the brands and companies that advertise in this magazine "major advertisers now include DKNY, Calvin Klein, and Perry Ellis" as 'Source' focuses on the same genre as my music video, i think that finding out the demographic for brands advertising within this magazine will help me identify my target audience even further. With evidence both from the following article and the demographic of these brands i have discovered that audience is still diverse but prodomently focuses on males with interest in more streeet orientated music. Although it may be wrong to exclude certain racial groups completely i think i would be wiser to focus on the groups that evidence has shown have a greater interest in the genre such as the african-american social group.

..."But even if the rise to prominence of The Source -- the standard bearer -- and its competitors has been neglected in some circles, plenty of readers and advertisers are taking notice. There are more hip-hop magazines than ever before, they're more popular than ever before, and they're bristling with more ads than ever before, indicating a belief on the part of mainstream advertisers that hip-hop can no longer be seen as a niche market... The Source has seen its paid subscriptions, its single-copy sales, and its total circulation take double-figure jumps. Every month, The Source sells more copies on the newsstands than any other music magazine -- a remarkable 350,000 copies. In 1998, its circulation was up 13 percent (topping 400,000) and its ad pages were up 31 percent, even as the industry as a whole saw ad pages rise just 2.6 percent. Vibe, meanwhile, whose ad pages went up 11 percent in 1998, saw circulation jump almost 20 percent, to 600,650, after a 16 percent rise the year before; after Rolling Stone (circulation 1.25 million), it's the most-read music magazine in America."

The Source.

Age: although hard to catorgrise between(18-40)

Gender: 50/50

Class: C1, C2 and D

Nationality: american

Psychographics: individualists, aspirers and mainstreamers.

Demographics for Rolling Stones magazine.

Since Wu tang clan have featured on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine i thought it would be relevant and useful to find out the demographic of the magazine, the example below shows that there are more male readers of the magazine and that 18-49 year olds are the most likely age group to purchase the magazine. this information will be useful when trying to narrow down our target audience.

I have also obtained some more specific infomation such a marital status, ethnicity and occupation to help filter the target audience even further. Even though Rolling Stones magazine doesn't focus entirely on the same genre that i am researching it will help reinforce information i have already found out about the genres target audience.

Permission.

 Copyright is very important in the music industry because it enables artists and bands to release their work without worrying about someone trying to steal it, Copyright law allows the artist or band to take legal action against anyone who tries to misuse their work.



Song choice

My group has decided to create a music video for song "protect ya neck(the jump off)" by the the famous rap group Wu Tang clan. We decided to choose this song since we all have an interest in the genre. Another reason we decided to opt for this genre and song is because we felt we could easily challege media stereotypes related to race and gender. We looked at other artists and groups in this genre such as 'Beastie boys' but felt that we would be able to challenge stereotypes better with the song that we eventually choose.

"Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)"

[INS]
Ladies and gentlemen, we'd like to welcome to you
All the way from the slums of Shaolin
Special uninvited guests
Came in through the back door
Ladies and gentlemen, it's them!

Dance with the mantis, note the slim chances
Chant this, anthem swing like Pete Sampras
Takin it straight to Big Man On Campus
Brandish your weapon or get dropped to the canvas
Scandalous, made the metro panic
Cause static, with or without the automatic
And while I'm at it, yo, you got cash, pass it
It's drastic, gotta send half to Dirty Bastard

[Raekwon]
Ayo, ayo
Waves is spinnin, blades is spinnin
Slay em in the eighth inning
Stay truck, god stay playin linen
Kill rap, observe the uptowns, ho, feel that
Mink jeans on, seen where the real at
2000 zitos, movin wit a ill ego
For real, for real, ill lines, ill people
Yo, bring it back, 9 more civilians
Pollyin deals, monopoly and bills
Y'all niggas lyin
Caught 300, lab look royal wit a mean stomach
Go broke, all seen, done it
Words from the heavy set
If I don't eat, then we already met
Fly ass bro, liver than coke

[Meth]
Now what Clan you know wit lines this ill?
Bust shots at Big Ben like we got time to kill
Niggas can't gel or I'm just too high to tell
Put on my gasoline boots and walk through hell
Wit 9 generals, 9 ninjas in your video
9 milli blow, semi auto wit no serial
Man metaphysical, I speak for criminals
Who don't pay they bills on time and fuck wit digital
Never seen, smoke a bag of evergreen
My sword got a jones, more heads for the severing
Johnny in the dungeon, takin all bets, throw ya ones in
Scared money don't make money, throw ya guns in

[Masta Killa]
That's word to Jah Mo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Blowin hydro on a beach wit Tamiko
My gun bullet hollow for you to swallow
Blowin the nozzle, hear it whistle
One in the head, this is code red, man for dead
X amount of lead spray from the barrel
Heat clear the street like Connor O'Carroll
Fully equipped, rifles, banana clip shit
To make my niggas from East New York flip

[Bobby Digital]
Yo, you may catch me in a pair of Polo Skipperys, matching cap
Razor blades in my gums (BOBBY!)
You may catch me in yellow Havana Joe's goose jumper
And my phaser off stun (BOBBY!)
Y'all might just catch me in the park playin chess, studyin math
Signin 7 and a sun (BOBBY!)
But you won't catch me without the ratchet, in the joint
Smoked out, dead broke or off point (BOBBY!)

[Ghostface]
Wallo's comfortable, chocolate frosting
Your socks hangin out, yours is talkin
Rock so steadily, son, I'm still crazy
Sport my old Force MD furs in the 80's
Nat Turners wit burners, Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Taught y'all niggas how to rap, reimburse me
Rothsdale's, ruby red sales, Bloomingdale's, blocks
Ox tails chopped up in Caribbean spots
I'm nice, maxed out, creepin wit the ax out
Murder these bikini bitches, switchin with they backs out

Introduction

Our task for this year is to explore the music video format and study previously made music so that we can eventually create our own. This task will help us develope the skills learnt from our AS coursework.

Exploring music video

Johnny Cash - Hurt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22eIJDtKho

 This music video has clearly been used to portray the life and memories of the life and memories of the artist Johnny Cash. The extremely personal contents of both the song and video make it even more poignant, showing both past and current footage of the artist really captures the sense of regret and pain that the video is trying to portray. Age representation is key in this video as we view the artists transformation from youth to the very late stages of his life. Many common media stereotypes are that associated with different age groups are used in this video, such as more recent footage showing the artist to be far more vulnerable and feeble in later life.

Beastie Boys - Sabotage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE&ob=av2n

This music video is one of the best examples of a video that despite its low budget is still very effective and entertaining. Although both the costumes and cameras appear cheap they do their part in setting a comedic tone for the video and when combined with great cinematography the video soon becomes  far better than it first appears. Like many music videos of this genre it is likely to appeal to a younger audience due to its less than serious content. It may not be an entirely accurate depiction of law enforcement in America but the video still does well in parodying the genre of  'crime/investigation' television programmes.

Fat Boy Slim - Weapon Of Choice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Ky5R-vxns&ob=av2e

This music video is fairly hard to place into a genre for the reason that it almost completely unique, it almost immediately contradicts media stereotypes such as old age being associated with lack of energy and enthusiasm as we see a man who the audience may ordinarily associate with these stereotypes and dancing around full of energy, the colours and lighting used also add to this energetic tone. it is because of these qualities that the video may appeal to a wider audience.

Godley and Creme - Cry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxtPRF6NG7I

At the time this video was first released it was considered to be revolutionary because of the advanced  special effects used. although the video may have been created purely to showcase modern technology, the facial expressions of the characters in the video do well at portraying there emotions and reinforce the general tone of the song. The simple cinematography also does a great job of helping the the audience to focus on these emotions.


All these videos have been successful in the past and have been praised for their innovative ideas and cinematogrphy, i has been very useful studying them as it has allowed me to identify what works in a music and what doesn't. I have found that the videos above all have a strong artistic influence and cinematogrphy seems to be an important factor in the success of the video, this is something i can learn from and try to incorparate in my own video. I think it is crucial to make the cinematography as interest and uquice as possible so my video stands out from the rest.