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.