Planning digipak

Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold  paperboard or cardboard outer binding,with one or more plastic trays for the CD.Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums.They grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s.A jewel CD case is the original compact disc case that has been used since the compact disc was first released in 1982. It is a three-piece plastic case, which usually contains a CD along with the liner notes and a back card.They are constructed into 4 sides, where most of the detail is solely on the front and the back. Jewel CD cases don't tend to have any properties which help to further promote artists which is why digipaks are used instead, they tend to give the audience a more personal feel which creates a deeper artist and audience relationship. Elements such as the personal message within the digipak is what creates the relationship between the audience as they able to read the thoughts and feelings from the artist himself. There are also various differences between the digipak and Jewel CD cases, four example the Digipack has six sides so there is more opportunity visible artwork, information (such as lyrics) or promotions. This way the artist has a better chance at attracting potential buyers, As they will see digipak as more than just a disc of music, it is also a collectable item for the audience as well. Jewel CD cases tend to only contain a front and back cover with the CD which therefore means there is less for the audience.

In terms of the colours the digipak consisted of many vibrant colours such as blue.red,green and  yellow. The reason for using his colours is that it has been a constant theme throughout our music video and these colours have also been used in our magazine advertisement. These colours also stand out more to the target audience which may make the Digi pack more appealing to the target audience as generally people tend to enjoy looking at coliform vibrant images as opposed to more done and colourless images. The colours we have chosen also tend to be quite conventional to the dance genre as again as previously mentioned they are all vibrant colours that stand out which is quite essential within the dance genre as it is known for being colourful with in many settings such as club settings and generally throughout. The colours will make the album appeal to to the target audience as it will give them a slight indication of the theme of the album, it shows them that there is a more summer-like feel to the album which may make then reminisce of Their summer memories or perhaps make some are memories. The chosen colours well promote our artist effectively as in a way it represents him, it shows the audience that he is quite a lively person hence the choice of the vibrant colours.

Generally we have conformed to the conventions of the genre, in reference to the Digi pack we have chosen colours which are typical of the dance genre and various images on the digipack relate to the dance genre, for example the club setting and DJ decks are of course directly related as they are seen in the dance scene. Perhaps we may have subverted conventions with the use of the office setting which is not typically showing in dance music videos or dance music generally however We felt that the setting was very relatable to our target audience as a large majority of them will be working in an office setting and experience the emotions that our artist goes through with getting excited to go to a club after a long days work at the office. Aside from the office setting I do not see any other subverted conventions that have been used, although the narrative may seem subverted in certain aspects as not all dance music videos tend to contain relationships however at the same time while doing research we have also found quite a few music videos that contained A relationship between A male and female actor.

The images used consist of both main settings which are the club setting and Office setting, as well as images of DJ decks and A picture of the artists looking out of his office window. The club and office setting which will be the album's Front cover Will show the audience the main two settings of the music video, the way in which the images are shown along with the artists in the middle how's the audience that this is two separate lifestyles the artist lives. These particular images can be seen as extremely related ball to the target audience as they too Will have A similar split in the life styles which of course makes the album seem far more appealing. This also shows the audience the general theme of the album which they may find appealing as before buying the album they have a brief idea of the concept. The image of the DJ decks simply shows the audience A conventional piece of iconography which they can relate with the dance genre, this just gives the target audience opportunity to associate more with this genre and can also insinuate that the artist has DJ-ing talents which may engage the audience further. The other image showing the artist looking out of his Office window shows the audience Little more of the artists life as they will be able to see quite a lavish office which shows the target audience that the artists is clearly quite successful which may make him seem more appealing and inspirational.


The design and layout of a digipak creates a massive impact on how appealing it seems to the target audience.  The design or layout of this digipack clearly shows that the main features are the bright colours that are used in every section as well as the importance of the settings such as the office and club.The layout and design of the the first slide shows the main settings of the music video which is a picture of the iconic gherkin building to show the audience where the artist is seen to be working. There is also a club setting on the left side of this slide which shows a club setting however it has been designed to have a split in the middle showing the audience that these are two significant places to the artist and could also be significant to themselves as they too will most likely be in both enviroments a large majority of the time. The typography in this slide has also been layed out to show the audience the name of the artist and album in a more subtle manor however the use of the neon blue coloured lights will make it stand out further to audience and still sticks to conventions of the dance genre as neon lighting is used in many aspects of this genre.The layout and design of the CD is similar to the album cover as it shows a split image of colourful lighting on one half and a black and white solid colour on the other. The reason for the split is to relate further to the theme of a split lifestyle with the colourful lighting representing a flamboyant style of life and the black and white side of the CD represents a more serious and professional side as these two colours symbolise professonalism. 


The typography and language Used in the digipak and do not take a major role in making the album More appealing as we decided on a more simplistic approach as their was not A large amount of language used apart from the message which the artist had wrote. The message needed to be easy to read so we decided not to use any flamboyant types of font as the meaning of the message was the focal point of that section. The language used in the album front cover is again written with relatively simple as we want the audience to easily read the the title and so forth however we've decided to use coloured Font in order to make the title and artist name stand out further to he audience which should hopefully make it more recognisable and noticeable to the target audience, we have also decided to stick with the theme using Blue as the font colour. 

While creating our digipaks we found this planning stage extremely helpful as it allowed us to get a better idea of what will be needed when we create our final versions, it also helps as we have a greater understanding of what photos I need to be taken which make the process more efficient. In terms of photo shop it also helped us as while planning we were thinking ahead of possible anything styles that can be used in his application to add to our designs. As previously mentioned I do feel more aware of what is needed for this digipak well as I have clearly planned out what images I need,the style of fonts ,colours etc before producing my final version.

risk assesment

The purpose of a risk assessment is to provide all members of the a group an idea of the potential risks that could arise when filming and allows them to plan various ways in order to prevent them. If the prevention methods still do not work there is still a back up plan written in the risk assessment to ensure either way the required task is still able to take place.It is important to consider before filming as allows the group to be aware of the potential dangers when filming.

While filming we were fortunate to not encounter many more risks as the environments that we had used were mostly under the control of the group, apart from the filming at embankment which did not cause any risks to the filming as we used this setting at a less busy time period which minimised risk. There was a small consumption of alcohol used at the office setting however it was only a very small amount as was not continuously consumed throughout, the actor eventually pretended to drink the alcohol in order to minimise any risk. The role of the risk assessment proves to be quite important as before filming takes place we know how to prevent the chance of any of the listed risks from happening which therefore makes filming more efficient and faster. More efficient filming allows for the chance of extra scenes being filmed if they are needed or for any altercations to be made whilst still being within the time allocated to these scenes.

filming schedule

      Film schedules allow the group as a whole to become more planned and organised as we had set dates and times to produce certain shots. They are also important to have as they allow us to plan ahead what iconography,customers, personnel etc is needed for certain shots before hand so they are brought to each setting. The filming schedule also gives the group a greater understanding of the types of iconography that are needed to be used for each filming session and what is needed to be included in them. Overall this benefits us as it makes the process more effective and efficient. 

      Generally as a group we were able to stick to the filming schedule that we have produced, fortunately the settings that we had planned on using were suitable as they were either not exceptionally busy or unavailable to us which was a fear we had leading up to our filming dates. However a few scenes had to be changed or not filmed such as the scenes that show the artist walking out of the Gherkin and office as we were unsure whether we were able to film in certain parts of the building and there were also other factors which could be a problem such as the weather . The front entrance of the building was busy and more importantly too dark for our camera to be used which therefore means we had no choice but to leave this out of our filming. We have not needed to include any additional scenes into our filming schedule as we have included quite a wide variety of different settings however while editing if we have any gaps within our music video we may decide to include extra scenes in order to make the narrative flow better. The role of the filming schedule has allowed to become more organised when filming as this ensures we stick to dates and the certain scenes that need to be filmed in the lead up to our deadline for a roughcut, although it is more of a basic outline of what needs to be achieved and does not have to he strictly stuck to as the group may come up with ideas that fit the narrative better when they are at the setting. 

Research into record labels

Record labels play an unprecedented part in the music industry with successful musicians getting signed into a variety of big and small record labels depending on the artists image and success. The bigger an artist gets in the industry the bigger the label they are signed too. It is within the record labels interest to sign the most successful artist with the most potential as income from advertising, gigs and record sales will all benefit the record label and generate money. Sources such as Youtube and Facebook can get artist signed into much bigger record labels as they visibly see their popularity on the Internet. This has now happened to a variety of artists who began their careers and was signed in this way, such as Justin Bieber.

Major record labels

A second major record  is sony entertainment they have major artists such as Britney Spears, J. Cole and Justin Timberlake. The sony entertainment group own other labels such as Arista UK who own Bistro, Filth and Rowdy music groups. The Arista music group have baby face, Gary glitter and Taylor Hicks signed to them. The company signed a content deal with the popular video sharing community Youtube. This allowed the company to promote their music videos on Youtube and be able to impress the target audience as they can now reach a wider audience which in turn will benefit themselves and ther signed artists. They also have a website which is songbmr.com, this promotes their artists and allows them to show the audience when their albums are being release etc.

The last major record label i am going to look at is Emi, like the other two record labels this is a world wide record label .The rolling stones, Avicii, Bastille and Chase & Status are all signed to this record label and it clear that they are doing quite well through this company. A smaller record company that EMI own are capitol who also own priority record company, This company have people such as Deana Carter, Jameson Clark and Jessi Colter. Emi own Emi films and have links to HMV, so they can easily have a selling opportunities for their artists to make their album or single known and sold.This is the fourth largest business group and family of record labels in the industry. Like many companies EMI also has smaller companies attached such as EMI's music publishing which is based in New York City. The company is now wholly owned by Terra Firma Capital Partners.

 Universal music group is considered to be one of the largest record labels within the industry. Well known artist that are signed to this record label include Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Robin Thicke. The universal music group own smaller companies who have associated labels within them. An example of label that is owned by the universal music group would be Decca, they own smaller labels such as Ace of Clubs and Ace of Diamonds. The Decca music label have Alfie Boe, Bela Fleck and Brooklyn Rider signed to them. The universal music group are linked with Vevo as they co-developed them. This allows for free, ad-supported streaming of music video and other music content. They also have a website which allows them to promote their artists by telling the public when their evens or singles are being released.universal also own and manage smaller subsidery companies that assist with the overall success of the artist and indeed the music being produced. This is evident in Universal music group, with the label owning Universal Music Publishing Group, The third largest publishing company for music. Its primary function is to administer copyrights with over 1 million being owned by UMPG. The group itself has been associated with a wide array of artists such as the corrs, Bon Jovi and Prince. UMPG administers the prestigious 60,000 title Rondor Music Catalog and also owns or administers a multitude of prestigious catalogs. Of course the multi million dollar profits from smaller companies benefits the record label and is feeding in gross profit from the artist back into the label itself. Publicity is also created by publishing the works of the artist on a global scale, as the record label has control over TV and advertising of the artist and can also market the musician to a sub genre of people who will buy into the artists life style. This overall makes the artist more of a success and generates more money for the label via magazine shoots, record sales and public appearances on TV, Creating strong and valuable links across the whole of the media industry. This links the label and the artist with the media, as promotion is the key for an artists success as the media is able to portray the artist on a massive scale.

Independent records

A.Ace Records Ltd. was started in 1978.Initially the company only gained permission from the label based in Mississippi to use the name in the UK, but eventually also acquired the rights to publish their recordings. When Chiswick's pop side was licensed to EMI in 1984, Ace switched to more licensing and reissuing work. In the 1980s it also gained the licensing for Modern Records,and its follow up company Kent Records, whilst in the 1990s, the company bought the labels including all original master tapes.They stick to the rock and roll genre music artists although they have been associated with other genres such as pop. They were based in the us but could promote their artists in the UK to help to try to make them a success globally. The artists that they have signed include BB king, Joe Tex and the champs.

A second independent music company is Cherry red. Cherry Red grew from the rock promotion company  founded in 1971 to promote rock concerts at the Malvern Winter Gardens. In the wake of the independent record boom that followed the advent of punk rock, founders Iain McNay who remains company chairman and Richard Jones released the label's first single, "Bad Hearts" by local punk band The Tights, in June 1978.Cherry Red's early roster included releases by Morgan Fisher under various pseudonyms, using a small studio installed in his Notting Hill flat, as well as material licensed from The Hollywood Brats, Destroy All Monsters and The Runaways. The latter was the label's biggest seller until McNay invested $10,000 in the recording of the debut studio album by San Franciscan political punk band Dead Kennedys. Cherry Red continued to sign contemporary artists but increasingly moved into the reissue market from the late 1980s onwards. It has a number of subsidiary labels dealing in genre-specific releases, curating many "critically unloved" musical genres, in partial continuation of McNay's earlier advocacy of the unfashionable. It was set up to promote rock concerts and to sign rock artists.They have the passage, Thomas Leer and felt signed to this company.

Personally I think that the music industry is dominated by four major companies as more well known artists would only want to sign to these labels as they would likely feel as they're only chance of being noticed and becoming successful is through a a large record label. There has not been much evidence to support that independent artists have been able to become successful within the music industry as the larger record labels have an advantage due to having larger financial backing and other benefits. Independent labels are not able to compete with the larger record labels which therefore doesn't allow them to dominate to succeed within the music industry. Independant and less recognised artists will therefore not be able to prosper within the music industry as they are not able to reach mainstream audiences in order to flourish. The independent record labels do offer new and fresh artists that no one has heard of before which might get noticed by the major record labels.
Independent label's will not be classified as successful in comparison to major record labels., 


Independent record labels are able to nurture and develop artists over a period of time which is something that major record labels are not able to offer as they're main focus is profit and record sales, meaning artists can be released if they do not certain targets. This may make independent record labels more appealing to smaller/ less well-known artists as they feel they have time to develop and gain a bigger following over time. 

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planning magazine advert

      The importance of the magazine adverts in relation to promoting horses album is very high as ultimately for the artists album to sell the needs to be a wide variety of marketing used which includes magazine adverts. the  use of magazine adverts tend to be quite effective as the magazines that the advertisements are placed in tend to be aimed at the exact demographic that the artist is aiming for which therefore makes this process also more efficient as last time and money is wasted on more general advertisement, for example and artists like Calvin Harris may advertise his new album or single in a more pop or dance culture magazine. I too will be creating a magazine adverts for our chosen artists album, the adverts must be healing to our target audience as the aim is to gather more awareness of the album which can only be achieved if the advert is aesthetically pleasing along with a few other elements. Do use of planning is considered important when creating a magazine adverts as you need to ensure that you are covering all the points that are needed in order to create a successful magazine, for example relatable images, A clear layout and design, Vibrant colours etc.

     

       In reference to colours throughout my magazine advert I have decided to use vibrant colours as this sticks to the conventions of the genre as well as being more aesthetically appealing to the audience, it also stands out more when the retail told audiences looking for the magazine would therefore helps the advert become more apparent. They have been uses of colours such as red, blue ,green, black and yellow all of which sector theme of vibrant colours, although I have used the colour black which may not be considered vibrant it was essential to be used as it helped certain elements of my poster stand out more as a contrast the well with the vibrant colours. As previously mentioned the colours I've made my magazine poster seem more appealing to the audience as it stands out more, it makes the magazine seem more applicable as they are able to relate the vibrant colours with other magazine adverts that they have made have seen from supplementary dance artists. It promotes artist effectively as it makes him seem as if his quad for lace of all to dance genre as the type of colours are found within club and party settings which are typical connotations that the audience like to associate with.

       The magazine advert I have created would be considered quite conventional as in comparison to other artists such as Calvin Harris or example they all seem to have a relatively similar theme, which is high contrast between vibrant colours, and tend to give the audience a sense of the theme from the picture used in the advertisement. My reason for wanting to adhere to the convention of the dance genre is simply that the target audience based on research seem to prefer more conventional aspects of the dance genre such as the common connotations such as partying, vibrant colours an the use of special effects. There are other aspects of the advert that are conventional such as the name of the album album which is Urban Lights, this again gives the audience by slights snapshot of the general theme of the album as well as being conventional as it is Something that is associated with the dance genre.

      The images used within this magazine advert consist of the gherkin building, the artist and a club setting. My reason of using the dark in and the top is that it is simply that it tells the target audience more information about the artists, it shows that is are both two different worlds and which the artists lives in. The Gherkin is the artists place of work which shows the audience that they successful and can be seen as inspirational as to work in a building such as this takes hard work, it is also a largely used setting within our music video which fathers shows its significance to the target audience. The club setting has been used to again make the magazine advert more conventional however it does relate to the storyline of one of the songs were in the Album as the artist is seen to clearly enjoy partying and clubbing.  These images will appeal to our target audience as they are again contrasts which seems to be quite popular within the dance genre and will create more nostalgia around our album which should hopefully entice audience to buy our album in order to find out more. The images you promote our artist affectively as it shows yes two sides to his last one being a professional working lifestyle and the other being clubbing and partying which is often something the audience can relate to as they to tend to have this split in the their own lives.

      

      The overall layout and design of the magazine adverts is quite simply stick with the images taking the large proportion of the magazine advert however there is also the use of typography and the bottom and at the side. The reason for the name of the artists and the release date being at the bottom of the magazine and that is that it shows that it is a little less important than the images of the advert as the audience will know the artist already however they will have to take notice of the release date which is written in a large font with colourful writing or should help to ensure this. As previously mentioned the design of the magazine advert is to show the target audience the lifestyle the artist has which is the working lifestyle and clubbing lifestyle.

       The typography used within the magazine advert is clearly quite simple however my approach is to have a more complex set of images and concept of the advert as opposed to intricate typography. The typography only needs to inform the target audience of various at seven for Mason such as the release date, artist name and album. Intricate typography will not be a major factor in terms of making the magazine advert seem more appealing however I will incorporate various vibrant colours within the typography in order to make it stand out further to the audience as ultimately we do want them to remember the release date and the album name. The use of the name of the lights will be considered quite conventional to the dance genre as the use of various lighting within this genre is an extremely important element, for example in our only music video we incorporated the use of many different lighting sound such a strobe lighting which will relate in some mannerisms to the album name. The album name also relates to the magazine advert as the use of lights is quite coherent within the club image, which shows a direct correlation.

      The use of language within my magazine advert consists of the album name “Urban Lights”, this name has a relation to the artists lifestyles as it clearly has a direct link with the star of lighting which is used around party or clubbing environments as well as London’s start of lighting at night which is something the artist can see from his office. The show is the artist to someone who is quite modern and leads a city lifestyle. This name promotes conventions of the dance genre as the use of vibrant lighting stars is commonly used within dance music videos and club settings which may make this name more relatable to this particular genre.

     By planning my magazine adverts it has allowed me to become more aware of the type of pictures that are needed in order to execute is my day as during the planning phase I have to think ahead as to how I would take the pictures which I was drawing which could become an achievable however fortunately as I thought ahead I was able to create a concept which is executable relatively easily with the use of photo shop and a few images. This was useful in relation to Photo shop as it allows me to plan what aspects of my magazine advert would need to be answered within the software.