Digipaks - Research of different Digipaks - Pop Artisit - Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson Digi pack

The Michael Jackson Digi pack that can be seen above was released in 2009 and I have chosen to use this specific Digi pack because it is a great example of how a Digipak should be with great information included but a simple design has been used which is also very effective with the picture of Michael Jackson directly centered in the middle of the Digi pack page with his name and album name printed above his picture at the very top of the Digi Pack, so it is clearly seen by the consumers and so people can clearly see who it is and what album it is.

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die CD Case Annotation

Lana Del Rey - Born to Die CD Case Annotation

Meeting 6

Mise en scene- Costume

Costume in Music Videos

Costume plays a very important role in all music videos regardless of what genre it is for. It helps the audience establish what the genre and style of the song is going to be. The clothes that the artists wear in the videos can give them their identity as it has for artists such as Lady Gaga. It also gives the audience and insight of what they are about to watch and for them to see if they think it would be something that they would like.
In Taylor Swift music videos her use of costume has changed a long side her music changing. In her music videos for 'Shake it off' Taylor and all her backing dancers all wear different outfits, each to suit a different situation.

All of the costume changes relate back to the song with all of them being negative and conventions that society makes people feel that they need to stick to for them to be accepted. The outfits that she wears she does the dancing that is appropriate for that outfit.
Taylor Swift takes on the roles that she is suppose to in the outfit that she is in but she doesn't dance very well and does everything wrong. The song says about shaking off all things negative so she dances how ever she wants in what ever she is wearing. She doesn't let the outfit define what she is suppose to do and who she is suppose to be.

We could use the idea, in our music video, that we don't have to follow the stereotypes that are associated with the clothes that we wear to give the same sort of effect that it has in Taylor Swifts 'Shake It Off' videos.

Lana Del Rey - Music Video Breakdown and Analysis (Young & Beautiful)

Lana Del Rey - Music Video Breakdown and Analysis (Young & Beautiful)

• The screen is cropped and given a border to make it look like it is being played from an old fashioned film reel. This goes with Lana’s song and persona as she is retro and offers a modern twist to the 1960’s style of music.

• The video is given effects to make it seem as if the video is old. Again, this is done to highlight Lana’s 1960’s style music.

• Lana Del Rey has a lot of screen time in the music video. The shots that she is in are always close-up with Lana in the centre. This is done to help build Lana’s star quality, ensuring that the audience remembers her face.

• Long shot of the orchestra. This is something rarely seen within modern music videos, and so it is something that helps Lana stand out.
  
  
• Darkness surrounding Lana in every shot. This makes Lana stand out even more, helping to build her star quality. This is because the audience will have to focus on Lana.

• Lana’s earrings, hair and makeup are done to make her look like she is from the 1960s. Again, this is done to help build her persona as a vintage, non-conformist singer.

• The music has perfect synergy with the video. It gives the illusion that the performance was done completely live. Makes it look very professional overall.

• Shadows, colours and lights change on the orchestra. This is done to make the music video more entertaining and cinematic.

• The music video and the song where made for the “Great Gatsby” movie. This could be another reason why the video is made to look old fashioned as the Great Gatsby story is old. 

            
 All of this has again, proved successful as the music video has over 130,000,000 views on YouTube.
   
                                                                                    

Meeting 5

Media Classification of Music Videos Part 2

Media Classification of Music Videos Why is the regulation of the media so complex?Part 2

Another example of a music video that became extremely well known for its very explicit content was the song that was sung by Robin Thicke called; Blurred Lines. This song was released with two different versions of the music videos, one of the versions that was released featured female models dancing around Robin Thicke in the nude whilst he was fully clothed in a suit, this of course sparked major crushing criticism for the music artist, Robin Thicke as well as the music video director, all of this criticism came from the general public making it one of the most controversial music videos of all time. This music video can also be linked to the signs and signifier’s theory as the women are nude throughout the duration of the music video whilst the men in the music video are fully clothed showing that women are underneath men in hierarchical terms, which is extremely wrong in the modern day.

There should be some type of regulation that should be put into place to regulate when people are watching these music videos and more importantly who is actually watching these music videos. A new way of regulating music videos needs to be put into place as the current way of regulating music videos are not effective and need to be changed in order to regulate music videos more closely. The website/app, YouTube regulates explicit videos for people over the age of 18 by placing a tick box which the viewer has to tick in order to continue and watch the video, by ticking the box you confirm that you are 18 or over, anyone can tick a box which therefore leaves the video open for any member of the general public to then watch.

The Auteur Theory

The Auteur Theory

The Auteur Theory was introduced in the 1950's by various different French Film directors such as François Truffaut, who recommended and supported a focus on the  contribution that directors made on the style and the different forms of a video or a film. An Auteur is a film maker that style and practice is distinct and creates a signature auteur theory status for themselves and by doing this the music video maker defines themselves as a director and makes them selves known, linking to Mark Romanek a very famous music video director that works on creating music videos with a distinct and memorable music videos and this is why he is so famous and also so good at what he does. The audience is the group of people that make their minds up if they like the music video that has been created or if they do not like the music video, if the audience does not like the music video then this can have a very dramatic effect on both the music artists and the music director that created and directed the music video for the music artist. Auteur theory focuses on a number of things such as; Individual stylistic features, How texts are determined by artists creativity and lastly how are texts emerge as part of an artists body of work.

Andrew Goodwin's Theory (Lana Del Rey: National Anthem)

Andrew Goodwin's Theory (Lana Del Rey: National Anthem) 

Within this post i will be analysing a the Lana Del Rey: National Anthem music video, seeing if it meets the criteria stated in the Andrew Goodwin Theory.

The first criteria that Andrew Goodwin states makes a good music videos is that the lyrics are illustrated, related or directly contradicting to the lyrics of the song. It is clear to see that National Anthem does meet this criteria. This is evident through how the song features the lyrics: "red, white blue is in the sky" which is played alongside visuals of the American flag that features the colours red, white and blue. This helps the music video make sense with the song, while making it easier for the viewer to understand what it is about. In this instance, it is used to show the viewer that the song is about America and American Culture. 

Another instance of this can be seen at 5 minutes 2 seconds within the music video. when the line: "red, white blue is in the sky. summer's in the air and baby, heaven's in your eyes" the video cuts to a brief shot of the sun and the clouds.


The second criteria that Andrew Goodwin states makes a good music videos is that the visuals follow a specific style pre-determined and influenced by the genre of the music. The national anthem song is an alternative song that mixes pop with a slight 1960s sound. This very style can be seen through the music video itself, fitting Andrew Goodwin's second criteria for a well made pop music video. This is because the all of the footage within the music video has been edited to have a certain colour palate and visual aesthetic to make it seem like video captured by a older camera.
                                  

Meeting 4

Digi Pack 4

Digi Pack 4

Digi Pack 3

Digi Pack 3

Digi Pack 2

Digi Pack 2

Digi Pack 1

Digi Pack 1

Taylor Swift We are never never getting back together Lyrics Analysis and Interpretation 2

Taylor Swift We are never never getting back together Lyrics Analysis and Interpretation 2

Taylor Swift We are never never getting back together Lyrics Analysis and Interpretation 1

Taylor Swift We are never never getting back together Lyrics Analysis and Interpretation 1