ANCILLARY TASK 2- RESEARCH INTO MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS

Before starting to create my second ancillary task, It is important for me to research into magazines and advertisements. This is important because it will allow me to see what I will need to include on the advertisement and what layout to use.

This is a magazine advertisement for Lady Gaga's new album. As this is promoting her new album, it includes the name of the album and artist, information about the album and tracks and a critical opinion regarding the album, from Rolling Stone.

There is also an image of the track itself, with keeping the continuity. The advertisement is created in black and white, which is the same as the CD album itself, representing continuity and there are clear images of the artist.

This is the album advertisement for Youmeatsix' new album, which is likely to be used in magazines to promote the album/artist.

As you can see this advertisement links directly to the album itself, by including the name of the artist, the album and continuing the continuity by using that specific image as the background (the image on the front of the album cover) showing the direct link between the two.
This advertisement has included an opinion/review on the top right hand side of the page to show how good the album is, as well as promotional logos of companies such as HMV at the bottom of the page.
Though this poster looks exciting due to the image, it is overall quite simple in regards to the text used, only including vital information.

This third advertisement is for the Killers album 'Day and Age' which is highlighted on the advertisement. This again links directly to the album itself through the image used, representing continuity. The image used is the background of the advertisement but is of a mosaic effect. This is appealing and different that a normal image.
Again, I feel that the image has the largest role in this media product, especially because there is basic and a lack of text on the advertisement.
In some ways, this is seen as more effective because by seeing this, it would be appealing to the target audience to go and purchase the album from stores.

ANCILLARY TASK 1 - RESEARCHING IDEAS FOR THE INSIDE OF CD'S

This is the inside of the Kids in Glass Houses album. From this image, you can see that the inside has been kept pretty simple. The image on the left is in continuity to the theme of the album, continued from the front of the cover.
Behind the CD itself, the background has been kept blank white. I think this is because the image on the right is bold and stands out so this is contrasting it.
In this particular case, there isn't an image of the artist or a competition but in fact an images linking to the band.

This image is slightly different. The cover of the booklet on the left is promoting other products and new things to come from the artist. In this case it is a short movie.
The inside is connoting continuity through the use of colours and the atmosphere it represents. Though again behind the CD itself, it has been kept blank. This may be because there is design on the CD so it could be overpowering.

This is the inside of one of Taylor Swifts latest albums. This shows continuity from both the front and back cover of the CD, with a clear focus on the artist herself.
In contrast to the others  I have looked at, the inside of this album uses various images of the artist, which shows the audience what the album is representing, in this case, it is focused on the artist's life story.

The image on the left also includes quotes from the artist and promotions for her website.


When creating the inside for my album, I will need to think about what I want and need to include in regards to images of the album, competitions or information regarding the album and the artist.

ANCILLARY TASK 1 - SPINE OF CD COVERS.

After researching into the back covers of CD covers, I also thought it was important to look into the spines of the Case, which is an important feature because it shows the audience who the CD is promoting and what it is.

This is an image taken by me of all the spines of the CD album covers I focused on.
All four spines represent different things, but there is a clear sense of continuity in each in regards to their own case.

All of the top three spines, include both the artists' name and the name of the album, which is easy information to include and show the audience.

In contrast, Taylor Swift's spine does not include the name of the album but instead promotes the record deal 'Big Machine records'. All of which can be included in the spine.
All four also show the reference number of the CD album, which could be there for marketing purposes.

ANCILLARY TASK 1 - RESEARCHING BACK COVERS OF CD ALBUMS

This is the back cover to Adele's latest album, '21'.

From this, I can see that her back cover includes the list of tracks featured in the album, plus an image of the artist herself.

This imaged used on the back cover is different to the front cover image, but there is a continuity of the background and colours used e.g. both images are black and white.

As well as this, there is a bar code for buying purposes and the back cover shows the recommended website for the artist and the record company that Adele is with. This is a good use of promoting the company and the artist at the same time.

Though some album covers have the images of the artist at the back of the cover, this does not apply to all album covers.

Th JLS album back cover (right) doesn't include an image of the  band, but it still links to the band.

Instead of using an image, they have kept the background a dark colour, representing continuity but have only wrote a clear track list of the songs on the album. This is clear and simple to read and located in the middle of the cover.

To represent the band still, they have used a bar at the top of the list of the four colours that represent their band.

Like most back covers, this one also promotes the record label company and uses a bar code for marketing purposes.




I also took images of Back covers from CD i had at home. Similar to the ones above, they both included websites, bar codes, record label details and a track list. Here are both Cd covers:

The difference between these two back covers of the Cd's is that the Take That cover on the right is much more simple. Though they both show continuity, the CD on the right is more simple than Taylor Swifts on the left because the background is plain and the font is clear and easy to understand. This is in contrast to Taylor Swifts which has somewhat more colour and includes an image of the artist. There looks to be more information on the image on the left which makes it more appealing in my opinion, though it isn't overcrowded.

This is something I need to consider while creating the back cover to my CD.

ANCILLARY TASK 1- QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

After sending out a number of questions, I received a wide range of feedback in regards to my CD cover for my song.
Overall, the feedback showed me that my target audience are expecting to see images of the artist or band or an image which relates to the album on the front cover of CD. It is clear from the questionnaires I received back that my target audience enjoy listening to and buying CD albums of their favourite artists.
As well as the image, the majority vote from my target audience said that they would expect to see the title of the album and possibly the artist' name on the front cover.
In regards to the other areas of the album, they would like to see a track list on the back of the CD album and in the inside,  there were many different ideas to think about because there was not a significant answer for this question.

As well as this, I included questions in regards to my second ancillary task. From this, I gathered that magazines are often read by my target audience and that the advertisements within them have influence on my target audience purchasing them. The majority vote as to what they expect to see on the advertisement includes images of the artist, the price or the image of the album itself.
Overall, my feedback received is very useful for me, because it now allows me to plan and create my ancillary tasks in favour of my target audience.

This was one of the questionnaire results that showed the main overall feedback I received:

ANCILLARY TASK 1- QUESTIONNAIRES

Before starting the front cover for my Album cover, I decided that it would be useful if I sent out another questionnaire to my target audience. I have decided to make a questionnaire in regards to both of the ancillary tasks, allowing to gather an overall image and ideas for both tasks. Even though I included questions about both ancillary tasks in my first questionnaire, I decided to create one that specifically focuses on the ancillary tasks.
By doing this, I will be able to receive feedback on both CD covers, magazine advertisements and the opinions regarding these from my target audience.

 This is the copy of my questionnaire.

In this questionnaire, I have asked questions including what the audience would like to see on an album cover, how often they buy CD albums and why they buy them. As well as this, I asked how often they buy magazines, if advertisements in magazines influence them and what they would expect to see on a magazine advertisement e.g. the image and text used. The feedback I will collect will allow me to represent and create the ancillary tasks to the preference of my target audience.

ANCILLARY TASK 1- RESEARCHING CD SINGLE COVERS

I also decided to research into single covers just to look at the conventions of them and to see how different or similar they are to album conventions. From researching into the covers of a single, I discovered that nearly all single covers have a image of the artist and the title of the single. These are the main two features, so that the cover is not overpowered by writing.

The image of the artist does not always refer to the song or title of the song but sometimes they are relevant.
Overall, this shows that the conventions of albums and singles are very similar.

For my ancillary task, I have decided to make an album cover instead of a single cover. Within this, I will feature Back to December as the main track on the album.

ANCILLARY TASK- CD ALBUM COVER RESEARCH

From researching CD album covers, I have realised that there are many different types of album covers available. These vary from images of the artist to cartoon designs and other images related to the album.

       I have realised that all album covers highlight basic information, including the artist name and/or the name of the album.

There are many albums created in this layout, only varying in size of image, colour and font. In some cases, the text located on the album cover overlaps the image and subject of the cover, which the majority is usually the image of the artist/band.

Though this is what the majority of Album covers look like, it does not apply to all music album covers. This can be seen through the Boys Like Girls album, where they have used an image that may represent the album including the songs within the album or the band itself.

You can also see that not all images used are classic. Madonna's album on the left is a cartoon image of her.

                                                               The common theme throughout these is the display of the title and the artist whose album it is. I believe this is essential on an album cover.

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS

After handing out 30 copies of my questionnaire to students of my focused target audience, I received feedback that I can now use to help me with the making of my video.

This is a copy of one of my questionnaires that were answered:

This is one of my final scanned questionnaires. From these specific results, I can see that the artist Im using is popular and is liked within my target audience. The feedback I recieved overall was helpful and now has allowed me to think about my ancillary tasks as well as things to include in my music video.
Overall I found out that my target audience like to listen to music and sometimes or very often watch music videos which is important because it shows that they are popular in the music industry.
Overall, regarding the ancillary tasks, the majority of my audience say that it is important to have clear images of the artist to promote the album cover and posters, as well as titles of the songs/albums.

There was also a clear majority of my audience saying that music videos and album covers play an important role in persuading the audience to buy the song or album. This is important because it shows that the music video I am to create would be imporant for the artist' success.

PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

This is an example of primary research I used during my planning and research into music videos. I thought it would be a good idea to hand out a questionnaire to my target audience. I handed out around 30 copies of these.
This questionnaire is helpful because it will enables me to find out about my target audience and what they prefer within the music industry, including their favourite genre and any specific songs they like.
It also will help me for my ancillary tasks that I will be creating after I have finished my music video.
It was important for me to send these questionnaires out to my target audience because I will beable to receive relevant feedback that will help with my specific task.

THE ORIGINAL BACK TO DECEMBER MUSIC VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLK2bpJixLA

After choosing this song, I decided to look at the original video made my Taylor Swift. Before doing this I brainstormed my ideas so that I can compare these with the way the video has been created. By doing this, I am able to see if my ideas were like those in the videos and if so, work out how to adapt mine so that it doesnt look the same.
These were some of my ideas I came up with:



These were some of the ideas I brainstormed before watching the video

Once watching the video, I realised that my ideas were different to the way the original video has been created.

              

The Back to December video links to the lyrics of the song, like I would like mine to also do. In the original video there is a young female singer, who is singing but also being the actress in the video. I was going to do this too because I thought it would be more relevant to the lyrics as it can represent the singers own personal story.
The locations and the persona of both characters in the video are represented fully and are easy to interpret. The snowy setting is very effective and is something I would like to incorporate if possible. In the original video, there is also the appearance of  a male actor, who the song is linked to. In the video, you only see the male actor in short shots and there is not  a joining of the two actors at any moment in the video.
When thinking about my video ideas compared to the original, I think that my music video will be very different to the original, so I am still going to choose this song.

TAYLOR SWIFT

I finally decided on Taylor Swift as my artist for my music video. This is because I like her music and the songs that she has written. As well as this, I felt that when listening to her music, I would be able to create a narrative, because this is what her songs revolve around - her life story.
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.
(Wikipedia)

She is a young singer, who is popular world wide. Her genre generally focuses around the genre of country/pop, which is something i will incorporate into my music video.

RESEARCH INTO OTHER MUSIC VIDEOS

In this lesson, we looked at other music videos to get ideas for setting and location, camera movements, angles and a storyline or layout for the video.
As a class we watched and discussed three different videos. These were:

• Glad you Came (The Wanted) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ggzxInyzVE&ob=av2n

                        The new hit from the Wanted, Glad you came, is a video set in Ibizia, that involves lot of fun and a typical boys holiday experience.

This video doesn't have a narrative, but shows many shots of ibizia, the band mates and other people including young women. In a way, this infact does have some relation to the song.

The video is good because it is fun. Its showing a fun holiday that everyone wants to experience. There are many different shots used in this video and at the beginning of the video they use text to introdue the video aswell as a Long shot.

• Moves like Jagger (Maroon Five) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEPTlhBmwRg&ob=av3n

This video has manu different characters and is a mixture of setting in the past and the present. The beginning of the video is black and white coloured, representing a older setting and shows the setting up of a performance.
The video then cuts between the band members and the 'performance' that is happening with people from the past to create the show.

In this video, there are many different shots and the video has a quick pace because of this. This is good because it is good for the song which is upbeat and suits the music.

• I wanna Dance with somebody (Whitney Houston) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA

This song by Whitney Houston is an old, popular song. The music video is split between a Whitney singing the song lyrics and other images related to the song. The shot shown on the left is from the beginning of the video. At the beginning and end, the shots are black and white and show a live show being presented. This video doesnt show a narrative but does include black and white shots representing the preparation of a show/performance.
There is a wide range of camera shots and angles used including mid shots, close shots and high angle shots. The artist is also featured throughout the video.

• Wake me up before you go go (Wham!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgZ7gMze7A&ob=av2e

This is a gif taken from the Wake me up before you go go by wham. This is a old but very popular song. The song for this video is very upbeat , so they have used a performance to represent the video. As you can see, many different shot types, angles and movements are used to show the best of the 'live' performance that is trying to be portrayed.

The beat is up tempo and this video is ideal for the music. There are many people in this video, including the band, backing singers and the crowd. This is very good for the music video because it creates the atmosphere of a live performance.

WHAT IS A MUSIC VIDEO?

After deciding that I was going to create a music video, I decided to look into the definition of a music video and what it should include to start my research into music videos.

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a [marketing] device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium, and later with the launch of VH1. The term "music video" first came into popular usage in the early 1980s. Prior to that time, these works were described by various terms including "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional (promo) clip" or "film clip". In Chinese entertainment, music videos were simply known as MTVs because the network was responsible for bringing music videos to popularity in that country. Music videos are now known as MVs in Chinese entertainment.Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action. Many music videos do not interpret images from the song's lyrics, making it less literal than expected.