ALBUM COVER ART

I have constructed 5 different album cover designs in order to give my self a greater understanding of how they are made in the music industry. It was my objective to learn about the different codes and conventions used in order to create a successful album cover.

PURPOSES OF AN ALBUM COVER

-To protect the CD album itself

-To advertise the contents

-Using the artistic design to reflect the creative intention of the artist or artists

-To reflect the principles, attitudes etc of the record label

-To stand out, to be interesting and eye catching

-To boost sales, enhance profit

Attracts on retail shelves

-Enables product to be resold though different modes/NMT's

-The art becomes an icon

TYPICAL FEATURES OF AN ALBUM COVER

-Main image, most often the artist them self

-Name of the artist

AND/OR

-Title of album

- A font that symbolizes the artist

-Dramatic hair/makeup/costume

-Fairly simplistic design / clean cut

DESIGN IDEA 1

DESIGN IDEA 2

DESIGN IDEA 3

DESIGN IDEA 4

DESIGN IDEA 5

In my conclusion i feel that i have used the the typical features found on the front of album covers and applied these rules to my own work. Keeping the covers simplistic and clean cut i believe my album cover design ideas are successful in portraying different messages to their target audience.

EDITING

EDITING

CONTINUITY EDITING

The majority of film sequences are edited so that time seems to flow, uninterrupted , from shot to shot. within a 'continuity editing' sequence, only cuts will be used. continuity editing can also involve 'cross-cutting', where a sequence cuts between two different settings where action is taking place at the same time. there are matches on action and no editing that draws attention to itself. this IS the realm of the 'invisible edit'.

MONTAGE

In montage, different images are assembled to build up an impression. This is often used in the title sequence. the most famous example of this technique is the Odessa steps sequence from battle Battleship Potemkin. this is used increasingly in what is now called 'American Quality Television' and includes most of the shows headlining on Sky, FX, Channel 4 amongst others.

Editing can vary both in pace (how long individual shots stay on the screen for) and in the transitions (or STYLE ) between shots. Transitions describes the way in which one shot replaces the previous one and is the term used by editors and their software.

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PACE OF EDITING

CUTTING RATE

Frequent cuts may be used as deliberate interpretations to shock, surprise or emphasize the audience. Generally speaking, the rate that cuts are made increases with the tension in the film.

CUTTING RHYTHM

a cutting rhythm may be progressively shortened to increase tension. Cutting rhythm may be exciting (erratic and unpredictable), lyrical ( in time with the music or with a feeling of rhythm) or staccato ( like sharp, regular cuts). It can create excitement, musical 'alignment' or intense response to the viewer.

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TRANSITIONS / STYLES OF EDITING

STRAIGHT CUT

one image is suddenly replaced by another, without visible transition. we are so used to these that we will probably not even notice them. In classic continuity, that is the point- not to be noticed.

CROSS-DISSOLVE

One image dissolves into another, this can be used to make a montage sequence- such as a title sequence- flow smoothly ; it can also be used in continuity editing to show that we have moved forward in time and/or space.

FADE UP

An image gradually fades in.

FADE OUT

An image gradually fades out. Fades to and from black usually means that time has passed

WIPE

One image replaces another without dissolving, with the border between the images moving across or around the screen. This style was previously popular in the 1960's but has not been much used until recent work, mostly cartoon based hollywood mainstream films such as Hellboy and Iron man.

JUMP CUT

this is where a cut is disjointed - often by the change in what the audience sees not changing much- the action appears to judder or just 'jump'. this is used to disconnect the audience.

typically a jump cut is one of the less than 30 degrees and is easy enough to spot as it make the scene literally 'Jump' before your eyes and is used frequently.

MATCHED CUT

In a 'matched cut' a familiar relationship between the shots may make the change seem smooth through:

-continuity of direction

-completed action

-a similar centre of attention in the frame

-a one-step change of shot size (e.g. long to medium)

-a change of angle (conventionally at least 30 degrees)

CAMERA SHOTS

JUMP CUTS

The 30° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera should move at least 30° between shots of the same subject. This change of perspective makes the shots different enough to avoid a jump cut. Too much movement around the subject may violate the 180° rule.

30 DEGREE RULE

When you break this rule you have a jump cut. this means you move the camera at least 30 degrees so the audience move also.

JUMP CUTS IN MUSIC VIDEOS

Jump cuts are often used in music videos for specific effects. This is to jar the audience and makes the audience aware that they are watching a music video. if they use a jump shot in a narrative it looks unreal and fake.

DEGREE RULE

The 180° rule is a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

GRAPHIC MATCH

When there is a cut to something very similar in size shape and colour. often used it music videos, it creates links between shots.

MATCH ON ACTION SHOT

Match on action technique can preserve temporal continuity where there is a uniform, unrepeated physical motion or change within a passage. A match on action is when some action occurring before the temporally questionable cut is picked up where the cut left it by the shot immediately following. For example, a shot of someone tossing a ball can be edited to show two different views, while maintaining temporal continuity by being sure that the second shot shows the arm of the subject in the same stage of its motion as it was left when cutting from the first shot.

LOW ANLGE SHOTS

In music videos, a low-angle shot, is a shot from a camera positioned low on the vertical axis, anywhere below the eyeline, looking up.

HIGH ANGLE SHOT

In music videos, a high angle shot is usually when the camera is located above the eyeline.

RESEARCHING ICONIC ALBUM COVERS

NIRVANA- NEVERMIND

Nirvana's ideological album cover 'nevermind' is still to this day one of the most controversial political statements ever made by a a band or artist. This statement was made through the bands album cover.

-The Idea of water and the ocean is code for freedom.

-The baby chasing money attached to a fishing line and hook represents the chasing of the american dream and the ideal world. This this is where the dollar comes into context.

- The dollar also comes into context with the present american economic crisis and the endless amount of money being pumped into economy. The american economy is metaphorically drowning.

-The image of the naked child is code for innocence and and how corrupt american society is. The lessons they are teaching their children is 'money is everything'.

-The hook and fishing line is represents bait.

-The idea of chasing the dollar also makes a statement at how materialistic Americans can be.

-The child is also code for families with the world on their shoulders and financially struggling.

The font in the pictures represents strength and pride through the bold and iconic text. The text is also code code for purity and and simplicity.

- The title of the album 'nevermind' symbolizes the relaxed mentality towards the lessons Americans are teaching their younger generations.

-The font of the album title also represents this relaxed attitude through the wave movement of the text.

-Conventionally the artist or band normally features on their album cover. In this case they do not. This symbolizes that they care more about there music than their public image and let their music explain itself, this is a very down to earth statement from a band that is so successful.

RESEARCHING ICONIC ALUBM COVERS

THE BEATLES- SGT PEPPERS LONLEY HEART CLUB BAND

This album cover was revolutionary when first introduced and has now become one of the most iconic album covers in the world.

The artist Peter Blake used pop art to create this groundbreaking cover and used modernism and popular culture as a main theme. Peter Blake choose iconic people that were legendary in the entrainment industry to share the cover and show the bands social status and power.

Album cover broken down

-The flowers in the alum cover represents freedom, happiness, peace, love, beauty and nature. The name of the band 'Beatles' again reflects nature and is represented through the flowers.

-The drum is a code for musicality and the music itself.

- The font is code for circus/fun/vibrance and entertainment

-The military costumes are iconic and show power but are contradicted by the vibrant colours.

- The collage of famous iconic figures is used to show the social status as a band and represents the bands power within the music industry. The positioning of the band in the picture is also important to the bands status of power.

-The clear blue sky and the palm trees in the background is code for an island which is a convention power and freedom. The island stands for indpendance and strength of the band and its music.

PROGRESS

PROGRESS

Over the last couple of weeks i have used my research to find out more about how a music video maybe constructed and how an artists image is marketed.

I have looked through various artists, friends and various other peoples music in order to get a greater understanding of current trends within the music industry. I have come to the conclusion that i would like to choose a song that is not yet well know, giving me a platform to create a brand new artist image from scratch and allowing an audience to have a fresh and first opinion.

So far i have have narrowed my choices down to two.

MIke hough - http://www.youtube.com/user/howez18

Jessie J -http://www.youtube.com/user/JessicaCornish

RESEARCHING AN ARTISTS IMAGE

RESEARCHING AN ARTISTS IMAGE

BEYONCE

While thinking about creating an image for my chosen artist i thought it would be useful to look at how another influential artist has successfully created an identifiable image. for this i chose Beyonce and i felt that her image in someway resembles the same genre of music that i am representing.

Beyonce has a very sexually driven and edgy image. This is cleverly created through titillation which attracts a male audience but does this without intimidating other women and creating an inspiration role model for all.Beyonce's album art does this very

successfully using seductive yet subdued images and bold and striking fonts

Beyonce continues to re create herself time and time again trough different personal projects, whether it be 'destiny's child' her solo career or 'The House Of Dereon'. One way she does this so successfully is by using fashion and delivers a sophisticated but sexy image. depending on the song i choose for my final music video, i would like to incorporate some of these elements to backup my genre of music. Strong bold colours relate to this years fashion trends of colour blocking seen in Prada's summer collection. Their target audience want to see their favourite artist in the latest fashion trends as it adds to the desirability factor.

Beyonce has inspired me as an artist for my media products research because i feel her music and image cuts across different genres of music. some of Her music has a rockier feel to it yet still stays commercial/pop and R+B based. Her sexy image entices men to want to be with her and other woman to be her. Hopefully i can include some of these factors while working around my own artist and music video.

MARKETING RESEARCH FOR AN ARTIST

MARKETING RESEARCH FOR AN ARTIST

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THE HISTORY OF THE MUSIC VIDEO RESEARCH - WHIKIPEDIA

In 1894 sheet music publishers Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern hired electrician George Thomas and various performers to promote sales of their song "The Little Lost Child". Thomas projected a series of still images on a screen simultaneous to live performances. This would become a popular form of entertainment known as the illustrated song, the first step toward music video.

In 1926, with the arrival of "talkies" many musical short films were produced. Vitaphone shorts (produced by Warner Brothers) featured many bands, vocalists and dancers. Spooney Melodies in 1930 was the first true musical video series. Shorts were typically six minutes in duration, and featured Art Deco-style animations and backgrounds combined with film of the performer singing.

Animation artist Max Fleischer introduced a series of sing-along short cartoons called Screen Songs, which invited audiences to sing along to popular songs by "following the bouncing ball". Early 1930s cartoons featured popular musicians performing their hit songs on-camera in live-action segments during the cartoons. The early animated films by Walt Disney, such as the Silly Symphonies shorts and especially Fantasia, which featured several interpretations of classical pieces, were built around music. The Warner Brothers cartoons, even today billed as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, were initially fashioned around specific songs from upcoming Warner Brothers musical films. Warner Brothers also produced the cartoon "Three Pigs in a Polka", set to Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Live action musical shorts, featuring such popular performers as Cab Calloway, were also distributed to theaters.

Blues singer Bessie Smith appeared in a two-reel short film called St. Louis Blues (1929) featuring a dramatized performance of the hit song. Numerous other musicians appeared in short musical subjects during this period. Later, in the mid-1940s, musician Louis Jordan made short films for his songs, some of which were spliced together into a feature film Lookout Sister. These films were, according to music historian Donald Clarke, the "ancestors" of music video.

Another early form of music video were one-song films called "promotional clips" made in the 1940s for the Panoram visual jukebox. These were short films of musical selections, usually just a band on a movie-set bandstand, made for playing. Thousands of "soundies" were made, mostly of jazz musicians, but also of torch singers, comedians, and dancers. Before the soundie, even dramatic movies typically had a musical interval, but the soundie put the music in the forefront; virtually all known jazz performers appeared in soundie shorts. The Panoram jukebox with eight three-minute soundies were popular in taverns and night spots, but the fad faded during World War II.

In 1956, Petrushka, directed by John David Wilson for Fine Arts Films aired as a segment of the Sol Hurok Music Hour on NBC. Igor Stravinsky conducted a live orchestra for the recording of the event. In 1957,Tony Bennett was filmed walking along The Serpentine in Hyde Park, London as his recording of "Stranger in Paradise" played; this film was distributed to and played by UK and US television stations. According to the Internet Accuracy Project, disk jockey-singer J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson was the first to coin the phrase "music video", in 1959.It is no coincidence that the rise of popular music was tied with the rise of television, as the format allowed for many new stars to be exposed that previously would have been passed over by Hollywood, which normally required proven acts in order to attract an audience to the box office.Musical films were another important precursor to music video, and several well-known music videos have imitated the style of classic Hollywood musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s. One of the best-known examples is Madonna's 1985 video for "Material Girl" (directed by Mary Lambert) which was closely modelled on Jack Cole's staging of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Several of Michael Jackson's videos show the unmistakable influence of the dance sequences in classic Hollywood musicals, including the landmark "Thriller" and the Martin Scorsese-directed "Bad" which was influenced by the stylised dance "fights" in the film version of West Side Story.

MUSIC VIDEO INTODUCTION

A music video is a short video or movie linked to an artists or bands music.

Music videos are used to promote an artist or band and increase the number of music sales.

record companies invest a high amount of money in order to promote the artist and create a buzz around them, the video often portrays the images linked to lyrics. the music video came to the forefront of fashion in the 1980's, with the development of MTV. MTV was a channel that specialised in showing an artist or bands music videos, this provided artists with new platform to promote themselves on.Music videos are produced using different filming methods such a:

-Animation

-Narration

-Live performance

-Biographical

-Documentary

-Abstract

Not all Music videos are limited to one style and can often incorporate more than one of these filming methods.

There are two main types of music videos:

-Conventional

-Original