Here is the CD cover to James Bay's Debut album 'Chaos And The Calm'. James Bay's music comes under many genres the main being folk rock/ blues genre. This cover is dominated by the large photograph of the artist him self which is quite dull looking with low lighting which creates a dull but also a calm atmosphere which reflects the album title. The photograph isn't particularly eye catching but would attract the fans of James Bay as it has a mid/long shot of the artist, therefore they would be drawn tot he album, also the general mood of the photo almost has a natural feel to it which could reflect the folk style within his music, but also creates a very modern feel to the album cover. The general style is very minimalistic but effective as it reflects the genre of music and also 'keeps things simple' which enables potential buyers to be drawn into the main photograph on the album and perhaps consider the hidden message behind the photograph. The text font style, colour and size also reflects the calm feel that the album cover is portraying. This is because the font itself is simple and contrasts against the darkness on the image which makes the important information (The artists name and album title) stand out and noticeable. Also, the change in colour of the font separates the name of the artist from the album name, but in a simple way that is not drastic.
Above is the back of the album. The key feature of the back cover is the track list as this shows what songs the album includes and in what order. Also another thing to mention would be the record company logo which features in the left hand corner, and also the barcode for the shops. Like the album cover for 'Years & Years' the CD spine has the name of the artist and also the record label logo on it. The large photo, which provides the background for the back cover, reflects the theme of the front photograph. The photograph could almost be said to reflect the title of the album as an armchair is somewhere to relax and provides a 'calm' atmosphere, however the tatty look of the chair could represent the 'chaos' in the album title 'Chaos And The Calm'.
Here is the CD cover for the band Years and Years album 'Communion'. Years and Years are a trio, which make electronica/house music and 'Communion' is their debut album. The CD cover is typical of the musics genre. This is because the overall design is simple but effective this is because the use of the neon colours in the bands logo really contrasts with the black background which really makes the CD cover standout and catch buyers eyes. The choice of colour theme is also typical of the dance/electronica genre as the colours almost represent the theme in which is usually associated with 'night clubs' etc. as this is the kind of scene which this genre of music maybe played and the black could almost represent the night, which is when people have parties etc. and the vibrant neon type colours used in the logo adds an up-beat feel and could almost represent the lighting used in events such as clubs. I really like the simplicity of the design as it doesn't give 'too much away' about the content of the album, which makes people want to buy it to learn more. I also think this due to the fact that there is minimal text used which makes the CD cover much more appealing as the full focus is on the logo type design which takes up the majority of the the front cover. The font used is also interesting as it is simple but almost has a 'playful' sense to it and the choice of white font contrasts with the black background. The font is also one that is associated with the band as it is used on singles such as 'Shine'.
Above is the back of the CD cover for the album 'Communion'. As
you can see the theme follows on from the front design, with the black background and neon font for the track list. Also on the back of the CD you can see the small logo at the bottom of the track list for the bands record company 'Polydor Records', as it is important when making a CD cover/ Digipack that all the essential details such as the record label and barcode are included. Also, another thing to mention would be that on the spine of the CD is the name of the band and also the name of the album in the same font and also the same record label logo.
Above is the Digipack for the album which is the 'deluxe' version with extra bonus features in a boxset style. This pack contains bonus features such as a pin badge, bonus tracks and lyric book with also copies of hand written lyrics made by one of the band members. All these added extras are a marketing tool for the group as people are lured into buying the digipack version so that they can get these added extras.
Here is another example of a music magazine advert for the pop artist Olly Murs and his debut album. This advert takes a very simple approach and relies on the actual artists iconic image to attract readers attention. This is because the main focus of the advert is on the multiple-me image which features six images of the artist himself. This is because fans of Olly Murs will be attracted to the advert as the photographs are long shots that feature the full length of the artist, which is effective as this enables readers to focus on Olly's image which reflects the style of his music. Also the way he is posed in the photographs suggest his own 'jolly' personality. The choice of colour is effective in grabbing the readers attention as the use of black, white and red has a sharp contrast which creates a vivid and bold advert that jumps off the page. This style also reflects the pop genre as it is clear and simple, like the themes used in pop music. This advert is also simple due to the fact that there is very little information included on the advert. For example the most important and clearest part of the advert is the name of the artist, also the release date. The music advert also features the artist's website and also the name of singles which people may have heard in the charts.
Here is an advert in a poster formate for the band Mumford and Sons album 'Sigh No More'. The general style of the advert portrays the 'fool rock' genre of the band which therefore portrays the style of the music from the album. For example, a key part of this advert is the four images that take up the main bulk of the advert. These images consist of four boxes that feature each of the four band members, which shows the identity of each of the band members. The setting and style of these photographs is typical of the folk genre as they are very 'nature' looking and have a vintage twist to them which creates the typical relaxed happy atmosphere that folk artists and their music try to portray. This is because these four photographs were clearly taken in some rural setting, as there are open fields with the sun glowing low in the sky. Also the folk genre is portrayed by he actual style of the photographs as they have a vintage feel to them with the aged look and corner tabs make them look like they were taken with a old polaroid camera. The photographs also feature each of the bands instruments that they play, which again are typical of the folk genre and also help readers who may be non-fans understand the group more. Other aspects of the advert is, of course is the name of the band. This is a key aspect that must be clear on music magazine adverts as it must stand out to catch the readers attention and also so that people know who the group actually are. This advert has done this by using the contrast between the white text and black background to naturally make the text stand out. All the text in the advert is in white but the band name and album title are much larger, with the bands name 'Mumford and Son' in a different font, as these are the most important factors in the advert. Another thing to mention would be that Mumford and Sons are a folk rock group which means they have elements of both genres in their music. The advert reflects this as it not only has the typical folk feel to the photographs but also a rock feel to it as well due to the black background, as black is very commonly used and associated with rock music. The advert has a very minimalist feel to it as there is a small amount of text which is effective as the readers are focusing on the points that matter. These points include the the three single names that feature in the box, which will attract people who may know the songs but no the group, the two record company names and logos at the bottom of the advert, to advertise the record labels, and also a review from a top music magazine company which attracts audiences with the good reviews.
Above is an example of a music magazine advert for George Ezra's debut album 'Wanted on Voyage' from the music magazine Q. The magazine Q is a popular music magazine which publishes copies monthly in the UK. Unlike the last magazine advert for Jessie J this advert is not in the same poster style, but is much more article based. This advert is much more based around the artist themselves and introduces the new artist to readers that may not know who he is, as the large title 'Introduces' suggests at the top of the page as this shows that this article is about the artists experiances of the industry so far as a new artist. As this article was wrote when George Ezra's debut album was released it does not in fact include the album title in large text in the article which is still effective in publicising the album as George Ezra only has one album which means if people are interested in him as an artist they will then be more likely to go out and buy his album. The article is presented in such a way that the important aspects of the article are made clear and are eye catching. For example, a photograph of the artist they are talking about takes up a large amount of space of the double page spread which not only shows the readers who the artist is but also helps to balance out the amount of text so that there is no daunting paragraphs of texts that readers may not bother to read. Also, the artist name 'George Ezra' is in a large font size and also is in bold. This again, similar to the picture, establishes to the reader who the artist is and what the article is about. Also the magazines name 'Q' is also quite large in the top left corner of the page, which reminds the reader what magazine they are reading.
This is the magazine advert for Jessie Jays Album 'Who You Are'. This is good example of a pop music magazine advert as it is eye catching and reflects the artist, although the colour scheme chosen is quite dull as it is mainly black it still 'works' as it is bold and the contrast with the black and gold really make the text stand out and adds a sense of power to the artist. The whole advert is the same image and placement of text used for the actual album CD cover. This is effective as it makes people look at the advert more as it is familiar to them as they may have seen the CD in the shops, therefore they can reach not only fans of Jessie J but also people that may have heard her music on the radio or in the charts. As this poster is for her debut album it is important to really represent the artist in this poster to give the right first impression. Therefore, this poster is giving the message that Jessie J is quite unusual as this is shown in her appearance in the image as she has her own image and the name of the album 'Who You Are', on the advert, suggests that this is her break through album and that she is not afraid to be who she is. Therefore, this advert does send this message out as the photo of the artist is dominant in the advert, which not also draws people in through her unusual look but also makes people remember who she is as the advert is eye catching as Jessie J is looking directly at the camera which almost looks like she is communicating with the reader of the magazine. The information on this advert is quite minimal as it does not actually say the release date of the album. However, the minimalist style is quite effective as it keeps peoples attention as they are first drawn to the photo and not a mass of information. Some important information included in the advert, which is in a bold text to help it stand out and become in-printed in the readers mind, is the name of the artist, name of the album and also the name of her debut single 'Price Tag' as this helps to draw people in as people who may not know the artist may know that song in particular as they may have heard it in the charts, which might attract knew fans because if they know and like that particular song they may be encouraged to buy the album due to this advert. Another, important aspect of the information would be the artist website which is in the smaller font, this is because fans and none fans can go on the website and find out more about the artist, which will gain more publicity for the album.
Above is the Album cover for the album 'Who You Are' by Jessie J and it is clear to see the clear link between the CD cover and the magazine advert.
There are many different forms of music advertising. The two more traditional methods are Print Media (magazines, newspapers, posters etc) and Electronic Media (Radio, Tv, Internet etc). It is important that music is advertised as it is a marketing tool as it gains publicity for the song/album and the artist and will hopefully gain new audiences, which will lead to more singles/albums sold. My main focus will be on print media, as we will be aiming to create our own music magazine advert. Print media is the first type of advertising used and it started of with newspapers, then posters and then magazines follow this. Music magazines are now very popular in the UK and there are many different ones on the market today the main one being NME (New Music Express) which means by creating music magazine adds artists can gain publicity for their single/album.
Magazine adverts will appear in the style that reflects the artist themselves and also the genre of the music. Most commonly the advert will appear almost 'poster like' or will look like the actual CD cover for that album/single. Magazine adverts will feature some form of picture which maybe in a poster style or cartoon, photography or art based. Another important factor for music magazine adverts would be the font and the size of the text as it is key as this makes the most crucial parts of the advert clear and memorable. For example, usually the CD title, band name, reviews, band website, exclusives and release date will be in bold. The actually font will also have an impact on the successfulness of the advert as it must be one that reflects the genre and general mood of the music. Magazine adds will also feature things such as band logos if they have one and also any warnings that the album may have for its content e.g. 'explicit content'.
We wanted to look at the original 'Run Boy Run' to get an understanding of the creators interpretation and to see what aspects they used to produce a music video to the song we wish to do, which could help give us ideas for our own piece and provide inspiration.
Again, black and white is used, like in 'Iron', which helps to create a very contrasting, eye-catching effect, that also gives the video a darker feeling to it. I feel this could be very useful in our own video as we wish to explore some very dark themes that could be enhanced with the use of black and white. The whole music video has a very dark feel to it due to the lack of lighter colours, but as the video progresses, it becomes subtly lighter but still contrasts with the big white city, which is a reoccurring shot within the music video. The white city also shows flags holding the crossed keys, which Woodkid used to describe his path into adulthood.
The video depicts a young boy running from a building into 'the wild', the video has a very 2D feel to it, as the shots are predominantly shot from the same side and use the same angle. As the boy runs, we begin to see more foliage and soon he is joined by a flock of crows that fly along with him, many shots are shown using close ups of the birds and a great portion of this is using slow motion, showing the details of the wings and the gleam of their feathers and to enhance the desperate but joyful running of the boy, which is also expressed with occasional close ups of his face. Soon we begin to see monsters rising out of the Earth and the boy falls down, left to the mercy of the beast, who picks him up and runs with him. Soon, the monster drops him and the horde run with him, creating a small twist, as they become his allies. They provide the boy with a small wooden sword, shield and helmet to help protect him. Suddenly, the weak boy becomes a powerful character, despite the childlike defenses. I feel that the video is trying to describe the boy running away from home, tears on his face, and growing up, and learning of the world. He has to learn to defend himself, and not everyone is as they seem. The changing of shots, show his destination- a large white city, perhaps this is where he believes he fill find his way in the adult life. It also shows the boy having fun, which is shown through his expression, and the shot where the boy flies up into the sky, showing that he feels powerful and thinks he can now do anything he sets his mind to. He is no longer affected by the monsters and runs with them with a smile on his face and begins to command them as he becomes braver and learns how to be a leader. The monsters becoming increasingly larger and the horde builds up until there is even a boat of the monsters floating in the background, which represents his adventure and the distance he has traveled. The journey still has a rather child-like feel to it, as the boat represents a small pirate ship, as young boys often think of. Finally, he reaches his destination and stares out at the large city with wonder, and raises his sword, victorious. I like how they show the progression of his character using Mise-en-scene, both through his props, the helmet, sword and shield, but also through his face, as he becomes happier, though his face becomes dirtier, showing that he has suffered hardships but has persevered to reach his destination. The shots are quite fast, cutting every 2 seconds to the beat at the beginning, which remains quite consistent despite the occasional extra shot or a slightly longer shot that could be 4 seconds long. This is to show his fear as he runs into the unknown and the sharp cuts show his hyper-awareness, as he looks behind him and is aware of his surroundings as one would be out alone in the dark. The shots become quite a bit slower when they show the large city, as the camera movements are used to keep the audiences interest and long shots are used to enhance the longing for that place. The shots slow down as he falls over and the monsters are introduced, despite the fast pace of the music, to make the scene last longer and to add tension to the scene as the boy is not getting up fast enough to run from the monsters. The shots become faster again as they all run together as everything was as it was before, but now the boy is stronger. Slower shots are used for the slow motion scenes to enhance what is being shown. Soon the speed begins to slow down, as the boy relaxes and more occurs within the shot as more monsters join him, he knows he is getting closer to his destination and the shots constantly change to the large city. Fast shots of each different characters are used before the long shot including the large boat create a contrast in speed and make the long shot more dramatic as it continues. I like how the shots remained about the same speed apart in time with the music except for the occasional longer or shorter shots, which seemed highlighted due to the change in speed. This shows that despite the fast music, fast shots don't always have to be used to make the video effective. Long shots can also describe the story within the song and the beats of the song can help progress the story within the same shot. This analysis has helped me to understand how I can use editing to describe the story within the music video and how different shot speeds and help to convey a feeling to the audience. I have also learnt the importance of Mise-en-scene though costume, expression and use of light and dark to help the audience interpret the music video.
Through out all of Woodkid's music videos there are lots of different imagery and symbols used which can be slightly confusing to those who are not fans and don't follow the artist. Therefore, I decided to do a little research and actually find out why these images are used and if there is a 'hidden meaning' to them which would give the music videos depth.
After some research I found a music blog which had an interview with Woodkid himself, which he was asked questions about his music and music videos. One of the first symbols used in the music video for 'Iron' is a set of crossed keys that feature through put the video, e.g. on a flag. This is because this symbol is something that actually has a link to the artist himself. This is the question Woodkid was asked and his response:
I notice a lot of keys represented in your videos and promotional material. What’s the significance of that imagery?
I have two key tattoos on my arms that I got in 2007 when I moved to New York. It was just a way for me to express my identity as an adult and the act of making them into two and having my own set of keys, which to me represents my home both to and away from my parents. I decided to use crossed keys because they’re a symbol of religion — the symbol of the Papal keys and the Vatican. There are a lot of religious inserts in my project because, of course, religion is very important to my music. I have used a lot of organs and chords that belong to classical religious music, so having these keys definitely makes a lot of sense. But it also represents me and the kid that thirsts to become an adult and collide with a lot of themes surrounding religion and war.
It is clear from Woodkid's response that his music videos do have a lot of symbolism and use of hidden meanings, which makes his music videos very interesting and adds depth to them as only true fans of Woodkid will understand the meanings behind the imagery used, which reflects the niche audience for this genre.
Here is some more sections from the interview which explains the artist himself and the a little about the concept of his music:
So then where does the name “Woodkid” come into play?
There’s another dimension to my work, like the way I would like to make metaphors and symbolism around the textures or materials and the story that I am trying to create. “Woodkid” is the story of a kid that grows up, and after time turns into stone and marble, representing the city and the concrete that makes it up. It’s a very hard material that turns humans into very hard sounds. That’s the idea of the whole project. I would say that “Woodkid” is the boy in “Run Boy Run” — he’s the one that comes from underneath and from the very emotional material. In the album I explain at the beginning he’s made of wood — he bends in the wind because he is very supple and tender, but the more he grows up, the more he turns into this marble and he has to break it.
So then when you’re presented with a song or an idea, what are you looking out for or what inspires you to bring it into a visual realm?
I have an artistic statement, which is what I call “translations.” It’s whatever I do, I try to translate things from one language to another. In this case, it would be the language of image to the language of sound. For example, in “Iron,” I looked for this very epic sound that was half synthetic, half real, half orchestra and half sampled. I mixed it to have this very epic sound, and then once I had this texture, I thought of what would be the cinematic equivalent. So I worked with how to make the look of environments with the same toxicity that the sound implies. I basically get inspiration from my work by just finding sounds and then translating them into images or finding images and translating them into sound. It goes back and forth, vice versa. It’s like a very powerful circle where I just feel that universe — that unique voice in sound and image.
'The Golden Age' was Woodkid's debut album which featured both 'Iron' and 'Run Boy Run'. It was released on the 18th March, 2013 through an independent label known as Green United Music.
Three of the albums songs were released as singles, which were:
- 'Iron'- released on the 28th March 2011
- 'Run Boy Run'- released on the 21st May 2012
- 'I love You'- released in February
The music video for the song 'Run Boy Run' was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The music video was directed by Lemoine (Woodkid) himself as he is not only a singer-song writer but also a director as well. 'Run Boy Run' was also used in several adverts for O2 and in many more adverts and trailers.
'Iron' was Woodkid's debut single and gained popularity as it was used in a trailer for Assassin's Creed: Revelations.
'Iron' is another song from Woodkid, who is the same artist who made the song 'Run Boy Run' which is our chosen song for out music video. We decided to look at more music videos from Woodkid so that we can understand the general conventions of the neofolk genre.
Whilst looking at Woodkid's work we instantly made a discovery that all his music videos are in black and white. I think that the use of black and white is very effective as it automatically creates quite a dramatic look which is gripping as the audience is drawn into the fantastic cinematography used through out the music video. It is quite unclear on whether or not there is a narrative in the music video, however it is clear that there is some form of 'battle' commencing as there is powerful shots of various people looking rather menacing. This menacing appearance which makes the audience feel almost threatened by the characters in the video is created through the clever use of mine-en-scene. For example, costume is effectively used as the characters are dressed in clothing that's almost of a 'medieval' style with hardy costumes that involve lots of leather, buckles and ripped material that all create the typical villain appearance that you see a lot of in historical/ fiction dramas or films which feature viking/ bandit type characters. Another way mise-en-scene has been used to make the characters dominating, and also sets up the general atmosphere and theme of the song, is from the actual positioning of the characters and the shots used to show them. For example, one of the first characters we meet in the music video is through a close up/ mid shot of the back of a tattooed man, this creates an enigma and also builds up tension as we are 'teased' as we don't know who this man is and what role he plays in the narrative of the music video, the appearance of the man also makes him mysterious adding to the dramatics of the music video. There, are many 'rough' looking characters used in the video that are introduced using long/mid shots, which doesn't show much of their appearance but lets the audience take in the costume and the dramatics of the shots as these shots are quite long in terms of pace and cut into each other but in a fairly slow and calm way, which in tern creates a powerful presence to the music video. Another aspect of mine-en-scene that has been used very effectively to create this rather intense music video is lighting. The use of rather minimal lighting in different positions is effective as it creates a sharp contrast with the harsh shadows that build upon the eerie atmosphere and power of the characters.
An aspect of the music video for 'Iron' which we found particularly interesting is that within the music video they used three different animals, a dog, a owl and also a horse. When we watched this music video we made the direct link back to the A level music video for the song 'Run Boy Run', which we got our initial inspiration to do the song from. An aspect that we liked about the student video was the fact they included scene of dogs running and a variety of shots of a horse, so it is clear that this group of students got there inspiration to include these from 'Iron' rather then 'Run Boy Run'. The use of the animals in the official music video for 'Iron' is successful in creating the powerful and dramatic appearance that makes this music so effective, as it fits with the beat and unusual genre of the song and artist. This is because the horse rearing and cantering in slow motion is quite dramatic looking in it self, also the close-up slow motion shot of the dog growling and drawling is also a powerful statement and one that may even scare some audiences, also the choice of the owl is effective as it is a bird of pry so the scene with the owl flying above the running dogs and horse is so dramatic looking as it fly's away form the chaos the audience are fully focused and involved in the music and are left in ore of the shot. We like the whole concept of the dogs and horses, so it is something that we could actually use in our music video as we have easy access to these animals which would be an effective addition that we could evolve in our narrative.
The editing involved in the music video has been done in a way that not only goes to the beat of the music but also a way that draws in the audience so that they become tuned into the music. The shots in terms of editing and cinematography intensifies at the same time as the beat of the music, which helps to create that powerful atmosphere and also to help the audience to be focused on the narrative of the music video but also the music itself, which is important as if the music video is big, bold and dramatic audiences or potential ones will remember it which will then make them remember the song and hopefully make them want to buy the song or make them become interested in the artist, as the main aim of the music video is for promotional purposes. I think that this whole concept is very important to artists such as Woodkid as the genre of his music is neofolk which is a very small genre which means the audience will be quite niche, so it is important to make music videos that are big and rememberable. The imagery used of the flag with the key symbol, the large palace type place the young boy and man reading from a book almost creates a hidden narrative as these seem to be some form of hidden meaning that is unknown to none fans of Woodkid's music as it seems to be quite a detailed narrative with imagery that if you were someone watching you would not understand the actual hidden meaning behind the narrative, also these images are also a common theme used through out Woodkid's music videos.
Overal looking at this music video has helped to understand the genre more and what sort of themes and narratives are used in neofolk music videos, and what makes a successful music video. It has also given us some inspiration with the overall theme of our music video and given us some ideas of actual individual shots that we could possibly use.
