I have been given feedback off my peers who looked at my blog and my current ideas. Most of what was said was very positive but there were a couple of points giving me constructive ideas on what I could include to add more detail and hopefully help get a better standard of work. I will go back over my work and include these points and improve on my current work.
For my album cover I want something simple and effective. I started looking at things that are really plain but work very well and look good. I also started looking at black and white album art as I really like how black and white images have a good contrast.
This is the back cover for Bruno Mars' album. I liked this because it's plain and simple. It isn't too crowded or cluttered, and is very clear to read. The colours work well as they compliment each other, and overall it's a nicely presented cover.
These three album covers are what I collected for my black and white research. The first cover is Rihanna's. I like it because as well as being in black and white, it's has minimum other elements but still works well. The image alongside the "R" looks good and isn't too much to take in - it isn't over complicated.
The next album cover is Christina Aguilera's. I think it has the most contrast out of the three as the background is plain bright white and her outfit is pure black. It stands out and is extremely effective. I also like how the text looks like it's part of the wall, like it has been sprayed on.
The final cover, Beyonce's, is quite similar to the previous one but the image is more greyscale. Again, it stands out against the white background and the fact there aren't many elements makes more of a statement and looks more mature.
I hope to interpret some of these elements into my work as I think that they make the artwork more professional.
After looking at the previous lyric videos for music, I went on to research proper music videos with more complex ways to include song lyrics. So far I have only came across a couple, but both videos have two very different ideas which I both like, and hopefully are ideas which I will be able to adapt to my song choice and render into a different particular way which is individual to a style I take on.
The first video I looked at was "What Is Love?" by Never Shout Never.
Firstly, I liked the concept of having particular main words written down on pieces of cardboard as I think this lends a bit of difference to the video. Annotations are then introduced, making the video stand out and more interesting (in my opinion), and also making it more fun to look at. It compliments the song nicely and adds an unusual combination. I especially like the added notes idea so I may find a way to combine the two ideas together.
The second video I found was "Weightless" by All Time Low.
This video has a similar effect to the previous one as it also has annotations, however they are more like signs giving labels to certain people within the video. This aspect of the video is highlighted in a way, as a lot of the time the video footage is slowed down when the annotations appear on screen, so they stand out. They make the video more interesting, giving it something more than the generic conventions.
I hope to also involve something like this in my promotional video as I think it will make it different to just the standard video.
I liked the idea of having lyrics to the song within the frame as the music plays so I decided this is something I am definitely going to include in my music video as I think it adds something more to a simple video and will show I can create more advanced elements in my work instead of the basic conventions.
I researched some videos which had this included in several different ways to try and develop some specific ideas.
I liked this video because of the way it's edited. Although rather simple the transitions and effects used are well done and effective, making the plain video more interesting, especially with the patterns that appear in the background along with the lyrics. How one word moves into another is smooth and I think that I may interpret some of these transitions into my work.
This is another video that relates to what I have said previously and ties in with transitions - the words flow into one another and there are other animations to go along with these lyrics, such as the window and rain at the beginning of the video. This helps me picture what elements I could include in my video and also contributes ideas which I can expand on.
Finally, I looked at the lyric video for the song "Arms" by Christina Perri.
Although this isn't an official music video for the song, I liked the concept of the lyrics being showed using an overhead projection and the letters being scattered into place. This helps me develop unusual and uncommon ideas which I could involve in my own video.
I have put together a mood board which is a collaboration of very general ideas that could be included in my music video. I will be adding to and elaborating these ideas to eventually get an overall video brief and a storyline for my music video.
The coursework brief that I have chosen is the promotion package for the release of an album, including a cover as part of a digipak and a magazine advertisement, so I will be creating a music video accompanied by an album cover, and an advertisement of the album for a magazine.
I have chosen this brief as I take a great interest in music, therefore I think that I will be able to complete this brief in a sufficient way because I will be more interested in the main topic.
Looking back to AS and my first year of Media Studies, I realise that my completed coursework was not as good as I could have made it as I didn't manage my time in an effective enough way. Although I really enjoyed the task, I understand that I need to be more motivated and driven to complete my work to the best of my ability.
There were some technicalities and problems with software and the technology used which did hold me back, but I did learn how to use the programme Photoshop and learned new skills in creating media products.
This year I am going to make sure that I am on top of deadlines and that my work is of a better standard than the previous years.
