Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Digipak Analysis

This digipak is very simple. It also has a very unclean/untidy feel, shown partly by the cigarette.


The track list, on the left, also gives off a sense of untidiness or disorganisation as the tracks do not have numbers.


The record label, Domino Recordings, is shown at the bottom of the back cover.


The name of the album is not shown on the front cover, which is unusual but also gives off the sense of disorganisation. Its shown on the spine.


The sleeve containing the CD is very simple - plain black with plain white writing - the album name.

Kings Of Leon Magazine Advert Analysis

 

 

The band has used the same main image as in their album cover to evoke a sense of synergy between the two products. This means that someone, after seeing the advert, will easily recognise the album.

 

This advert shows some of the songs that are on the album. This helps to attract customers who heard and liked the songs when they came out as singles.

 

The adverts shows the band's record label, advertising them to people who like this music.

 

The title of the album matches the colour scheme of the picture above it, helping to make the advert more appealing to the audience.

 

The band is well advertised as you can clearly see the name at the top of the page in white text on a black background.

 

 

Analysing this magazine advert will help me when making my own, as it has shown me the value of including the same image for the advert and the digipak to create a sense of synergy.

 

 

Rough Digipak Plan

Here is my draft digpak design:

 

I have chosen to feature the car on the front panel because it is heavily featured in the music video. This links the two products and creates a sense of synergy.

 

The pictures would be in black and white to connote the dull feeling of not being able to sleep. The 'Ben Hesketh' and 'Lyrics' panels would have black backgrounds to connote the night-time setting.

Finished Britney Spears Video

Here is the remake of the start of the music video to Britney Spears' "Hit Me Baby One More Time". The class split into groups to remake a different portion of the first 1:20s. We matched the framing and timing of each shot by editing it in splitscreen with the original video.

Doing this has helped us to grasp how fast paced music videos usually are and also has helped us with learning about how to lipsync.

Student Music Video Analysis - Stuck (A Grade)

Genre
The genre of the song and video is electronic indie pop, which is also the genre of the artist.

The music video has a fairly typical, straightforward narrative, which isn't always a characteristic of videos in the genre. In the storyline, a boy and his friends assault a classmate and then the main character, who is also the lead singer, feels guilty about the incident.

The theme of guilt is expected in this video due to the lyrics of the song. For example, the lyric, "My eyes are stuck in a gaze reflecting every move you make. Another one trapped in a maze, repeating all the same mistakes", shows that he feels guilty about something he's done - "repeating all the same mistake".

There is not much about this video that is unexpected as it conforms to most generic conventions of the genre.

There are no intertextual references in this music video.


Visual Codes
The video is set in the following locations:

• A field
• A gym
• A dark room
• A fire pit
• A road
• An alley
• A bedroom

Most of the areas where there is no lip syncing involved are very open, for example the field or the road. However, the locations where the lead singer lip syncs are dark, enclosed rooms. This could connote how before, he felt free but after he assaults the boy, he feels trapped in his own guilt.

Many of the shots in this video (the shots of before and after the incident) have been coloured to be very grey. This connotes the lead singer's guilt as he is blocking it out and trying to forget what happened.

The writing at the beginning of the song, ""Stuck" Canopy Climbers", is in a very bold, plain font. This connotes how the storyline will be fairly simple.

The worms eye view of the boy punching the punch bag could connote his determination to protect himself from anyone who tries to hurt him again.

The framing of some of the lip syncing shots puts the singer directly in the middle, making it clear that he is important and making him stand out against the plain background.

The body language of the  singer in the following shot shows that he is overwhelmed by his guilt.

Technical Codes
During the assault scene, the camera work is very shaky. This helps to connote the frantic mood of the situation and looks almost as if one of the characters filmed it themselves. The movement of the camera in the assault scene helps to connote the fear of the boy.

The editing pace varies in this music video. For example, at the beginning, it is moderate but during the assault scene, it begins to move at a much faster pace.


Audience
The target audience for this music video would be teenagers, between 13-19 in BCD demographics. This is shown by the behaviour of the characters in the video, which is also stereotypical of this demographic.

The video targets this demographic by using young actors and having the story focus around young characters.


Representation
Males are represented very stereotypically in this video, as they are seen to need to establish their dominance over other people. However, the main character breaks the male stereotype as he is seen crying in some of the shots, which is stereotypically seen as a feminine thing to do.

The main character is also seen arguing with a female character that seems to be his girlfriend. He is quite assertive and violent, which is also stereotypical of males.

The artist has not been represented in a positive light or as a celebrity in this video. It is more like the video is the artist's confession of guilt as he is disappointed in himself.


Narrative
The storyline of this music video is that a boy and his friends assault a classmate and the main character feels guilty about the incident.

There is a strong theme of guilt, as he knows he has done wrong.

The video mostly incorporates Todorov's narrative structure:

• Equilibrium - at the beginning where the main character is sitting in a field with his friend
• Disruption - the assault
• Recognition - he feels guilty
• Attempt to repair - he apologises
• The new equilibrium is not reached as he is not forgiven by the boy#

Analysing this music video will help when creating our own, as the shot compositions are very well thought-out and they are appealing to the audience. Therefore, we will make sure to pay attention to the framing and timing of our shots to ensure that the viewer remains interested in the music video.