Advert

Advert Analysis

I am going to analyse 2 different adverts from my chosen genre Hip Hop and R&B as I will be gaining inspiration from them to create my own advert that will extend from the Digipak that I have already created. They will work as a package, using similar colour schemes and images to create a connection between the Digipak and the advert, so that when the audience view the two together or separately theycan clearly see that they belong to the same artist and album.

Firstly I am going to analyse this advert for the R&B artist LL Cool J album 'Exit 13'.

From a quick look at this advert the viewer can tell the genre of the music it is advertising as well as who the artist is very clearly, these two elements being the most important. The image of LL Cool J is also very important in the costume and body language in translating to the audience who the person is and what they are about. The costume colours correlate with the colour of the text and background of this image, this is very important to carry out continuity and keep the advert attractive to the target audience. Using a simple colour schemes can be very effective as shown in this advert.

The image being large and prominent works well as the audience can easily recognise LL Cool J and the composition works very well in fitting the text in without spoiling the image.
The use of simple colours on this advert, I feel works very well in attracting the viewers attention and makes the message loud and clear to read without being overpowering.

The size of the release date typography is larger than the album name but smaller than the artist name, this is because the artist's name is the most prominent and important part of the advert. The release date is secondly important as well as the image to connect with the viewer and make sure they know when the album will be out to buy, to generate income and profit.

This is an advert for an urban night at a club including Hip Hop and R&B music.

As a viewer I can almost immediately tell what genre this advert belongs to through the use of colours, images and text, these are all conveying the genre to me at once. This then will draw in the right target audience- people who enjoy this type of music. The colours in the advert also connote a reggae theme as this genre of music often uses these colours in advertising, clothing and make up. The use of the dark black images of sky scrappers and large buildings connote an urban feeling. The use of palm tree's connote a holiday, summer feel to the advert,making the image seem interesting and exciting. The use of white text works very well against the coloured background and black images as it really stands out and is easy to read. The name of the night is the largest font size meaning this is the most important element of the advert in attracting the right target audience. The name of the club is then a little smaller but just underneath the name of the club night which advertises the location to the audience which is very important to be easily visible. The price for the night and the opening times are in the smallest font size as these are of secondary importance, allowing the audience to find the vital information easily but not before they know what type of night it is. The price could also put viewers off if that is the first thing they see.

Advert Flat Plans x 2

These are my 3 flat plans for my advert. I chose the 1/4 A4 page as I feel this size would work the best in a music magazine on a page as it would catch the viewers attention and make them want to look more closely at what the advert is. I feel that this size would also be good for promotion through letter boxes for example or in music shop counters and they would not take up much space and would be reasonably easy to exhibit.

I think the first flat plan works the best for Wu-tang Clan as it would have a good ratio of image to their name which would both work well in attracting the audiences attention. I feel the black tittle with red behind it will stand out and catch the viewers eye, almost distracting them. I feel the 5 stars from each of the music magazine reviews would give the advert relevance and make it seem worth paying attention to as well as the fact the CD/Digipak would be Wu-tang Clan's greatest hits which could be seen as a collectors item. The use of a white background with black text would stand out and look simple yet effective.

I think the second flat plan could work quite effectively as the composition is quite conventional and the public like to see familiarity but on the other hand they also like to see new things. I decided not to use the second flat plan idea as I felt it was too conventional and neat for a rap/Hip Hop group.

Finally the third flat plan is quite different featuring only one of the characters and being behind the text, when designing this I was trying to create a more abstract and less conventional composition to attract a new audience as well as Wu-tang Clan's fans. I feel that Wu-tang Clan's name is more famous than the groups faces which is why I made the text so large. Even though this design is quite original and abstract I feel it would probably not work the best as an advert as it does not advertise that the digipak is 'The Greatest Hits' which could attract more people also that the page may look a bit bare without many images.

Completed Advert

This is the advert that I created, I followed the guidelines of my flat plan quite well with a few changes in colour. I chose to make the background black as I created the Digipak first and black worked better as the background, for continuity sake I made the advert have the same colour scheme. I have made the image of the group colour as Hip Hop is a colourful genre of music and I feel that an advert needs to have colour to attract a viewers attention.

From feedback from the social networking site Facebook, I have gained an understanding of what other people in my target group (woman and men aged between 16-49) think about my advert. This is the link to the group I created which features my work and the comments from different people. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_164000423656748&ap=1

I have received mostly positive feedback for my advert with the only criticism being that in one persons opinion the image of the group should be black & white, to be coherent with my digipak. Although this may be a valid point I still feel the advert works best with the image being in colour as it stands out more and makes it seem more exciting and eye catching. I feel that the rest of my advert is still very coherent with my digipak even the image being in colour.

I have gained many skills through creating this advert such as research skills: looking at similar genre of music adverts and gaining inspiration from them. I have also become more confident in using the programme Adobe Photoshop to create the advert and edit the image. I feel I have become more competent at using it. I have also learnt to take feedback positively and to try and improve on it if possible.

Digipack

A promotional pack is everything used to promote a song or an album for example, an advert on television, a poster, an album cover and the video. It is all of these elements combined together to promote an artist's new song or album and get the audience excited and interested.

The video and the digipak need to be linked in some way to keep to a certain theme. The artists costume, single/album cover and video should seem like part of a whole package and create the same image for the artist or band. Elements such as mise-en-scene like costume, setting and the use of colour help to create this coherence.

A digipak is a DVD cover that features the song and video of the artist. It usually has 4 images on the back and front of the pack and both sides on the inside. This attracts the audience with the use of many images, the front cover image being the most important and prominent as this is the first image the public would see on a shop shelf for example.

Analysis of Wu-tang Clan digipak

This is a current cover of Wu-tang Clan's DVD digipak.

The use of red colour on the digipak connotes danger and violence which is a key stereotype of Hip hop music. The use of the image of New York shows the group's home town and suggests they feel proud to be from there, this also connotes the Hip hop genre.

The use of the groups logo on the cover promotes the group's name and makes it

easily recognisable for the target audience. I feel the use of the white large text used for the groups name and the quotes really compliments the cover as the white text stands out against the red background tint. Bringing the viewers attention to the text.

The use of photographs of the group inside their logo works really well as it looks quite abstract and interesting again enticing the viewer. It also adds a personal touch as the audience will enjoy seeing what the different members of the group look like and if they feel they can relate to them in some way, for example they may have similar clothing- follow the same fashions.

The use of the quotes makes the DVD look worthwhile buying and watching for the public, it immediately stands out and shows the accomplishments the film has made. This is furthered by the nominations at the bottom of the cover. This makes the film and cover look extremely professional and it seems to be recognised by industry professionals which would help in attracting the public to buy it.

This is the back cover of the DVD digipak for Wu-tang Clan

The use of continuity on the back cover is effective and makes sense to the viewer, the back is part of the front cover so must look the same. The use of the same red theme and background of New York has been continued onto the back again creating a natural flow for the viewer to look at. The use of large images from the video give the audience an insight into what the film is about and who is in it, this will help to increase how many people buy it, as they will have a chance to see what they are buying into.

The use of an introduction on the back of the cover invites the audience to find out more about the story of Wu-tang Clan as well as to establish what the film is about.

The use of the special features section is good for two reasons; one being that it entices the audience into buying the product as these features may not be available anywhere else and the second reason being that it makes a space between the two lines of pictures creating a good visual balance and giving the viewer a chance to find out more and then view attractive images.

The various logo's on the back of the digipak advertises the different companies associated with the video as well as showing the viewer that these are successful and well known companies and that it would be worth buying into their product.

Analysis of Talib Kweli Digipak

The use of dark cloud in the background of this cover creates a tense atmosphere together with the barbed wire and dead birds with blood this scene looks very scary and dangerous, this connotes the rough area's many people in Hip Hop come from. The use of graffiti type text with paint dripping down creates an urban feeling and puts a genre to the cover as well as the stencilled font which also provokes a Hip Hop genre feeling. I feel the use of the image of Talib Kweli very interesting as it creates tension as well as mystery, the viewer cannot completely identify the person behind the hat and shadow, this is very effective and makes the overall cover very eye catching and interesting. The longer a viewer spends looking at a digipak cover, the better as that means it has been successful, I find I could look at this cover for a very long period of time. The clothing in this image is very typical of Hip Hop music which again confirms the genre of music for the viewer, this can be very important in attracting the right audience to buy the digipak. Overall, I feel the front of this cover is very effective.

Continuing the theme onto the back of the cover is very effective as it flows naturally and is attractive to look at for the viewer. The use of the theme of the dead birds is very effective and quite disturbing, this leads me to believe that this album is going to of serious subject matter, possibly even political. The barbed wire connotes imprisonment or oppression which again connotes a political message to me as a viewer. The image on the back is more identifiable of who the character is, yet his focus is elsewhere which makes my eye follow and wonder what he is looking at creating mystery, a very good technique in attracting the viewers attention. The colour scheme connotes military or army which again fits in with the barbed wire theme. I feel the text of the title of the CD as well as the track listing leaning to one side compliments the theme of mystery as something doesn't seem quite right. Another reason why this works is because Hip Hop is not a very strict and neat genre it can be very free flowing and natural which is why the text leaning to the side works very well.

These are my 3 flat plan ideas for my digipak.

I feel that this first flat plan is the most effective in it's composition and use of many images as it could attract the viewers attention. I feel the use of many images makes the cover seem more personal and relateable for the viewer and hopefully the purchaser. The use of the large Wu-tang Clan logo would also aid the cover in attracting the right target audience and the logo is quite universal in that it is well known and famous, if not more famous than the actual groups faces. I feel that the red, black and white colour scheme will look very effective and stand out, these 3 colours are very strong but work very well together. The only problem with this ideas however is the lack of space for text and too many images.

I like the simplicity of this flat plan as it is almost in stark contrast to the previous design. I feel the use of the motif of the Wu-tang Clan logo holding the images of the group could look quite effective, however it may be quite difficult to create the desired effect in practise. Again the white, black and red colour scheme has been used in this design as I feel these colours are very eye catching and work well together as well as connoting with the Hip Hop genre. A problem with this design is that once I had found the digipak of Wu-tang Clan to analyse I realised they were too similar and that I must have gained inspiration for the design from the original digipak without realising it.

I feel that the simplicity of this flat plan could work very well, however the front cover not featuring an image of the group may not work in it's favour as the viewer may not connect to the cover as much as if it was an image of a person. The size of the Wu-tang Clan title being very large and bold works well for this design as it suits the simplicity and would stand out on a shelf in a shop. It would probably attract the fans of Wu-tang Clan more than generation new ones which may be a downfall of this design.

Completed Digipak

This is my Digipak front and back cover.

This is the inside of my Digipak.

I have received really positive feedback from my digipak on the social networking site Facebook, this is the link to the group I created which features my work. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_164000423656748&ap=1

I received compliments on the colour choices I have made, the layout looking professional as well as the edit of the photograph on the front cover. I also received compliments on the editing of the image on the inside of the digipak as well as the quote I used at the bottom as well as the overall colour of the digipak.

I feel I have gained many skills creating this digipak, such as, confidence in using Adobe Photopshop, a much better idea of how to analyse different texts, thinking about composition as well as colours schemes and what they may connote to the viewer. I feel I have managed to work well in a group as well as on my own, creating a good balance between the two. I feel I have managed to organise myself quite well as well as organise the rest of the group to get things done by certain deadlines. Although it has been quite a challenge I have enjoyed creating and doing all of this project.

My digipak is quite different to the flat plans I originally designed as through the course of the project I found that I was not able to use the Wu-tang Clan logo which changed my idea a lot as I was going to make the logo a big feature of my design. I am quite glad that I was not aloud to use the logo as part of my deigns as I feel it made me think of a more individual idea that did not look too similar to Wu-tang Clan's other digipak's. I have still kept the key themes such as the colour theme which I am very happy with.

Rejected ideas

These are examples of ideas that I tried out but decided not to use because they were not as effective and as eye catching as the ideas I ended with. I tried a white background for my digipak but I felt it looked too washed out and didn't suit the Hip Hop genre very well so I decided to use a black background. The grey background of the front of the digipak idea again looked too washed out as well as the image not being composed very well. I decided that this idea of the digipak inside has too much going on and was not attractive to the eye so I drastically simplified it and I am much happier with my final decision.

Shooting Diaries

As a group I feel we have come across a few common setbacks to our filming.
At first there was a problem with finding actors who were brave enough to act out in front of the camera and the crew, as many of the people the group and I had asked to act had never been filmed in any way before.
This then resulted in the idea of having 6 different female actors in the video for each verse of the song being scrapped and changed to just 3 female actors having 2 verses each to mime and act out to.

Another problem that occurred was a result of loss of a few weeks filming time trying to find actors, the TV Studio in which we decided to film in was fully booked for the next few weeks but the kit (cameras and lighting equipment) were still available. As a group we decided to use one of the college classrooms to film our video in, we felt this would be quite a challenge to create a studio feel to the video but we were eager to rise to the challenge.

09/02/2011 Finally filming day came a few weeks into our filming time, which was quite worrying but at least the day had come.
We set up a green screen across one of the walls of the classroom, cleared the tables and chairs to the sides and set up the lighting rig, cameras and tripods. We had to use black tape across the blinds on the windows to block any sunlight that was seeping through to create the desired lighting effect.
As the group and I were performing test shots and getting the lighting and staging right the actors were trying to learn their lines for the last time.
We finally started filming a few verses, sometimes up to half a dozen times to get the shot, figure expression and miming just right.
As the actors were struggling to remember their lines I had the idea of writing cue cards with the song lyrics on for them to read while they were performing as reminders, I feel this really helped them and they managed to pull off their lines very well.

We managed to get 3 of the verses filmed leaving 3 verses to film another day. The group and I filmed for the most part of a whole afternoon. At the end of the day I was feeling very relieved that we had started filming after weeks of worrying. But I also felt very proud of the actors for being professional and taking the project seriously and of my group for being professional and making decisions together and sometimes compromising for each other.

11/02/2011, 18/02/2011 were meant to be editing days but unfortunately due to absences in the group on these days this did not take place.

As a result of the actors busy lives we had to delay filming for a further 2 weeks after the first shoot, which was very worrying for me as we needed time to edit the footage. But there was still enough time to get our filming done in time.

03/03/2011 unfortunately due to lack of available equipment and some cast unable to attend the day we had to reschedule once again.

This time we managed to book the TV Studio for filming which makes the day a bit easier as the equipment is all closer and there are technicians to help us with any problems we might come across as well as a more light tight area which makes it easier to get the lighting perfect. This day will be the 09/03/2011.
Unfortunately I turned up to the filming day but none of the crew were able to attend and told me at the last second.

11/03.2011 We planned to edit all of our footage this day but unfortunately due to absences we were unable to shoot the second half of the video. Capturing back was finally started of the first video.

16/03/2011 Being quite far behind in the filming process instead of doing any last shots today we managed to film the last half of the video successfully.

18/03/2011 Capturing back of all of the footage took place as planned.

22/03/2011 Due to every one's busy timetables we have been unable to do any editing today, we hope to reschedule to do some editing on the 23/03/2011.

23/03/2011 We planned to edit today, unfortunately a few people in the group could not attend but we were able to get through half of the footage putting in the cuts that were needed between each shot.

25/03/2011 Editing took place as planned and we managed to finish cutting all of the footage. We began to start choosing what footage we wanted to use.

30/03/2011 We planned to be near the end of editing today but due to be being behind schedule we are not near the end of editing.

1/04/2011 I managed to book a four hour session of editing time for today. In this session we managed to get all of the footage we wanted to use into a sequence and in order. As well as starting to adds inter cuts, with a range of different shots to add interest for the viewer.

4/04/2011 I managed to book another two hour slot for editing today. In this session we managed to complete the footage editing with a few tweaks to complete. Unfortunately we did not manage to complete our video for our aimed date due to absences and a slow start to the production of the video.

8/04/2011 As a group we managed to complete the video in this session, making last minuite touches such as a fade out of the track and footage at the end of the video as well as editing the gamma and brightness and contrast.

I feel I have managed to cope with many problems along the way as well as cope with problems together as a group. A few of the main problems that arose were the lack of actors for our initial idea of 6 female actors to 3 female actors, we managed to plan around this and got the actors to do 2 verses of the song each, changing their clothes in each verse. Another problem was the absences within the group, counting on many people is very hard and a challenge as well as managing to organise plans around every one's busy timetables. Finally another problem was continuity, we had to make sure that the lighting in the video was as similar as it could be as well as the setting and costumes. I managed to get over this problem by keeping a note of what clothes the actors were wearing as well as the lighting and filters we used and camera angles, I feel we have managed to achieve this as well as we can considering we shot the video in 2 separate sittings. We managed to recreate the studio effect in a classroom by clearing all of the tables and chairs away, taping up a green screen, setting the lighting rig up and cameras and tripods as well as we could.

I feel I have put a lot of effort into the video, I have contributed most of my time to planning, shooting and editing the video. I found having to rely on other people in the group a bit of a challenge as plans did not always happen or meetings would get cancelled at the last minute but that is part of working in a group. I was also in charge of writing and keeping the cue-cards as well as bringing in most of the costume. I worked on the cameras, using creative decisions as a group and on my own to make the shot look as we planned. I helped set up the studio and in getting the lighting right. Finally I attended every editing session that we did as a group as well as being in charge of planning them. I played a part in the editing process in actually editing as well as making creative decisions about the editing.

Unfortunately we ran out of time towards the end of editing and were unable to complete the video to the standard that we hoped, we wanted to add more cuts as well as different backgrounds onto the green screen although I am very happy with the video as a lot of hard work went into it especially mine. I know appreciate how hard it can be to work in a group and having to rely on other people as well as how hard it is to make a music video and just how long you need to create one.