Image Research

Album Fonts

I have looked into the different fonts used for album covers within my genre. It is hard to define my genre as although MTKO are predominantly pop and rap, 'Wasted' is more of a soulful, R&B song. I have chosen to research what other pop/R&B/soul artists logos look like, because that's similar to what the theme of my digipak will be. I have noticed that many of these fonts are classic, plain coloured fonts (such as the one used on Sam Smiths album). This can make the genre of the album easily identifiable, and the age of the target audience is obvious. These types of fonts and logos contrast with those used on albums of different genres, for example teen pop or rock.

These are some examples of pop artists that are aimed at a younger audience. These don't have a soul or an R&B influence like the artists above. As you can see their logos are quite different. The logos use bright colours that attract a younger audience. For my product, I will try not to use very bright colours as it doesn't reflect my music videos's genre of music. 

Conventions Analysis of Existing Digipaks

Sam Smith - The Lonely Hour

I have chosen to analyse another of Sam Smiths products as I believe his music and image closely relates to the theme and genre of the music video and digipak I am aiming to create.

Sam Smith is a pop/R&B artist. His album cover is very simple and uses very little colour. The colours are primarily black and gray, and this reflects his music, as it is very deep and black connotes negative feelings, which reflects how his music makes an audience feel. He is dressed very casual and isn't looking at the camera, and he looks quite reflective and upset, which again is how his music intends to make an audience feel. He looks lonely and thoughtful, which is fitting for the title of the album. The font on the album is used throughout, on the back and on the disc, which creates continuity so the album is easily recognizable. The large white font stands out clearly from the black. It is very simple but is very classy, which reflects Sam and his music. It also shows he is more about the music and content of the album rather than design and image.

This poster for one of his concerts is in a very similar style to his album, using the same colour scheme and bold white font. This creates a motif or a logo throughout all his products.

 MKTO

MKTO's self titled debut album is the album in which I took the song Wasted from. Although the song has a very soulful and R&B feel, their music is primarily pop and rap. Their cover is quite different to Sam Smiths, however they are dressed similar to him, which shows similar styles. The picture used is slightly more colourful than Sam's, but it is still just as simple; the artists are in the centre of the frame, dressed in casual clothes and in front of a dark backdrop. The logos however are significantly different, they use a gold font that appears as though it has been written in fireworks. This reflects the pop/R&B vibe. The promotional photos show the artists waving sparklers around, which creates continuity from the album cover. The back of the album uses this image, and a yellow/gold font is used on the back.

Cast List

Mise-en-scene

Costumes

Alice Jordan


For all of Alice's scenes in the music video, she is going to wear a red, formal dress. I chose the colour red because it connotes danger and lust, and as the music video is about cheating, it is fitting because there is obviously lust involved but there's also the danger of anybody finding out about the affair, so I thought red would be an appropriate colour. I have also decided to use red lipstick for the same reason. She will be wearing a coat similar to the one pictured.

Bethany Peart-Hunter

Bethany will be wearing very casual clothes such as oversized jumpers and leggings, because her character has a very simple yet pretty style. Although I want it to look as though she has make little effort, I still want her to look beautiful and make it so that the audience can feel empathy for her, and make the audience like her better than Alice's character. Her costumes will contrast from Alice's to show the contrast in personalities.

Connor Foster

Connor's character will be wearing mostly black throughout the entire video, as the colour typically conotes grief and loss, which is fitting as he is losing someone he loves, and also is a colour typically worn by antagonists or 'baddies' in the media. Although I want the audience to pity him, I want to show that he has done wrong and is guilty therefore black is an appropriate colour. For the performance scenes, he will be wearing a black suit. For the rest of the video, he will wear skinny jeans, smart black shoes and a smart shirt.

Locations

One location I plan to film at is the Jiffy Bar at the Beach Hut Cafe in Hornsea. I chose this location as it fits the type of location I need for the bar scenes. I have spoken to the manager there and they have no problem with letting me use the establishment for filming. I will also be filming at Hornsea sea front at night, because it will give the video a very depressing and dark feel. The scenes in the house will be filmed at my Gran's house in Hornsea, and is it suitable for these parts of the video. I have booked the green room at college for the piano scenes, as I will be able to use a keyer to edit in a black background, which will be fitting for the mood of the video.

Refilming my Video

I had to refilm most of the footage of my music video due to actors being unavailable to film the rest of my video. This means that the footage in my mock won't be used in my final draft. I am using this as an opportunity to improve upon what I have already done, and tweak some things for my final draft that I was unhappy with in my mock. I felt that there wasn't a lot of variation in location for my draft, so refilming will allow me to shoot in different locations as to not make the video uninteresting to watch. Any mistakes I have made in my mock I can now correct when I film again.

A2 Media Music Video Mock