Draft of Digipak

 

This it the sketched draft of the digipak before making it on photoshop. We did a draft so that we had an idea of what we wanted which made the making of the digipak much quickly than if we hadn't done a design previous. 

Poster

This is the poster for our digipak, it shows a picture of the front of the digipak so people can see what the digipak looks like. The colours and design are assosiated with the genre synthpop, it give websites where the songs and digipak can be brought from.

Digipak

 

These are the images of the 6 sides of the digipak. With the background we went with something simple but that does look quite effective, its the four colours that we used in the music video, and the bright colours prepresent the idea of the synthpop genre, similar to the way La Roux uses paint in her music video, Bulletproof. The front cover we went with something simple with the name of the artist and the song title, I think it looks quite effective with the background, because we didnt want something to much as it would of made the cover look too busy. The backcover has the relevent imformation that is standard on most digipak or albums, it has a barcode and websites to do with the artist and places that the digipak can be purchased.  The two inside covers with the hands show the distance at the start bu then prepresent that people can become close. The music instruments represent the genre, as the synthsizer is a key element in the genre as well as headphones.

Digipak Design

Front Cover 

Inside

Back Cover 

Inside 

Inside

Inside

Storyboard

La Roux - Bulletproof

La Roux is a current synthpop artist, and follows conventions that Kraftwerk did. The Video Bulletproof hold the typical style of genre with the bold colours and futuristic appeal to the video. Shapes are used a lot within this video the emphasis the genre. The sounds of the video are very synthesizer based. The imagery within the video is good, about 1:20 into the video there are stairs shown which look like a basic synthesizer, this is good because it makes it clear what genre it is.

Summary of Ideas

Within our music video will be myself, Simon and Rachel. Each of us will use the camera and film our separate groups of friend which as well will have us in. Then we will film ourselves at college in front of a green screen. This will show that just because we have are separate groups it doesn't mean we aren't close, so despite differences we are all the same. In terms of Mise-en-scene the location will be in college and outside of college, props will include items such as a car, footballs, green screen. Within the separate groups each of us will wear a top that makes us stand out then when we get back to college the three of us will wear the same coloured top and in front of a green screen dance around to music, this will show that different groups doesn't mean  that people can’t be close. The idea of wearing the same tops to stand out is all synthpop genre, as Kraftwerk used to wear the all the same outfits.

Feel So Close - Lyrics

I feel so close to you right now
It’s a force feel
I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal
Your love bows down, I mean surround me like a waterfall
And there’s no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now(dance beat plays)
I feel so close to you right now
It’s a force feel
I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal
Your love bows down, I mean surround me like a waterfall
And there’s no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now
(dance beat plays)
And there’s no stopping us right now
And there’s no stopping us right now
And there’s no stopping us right now
I feel so close to you right now…

Consumer Research Questionnaire Results

1. Are you male or female?
Female - 10
Male - 10

2. How old are you?
16-20 - 17
21-25 - 1
26-30 - 0
31-35 - 0
36-40 - 2

3. Do you enjoy watching music videos?
Yes -20
No -0

4. What is your favourite music genre?
Indie - 2
Metal - 6
Synth - 1
R 'n' B - 3
Hip Hop - 4
Rock - 3
House Electro - 1
Dance - 1
Pop - 1
Alternative - 1
Grunge - 1
Funk - 1













5. Have you heard of the artist Calvin Harris?
Yes - 18
No - 2

6. If so, do you like his music?
Yes - 6
No - 12
Sometimes - 2

7. How do you watch music videos?
Youtube - 20
Internet  - 8
Facebook- 4
Myspace - 1
Other (TV) - 2

8. Do you find that music videos have meaning?
Yes - 5
No - 10
Sometimes - 5

9. Would you expect to see Calvin Harris within one of his music videos?
Yes - 14
No - 6

10. Do you make a point of watching the video to your favourite bands newest single?
Yes - 14
No - 6

From the results I obtained it is clear that of the people I asked to complete my questionnaire most of them have heard of Calvin Harris but less than half that have heard of him actually like his music. The results also show that out of the people that completed the questionnaire more liked metal than any other genre. Well over half that completed the questionnaire liked to watch the music video to their favourite band. Due to the location of the questionnaire most of the people were aged 16-20. In conclusion the questionnaire was useful and showed the different types of genre that the audience is interested in.

Research Essay

Synthpop also known as Electropop came around in the 1960s, early 70s in Japan, Germany then later on in England, Early synthpop was described as “eerie, sterile and vaguely menacing”, and later on dance beats were introduced to make the music more upbeat and warmer. Synthpop uses very few instruments, the main one being the synthesizer.

The synthesizer is also known as a keyboard and they are capable of making many different sounds. The first electric synthesizer was invented in 1876 by Elisha Gray. Then later on Robert Moog introduced the first commercially available modern synthesizer in 1964. Synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians; the singers were often part of a duo where the partner would play all the instrumentation. In the 1980s synthpop established the synthesizer as a primary instrument in mainstream pop music.

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music. Genre can be defined and explained in the following ways, with the instruments, style of singing, context and theme. Genre can also be defined by the volume, tone, pitch and the tempo of the music. For example synthpop is upbeat and fast paced music. The iconography can define a genre, for example Punk iconography would be black hair, Mohawk and leather whereas Synthpop iconography would be futuristic themes and bold colours of the spectrum.

Early synthpop artists include Yellow Magic Orchestra that originated from Japan. They helped to pioneer synthpop with their “self-titled” album in 1978 and “solid state survivor” 1979, drawing a wider range of influences then Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk is the band that originated from Germany and follows the iconography of the genre synthpop closely. Other early pioneers of synthpop include British bands Ultravox and Depeche Mode. A large number of artists arose in the early 1980s including Soft Cell, who began to enjoy success with a synthesizer –based sound.

Kraftwerk which means power plant, the band originated from Dusseldorf. Kraftwerk's distinctive sound was revolutionary, and has had a lasting effect across many genres of modern music.

Depeche Mode was formed in the 1980s in Essex and has had an amazing forty-eight songs in the UK singles chart and has sold over 100 million albums and songs worldwide. They are world’s most popular electric band.

The come around of synthpop has been described as “perhaps the single most significant event in melodic music since Mersey-beat”. By the 1980s synthesizers have become much cheaper and easier to use. Synthpop reached its commercial peak in the United Kingdom during the winter of 1981-82 with bands including Soft Cell, Ultravox, Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk enjoying top ten hits. By the end of 1982 Tears for Fears and The Eurythmics had joined the charts.

More recent artists include La Roux, Calvin Harris and Owl City who have appeared in the synthpop genre. Owl City emerged with the single “fireflies” in 2009.

Calvin Harris born Adam Richard Wiles on 17 January 1984 is from Scotland and is a singer, songwriter, record producer and DJ. He was first attracted to electric music when he was in his teen and was recording bedroom demos by 1999. His debut album “I Created Disco” was released on 29 June 2007 and included the hits singles “Acceptable in the 80s” and “The Girls”. This album was influenced by the music from the 1980s. The song “Acceptable in the 80s” is the very typical of the classic iconography of the genre synthpop. His second album “Ready for the Weekend” was released on 17 August 2009 and reached number one in the UK album charts 6 day after its release.

Even though these artists are the same genre, they have very different styles, Kraftwerk is the more classic approach to synthpop with the iconography following the bold, colours and simple but bold approach, whereas Calvin Harris follows the iconography of the genre but with a more up to date approach suiting the audience more.

Music videos allow you to see the song being played whilst seeing the band, which is why people enjoy watching the videos. Music videos are also a form of escapism, allowing people to absorb themselves into the music. People also like to watch videos for the sexual attraction.

There are codes and conventions within genre, typical instruments for synthpop it would be the synthesizer, sounds, typical style of singing and band appearance things such as bold colours, futuristic appearance these are all the same within all music genres. Paradigmatic is what we select from the genre to put into the video and Syntagmatic which is how you combine them within the video, and how it’s edited and filmed.

Group Meeting

3rd October 2011


Items to be discussed:

• What will be the content in the video
• The song; which will be Feels So Close - Calvin Harris

Action taken during the lesson; 

• 200 word summary of idea of the video. 

Action to have done by next lesson; 

• Produce storyboard for the video 
• 200 word summary of ideas.

Synthpop Digipak Examples

This is a live tour for Depeche Mode 97/98. The front cover shows the band, and going across from the back it shows the bands shortened name and the year from the tour. On the back there is some pictures of the band performing live. The theme of the cover would be the band touring, as it shows the American roads in the background. Like all CD/DVD covers it has the symbol of the DVD and the record label.

This is the front cover for the Calvin Harris - Ready for the weekend. It's an unusual cover at it shows a woman's head with some unusual disco glasses on, but the glasses stand for the fact that she is ready for the weekend.

This is the back cover for the Calvin Harris album. It shows the songs that are on the album. The image on the back cover shows the back of the woman's head with all her hair.

 This is the front cover for Kraftwerk's album Autobahn, and autobahn is the German word for motorway. The image on the cover fits in with the name of the album, it shows two cars on the motorway driving in the perfect weather.

This is the back cover to the Autobahn album, it is different to the front as the image is of the band playing live. it has the songs written on the back and you can clearly see in the image that the band is shown playing on the synthesizer.

What's Typical of Genre?

The following codes and conventions are typical of Genres in music:

• Typical instruments - Synthpop uses the synthesizer
• Typical sounds, pace, volume and tempo of music - Heavy metal is fast
• Typical style of singins - Pop would be very layed back light singing
• Context/ Theme - Synthpop has a very furturistic theme/ context
• The band appearence is very typical of genre - Punk bands are all leather, Mowhawk, black colours

Paradigmatic - What we select from Genre to put into video
Syntagmatic - How you conbime them in the video. How it's edited and filmed.

Iconography

Icons

"something which is really typical of the genre"

Edwin Panofsky

1953

Synthpop - Genre

Depeche Mode
Album Art.

Simple album art that stand out. The bold simple colours are typical of the genre Kraftwerk used red originally. 

Calvin Harris
Album Art.

This isn't as typical of the genre as the Depeche Mode cover. For example there is no colour on it, however the design is still similar as its very futuristic based. 

 

Calvin Harris - Feel so close 

I have chosen to analyse this video because this is the song we are going to make our music video for. 

Camerawork: 

The camerawork in this video used different shots to help focus on things in the video. The camera often focuses on the different people, to show the difference, but similarities between them. Mid - angle, low angle, and panning shots are the most common used ones within the music video. 

Editing: 

The editing in this video had been done well, which it should because its a professional music video. 

Sound: 

The sounds from this video is typical of the genre Synthpop, the upbeat tempo of the song, and the synthesizer. 

Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80's 

I have chosen to analysis this music video, because out of Calvin Harris' songs this one best represents the synthpop genre. 

From the video its self we can see the classic iconography of the synthpop genre, the bold colours, and the occur videos, almost like futuristic look. The synthesizer is used. The camera focuses on the characters on the screen. The editing is done, simple match cut.

 

Calvin Harris - Ready For The Weekend

I have chosen this music video as well because like the one above it shows the class synthpop genre. The bright, bold colours of the spectrum. The synthesizer is clearly heard in the background to make the different noises. This video is like the Kraftwerk traditional video's.

Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris, who was born as Adam Richard Wiles, was born on 17 January 1984, in Scotland. He is a singer/songwriter; the genre he does is Synthpop/ Electropop. We have chosen as a group to use Calvin Harris as he is a well known artist and we feel that his songs will be good to produce a music video for. Kraftwerk and Soft Cell were originals for this genre, and bands such as Depeche Mode which is a band I enjoy listening to.

Calvin Harris doesn’t have a certain target audience, but with the type of music genre he sings and the way he is, the target audience would be the younger generation, not elderly people. He appeals to his target audience by his music and the way he dress, because he is young and up to the current trend.

History of Synthpop

The genre Synthpop also known as Electropop first came around in the early 1970’s. The dominant instrument used is the synthesizer which is where it gets its name from. The genre originated in Japan and Germany, with the bands Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk. It arose in the United Kingdom during the post punk era during the late 1970’s early 80’s. Early on Synthpop was described as “eerie, sterile and vaguely menacing” later on dance beats were introduced to make the music more upbeat and warmers, to be contained within the conventions of three minute pop.

Synthpop uses very few instruments if only one which is the synthesizer which makes the music much more original. The very first synthesizer was built in the USA in 1955 but they were very expensive and they were hard to handle. The bands use very simple bold, bright colour schemes. The sort of things that make the genre unique is the way it’s very based on future, the sounds of music makes it futuristic and the way the bands dress.

There are a few key artists within this genre. Yellow Magic Orchestra originated in Japan and where one of the first Synthpop bands and Kraftwerk was a German band to use the Synthesizer. Then later on in the early 1980’s bands such a Soft Cell, Depeche Mode appeared. More current artists to come about would be La Roux and Owl City which have come around during the last few years.  Synthpop reached a peak within the UK in the winter 1981- 1982, with bands Soft Cell, Ultravox, Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk reaching top ten hits. Popular songs of the genre would be songs such as, Fireflies (Owl City), Sowing the seeds of love (Tears for Fears), Here comes the rain again (the Eurythmics) Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode) and Feel so close (Calvin Harris). These songs and artist are considered to be key because they are originals and stick to the conventions of the genre.   

This is the original Synthesizer 

Busted Music Video

 

This is my edited version of the class video remake we did. 

I feel that we worked well as a team to produce a remake of the busted music video. 

My editing isn't as good as it could of been, but it's something I feel I need to work on.

Busted 'What I go to school for' Analysis

Busted 'What I go to school for'
Seconds
0-3: In this clip you see the teachers feet, walking towards the front of the classroom. Its is a low angle, close up shot.








3-4: In this clip the teacher is writing 'sex edu'. This shot is a mid- angle close up shot. 
4-5: In this clip the teacher turns around to Matt smiling, and uses a close up shot on her eyes. 
5-7: In this clip Matt looks at the teacher, smiling. This uses a mid- shot as you can see people either side of him.
7-8: Teacher turns off the light. 
8-9: Matt watches video.
9-10: Animals.
10-11:Teachers eyes. Close up shot
11-15:Charlie watching the screen, main shot
15-17:Watching the screen.
17-20:The girls walk past Charlie and he shakes his head at them. 
21-22: The screen is showing animal sex education
22-24:The camera focuses on Charlie
24-29: The girls turns around to face James and gives him a rather cheesy grin, and his face just looks completely disgusted. This is a mid- angle shot.
29-35:The students walk in and go to their seats.
35-36:The teacher turns around and faces Charlie
36-38:Then back to the teacher.
39-40: Matt then drops the pencil on the floor, low angle.
41-42:Picks up the pencil. Focuses on the pencil as she picks it up.
42-46:This is from Matt's point of view of the teacher picking up the pencil and looking at her.
46-48:All the class go outside and the band have the guitars and everyone is jumping up and down.
48-51:This clip focuses on each of the band members and uses mid shots.
51-54:teacher hands test results to Matt
55-58:Everyone jumping again.
59-1.01:Matt watches the teachers longingly.

CD

The Futureheads CD Analysis

Back Cover

 This is the back cover for the Futureheads CD, its simple but yet it works. The creamy background with the bold black writing make the song names stand out. The band website address is shown on the bottom of the back cover to further promote the band, and the bar code is shown at the top.

CD

 

This is the CD that is included within the case. Its a plain CD, with The Futureheads written on it and that's it. To me its a very boring CD that could of been made to look for appealing. 

Front Cover 

The front cover for the CD case is better than the rest of it, as there is some colour that makes it stand out. Once again it is a simple picture but is appropriate for the band.