Group Magazine Advert (Miss Miller)

1. How did you agree on one magazine advert and work together to develop the advert further as group?

In order to decide fairly as a group we each opened our own magazine advert and then we each voted on which one we preferred to be the basis of our advert. After looking at them all and with the opinion of our fellow class members we decided on Sophie's magazine advert. We then revised each of our adverts to draw inspiration from parts we liked within each one to utilise and improve Sophie's image and so that the image was more representative of us as a group. 

Sophie's individual and our chosen magazine advert 

Our final group magazine advert 

2. Why have you decided to use/change/keep certain elements within your magazine advert and how it has made your poster appeal to your target audience whilst promoting your artist effectively?

Colours

In terms of colours we liked the dull washing out of the colour so decided the use of black and white for the image would be ideal as it added a classical look to the image which is conventional to the soul music genre style. As well as this the use of the black and white suggested how the artist was down and depressed and sees the world without colour an association with happiness. This sad monotonous tone is conventional of the music genre as the music often represents heartache and difficult periods of time. Through connoting this emotion the artist should therefore appeal to the target audience as they can relate to a time similar within their lives allowing them to create a relationship build upon foundations of a simialar emotion. However in adaptation of the image we decided to keep our artist in colour. We intentionally done this as the face of our artist cannot fully be seen so by keeping her in colour it draws attention the the artist as otherwise she merged into the background but in order to promote the artist and appeal to our target audience she needed to be eye caching which was achieved by the contrasting use of colour. In terms of font colours we decided to change from the red to the pink. Although red connoted ideas of love more effectively the pink, which mimics that of the jacket gives the advert a more wholesome, consistent feel ultimately making the magazine look more fluid and therefore professional. 

Images used

As a group we liked the brick wall image as we felt the styling and setting of the video was conventional to our genre and allowed personality to the image. However the original image didn't show the artists face at all so we decided to change the image to the one used by Devon within her advert. This is as even though the artist cannot be properly seen so the artist is not promoted it still allows a glimpse to the audience of her image and look which would be appreciated by our target audience as the image shows her as mysterious enticing them to learn more about her and her music whilst the relatable location makes her seem ordinary and relatable which is comforting and intriguing to audience members as they feel they could be friends helping them to create a relationship. We also chose to adapt the image by cropping out the tunnel and just showing the wall as we felt the tunnel drew attention from the artist and we wanted her to be the centre focal point and ensure audience members are looking at her. 

Layout and design

Through adapting the layout and design of the image the artist is now central to the image highlighting her importance and helping the to draw more attention to the artist. This is important as in coherance with promoting the song the magazine advert should too promote the artist so the central positioning of the characters suggests her importance whilst body language sidewards and not looking directly in to the camera suggests she is shy and scorned by love which connotes the ideas and themes we tried to portray through the video in order to reflect the lyrics of the featured song 'Only Love Can Hurt Like This'.

Typography

On the advert the main font type is bold and written in print form writing with capital letters. This makes the writing clear and therefore easily read which is important as the adverts sole purpose is to promote simultaneously both the name of the album and the artist. We chose to use a large font size with the main writing in order to draw attention and focus away from other writing to dictate what the reader is drawn to on the advert. All writing however supports a hierarchy scheme of which they are important, the name of the artist is seperated from the rest of the typography on the top of the advert to introduce and promote the artist first as well as creating a clear contextual link between the image and the text. The title of the album is situated just below and is drawn between two lines to seperate it and make it appear more clear on the screen. Whilst the date in a slightly deeper shade of pink reinforces the release date but in a subtle undertoned manner. The fluid colour scheme involving pink helps connotate the love within the song whilst the simialar text types and colours utalised; black, white and pink presents the advert and album as interlinking. This helps to then suggest to the audience that the songs within the album link or share a consistant theme. As well as this when in reference to the song the style of typography used is bold lettering which is eye catching and helps to promote the song as it helps to balance of the small choice of font.

Language

The use of colloquial language within the introduction of the song 'Hit' has connections with the success and 
The language used on the digipak I deliberately made simple, to the point and in a colloquial style in order to be easily read and effective for people passing by the digipak but also to link to the cd itself which effectively portrays a story and emotion so the digipak needs to interpret and portray the artist in the same manner.

Shaun's individual magazine advert 

Devon's individual magazine advert 

My individual magazine advert 

·   3. What elements have you taken from each group member and why did you chose incorporated them? From Shaun's image we liked the use of the black and white background so decided to incorporate that into our magazine. We felt this gave our magazine advert a classical simple look which was approachable yet eye catching whilst the simple colour scheme contrasted well with the writing and colour we chose to use on the final magazine advert. From Devon's we like her actual choice of image as the image showed part of our artists face unlike the original image used within Sophie's magazine advert. We therefore chose to use this as by seeing the artist it connects her more to the advert, album and song making her more apparent within the work and making it seem more personal. The visual aspect of her allows the audience to build a relationship with the artist and therefore her song helping to promote the success of the song and album. From my advert we like the utalisation of a sole colour to connect both the image and text upon the image as together they are complimenting make the advert seem more polished and professional. This too was the main draw within Sophie's advert who too chose to pick out a sole colour to include within the image.  

    4. What were the weakness and strengths of each group members advert? Why?

Overall I feel looking at the magazine we each had different strengths and weaknesses. For instance on Shaun's advert his main strength was his use of font and the effect he used to create the shadow like effect which enhanced and complimented the title 'A true reflection'. On the other hand his main weakness was the theme of his advert as his decision to use an enchanted forrest as the background did not conform to the conventions of our chosen music genre instead making it look like the advert for a haunted thriller film as opposed to appropriately showcasing the theme of love within the artists song. 

Devon's main strength on the other hand was her choice of image as she was able to appropriately select an image which appeared both ordinary enough to appeal to our target audience yet showcase the artist in a desirable manner both needed in order for the audience to build a relationship with the artist. In contrast to this Devon's main weakness was her use of colours and fonts. This was as the reflection ontop of the image was unclear so would not be eye catching and memorable for audiences viewing the advert concequently meaning the album would not be successfully advertise defeating the sole purpose of the advert. This was apartly fault of the font which seemed clutered on the page but also due to the colours which did not contrast with the image instead picking out the vibrant green of the grass to compliment the image allowing the title to blend in with the background.

When analysing my own advert I found my main strength was my colour scheme. As a group we liked my decision to pick out accent colours and feature them with the writing to compliment the image without taking over. For instance the image's background is cream so the use of the red lipstick, red towel used as iconography within the image was accentuated due to my similar colour choice of font enabling the image to seem more complete and polished as a whole and confirming the connotations of the album and music genre which supports the theme of love. On the other hand my main weakness was my choice of image. All other group members chose to utalise the image with the brick wall and when comparing the images the brick wall is more approachable and is more representative of the artist. My chosen image, through being intimate and personal did not seem as approachable or dinamtic as a magazine advert.

5. Does your final group advert adhere to the conventions of your chosen music genre?
I believe the use of our image within our final magazine advert correctly conforms to the soul genre as the micro elements utalised highlight the conventional traits of stereotypical adverts. For instance, the body language element within our advert shows the artist coward over and timid which reflects the conventional themes of songs which reflect pain and hurting. As well as this, the colours used throughout the advert suggest either the sad lonely emotions of a relationship collapse reflecting the depression and bleekness which is relatable to the target audience who many would have too experienece painful relationship collapses whilst the pink conotes themes of love. This is conventional to the soul genre also as the music written and perform by soul artist is usually more personal and relateable so the concept of relationships appeals to the mass of the artists target audience.

6. How did you find working as a group to create one final advert for your artist?
As a group I found that we worked extremely well together as both encouragers and also with our comfortability in being critical and picky. Our comfortable nature around one another meant each memeber felt confident speaking up and voicing their opinion which made each member feel valued and important which then benefitted the group as the more imput meant the best of our abilities were combined leaving us with an advert which shows off our skills on photoshop. I am therefore very happy with our final magazine advert as overall combining our ideas we have created something creative and conventional and therefore should be appealing to our target audience. 

Individual Digipak (Miss Miller)

1. Explain why you have created an individual digipak?

I have created an individual digipak as a view of how I feel the images we took of our artist when filming the music video would be best utalised. Through working solo I had the creative freedom to interpret the image I believe our artists should present through effects and enhancements on the photoshop tool. As each member of my group too created their own digipak it will help with the overall digipak we create as we can draw inspirations and ideas from each other so the final digipak not only represents the artist correctly but also our group as a whole. 

·   2. Explain why you have decided to use certain elements within your digipak and how it has made your poster appeal to your target audience as well as promote your artist effectively

o   Colours
Although each image was different and portrayed a different side or personality to the artist to appeal to a variety of audience members my decision to choose romantic, feminine colours throughout such as red, pink and purple ensured that the theme of love was carried throughout, even if subtly which helped combine and link all the images to each other. 

o   Images used
In total to make up the digipak I used 6 different images. Each were heavily linked within the video as they could be seen or featured within a part of the video themselves so it gave an accurate representation of the song. Out of the images 5 of them featured the artist in order to heavily promote the artist as well as her music to appeal to fans who would purchase the digipak. 

o   Layout/design

o   Typography
One form of typography used was an edwardian font as it was old fashioned and fancy which complimented the image; featuring the old fashioned bath, as well as the image and mood the artist expresses within the image. Whilst the artists name is written with a mixture of small and capital letters the title of the album is all in capital letters as it features a smaller font so draws attention and focus bu other means. The writing is positioned on the left hand side of the screen whilst the artists face is on the right hand side reflecting both the artist and her name to make the advert symmetrical running with the reflective theme shown within the image. 

o   Language
The language used within the digipak is colloquial and relaxed. As well as using onomatopoeia words such as smash to represent the success of the song within the personal message to the audience I ensured the words used were easy to read and understandabke and the artists target audience diverges through all different age ranges and social classes so the use of standard words made it accessible and not intimaidating to any of her audiences. Again, this helps with securing the dyers star theory element that an artist should be both ordinary and extraordianry as although what the artist talks about; world tours, unlimited world wide record success, she approaches the subject in a manner which presents her as not big headed and still relateable suggesting that fame has not got to her head which would be comfortable for audiences to see as it confirms her a a role model to generations. 

3. Talk about your weaknesses with using Photoshop – what tools did you struggle with? How did you overcome this?
One tool I struggled with was the cropping out tool. Often I wanted to crop out an image of our artist and place her on the same background, which sported different effects. The lining up and carefully cutting her out was difficult when relaying them together again. This is as it was hard to get them to perfectly line up. To over come this I tried to place the images together as best as possible and then use the blur tool to merge the background and image together making them seem more seem free. 

4. Talk about your strengths with Photoshop – what tools did you use? Do you think this helped you create a successful advert? Why?
One strength of photoshop was my use of filters and lighting. I was able to select appropriate background themes for each of my images that appeal to the style they were. My decision to twek the lighting of the pictures allowed my to highlight and subtly draw more focus and attention to the artist rather than the background helping to ensure she is promoted and identified and not blended in with the scene and locations we chose. This should ensure a successful advert as the artist is well represented so would appeal to fans and audience members. 

5. How do you think creating an individual digipak will help ensure your group produces a successful final digipak?
This was interesting as through using the same images each member of the group was able to create something different and are now able to utilise the best bits of each picture to create the best images and most professional images possible. 

Individual Magazine Advert (Miss Miller)

1.  Explain why you have created an individual magazine advert?

I have created a magazine advert to promote and highlight my artist and her song. However, I created this individually as it allowed me personal creative freedom and to portray the vision I had for my magazine advert so then when we created a group advert we could utilise the strengths of each persons magazine advert to create the best one possible which is an accurate representation of our artist, her song, and our ideas as a group. 

2. Explain why you have decided to use certain elements within your poster and how it has made your poster appeal to your target audience as well as promote your artist effectively?

o   Colours

The colours I chose to use were all neutral colours which complimented the intimate natural image whilst creating a vintage look and theme within the advert which relates heavily to my artists image as well as the soul genre. However for the text I chose to use a red text in order to grab the readers attention and to draw focus to the artists name and album name to promote it successfully. I decided to choose red as it connotes both ideas and themes of love, passion and the juxtaposing ideas of bloodshed and pain both themes within the song. In order to remain focused on the vintage theme however I chose a darker red as I felt it complimented the image more whilst still standing out. 

o   Images used

The image I chose to use was of the artist in the bath. Although a voyestic, intimate image I decided to chose it as the public image of the magazine advert as I felt it would relate to the target audience of females as she is promoting a womans body and figure whilst her allowance for audiences to see her in this way suggests that the album would reflect this and show a 'true reflection' of the artist as the album is a clearer more accurate representation of herself. 

o   Layout/design

The layout I decided to adopt was to crop the image and then reflect it directly underneath the first image in order to reinforce and foreshadow the title 'A True Reflection'. The pictures merged seamlessly together suggesting that the songs on the album link and relate as well as generally presenting the artist and the album as well put together and polished. The angle at which the bath is joined could be shown to be a sidewards heart which gradually and subtly introduces the theme of love to the audience. The text of the magazine advert was made specifically large in order to draw the readers attention whilst position on the line of reflection of the picture with the name of the artist written bolder above to help promote the artist as she would be more inclined to draw fans and persuade them to buy the album if they are part of the existing fan base.

o   Typography

The typography used was an edwardian font as it was old fashioned and fancy which complimented the image; featuring the old fashioned bath, as well as the image and mood the artist expresses within the image. Whilst the artists name is written with a mixture of small and capital letters the title of the album is all in capital letters as it features a smaller font so draws attention and focus bu other means. The writing is positioned on the left hand side of the screen whilst the artists face is on the right hand side reflecting both the artist and her name to make the advert symmetrical running with the reflective theme shown within the image. 

Filming Schedule (Miss Georgiou)

1. Why is a filming schedule important to have?

A filming schedule is important to have as it means as a group we can plan when we are going to film. This is important as it means we can make the most of the time we have to film and use the time best to our abilities. Having a schedule means that we will be much more organised and know exactly when we are filming meaning that we can plan what parts of our music video we are going to film at specific times of meeting. When creating a music video it is essential that we keep to our filming schedule as we only have a limited amount of time to create the music video and would be a bad idea if we wasted our time and would mean that our shots would be unplanned. Having a filming schedule also means that we can prepare ourselves for each of the shots we plan to take as there are numerous locations and different hair and makeup styles we are going to use. Meaning that we will make the shots the best that we can as we will have planned what we are going to film each time we meet up.

2.  Did you follow the schedule while filming, or did you make any changes?

Shot	Date & time	Location	Content /Action	Shot type & Duration	Costume/ hair/ make up	Iconography	Personnel	Equipment
1	10.11.14 2:05pm	Camden	filming artist in front of graffiti wall	establishing shot, capture both the artist and background in shot.	bright layered clothing, conventional to indie culture	none	Artist Camera man, director, producer	Digital camera, batteries, tripod, memory card
2	11.11.14 4:00pm	Lucys house	filming artist in the bath and bedroom	birds eye view shot looking down at the artist in bed.	artist wearing underwear and a dressing gown with minimal makeup and red lipstick	lipstick, bed, mirror	Artist Camera man, director, producer	Digital camera, batteries, tripod, memory card
3	14.11.14 1:00pm	Lucys house	filming artist sitting at the dressing table doing her makeup	Over the shoulder shot as the artist is doing her makeup looking in the dressing table	artist wearing underwear and a dressing gown with minimal makeup and red lipstick	dressing table, makeup	Artist Camera man, director, producer	Digital camera, batteries, tripod, memory card
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Planning Digipack (Miss Miller)

1. What is the importance in creating a digipak as opposed to a jewel CD case?

Promote artist, building relationship with target audience, how they are effective
A digipack is important to create as opposed to just as CD case as it helps to promote an artist and their album further through increasing it's recognition Palomas fans will be more aware of it and therefore buy it whilst new audiences would through constantly seeing the album realised the success of Paloma and may be swayed to buy the album subconsciously or in order to see what the fuss is about so in a way the album can act as a constant reminder of upcoming album. As well as this an artist may do this in order to reach a wider target audience as people that read magazine as well as listen to music. To further this other reasons may be to link in with other advertisements of the albums to create more marketing which would help them get support from other companies that could push sales further.

2. Why is planning important in terms of creating an effective digipak?
Planning is important as a digipak contains lots of elements to do with the artist and the song and is used as a form of media to join these elements together and make them easily accessible. Its therefore important we plan the digipak in order to ensure that the digipak as a whole relates to each other and has a consistent theme throughout. 

3. Why have you decided to use certain elements within you digipack?

Colours
In terms of colours I decided to split the album and face of the artist down the middle making one half with colour, for instance red, yellow, orange and the other a monochrome side with shades blacks, greys and white. The colours red , yellow and orange connote themes of fire and heat as they are warm shades. Through doing this they help show to the audience the fiery side of the artists personality as a character giving them greater insight into what the artist is like as a person which is important when creating an advert as you want the audience to gain a better understanding of the artist so they can admire and build a relationship with them. As well as this the fiery side suggests towards the heat within both relationships showing that love can be intense and passionate and this often leads to fiery arguments as the passion is so strong.
On the other hand the shades black and white compliment and contrast with each other showing things as simple and classic which can relate to Paloma's song 'Only love can hurt like this' as they style of the song is conventional to the soul genre which reinforces the classic idea whilst the song its self is simple and repetitive which allows the audience to learn it with ease. This could also reflect the beginning of relationships shown within the song as they start off relaxed, happy and simple with little need or desire to disagree. Then the colour grey is then presented as a 'grey area' of one of concern and hurt where the down side to relationships is shown.
The two contrasting sides are meant to be reflection on the title 'A perfect contradiction'.  th other showing things as simple and classic which can relate to Paloma's song 'Only love can hurt like this' as they style of the song is conventional to the soul genre which reinforces the classic idea whilst the song its self is simple and repetitive which allows the audience to learn it with ease. This could also reflect the beginning of relationships shown within the song as they start off relaxed, happy and simple with little need or desire to disagree. Then the colour grey is then presented as a 'grey area' of one of concern and hurt where the down side to relationships is shown.

Images used 
The only image used on the magazine advert I created is a picture of the artist one side with her happy the other side her sad and unhappy merged together to recreate her face. This could be shown to say how up and down the emotions within the songs are as the songs are about love which connotes ideas of happiness and contentment whilst the songs also demonstrate the bad often not though about sides of love which involve heartbreak, bitterness and resentment over the partner you once loved showing how love doesn't last forever. 

Layout and design 
The layout and design show the artist in the middle of the advert showing how important she is and promoting the artist as current, in your face and popular. By showing her face this allows the audience a greater insight into the look of the artist allowing them to see her at close range so they can develop a relationship with the artist which is important when trying to satisfy and keep existing fans engaged with the artist but also for new listeners as their interest in the artist is whats going to spike sales and create new loyal fans for the artist. 

Typography 
The type of lettering used within the magazine advert is bold, with a fancy font. The use of this style of writing shows the album to be fluid and interlinking suggesting that the songs within the album are link or share an interlinking theme of love. As well as this when in reference to the song the style of typography used is bold lettering which is eye catching and helps to promote the song as it helps to balance of the small choice of font. 

Language 
The language used on the digipak I deliberately made simple, to the point and in a colloquial style in order to be easily read and effective for people passing by the digipak but also to link to the cd itself which effectively portrays a story and emotion so the digipak needs to interpret and portray the artist in the same manner. 

4. How did you find this useful in relation to taking pictures for your digipak as well as preparing you for the use of photoshop?

Through planning our digipack I now have a better understanding of how I want the artist to appear to the audience so going forward I know the exact emotions, facial angles and effects I want to apply to the picture to portray the character of the audience. 

Planning editing styles (Miss Georgiou)

1. Why is are variety of editing styles essential within a music video?
A variety of editing is essential as it helps emphasis and reinforce the lyrics and scenario from within a music video. Having a variation causes the audience to be constantly entertained. Editing is also very important within a music video as the cuts and change of shots within a thriller create a sense of uneasiness and uncertainty which is important within a thriller and trying to show the emotions of the central character or victim.

2. What styles of editing are you planning to use within the music video?
Flash Backs 
1) Is it conventional to your music genre?
Flash backs are conventional to the soul genre as songs within the genre often portray negative emotions of hurting and despair usually linked to love and so the use of flashbacks are often utilised in order to present to the audience either the reason the couple have broken up or to show them at happier times in either a bid to contrast from the song or explain the situation so that the audience feel sympathy and a greater insight into the song and the artists lifestyle. This involvement can then help the audience gain a better grasp of the artist helping them create a relationship and they understand periods of their life just as with a friend making the fans feel the same and relatable to the artist making them appeal even more to audience members.  
2) How does the editing style help to represent your artist?
This editing style presents the artist as nostalgic and as a reflective person. It suggests that they do not necessarily live in the now and towards the future saying thats its ok to relive and relish in past memories to make you understand and appreciate the now. 

Slow Pace Editing 
1) Is it conventional to your music genre? 
Yes, slow paced editing is very conventional to the soul music genre as they allow us to reiterate how the artist is feeling as slow shots in the video create a mellow yet monotonous feel within the video showing how life has stood still and is not carrying on at its usual face pace self as every moment alone is agonising and therefore drawn out. The slow paces used will appeal to our target audience as it allows us to make them feel chilled out and mellow. This will appeal to our audience as the purpose of a soul music is to relate to the audience through emotions and the lyrics so this slow paced approach will help them digest the lyrics easier helping them gain a better understanding of the song and artist allowing them to create a closer link and deep personal reference to the song. 
2) How does the editing style help to represent your artist?
The editing style timing of shots is used without this scene to highlight the different feelings experienced by the artist. The slow pace 

5. How will planning your editing styles help in the preparation of creating your thriller film? 
Planning the different editing styles we were going to use is very useful as now, when filming, we have an idea of how long to carry on the scene so that the fluidity between scences can be achieved. As well as this deciding which editing styles to use before hand allows us to speed up the editing process as now we can make quick decisions when editing each scene rather then having to decide afterwards. To add to this planning this also made sure we included a variety of editing styles and techniques so when it came to the final cut of our music video it can appropriately demonstrated our skills learned.

Storyboards (Miss Georgiou)

1. What is the purpose of a group storyboard?
The purpose of a story board is to create a more realistic feel for your narrative. It helps the narrative come to life and highlights if theres any errors in my videos plot and if any shots are unrealistic. It also allows me to create a time frame onto each shot so I can have a better understanding as to whether I need to edit or lengthen my storyboard and scene. Each of the frames contain information of how i want my want my shots to come out of and included camera shots, location, iconography, lighting, lighting, actors, sound, editing and narrative information. After giving out this description I then drew a picture which links with the description I have written and gives an idea of what the scene will hopefully look like.  

2. Why have you created a storyboard?
I found creating a story board very useful as it help me visualise my ideas and help them come to life. This gives me an overall idea of where I would want the actor to be positioned and what mise-en-scene I would want to be present in each clip. This will help when creating a group story board as our ideas will be easier to explain and demonstrate to the group, meaning decisions can be made quickly as to whether or not we would want to take the idea any further and incorporate it into our final story board.