Ancillery Task 2 (magazine advertisment for DVD 1)

After reaserching magazine advertisments for albums i noticed that many of these advertisments incorporated the album cover into them. I decided to follow this theme by including my designed album cover in my advertisment and making it the main image.

I also found that the adverts included reviews from other sources. Having found this out i decided to include three reviews from rock/metal magazines. The first review is "KKKKK" from Kerrang magazine, in Kerrang magazine the review of a certain number of "Ks" is a substatute for a certain number of stars which other things are rated by. The review of 5 "Ks" shows that
this is a top quality DVD and people will want to buy it. The second review is from the well known metal magazine called Metal Hammer, a review from this magazine will achieve great publicity for the DVD as most rock/metal fans will read Metal Hammer. The review states "The Finnish invasion starts again" this shows that the band are from the scandanavian country Finland, this will help the DVD sell as Metal bands from Finland are hugely popular in the Metal scene. The last review is from the magazine Rocksound and it says "A debut masterpiece". A review in Rocksound will make more people know about the DVD as Rocksound is more of a mainstream rock/metal magazine which means more people will read it then the amount that read rock/metal magazines that are more underground. So having a review from, and in Rocksound will advertise it to more people and therefore increase the number of potential buyers.

At the bottom of the advertisment i have included the logo for the record company Nuclear Blast Records. This is a well known metal record company that mainly has Finnish bands within it. This will be helpfull when advertising the DVD as Nuclear Blast Records is a well known record company and will achieve great publicity for the DVD.

Ancillery Task 1 (DVD cover design 2)

Having gone with the ancient Egyptian theme in design 1 i decided to make an alternate design. In this design I of course went for the same band name and the same song name. In this alternate design all I changed was the centre Image. I chose the image of a timer as it symbolises 'The sands of time' and in this image all the sand has almost fallen to the bottom of the timer which creates the image that time is almost up which connects to the song title The Funeral of Hearts as the phrase time is almost up means you are close to death and following a death is a funeral.

Ancillery Task 1 (DVD cover design 1)

Having researched rock/metal album covers I came to the conclusions that rock/metal album covers used dark colours, and had mysterious designs so I thought I would include these features on the dvd cover. Taking this into account I decided to use an ancient Egyptian theme as ancient Egypt was a mysterious period of time which not much is known about, this fits in with the codes and conventions of a rock/metal album cover as they have to be mysterious and not give away much about the content of the album. The ancient Egyptian theme was also inspired by the Iron Maiden album Powerslave which used an ancient Egyptian theme and is an iconic metal album which will reinforce the metal imagery on my dvd cover as it has used the same theme and people will think of Iron Maiden which as well will reinforce the Metal imagery as Iron Maiden have been described as the godfathers of Metal.

I chose the band name Taistelu. Taistelu is the Finnish word for battle. I chose this for a number of reasons, Firstly rock/metal music is hugely popular in Finland so having a Finnish band name will reinforce and add a great deal to the rock/metal imagery on this dvd cover.

I chose the images of pyramids to represent the song title. The pyramids repesent the song title as they are where people are buried when they die and the song title is also a reference to mummification as the heart is one of the organs that was removed. I chose the image of the broken ankh as after reaserching ancient Egyptian symbolism I found out that the ankh sybolises life so I decided to break the ankh to symbolise death which reflects the title The Funeral Of Hearts as a funeral is an event that takes place after someone dies.

I have decided to use this design as the DVD cover as it uses better symbolism then design 2 and it is appealing to the eye and arouses curiosity about the content of the album which are key features to bare in mind when designing an album cover.

Initial plan 3 (music video plan)

The song i have chosen is a song by the Finnish metal band HIM, the song is titled The Funeral Of Hearts. The meaning of this song is unclear but it is of course open to interpretation. I think the connotations of this song are that the song is about how fickle love is and how heartbreaking it is when it ends. In my music video my initial plan is to have a person who is distraught at the grave of their lover and then follows the course of their mourning.

Album advert research 2

This is an advert for the Airbourne album No Guts. No Glory. Like the Queens Of The Stone Age it has the album release date but in difference to the QOTSA it includes different formats the album is availible on in addition to regular CD like digital download and special edition download. Another difference mentions a special offer, this is written on the first line of small text under the availible formats of the album. It says if you pre-order the special edition from Play.com you will get an exclusive free fridge magnet which will encourage people to pre-order and will also help promote play.com. Another difference between this advert and the QOTSA advert is that this advert includes the tour dates of the band which will make people want to see the band live and therefore will make the band earn more money then they would if they were advertising the album alone. This advert also includes the record label in the bottom right corner. This record label is ROADRUNNER Records which is a well known rock/metal record label which will also help readers to deduce the genre of music this band and album represent if all the other clues fail.

Airbourne album advert (a closer look)

This advert backs up the codes and conventions of rock/metal music album adverts by using dark colours in this case black and dark yellow. It is also following the theme of merging the album cover into the print advertisment. The album cover that has been merged into the advertisment also represents rock/metal music being a form of rebellion against other music genres. For Example:

• The two members of the band either side of the member holding the guitar in the air are standing in a Che Guevara style pose which backs up the representation of rock/metal music being a form of rebellion as Che Guevara was part of a rebellion in Cuba.

• Also in the centre of the far right hand side of the advert you can see striking workers which also reinforce the view that rock/metal is a form of rebellion. It also represents standing up for what you beleive in which creates the suggestion that you should stand up for rock/metal music if it is criticized.

• On the bottom of the far left hand side of this advert you can see a truck driving through a barrier that is down which represents that rock/metal music breaks the barriers of music.

Album advert research 1

This is the advert for a queens of the stone age album. They have taken the graphic of the album cover and incorporated it into the print advert. In the Speech bubble it includes a review from the magazine Kerrang which is a well known rock/metal music magazine which gives an idea of the genre of music this band are and the tracks featured on this album. At the bottom of this advert it features the album release date and gives preview track names.

     This print advert goes against the codes and conventions maybe even a stereotype of rock/metal music style as on the advert it uses bright colours like pink and yellow but in turn it backs them up by using the colour black in places.

Rock/Metal album cover research

                                                     Typical Rock/Metal album cover



 Metal album covers seem to be dark in colour which gives the connotation that the album is going to be dark and  perhaps even evil which in reflection backs up the common stereotype of metal music. It also backs up the stereotype that metal fans are going to be dark, or evil. The names of the albums seem to add a lot of mystery to what the album songs are mainly going to be about which could say that you have to be intelligent to deduce what the albums songs are going be about.

 Him - Love Metal

                 

  

 Nightwish -Dark Passion Play

 

Tarot - Gravity of Light



Iron Maiden - self titled album

Initial Plan part 2 (the type of music video)

Type of music video
Having researched rock/metal music videos I intend to make mine a narrative music video. I intend to do this as my research has led me to discovering that there are very few/no rock/metal music videos of this kind so it will be good to produce a rock/metal music video in a different way that will broaden the horizons of rock/metal fans. As it is a narrative music video it will not feature a band playing. To compensate for this I intend to make an interview with one of the band members, that will come in aproximately 2 minutes into the music video, the music video will cut or fade out to the interview.

Rock/Metal music video research 4

This is an example of a cameo music video.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IJS1rmhI6c
This is the song "Learn to fly" by Foo Fighters

This is an example of a cameo music video. In this video the main characters in the story are played By Dave Grohl (singer/guitarist) or by the other members of the Foo Fighters. Also at the start of this video and at the very end it includes a short cameo of the band Tenacious D which are a well known Rock/Metal group which therefore reinforces the Rock/Metal image in this video.

Rock/Metal music video research 3

This is an example of an animated rock/metal music video.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H4l9RpkwM
This is the music video to the song " Breaking the habit" by Linkin Park.

This music video has an animated narrative story line for most of the music video which then includes animated versions of the band members appearing at the end of the video

•This music video fits the codes and conventions of rock/metal music in many ways. Firstly the song title “Breaking the habit” fits another common stereotype that all rock/metal bands or musicians have drug habits. Secondly in the video we see police tape with Japanese writing which reflects the popularity of rock/metal music in Japan.

Rock/Metal music video research 2

This is an example of a mixture music video which fuses a performance with a narrative music video.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOr_pIya2Mc&feature=related

This is the music video to the song "In the shadows" by The Rasmus.

This music video includes the band playing and a narrative storyline. It alternates between the band playing in a music venue style place and the narrative storyline and finishes with the main character of the storyline in the music venue in front of the band.

•The band are dressed in dark colours (mainly black) which creates the connotation that the band perhaps even the music is dark and mysterious. It also however reinforces the common stereotype that all Rock/Metal bands dress in black and are dark, mysterious even depressed people.

Rock/Metal music video research 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uANVBPVaf-g
This is the song "Too much, Too young, Too fast" by Airbourne.

This is an example of a performance music video it shows the band performing on a stage that you would see at a music venue. The song however is not a live recording of the song it is a recorded version that has been edited.

•This music video fits the codes and conventions of Metal/Rock music as it shows what the band would look like playing live on stage, the main idea of Metal/Rock music is seeing a particular band live as the Metal/Rock music industry is not dominated by recording artists. This will also make the viewer want to see the band live which will lead to the band making more money then they would if they were just selling recorded albums.

Initial Plan part 1 (the genre of music)

Genre of music
The genre of music I intend to use is the Rock/Metal musical genre. I intend to use this genre as it is my personal favourite genre of music which will help a great deal as it is the genre I know the most about which means that my promotion package will reflect very accurately the nature of the Rock/Metal music videos, promotion matearials and album covers. My knowledge of Rock/Metal music will also help a great deal in the technicalities of the music video, technical aspects such as mise en scene, camera work and sound.

Initial Reaserch (codes and conventions of music videos)

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Codes and conventions of music videos

Styles of music videos
Music videos can be categorized in terms of style. Performance music videos include a band/artist playing as if they were in concert. Another style of music video is narrative music videos which is a music video where the music is played in the background of a narrative storyline. Some music videos include a mixture of both a performance and narrative music video which normally are in narrative form during the verses and then cut to performance form during the chorus, guitar solo or instrumental break. Another style of music video is a cameo music video where the band/artist feature in the narrative of the music video but do not perform. One final style of music video is an animation music video where the music video is in the style of a cartoon.

Camera work in music videos
The shots depend mainly on the style of music. There are a lot of close-ups especially in performance music videos. There are sometimes even extreme close ups of  for example the singer or of a guitar being played. Another shot that is mainly used in performance music videos is a crane shot which would be used over the stage in the video. Low angle, long and extreme long shots are mainly used in narrative and/or cameo music videos. Tracking shots are used mainly in performance music videos but also can be used in narratives and cameos. Another shot that is used a lot in music videos are pans and tilts, these add great effect in performance music videos as there can be movement between performers.

Editing in music videos
There are many different editing techniques that are used in music videos. Music videos usually feature jump cutting and Footage is edited to match the music. In terms of sound, the levels of sound in a music vidoe can be changed during the editing so that if you want to you can keep some of the diagetic sound that was captured during the filming process along with the non-diagetic backing track.

Mise en scene in music videos

The Mise en scene used in music videos, like with every other aspect can vary greatly depending on the genre of music and in the case of Mise en scene on the type of music video. Props play an important part in performance music videos, the props being performance equipment such as guitars, drums etc or maybe props in the form of band merchandise which as well as showing which band is in the video it will also help advertise there merchandise. As well as props costume also plays an important part, particularly in narrative music videos as it is used for representation purposes such as the representation of a character or group of people in the music video the type of character, group of people or general subject like most things concerning music videos depends entirely on the genre of music. These areas of Mise en scene are not as important in performance music videos or animated music videos as they are in narrative or cameo music videos.

Shooting locations in music videos
Shooting location of the video also depends mostly on the genre of music and the type of music video. For example a performance music video would be shot in a place like a concert hall or other types of music venue. A narrative music video or cameo music video would be shot in a location that fits in with what the song is about. Animation music videos do not always need real locations as the video can be set in a completely fictitious location and be completely computer generated. However if an animation music video is going to be fused with for example a narrative music video then some of the music video would have to be shot in a real location and the animated part would have to be added during the editing.

Styles of music promo video
Music promo videos differ slightly from full music videos as they are released before the full music video. some promo videos can simply include the new music video but would be availible to watch on a bands website or social networking fan page before they are available to watch on the music channels. Sometimes a few minutes into a music promo video it can cut to an interview with the band or a certain band member where questions about the music video and the band will be asked. Another form of a music promo video is where the band or one of the band members introduce the new music video.

Advanced porfolio brief

Brief: A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video together with, a cover for its release on DVD, a magazine advertisement for the DVD