This is my second digipak textual analysis and I am doing it on Views by Drake. Drake is an artist traditionally known for making songs under the genres of Hip-Hop music and Contemporary RnB.
This is the front cover of the digipak and it is just a background image without any form of text or anything like that. However, there is a view of a building which probably explains why it is called 'Views'. The colour scheme of the image is mainly grey and white which implies a sense of a phantom like atmosphere. If you zoom in, you are able to see the artist sitting near the top of the building. For me this suggests that Drake is on top of the world because he is on top of a very tall building. Furthermore, the building that he is sat on is in his home town of Canada, the building is called the Canadian National Tower. I feel that this means that the songs that he is going to release in this album are going to be on the subject of his life. There isn't any text on the front and I feel that this is so that the focus can be on the building and show a sense of symbolism that maybe some people would have missed had there been some text on the front. The cover is also in greyscale which is a convention for RnB and Rap because it adds a sensual tone and a more emotive and deeper tone to the image.
The cd itself is once again quite basic as the same colour scheme is being used here as on the front with the title of the album "VIEWS" in block capitals with eyes coming out of the text for the reason that because Drake is so high up, people are looking at him both from the building and by seeing how successful he has become in the modern world or RnB and Hip-Hop/Rap. I feel that this entire scheme suits the target audience of male teens because of the colour grey being consistently used throughout the digipak and because the design is very simplistic and it is also not overly creative in my opinion.
The back cover of the digipak displays the title and the list of all of the songs in the title. I feel that the name of the album was put on the back because it would make the front a lot less attractive and much more distracting. The font is plain although the way it was typed e.g. Block capitals makes it seem more classy. The generic conventions are included as record labels and barcodes are at the bottom and are out of the way. The back cover is a dark grey whereas the front is ore of a light grey and white. Parts of the grey colour is lighter than the other which also helps the contrast as the colours are different throughout the front cover.
In this blog post I am going to textually analyse the digipak cover to "Starboy" by The Weeknd. I also textually analysed the music video to his song "Can't Feel my Face" as well which was under the same genre as this song and this artist in general.
First of all, the front cover generally; the colours that are used in the digipak are mainly yellow and pink (other than the person in the photo). In my opinion, these are not a very common combination because pink symbolises calmness and compassion meanwhile the colour yellow symbolises joy and happiness. I feel that this combination of colours and meanings do not symbolise the emotion shown on the face of the person in the picture. The body language that the character in the photo shows to me that he is rather defensive and frustrated. This tells me that the mood of the songs in this album are about the disappointment in himself while there is joy and calmness going on around him.
The colour of him stands out amongst the background which is very luminous as well which emphasises key parts of him such as his eyes and his hands and the cross. I feel that the cross is very symbolic as well otherwise he wouldn't have posed with it in the photo. I feel that this, just like with the hands on his head and the colour contrast has some relevance to the music that he has created.
The back of the digipak is similar to that of the front in terms of the colour scheme. The font of the songs are the same to the text on the front cover however are larger than the font underneath to inform the person purchasing the digipak that these are the names of the songs.
In terms of the target audience, I believe that it is male teens and adults as it allows the listeners to relate to similar things that may have happened in their lives previously. I feel that these are life stories that the Weeknd may have experienced aswell.
The design of the CD is also rather simple but effective showing the image of the cross again with the same colour scheme as the back and the background of the front of the digipak as well. The lightning bolts on the CD are connotations of danger and therefore are not related to the cross I dont think. I feel like they have been placed there in order to symbolise the type of music that The Weeknd has produced.
Good morning, good evening and good afternoon, in this blog post there will not be many words said other than the fact that in this video I have shown where I am going to be filming all parts of my music video and why I will be filming it there. Furthermore, I have also shown where I will be taking the final digipak photos and where I took the character profile photographs for Oliver (protagonist of the music video).I have also shown you what I have edited and completed so far of my final piece. Its really good to see that everything seems to be coming together and I cannot wait for you to see the final piece! Overall I have made this video in order to verbally explain my idea better to you and to be able to convey what I want to do and where I want to do it, I hope that this video helps you understand what my aim is and what I'm going to be doing.
In this blog post I am going to evaluate what I have done so far and what I still have to do in my project. So far I have collected all but one segment of my music video and I am yet to finalise my still images for my digipak and poster cover. First of all, the filming, so far I have completely edited 1:30 of my 3:30 second music video. I have done this using Adobe Premier Pro. I feel that the introduction is the best that it can be, there have been some issues and amendments that I have had to make however, I feel that this is only natural. There have also been issues where the aperture on the video has been too high and therefore instead of completely scrapping that part, I have decided to attempt to colour correct it and if that does not come out great, then I will just re-film the whole part again.
In this video I have tried to visually explain how my music video has been shot so far and why, and what there is left to shoot. I have also shown what I have done so far in the video as well, this tells me and you how much i have done and how much more I need to film and what more specifically I actually need to film. You can see some areas in the music video where some of the extracts are overexposed and I have done my best to colour correct.
In terms of my stills (digipak cover and my poster) I have a general concept of what they are going to look like and there is a draft coming very soon.
As previously mentioned however there were some issues with my aperture on the camera that I am using and I feel that along with some of my video footage, there were also some issues with my photos where maybe the ISO was too high for my liking. However this is what the drafts were for! I knew the images weren't perfect and they were far from the final editions and that is what I have taken away from this... is that I really have to be ready before starting because I cannot afford to make mistakes because I really want this to be perfect.
The ISO seems far too high on the one photo that I have definitely confirmed that I will be using for the front cover of my digipak.
As previously mentioned also, there were parts that I had to cut out and that was because on the train, the camera and the rail line was very shaky and therefore I decided to scrap that. However, I am now rethinking on whether I should put it in because I feel that it would be good as it would establish things better in my opinion.
So to conclude, I have done about half of my project so far, I still have to film the final segment of my music video and take my final photos for my digipak and poster (in the correct settings!!) and then I am completely finished!
This is how my masterpiece looks at the moment, in 2 weeks, there will be a timeline full from the start of the song to the end of it.
It all began in the year 1981... when MTV launched in August 1981 and blasted “Video Killed The Radio Star” through North American households. It represented the ambitions of a company who wanted to significantly influence popular culture. In the first 18 months, the success was amazing, earning $7 million in revenue (at the time this was an amazing turnover). Music videos remained a critical part of the music industry by utilising music videos to help promote the image of acts as diverse as Michael Jackson and Green Day, Guns n’ Roses and 2Pac.
Nowadays, MTV have transformed more into a reality tv channel, however, they still promote music videos, and while doing so they have come under threat for being the leaders of the music video industry after the competition from VEVO. However as the 90s rolled on, so did more issues for music and the music industry. Previously, music videos served as a mode of advertising, however after the introduction of downloading music FOR FREE was introduced to the world, there was a major decline in CD sales. As a result of this major change in the music industry, MTV continued to expand, meanwhile this change was still occurring and music videos were constantly decreasing in time on the television. Shows like “The Real World”, which initially represented a unique portrait of real life, had devolved into “immature and irresponsible behaviour” that generated great ratings. This led to what can only be called the dark years of music video. From 2000 through to 2005, there were first of all not many music videos made and second nowhere to really tune in and watch a whole lot of them. It seemed that MTV had made a wise choice by making reality tv shows which at this point were still not accessible on the internet. The majority of the music videos were available on DVDs such as “The Top 50 Music Videos Of All Time”. Overall at this point, it seemed that the music video industry was done for. UNTIL!!! YouTube enters the internet industry. A service which came with millions and millions of opportunities and millions and millions of hours of content to keep the mainstream happy and content. Furthermore, conveniently for the music video industry, along came every music video ever to be made with it. Millions and millions of people consuming these media extracts by the second, with no revenue whatsoever being shared with the artist and the creators of the music videos (MTV).
For five years, YouTube and music industry companies like MTV struggled to understand how their content was being displayed for free on YouTube, and attempted to implement measures to ban the content. Any consumer could have told you that was a losing fight, as it was 10 companies vs. 150 million viewers a month watching 2 Billion video views daily, and the millions of people uploading the videos would be hard to censor. So eventually, YouTube realized that they may have a way to deliver some revenue to the music video creators, and YouTube (owned by Google) developed an algorithm to detect copyright material and then to display ads and pay the original creator. This has resulted in the total number of displayed YouTube Ads going up 50% in the last year and their revenues soaring to $450 million, while music video creators earn revenue too. So where does that leave MTV? Well, the MTV online video site and it’s main competitor, Vevo, realized a few years ago that it was in their best interest to start focusing on showing music videos online, and have developed their properties and websites to be as smooth as possible. MTV.com gets around 53 million unique visitors a month and Vevo has around 50 million. These are pretty huge numbers, and they’ve been growing steadily, which hints at a resurgence of the power of the music video.
This is a modern music video that has gained over 400 million views since release and has given the musician more recognition, a greater following and also given the song more listeners which has resulted in more profit. This is why music videos are a marketing method.
In this blog post I am going to discuss the generic conventions of a music video. There are 3 regular types of music video which follow the conventions:
Illustrative: This type of music video tells a story and is often performance based. These type of music videos are typically about love or romance. An example of one of these is "Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd.
Amplification: Amplification is where a music video is interpreted using creative ideas. These videos will still have a direct link to the song. An example of this is "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar.
Conceptual: This type of music video may not have anything to do with the lyrics of the song and are known to be very abstract. An example of one of these videos is "Technologic" by Daft Punk.
Camera Shots
Camera shots in music videos usually jump a lot from long shots to close ups and extreme close ups. The close ups are usually on the protagonist of the music video and the extreme close ups are usually of the main character lip synching. Camera Movement; There are normally very generic shots that are made such as:
Whip pans
Fast dolly tracks
Fast overhead crane shots OR tracking shots to follow the running, walking or dancing of performers
Editing
Due to the fact that this is a music video, there needs to be an abundance of continuity editing and fast cuts from things such as aerial shots to extreme close ups and therefore this will allow the audience to remain captivated and enticed. However, there are exceptions, Some ‘continuity editing’ used such as atmospheric ‘dissolve shots’ such as in Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compare to You’.
Lighting
Expressive lighting is a key and in my opinion fundamental feature of music videos. Extreme artificial light can be used to create the ‘bleaching’ effect on pop stars faces, this is done in order to make the singer seem ageless. Also the use of switching from colour to black & white or sepia to indicate a shift from chorus to verse is sometimes used but not very often and not with the genre that I will be basing my music video on. Also lighting effects such as strobes or flashing needs to be identified. Computer generated imagery is also a popular use in music videos to create futuristic sets and brightly coloured backgrounds which is mainly used in mainstream music as they have the big budgets for their videos.
Mise-en-scene
What to look for in a music video. Is there a theme? Does it link back to something, whether that be something relevant in contemporary news? A film that maybe the song features in? An example is 1-800-273-8255 by Logic addressing the increasing issues of suicide and homosexuality among teenagers. Does the video’s mise en scene follow the need for authenticity in performance videos by using the concert hall or rehearsal studio setting? (such as Can't feel my face by The Weeknd) Or is there an intentional ‘parodic’ setting to exaggerate star image and conclusively to show off how rich they are as in many rap and r&b videos with a focus on glamorous icons such as exotic locations, beautiful cocktail bars and stunning beachside houses with infinity pools and expensive villas leeched with young models.
Can't feel my face is an R&B song that captures the artists struggle to fame. The singer/rapper of this song (The Weeknd) is often considered part of the POP genre however, the song shares the generic conventions that support the R&B genre more. The backstory for the song generally is that it describes how he feels after taking an abundance of drugs. The sing was released on June 5th 2015.
The music video was directed by Grant Singer and was was released on July 28, 2015. As of January 2018, the video has received over 870 million views, becoming the third most viewed video by The Weeknd behind "The Hills" and "Starboy" which have received over 1 billion views each. Considering the amount of views that the official music video has received, I believe that the music video and the song generally has gone down very well.
And I know she'll be the death of me, at least we'll both be numb
And she'll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come
But at least we'll both be beautiful and stay forever young
This I know, yeah, this I know
She told me, don't worry about it
She told me, don't worry no more
We both know we can't go without it
She told me you'll never be in love, oh, oh, woo
I can't feel my face when I'm with you
But I love it, but I love it,
oh
I can't feel my face when I'm with you
But I love it, but I love it, oh
And I know she'll be the death of me, at least we'll both be numb
And she'll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come
All the misery was necessary when we're deep in love
This I know, girl, I know
She told me, don't worry about it
She told me, don't worry no more
We both know we can't go without it
She told me you'll never be in love, oh, oh, woo
I can't feel my face when I'm with you
But I love it, but I love it, oh
I can't feel my face (I can't feel nothing) when I'm with you
But I love it, (but I love it) but I love it, oh
I can't feel my face when I'm with you
But I love it, (but I love it) but I love it, (but I love it)
oh
I can't feel my face when I'm with you
But I love it, (but I love it) but I love it, (but I love it) oh
She told me, don't worry about it
She told me, don't worry no more
We both know we can't go without it
She told me you'll never be in love, oh, oh, woo
I can't feel my face when I'm with you (I can't feel my face)
But I love it, (but I love it) but I love it (oh I love it)
oh
I can't feel my face when I'm with you (said I can't feel my face)
But I love it, (but I love it) but I love it oh
I can't feel my face when I'm with you (face, when I'm with you)
But I love it (but I love it) but I love it,
don't you think I can't
I can't feel my face when I'm with you (I can't feel my face)
But I love it, (when I'm with you baby) but I love it, (when I'm with you baby)
In my opinion, the music video is interesting because it is performance based but the performance actually creates a narrative. The Weeknd, who also happens to be the protagonist of the music video, is on stage in a bar singing and dancing to the song for which the video was created. Throughout this segment, there are some close up shots of the audience's faces which show that, apart from one person, they are disappointed with and bored of his performance. For example, one woman covers her face with her hands and shakes her head while another just looks at him, confused. This creates a simple narrative that doesn't distract viewers from the performance.
When a man from the crowd throws a lighter at The Weeknd, this sets his performance and himself on fire in both the physical and mental way. The crowd automatically stands up and begins to dance whilst this begins to occur. I feel that this changes the entire dynamic of the song and of the music video; this may have also get viewers in the mood to dance as well.
Throughout this segment there are a variety of different shot types which are used, dominantly close-up, mid and long shots, when he is performing to show the most important parts of his body (e.g. close-ups of face when he is singing, and long shots of his body when he is dancing).
There are a number of coloured lights that are shown throughout the video, sometimes as a subtle filter and sometimes simply as lights from the bar. This emphasises the performance side to the music video, as well as its fun side, as it relates to DJs, clubs and staged performances such as plays or concerts.
The music video is set in a club with the protagonist on stage alone. The song begins with a fade from a black screen into an extreme close up of the main character which stays in the same place for the first 30 seconds until the song reaches the chorus.
This shot remains on screen for a sufficient amount of time which enables the audience to read into the emotion that the main protagonist is feeling, we can see this through his facial expressions alone. From this early stage in the song we can see the story developing through the props of the microphone and the curtain in the background.
The storyline develops as the song continues however the next event in the music video is where the antagonist throws the flame over the protagonist and then the shots increase in speed, shorten in duration and everyone in the club begins to get up and dance.
Finally, the message of the music video is that in the music industry, at first you work hard even though you achieve no recognition. If you are lucky enough to be chosen by a select few, you will be propelled to fame and 'light up' the industry and the spotlight will be on you and because of this average listeners follow suit and begin to dance as they hear you songs played on all different platforms.
