Group Magazine Advert

Once Me, Amy and George had created our magazine adverts, we had to chose a final one to go as our main advert. We tried to follow the conventions of a dance music video, whilst challenging them in areas and relating them to our music video and digipak so they all work together. We all discussed our final adverts and decided on who we thought had the best one which we should use as the final advert. However, we worked together by giving our opinions on what worked well and what didn't work so well in each advert. We then made our changes and came to a decision on who's we liked the most.

Firstly George's magazine focused on the party scene with the two characters and title in the foreground. This relates to our music video as a large theme in it includes this scene and it is conventional to the dance genre as a club or concert scene is often present. For example Avicii uses this. He also has focused on the group colors by making shadows of the two characters in pink and green. However, I think that these are too bold and not subtle enough. They don't link or blend into the advert enough and they take up too much space. George chose to use images of the characters which link to our concept. This is the importance of a job and family over the partying lifestyle. This is represented by George in a suit and me in casual clothes which are for partying. This is unconventional to the dance genre as artists usually focus on the performance but we have focused on the concept which George has highlighted and this therefore breaks conventions of the dance genre. George has also shown the artist logo at the top of this advert so that the audience can recognise our group with our logo. This is unique to any other artist and will make our artist unforgettable. It also relates to our artist name 'Infinity' as this is the symbol used to represent infinity. George has also put our production companies name at the top of the page. However, I think that this is too big and it takes the focus off the title and artist name. George has used a font which is random and I don't think has much significance to the dance genre. However the colors that he used relate to our theme colors as they are pink and green which represent the strobe lighting at the party in our music video. I therefore feel that the font sizes are wrong and the production name takes a lot of focus away from the artist name and song title, which are more important to the audience. The should be bigger and the audience cant read them very well as they are so small. Overall, I don't think that George has successfully blended all the themes of the advert proficiently and the green and pink should be more subtle and not so loud. 

Next, Amys has successfully blended all the elements and colors into her magazine. Firstly, the font that she has used for the artist name is has patches of bright lighting making it alluiminous and stand out to the audience. This is conventional to the dance genre as it relates to strobe lighting which many artists use to present their videos and the audience relates this to the party scene. Also Amy has put a rough affect around the shape in the middle which captures the audience attention and blends the pink and green colors together. These colors link to our theme which is displayed during the music video at the party scene with strobe lighting. The is conventional to a dance music video as artists often have a consistent color throughout to provoke a certain mood or idea. Next, Amy has created a ball of strobe lighting which is incredibly eye-catching and related to the dance genre as this is seen in a of clubs or concerts, where dance videos are made. However, I don't think that this has much relevance to our music video although it is an attractive feature. Amy has also used the images of the two characters which relates to our concept that life should be taken seriously and it is not just about partying. This is through the clothing that the artists are wearing. George (on the left) has got a suit on which represents his ambitions and serious attitude to life whereas I have a shirt for partying on which shows how my character represents someone who has their priorities wrong. Although we are represented as friends in the video, Amy has identified that we are opposites in the concept. This is unconventional to the dance genre as artists usually try to portray the performance element which is seen as the most entertaining. Therefore Amy has challenged this by showing the concept part of the music video in her advertisement. The titles at the bottom are very clear and easy to read and Amy has prioritised the main title by making it bigger. However, I think that this the audience will be bored by this font and she should have used something more unique. 

Finally, in my advert I have tried to portray the concept and the party scene together. Firstly I used an image of the club scene in our music video for the background. This is conventional to the dance genre as the club scene relates to happiness and dancing which many artists try to portray to entertain their audience and make them feel like the want to be there. I have then implemented strobe lighting to show the club scene once again which relates to people having a good time and enjoying themselves. I have used images of the artists who are facing directly to the audience so it is more personal for the audience as the can see the artists facial expressions. This is conventional to the dance genre as many dance artists such as Avicii present their hole faces on adverts so the audience can see their idol. I have also tried to relay the concept idea of our music video in this advert as our video consists so largely of concept. I did this by using conflicting images of the characters. One having a suit on and the other in their party outfit. This shows the concept how one represents someone who takes life seriously and the other just has fun.  I have also done some editing using Photoshop to further emphasise this concept. By making it look as though my character has been in a fight, it further portrays his bad lifestyle compared to George, who take his life seriously by having a job and family. The audience can hopefully learn from this and it is eye catching as blood is quite shocking. However I feel as though this was the downfall in the advert as the blood should look more realistic. I also used fonts for the title of the song which is unique and relates to the dance genre as it looks like strobe lighting. I also made sure this looked bigger then the artist's name as it is more important to the audience to know what the song is called. I also used pink and green fonts as this is the color theme for our artist and relates to the lighting in a club or concert scene.

Group Digipak

Once Me, Amy and George had completed our digipak we were left to chose which one we wanted for our final, ultimate digipak. Throughout our digipaks we all tried to stick to the conventions of the dance genre whilst making them relate to our actual video and the main themes in it. Therefore we all portrayed the same concept and tried to make it unique from other digipaks so that we stand out from the crowd and are noticeable.

Firstly, George focused on the portraying the dance genre by using the main colors in our music video, green and pink. This also made it relatable to his advert as the main colors in that we these colors. This is conventional to the dance music genre because these loud colors represent strobe lighting which is often found in a club or at a concert. On the front cover, George has decided to show both of the characters facing the camera, parallel with one another and with a crowd behind them. He has emphasised our chosen colors by using them as shadows behind each character. However, I feel that these shadows are to big and not subtle enough. George has also included the group logo which is the infinity sign and this is conventional to the dance genre. An example of artist who uses this is Disclosure. The crowd represents the party scene during our video and is very conventional to dance as this is mostly where it occurs. The back cover also follows this pink and green theme as he has done the font in these mixed colors. However, I feel again that they are not subtle enough and are to artificial. The CD cover mainly shows the infinity symbol again relating in to our group. The dark background with strobe lighting also represents the club scene making it conventional to dance genre. The artists pages have a faded green and pink colors however I feel again that he has overdone it with these colors. He has also shown half of each artist to relate it to the video and they are the main characters in it. The final page of this digipak has illuminated the characters showing them messing around which is conventional to the dance genre as it portrays having fun. 

Georges Digipak:

On the front cover, Amy has used an image from the party scene in our final music video. This is showing the crowd with their hands in the air dancing, showing hoe they are having a good time partying. This relates to the dance genre as the performance aspect is a key element of this. She has also brightened the strobe lighting which then blends into the title 'infinity'. This is a very subtle and effect technique and conventional to the dance genre as it shows strobe lighting which is common in dance videos. She has also showed the two main characters, Me and George at the foreground to relate it to the video as we are the main characters in it. She also decided to use a picture of us smiling and messing around as this promotes enjoying yourself which is conventional to the dance genre as its purpose is to entertain. It is also lightly tinted with the green and pink colors which are our groups theme which again displays the party feel. The next slide, the back cover, carries on this theme of partying and dancing. Amy has represented this by using strobe lighting again to relate it to the club scene. The main light in the middle also creates emphasis on the song names, which are illuminated in one of our main colors, pink. This is conventional to the dance genre as the audience will pick this up and get the feeling of lively enjoyment due to this strobe lighting and bright colors. However, I think she should have used a different shade of pink for the font as the middle on the song list is quite hard to see and unclear. The CD slide has developed the theme already indented into the previous slides. Amy has now included the Infinity symbol creating a unique effect and this is conventional as a lot of dance artists such as Avicii show their logos on their ancillaries. Once again she has edited this in subtly so that it blends into the slide and doesn't stand out badly. Amy has also used a very unique feature for the outside of the CD as it looks like a lightening bolt which is very exciting as promoting partying once again. The crowd scene has been used again to relate the piece to our video and the dance genre. For the next slides which are the 'artist message' slides, Amy has used contrasting images of the artists. This it to link the Digipak to our concept which is such an essential theme in our music video. Amy has used a picture of me smiling and having a good time and a picture of George looking more serious and dressed in a suit. This shows how my representation is that I just want to have fun where as George takes life more seriously. This idea will be replicated once the audience watches the actual music video. This shows how Amy is breaking the conventions of dance as she has highlighted our concept in the digipak where as artist usually just portray fun or the party scene. Also because the audience can see both artists faces, they can build a relationship with them. For the final slide, Amy has used a different view of the party scene to display a different feeling for the audience. She has used our symbol to emphasise our brand and make the audience remember us by this logo. Amy also edited in bubbles at the top of this slide which are tinted with our groups colors, green and pink. This relates to happiness and is conventional to the dance genre as this genre promotes having a good time and being happy. However, in my opinion these slides done flow enough and are too different to one another. Therefore I think Amy could have made them more similar by using the same colors throughout.

Amy's Digipak:

In my digipak I focused on creating a digipak that holds its theme throughout and is that each slide relates to one another. Therefore I used the party scene in each slide as it shows our artist colors and makes the audience think of having a good time and partying. This is conventional to the dance genre as artists always try to entertain the audience by using upbeat music and fun scenes. As the image was taken from my music video I displayed low-key lighting which contrasted with bright lights such as pink, green and blue which represent strobe lighting, linking to the party. My front cover consists of this party scene, with the title of our group in bold and both the artists either side of the image. This has worked successfully as the colors are all quite subtle and I have created a good blend between each theme. I used this font for the title page as it stand out due to its size but is also see through so the background is clear. I have used images of me and George which relate to our concept as George is smartly dressed in a suit and I look scruffy in a shirt. This is breaking conventions of a dance music video as usually artists only focus on the performance value to entertain the audience. However, this makes my digipak and video unique from the other artists in this genre. The next slides are of our artist messages, which show thanks to various people. I chose to use separate images of the two characters as they relate to our concept once again. This is because the concept is represented by the two characters and their different behavior and lifestyles and although they are friends, I saw it fitting to separate them to highlight this concept. I used green writing in both slides as this is one of the artists theme colors and it represents the lighting we used for the party scene, making it unique to other artists in the dance genre and therefore challenging these conventions. I decided to use this font as it is easy to read and fun which relates to the music and the genre as dance tries to entertain the audience. For the next slide, of the back cover I decided to just use the party scene with the song list on. I saw this as simple but effective as it clearly states the songs and relates to the rest of the digipak as it shows the party scene. Also the main focus is on the party scene here as it is plain. This will make the audience feel like it is a fun dance video as it relates to the genre. However, i think that I should have used a bolder font for the writing as it is not completely clear against the strobe lighting behind. For the CD slide, I decided to blend in the title to the crowd by making it dark. This creates a cool vibe as relates to the dance genre as darkness is a theme of the party scene. I decided to use a different shot of the party scene here though and I added a pink filter as it is more unique to the other slides. For my final slide I decided to use the same image as the front cover. This is so that when the audience picks up the CD then they will see the a consistent image on either slide which will have more of an impact as it is so poignant. Also these images are of the artists looking serious and this will be seen as cool to my target audience who are also young. 

My Digipak:

Overall, my group decided that we would use Amy's digipak as the final digipak as it fully displays our groups concept and what we stand for, whilst looking very professional and eye-catching. Although I feel that me and George followed the conventions of the dance genre in our digipaks, I think that Amy has created a very unique, detailed digipak. She has included the main party theme as well as focusing on the concept, relating to our video superbly. Also the themes in each slide blend together making each feature very subtle yet effective. 

Final Digipak

Final Magazine Advert

Question 3

It is very important to evaluate my work as it allows me to see where I have made improvements and use strong ideas and where I have made a mistake or something needs tweaking. Also it is good to evaluate as it allows me to see if I am relating to the artists enough and if I’m meeting conventions of the dance genre or not. I used Youtube to showcase my video as it allowed us to gain honest critics from the general public. Also Youtube is one of the most used websites in the world to view videos and there a lot of our target audience, dance music fans, would be able to view it for free and give us feedback. We could then see our strengths and weaknesses of the video so we could make adjustments afterwards. This is the main reason why did a rough cut first before submitting the final piece onto Youtube. We received the following 3 comments on our music video.

‘Great video but I think the shots are overall too long’

‘I love the concept of this video. It’s different’

‘You should have included more of the performance element to entertain us more!’

These comments made me feel a boost of ambition as I was able to see where we had gone wrong and what our audience specifically wanted to see. It also gave me confidence in what we had done so far so I was happy with the overall product. Due to the audience feedback we inserted more, shorter shots into the video to break it up more. This is so the viewer doesn’t get bored of seeing the same shots over again. We therefore used different angles to create a different perspective. Also we added more from the party scene as our audience clearly want to see more of the characters partying so they could relate to it. If I was working in the music industry feedback would allow me to see what the overall target audience liked. However I would then use what they liked and changed it slightly to give it a more unique feel and make the music video be more relatable and entertaining.

Digipak Analysis

The purpose of a Digipak is to market and promote the product in a way that will appeal to the audience. It gives the audience more information on song and the theme or concept of the music video. This is by using colours and layouts to give a certain feel to match the genre of the artist to meet the target audience. For example a Indie genre will use  cloudy colours to portray a creepy, misty vibe. A CD is different to a Digipak as it is more detailed and presented in a more professional way than a CD. A CD album only has the CD, front cover on the song promoting the song and the list of songs that are included on the album. A Digipak has three other slides that have other images to promote the artists, album and song. It allows the audience to understand more about the artist.

The artist (David Guetta) has used brighter colours in this digipak to represent the song and his genre. Therefore the strobe lighting colours relates to him Dj'ing in a club, which his target market likes as this genre comes under the dance genre. This is conventional to the artist as it shows that his music is going to be upbeat and vibrant for the club setting. The connotations of the digipak are to make sure that the artist stands out with the colourful theme that he is using. He stands out as his picture is in black and white and the music on his album is in bright colours, which makes his music seem to stand out more than him. The colors makes the artist and his music stand out as he is in black and white, which shows that he is original when playing his music, but then the music is in bright yellow and red colors which makes his music seem that it is positive and dance based. The design of the digipak is simple as it has a contrast on his face as it is in black and white, which shows that he is old fashioned but his music is new. His music slide is plain so the audience can clearly see what is on the CD. the audience can easily identify what music is on the album. The image that he has used for himself makes him look like he is Superior and that he is dressed for when he is in a club scene as he is wearing sun glasses to protect him from the strobe lights to help him concentrate while in the club. The type os typography that has been used is his own logo for the writing for his name, but for the name of the album different street writing has been used to make the name of the album and song stands out. The style of language that has been used is simple to make the audience be able to understand what is on the CD and what the album is called.

















This will aid me in making my own digipak as it is the same genre of music as my music video and therefore I can adopt a lot of techniques. For example the bright coloring represents the partying atmosphere and happiness and I will try to portray this in my digipak. 

Meeting and discussions

It is important for a group to meet and discuss on our music video so that everyone can give their ideas and we can all be on the same page when starting the filming. It was important that we all contributed at this stage as we hadn't been allocated roles and to get the best outcome we all had to say our opinion. Also I think that we were all more motivated by doing meetings and contributed our opinions as everyone felt that they had something to do with the creation of the music video. Therefore everyone would work hard to create their vision for different purposes.