Research & Planning Schedule

Analysis of similar products - 3rd October
Target audience research and planning - 10th October
New Media & final research -  14th October

Cross Media Advertising

Cross-media advertising is a strategy used by business owners to market a business using various types of media. Owners may use all of media types individually or combine several mediums to create a cohesive marketing campaign. The common association people make when thinking of media is radio, television and newspaper. However, business owners must learn about other types of media to reach a broader audience. Additional types of media for cross-media advertising campaigns include billboards, print ads, video ads on niche websites, advertising spaces offered by search engines, Internet banners and visual ads. The purpose of cross-media advertising is to reach a larger audience and customer base. If the target customer profile is broad and covers a large age range, the company may use various types of media to reach all customers. While the elderly may read the newspaper or watch television to see advertising, the younger generation may use websites and apps on smartphones to learn about new products or services.

New Media Being Used

In the production of my products I will be using new media such as Final Cut in the editing of my music video. I have no experience in Final Cut so I will have to learn how to use it, although I have used editing software before to make videos and this will help in the editing process of my music video. I will also be using a Sony A1E camera which I have not used before so will have to learn how to use it, however I have experience with other similar cameras so this will help me in the use of it. I will also be using Photoshop for the production of my magazine advert and digipak which I have used before but haven't used it to create anything like a digipak so will have to learn new ways to use it to create my final product. Here is the Song A1E camera I will be using:

The Sony A1E camera that has a large number of features, one of the main ones being that it films in high definition which will be useful in the production of my music video. It has a LCD screen on it which has a touch panel function which allows operation of the camera settings as well as a playback function. It also has manual zoom and focus allowing me to setup the camera exactly how I want it. All these feautes mean that this camera should be ideal for the production of my music video.

Research & Planning - Questionnaire

For some of my research into my target audience I will hand out a questionnaire to people to find out what I need to include in my products to make them recognisable to my genre. The questionnaire will help me be able to find conventions that I need to include in my products for things such as miss-en-scene as I will know how to dress my characters, what colours to feature in my products and what places to set my actors in. This is the questionnaire I will be handing out:

From this questionnaire I have been able to draw some conclusions about what to include in my music video, I gave out 20 questionnaires in total and from this have found out what to include so that it appeals to my target audience. The majority of people who answered the questionnaire were males aged 16 - 21. The most popular genres that showed up in my questionnaire were hip-hop, reggae and drum and bass, also rock got selected a fair amount of times. This lets me know that quite a lot of people listen to hip-hop and so my video will have to appeal a large target audience.

What the majority of people said they liked to see in music videos was footage relevant to the song and so for this reason the scenes that will be seen in the music video I make will relate to the lyrics of the song.

The colours that people most associated with hip-hop were black, white, gold and silver. For this reason these will be the colours used in the majority of the video. The things that people said they associated with hip-hop music the most were weapons, women and bling. This however is what is portrayed in most mainstream hip-hop songs and not from UK hip-hop artists such as in Dirty Dykes video earlier on whos style of music is similar to that of my chosen artist. For this reason I will not be including these things in my music video.  People also associated dark colours with hip-hop music and so for this reason the lighting in the majority of the video will be high key to go against the conventions of hip-hop music as this is what my selected artist tries to do with his music.

The questions will also effect how my digipak and magazine advert look, as they will feature black, white, gold and silver as the main colours in them and make the colours overall quite bright to contrast once again against the conventions of hip-hop music.

Main Analysis - Eminem Magazine Advert

This is one of Eminem's older magazine adverts, from this I can see the contrasts between it and his more recent digipak. On this one the most instant difference is that it has his name on it. This is when he wasn't as much of a big artist, and therefore need his name on it so people knew who he was. It also has a long shot photo of him, this time showing him backstage of a show with the microphone in the foreground. This shows how he began rapping, which was in clubs just a microphone when he was younger. It has a number of conventions that are used in magazine adverts to promote music. It has small font with more information about the album at the bottom, as it is the last thing the viewer will look at. The audiences eye is first drawn to the image of Eminem and his name at the top of the advert. The font style used is bold and stands out, showing how he is being bold with the music he makes and is making statements that people wouldn't talk about normally. The lighting of the photo is quite dark other then the spotlight focused off Eminem himself. This shows that he is waiting to go on stage which is backed up with his posture in the photo which makes him look like he is waiting. The colour of the advert is overall a dark red with small amounts of white. This has connotation of the "darkness" of some of his lyrics, which links with the lighting of the photo. The small amount of white stands out and makes the lettering overall more eye-catching. It also has connotations of how he is a white rapper and the majority are black. 

Main Analysis - Eminem Digipak

This is the cover of Eminems digipak and it is quite different from any others. It features a picture of him but doesn't actually state his name on the cover. This could mean that he considers himself to be such a huge artist that people can just tell its his album just by seeing him. It has a few conventions that make it instantly recognisable to be a digipak. It has the parental advisory symbol on it which is instantly associated with music. The miss-en-scene of the image is all quite modern objects, which has connotations of him thinking his music is of a different style and that he is taking music to a new level. The lighting of the image is quite dark and shows that his album is quite serious, more so then his previous albums. The picture is a long shot and this is so it can include more of the modern objects in the image and draw attention away from Eminem himself. The overall quite futuristic look to the digipak I think makes it appeal to a younger audience and make has connotations of Eminem setting the way for the music of the future. It also reflects how much his music has changed since he began and his early music was less serious and far more offensive so you can also see how his music has changed from the appearance of this digipak. It shows Eminem in a far more mature way which could widen it to appeal to an older audience as well. I will have to ensure that everything is as carefully selected in the creation of my digipak as in this so to give off exactly the right image and connotations for my artist.

Main Analysis - Eminem Music Video - Without Me

The reasons for selecting Eminem for my main analysis is that he is possibly the biggest artist of the hip-hop genre at the moment and my final product will be of the hip-hop genre. However his style of music will differ from what will be used for my music video. This means I can see the similarities and differences with his products and use it to help guide my final products. In this video it shows Eminem as a superhero, which is his way of representing how life would be different without him. This is then built upon by the comic book typography throughtout the video. There are many different Eminem's throughout the video, all doing different things. These represent how he could be, but not how he is. They also represent the many different names he goes by such as Eminem, Marshall Mathers and Slim Shady. The actual Eminem is the one dressed as a superhero who stops a kid from listening to his music due to the parental advisory sticker. This is due to the amount of bad publicity Eminem had around kids listening to his music, and he's trying to make look like he cares, but the whole video isn't very serious so you have to decide for yourself wether he means it or not. In the mise-en-scene the setting relates to the characters he's playing to build upon what he's saying in the video. The colours in the video are all quite bright and link with the lighting in the video is high key and adds to the less serious edge to the music video. The video mostly uses standard cuts, but at one point towards the beginning uses a transition that shows two separate clips at the same time on the screen. There is a scene of Eminem in a car dressed as a superhero, the camera is low down and looking up at Eminem to make him look more powerful and build upon his superhero image.

Magazine Advert Analysis - Green Day

This magazine advert promotes the bands album by using a number of conventions to make it relate to the audience and the punk-rock image the band has. The font style used links to the rock genre as the lettering is quite distorted which relates to the distortion of the guitar in their music. Also, the image of the hand holding a grenade is associated with punk music as it is a symbol of revolt and anarchy which links to punk music. The colour sceme is quite simple as the majority is black and white with small amounts of red. This can also be associated with the punk genre as the white stands out against the black and the small amount of red and the blood dripping off the grenade can also be associated with revolt. This advert is aimed at a younger punk audience due to its connotations of anarchy and also the words "American Idiot" instantly lets you know the band is american and so will also be mostly aimed at americans. The title also has connotations of what they try to say with their music such as saying what people wouldn't normally say and making big political statements, mostly anti-government. This advert reflects the bands image well and so appeals to the right audience for the band.

Digipak Analysis - Muse: The Resistance

 

This is the digipak for the band Muse's most recent album "The Resistance". The outside cover and case are black which is quite dull and not every eyecatching. However the sleeves inside are colourful and link with the art work of the actual album. The images on the digipak are quite futuristic and links to how some of their songs sound and the lyrics in their songs. This is then contrasted by the black and white image on one of the sleeves. This has connotations that they're quite an old band and have been around for a while. This is then backed up by it including two vinyls instead of a cd. Although its quite simplistic it has some conventions that make it recognisable to be a digipak. The small print writing at the bottom of the back of the digipak is something that appears frequently on them and also the bar code in the bottom corner makes it instantly recognisable to be a digipak. I will bear these in mind when creating my own digipak to make it recignisable as a digipak. I think this digipak is made to appeal to a large range of ages who listen to rock music, as it is quite simplistic so to appeal to the older generation and then quite bright and futuristic to appeal to the younger audience. Muse have a large fan base as they headlined this years Glastonbury festival and the way their digipak has been designed reflects this.

NME Cover Analysis

This NME front cover uses a number on conventions used in magazines. It has a banner across the top stating one of the articles featured in the magazine. Underneath the banner it also has a picture of Pete Doherty to link with the article and draw the readers eye to it and make them want to buy the magazine to read the article. It then has the magazine name "NME' as a masthead at the top of the cover. It also has two splashes; one states another article featured in the magazine the other is of a photo of people at a concert. Another convention used in this cover is the bar code in the bottom right corner which also has the date the magazine was published and the price. The main feature of the cover is the article on The Enemy. The large picture of the lead singer is there to draw the readers eye to the content of the magazine and want to buy it because of it. The are also two taglines towards the bottom of the page which state more articles featured in the magazine. Finally there is another banner at the bottom which shows more bands that have articles in the magazine. All these conventions show off what the magazine is about at a glance to make people see it and want to buy it. You can instantly recognise its a music magazine from the pictures and all the band names featured on it. Then after you read the cover you can tell it's mostly indie music in the magazine meaning someone who listens to that music could see it and after seconds want to buy it. The main colours used in the cover are black,white and red. The colour red stands out the most drawing the eye to the words "NME" and "Enemy" in the masthead and coverline, both of which sound very similar. This allows readers to straight away be drawn to the main article and band and also straight away see what magazine it is. It also is used in the banner at the bottom, the splash and is also the colour of the guitar being used in the photo. The colour red can have connotations of being dangerous or daring which is the image that the magazine wants to give off as indie music is associated with being individual and different. Overall there are many conventions used in this cover that make it instantly recognisable to be a music magazine and then to the indie genre. NME also make sure their magazine appeals to a particular audience, this is outlined in their media pack on the IPC Media website:

Analysis of Similar Products - Music Video (Dirty Dike - Pork Pie)

This music video will be similar to the one that I create as it is from a UK hip hop artist. The video shows artist Dirty Dike in his day to day life, as this is what most of his lyrics are about throughout the song. The mise-en-scene of the video shows him walking round the streets of where he lives, in a record shop, in a supermarket and eating burgers. His outfit is casual and fitting to the hip-hop genre and shows that he's just out and about all the time, this also shows that his work is his music. The video just uses standard cuts throughout but does it frequently to match the pace of the music, which is fast and flows well. The lighting is high key and gives the video a fun, light hearted image. This contrasts with some of the lyrics which shows that he's all about having a laugh and his lyrics aren't serious. This is then built upon by him occasionally appearing in the video wearing a colourful sombrero and sunglasses. This clip also links in with the lyric "with the funny hat" and builds upon his image. The sound throughout this video switches between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The majority of the clips show him rapping his lyrics making it diagetic sound. However, the backing music behind his lyrics is constantly non-diagetic during the video. Also, in the scene towards the end of the video where he's in a supermarket the sound switches completely to diegetic sound and you hear him asking where the pork pies are, building on the song name. This is also filmed on what appers to be a hidden camera building on him just doing what he does in his day to day life. Throughout the video it shows him in his day to day life, and the lyrics make it sound like he enjoys what he does. This is then contrasted against at the end of the song when the lyrics "Bored of my life, talking my shite" are repeated at the end. This is then built upon by his facial expressions, at the begin of the video he is enthusiastic and looks happy and then towards the end his facial expression drops and he looks like hes bored of his life. Also, the same locations are repeated throughout the video over and over which builds upon him being bored of doing the same thing over and over again. Also there are lots of pork pies throughout the video that link with the song name and lyrics such as him throwing them, sitting next to a pile of them on the stairs, stamping on them and buying them. This builds on the repetition that goes on in his life. Also, the video is shot with a fish-eye lens on the camera which gives the video a round look which builds on the pork pie image or could of just been a stylistic choice from the director so to focus everything into the centre. Overall, the video uses many conventions to build upon what Dirty Dike is saying in his lyrics, many of which are subtle but have a large effect on helping the audience understand what he's trying to get across about his life.