Artist Poster Research

Individual Female Pop Artist's Posters and Adverts

Above are posters and adverts found in magazines, raising awareness of the artist's tours and album release. All of adverts are in the same colour schemes and graphic fonts as the CD covers. Some of these posters have a small image of the CD cover so then their target audience would know what to look for. This will make finding the CD easier as the target audience will already know what it looks like which is likely to result in more sales. 

All adverts feature an image of the artist, however the framing is more varied than the CD front covers.  For example, in Taylor Swift's poster a long shot has been used. I personally really like this, as there is more background area for key information. 

The key information included on most posters include: 

• The artist's name
• The release date of the album
• Social Media sites
• Artist's website
• Tour Dates
• Support Acts

I have also noticed that most of the backgrounds are either plain or blurred so the text would stand out more. I will bare this in mind when producing my advert/poster.

Existing CD Cover Designs

Female Pop Artist CD Covers

Above are various CD covers for individual female pop artists. All of them feature at least one portraiture image of the artist. All the front CD covers are big close up (BCU), close up (CU) or medium close up (MCU). This way the artist is easily recognisable, which means their target audience is more likely to spot them on a shelf in store.  The back covers are more varied than the front covers. All the back covers have the list of songs on the album, barcode and typically a different photo of the artist. Modern CD backs are more likely to simple and minimalistic.

Each CD cover has been designed to reflect the music in the album and the artists reputation. For an example, Rihanna's album cover is more voyeuristic than Taylor Swift's album cover. This is supported by their music videos, e.g Shake It Off - Taylor Swift and Pour It Up - Rihanna. 

I noticed that several titles and artist names are in capital letters. I personally quite like this aesthetic, as it is eye-catching (See Meghan Trainor's CD Cover). However, I also like the handwritten styled fonts as seen in Rihanna's album. Both would be suitable for my song and artist. 

Dance Routine Practise

Dance Routine Practise

It has taken me a longer than expected to prepare a dance routine for the music video. It is important that the dance routine is contemporary and fits with target audience's ideology. I had initially planned to send Esther a video of the dance routine so she could learn it independently, however now I realise it would be more efficient to teach her the dance routine, so we could make changes together before filming. Due to time restrictions, I was unable to teach Esther the whole dance routine, but I think it is a good place to start. Below is a time lapse of myself teaching Esther the dance routine:

Time Plan

Time Plan

I had initially planned to film on a bright sunny day, so the lighting and backgrounds would conform to stereotypical pop conventions. However, I am aware that the longer amount of time spent planning and research, the less dry days and sunny days there will be. But my planning and research is vital to produce a music video which appeals to my target audience.

I had hoped to film over a weekend when the weather had been ideal, but Esther and I both have commitments such as work, university open days and Esther's modelling. As result, I am going to have plan carefully when we can film. 
In a few weeks time, we have half term. I think this will be the best time to film, as we would be able to go early in the morning and travel to London, and leave when we have filmed enough shots. 

Pitch

6th October 2015 

Today I prepared my pitch on a Microsoft Office Powerpoint. I have summarised my intentions, inspirations, and target audience so I can pitch my idea to my class tomorrow.

7th October 2015

Today I presented my pitch to the class, here is the video: 

Once I turned off the camera a few students ask me questions:

'Will you film the whole dance routine/lip sync at every location?'

I will film the whole dance routine in every location, as it will make editing easier for me. I realise this will increase the time spent filming, but it will reduce the amount of time spent editing, as I won't have to figure out what time each dance move is meant to be on screen. 

'Will the cuts between locations quicker?'

Yes, the changes in locations will be quicker than shown in my practise. My practise was primarily to identify issues with this idea, and I quickly discovered that I will have to film in several more locations than I originally thought.

'Will Esther lip sync when she is dancing?'

We are going to have a practise together this week, and see what looks best.

Copyright

Copyright

All the footage in my music video will be produced  and edited by myself.
 However the track I plan to use has been created by another artist, therefore I have contacted the Youtube channel 'Mr Revillz' to ask for his permission. I have stated that I only plan to use the song for educational purposes, and have linked my blog into the email for evidence.
I am currently waiting for his response. 

Storyboard

Storyboard

Here is my first drafted storyboard.

 I hope to start my music video on a wall with brightly coloured graphitti. On the beat of the music the title 'Ella Eyre We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off Whipped Cream Remix' will fade in, and then fade out on the next beat. Esther will then walk in to the centre of the frame in time to start singing the lyrics.

As Esther begins to sing, the long shot cuts to a close up of her face. I will then cut to different locations on the beats. When the beats become faster, I will cut back to long shot and Esther will begin to dance. I will again, cut the transitions of locations on the beat of the music. 

On 'Just Slow down', Esther will stop dancing, and begin to sing into the camera. At this point I will go back to a close up shot of her face.

The rest of the music video will consist of fast pace cuts and changes in location while Esther dances. I will aim to make the transitions as smooth as possible.



























As you can see in my annotations next to my drawings, I have decided to keep my camera static throughout my music video. After much thought and careful planning, I decided that a static camera throughout would look best. I must have a static camera when long shots are used so the change in location can be seamless, however a static camera is not necessary during the close ups. But I felt that it would look unprofessional to cut from a moving camera to a static camera several times. 
Most music video's feature moving cameras, therefore I am challenging typical music video conventions, however I am willing to take this risk as I believe I will the viewers interested by changing the locations regularly.