A2 Media Advanced Portfolio: December 2010

Sunday, 26 December 2010

First Edit

This is the first edit of my music video. I have posted it so that I can keep track of my progress throughout the process of creating my music video. I am content with the beginning of my music video as the beginning of my music video cuts quickly with the beat of the music and grabs the attention of the viewer. The beginning of a music video is extremely important as it sets the tone for the rest of the music video. I am aware that I need to grab the attention of the viewer within the first 10 seconds. As this is the first edit of my music video there are some elements which could and will be improved. For example in places the lip sync is not in time with the music this ruins the verisimiliatude for the audience who want to beleive in what they are watching. I also feel that some shots could be cut shorter as they become to tedious in places. This however, is not a problem as I have lots of other shots which I have not yet applied to my music video. I knew when filming that I would need a variation of shots filmed from different directions. I am happy with the performance given by my actress as I think she fits in with the conventional artists I have watched in west end musicals and film adaptations of musicals. There are also some shots which I wish to repeat more often, for example the silhoette shot which is a great contrast from the rest of the video and could be used to effect on intervels which occur often within the soundtrack.

Analysis Of Album Advertisement: Burlesque - Christina Aguilera

On the album advertisement the contrast of black and white have been used to make the artists features stand out such as their lips, eyes and cheak bones. The names of the artist are not displayed this is because the artists are well known and popular to a mass audience so the producer of this advertisement felt that this was not needed. Christina Aguilera wears a hat in this advertisement which is a common theme I have picked up on in this particular genre as it gives the artist power and connotes this show girl image. The use of the link lipstick however does contradict common stereotypes of it's genre as this would be expected to be red. However, it fits in with the colour scheme as the title is also pink. This draws attention to the artists lips and the title as it is placed upon a black and white backgroun. The only information included is the name of the album and the record company. Although this information is limited the user is expected to know of this album so well that it is not needed.

Analysis Of Album Advertisement: Britney Spears

Analysis Of Album Advertisement: Jessie.J

The reason I have picked these two images to discuss is because they both show a contrast in bright colours and dark colours which is something I plan on doing in my music video and anciliary texts. By contrasting bright colours with dark colours it creates a postmodern theme and also allows you to highlight specific elements. I think that colour is particuarly important in media as although many consumers of media may not be aware of it the colours used in media texts signify and connote different ideas to it's audience.

Codes And Conventions Of Album Advertisements

Album Advertisement usually have a image of the artist as the dominating image, the text (of the artists name) usually overlaps ontop of the image. Bright colours are often used to catch the attention of the audience and make a statement. The release date is usually present and the forms in which it can be bought such as download, purchasing online or on the high street. The record label is usually stated also. The mise en scene and colours of the image are usually an important aspect of setting the genre of the album and artist. The costume worn by the artist should also be highly recognisable and should follow the style of the album and the already established image the artist should have created. Overall the advertisments are usually fairly minimalistic and to the point. The image should say it all!

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Christina Aguilera Official Website Home Page

When you first open the website you are presented with the spry menu (which navigates the user around the website) and below this is a series of advertisements of the artist which occasionally scroll from one to the other. This advertises the artists perfume, jewellery collection and DVDS. This is all merchandise that the artist has produced under her label. By advertising this on the website they can target their main audience which is her fans. Below the advertisements the heading 'latest news' is just viewable however the user has to scroll down to find out more information. This is a technique used to persuade and engage the user to scroll down. The font is fairly small but bold which emphasises it. The font is white placed on a black background; these are good contrasting colours as they stand out well from one another. Pink is also used which also stands out wel against the black bakcground. This colour scheme also follows the colour scheme for the artists album and advertisement. The website homepage has a large scroll bar, this is a useful feature as users can often be put off websites if the scroll bar is extremely long as this suggests that they are going to be presented with masses of information which can be off putting. The user can therefore only scroll down the website once. When the user does scroll down they are presented with links which navigate them to the 'latest news' this is a way of reducing the amount of space on the homepage. The user is also presented with hotspot images which are advertisments. Hotspots mean that the images act as a link and when the user clicks on them they will navigate them to a relivent page; again reducing the amount of space used on the homepage.

Pixie Lott Home Page

Before you can enter the Pixie lot website you are presented with a welcome screen which displays an image of the artist which is the main focal point of the page. This gives the audience a voyeuristic pleasure to see the artist. This 'enter' page acts almost as an album advertisement for the artist as it provides the user with ways of directly purchasing the alum. The image of the artist is in black and white which is complimented by a greay background which allows the pink font to stand out against it all. The website homepage uses the colour scheme of black white and pink this is because these are good contrasting colours and stand out against each other. When the user first opens the homepage they are presented with the name of the artist along side an image of the artist, this is essential to introduce the user to the website below this the user can see the spry menu (which is essential as it navigates the user through the website). The user can then only see half of an image which persuades them to scroll down to see more. Throughout the homepage the user is provided with videos which advertise the artists music videos and the option to buy the artists album directly from itunes. The user is also provided with the option to view images of the artist, to read the latest information which takes the form of a blog. This 'blog' is updates continuously which means that the user is more likely to go onto this website reguarly to see the latest updates. By creating a blog format it also reduces the size of the scroll bar (which if too long can be offputting to users) as the older information is not viewable unless the artist clicks on the option to view older posts.

Monday, 6 December 2010

Lady GaGa Homepage

This is the website homepage for Lady Gaga. This homepage is fairly simple and straight forward. The colour scheme of the website is: red, black and white which are good contrasting colours as they stand out from one another. The main focus of the page is the image of the artist which is placed behind the information and takes up the full page. The image of the artists is black and white which works well with the colour scheme of black and white. The artists name is placed at the top of the website which is important as it tells the user who the artist is and makes the website appear as though it is personally hers and is personally updates by her. The page takes the form of a blog which reduces the length of the scroll bar which can be off putting to users if it is extremely long. Below the artists name at the top of the page is the spry menu; this is essential as it navigates the user around the website and is commonly placed at the top of website pages. The main font is white and fairly small, however, the blog post titles appear larger and in bold to stand out against the rest of the text and are there to engage the reader. The user is presented with the option to post their own comments on the website which makes them feel involved.