Digipak ideas and inspirations

One main convention that emerges from these pictures is that the artist's name is shown as being bold and big. Most artists have direct eye contact with the audience members. These are all ideas that I really like and I will take into consideration. The shots of the artists are mostly close up and mid shots, so they are easily recognisable by their fans. The font is also very simple and in blocks to help fans read it more clearly. 

For these female artists, the eye make up stands out such as Adele/25and Iggy Azalea. Also most of the covers have bright lighting excluding only a few, where some are black and white. Furthermore, the hair for each of the female artists are shown as being quite made up. I do have some sort of idea for the sort of Digipak that I would like to produce for my artist. I would like my artist to have her hair out and have simple make up on. I cannot forget the pine of the CD cover. For the spine I will make sure the artist and album name is written clearly in a simple font. 

Artist, Props and Costume

My artist will be shown as very simple from her work side however when she is getting ready I want the audience members to feel like she is taking her time and is putting a lot of effort in what she is doing. In the master shots I want to make sure she looks emotional and serious as I want the audience to think about the lyrics while watching her 'sing'.

Costume

          

These are some outfits that I am planning for the artist to wear. The red dress will be for her getting ready to go out as it relates to the lyrics of the video and I believe that there could be some connotations to the 'red dress'. Additionally I will make sure my artist has a good amount of make up on  and she is wearing high heels to make it look more realistic. Her hair will be done in a bun as it was mentioned in the song and it adds to her look of looking smart and sophisticated. The simple vest tops will be for when she is singing to the camera in the master shots. I have chosen a vest stop as it shows simplicity and I want the artist to look stripped back. There will be some make up used in this part. For the outside shots, I will need a coat that looks smart to go with her red dress outfit. Lastly, her work attire will include a simple smart/casual shirt with trousers. I don't want her to look like she is going out to work. Keeping it smart/casual will help the audience realise that she is working from home due to the simple outfit. Her hair will be very simple and there won't be much make up being used at this point. 

Props and Mise en scene

For the work scene I will need a laptop, some papers the artist can work with and a pen. This will make the home environment look more like a work area. When the artist is getting ready I will  need a very 'girly' dressing table full of perfumes, make up, a mirror, hair brush and more. This will help set the mood for the audience. Because the artist is getting ready, I will have to give some jewellery for her to put on during the music video. 

  

Record Label

The record company that I have chosen is Republic Records. It is an American record company that operates as a division of universal music group. According to Media base, Republic Records was 2012's top charting U.S. label. The label's best selling artists include Ariana Grande, Amy Winehouse, Owl City, and Lorde. I am choosing this record label as it has signed many similar artists to Lana Del Rey who have been successful. An american record will help my artist to reach a wide audience as most artists are successful  in the U.S and there is more choice. 
 

Moodboard

I would like my actress to be in a red dress as shown in my mood board due to the connotations you can draw from just a 'red dress' and also the visuals will show a relationship with the lyrics (Goodwin). I want to spend some time on when the artist is getting ready to show how much she wants to 'doll up' and go out. This will contrast with her working at work as shown in the title of the song, Summertime Sadness. Also my actress will be looking very simple when the master shot will be taking place. This is because I want the audience members to see the actress stripped back and be seen for who she really is. At some point in my music video I would like to include a close up of the actress' lips when she is singing just to make it look appealing, for example when the song says 1,2,3,4.  I also want to include a time lapse in the video to show that time is passing and maybe a typical day of the artist. Lastly, I want to show that the actress is bored and feels stressed at work, generally fed up with life. I could do this by either making her sit in an office or work from home. If my artist is working from home, it will make her look like she has an even more boring life. This is because a normal person will have to go out to work, however if my artist works from home it will show that she doesn't go out much and is restricted as to what she can do.

Similar Artists

The genre that Lana Del Rey sings about is indie pop. Here are some artists similar to Lana Del Rey in terms of genre:

Paloma Faith

Paloma is a pop artist but also comes under Indie pop. The make up of Paloma is very simple but her hair and costume is very vibrant. Her hair is done in a retro style. This music video clearly has a narrative that is shown. She's been left for another woman and she doesn't want to know about this other woman or her relationship with her lover. New York is metaphorical for the woman she's been left for, I think New York has been used as she's trying to say this other woman is new and exciting like New York is.

Florence and the Machine

This music video does not have a clear narrative however the lyrics of the song is very strong which may mean that she didn't need to have a narrative in the music video. Also her voice is really strong so people just listen and interpret their own meanings to the song. Florence and the machine also comes under the indie pop genre due to her unusual music videos such as cosmic love and spectrum. Furthermore, her hair and costume adds to the strangeness. at 1.20 in the music video the balloons could be a metaphor of losing things you love, 'sooner or later in life the things you love you lose'

Feedback from my Treatment

One part of the feedback that I received was that I may not have enough content for my music video. Furthermore, the music video idea was seen as a cliche. I now have to think about how to make my music video more interesting for the audience members, so they could watch the music video again and again. I don't want the audience members to be hesitant about watching the video again.

To improve, I would try and use graphic matching. I think this would really show the contrast of the original side of the actress and then the side that she wishes to be. For example, if she is at work singing a piece of paper, the other side of it would be maybe her signing an autograph.
One thing I may consider is when the actress is getting ready. I could show the difference between how she would get ready when going out and how she gets ready when going to work everyday.

Overall, I have to think about some more interesting things to do in the music video, maybe not a dream but I could include maybe a day dream.

I have decided not to do a dream, as I believe that it is a typical cliché of a music video. I would like to do something unique, so I am thinking of creating two sides of a person and not do the dream.

Treatment

This is my Pitch that I have created. I just wanted to share my idea with other members of the class so I can gain some feedback.

Audience

The most common people that listen to Indie Pop are mostly females in their teenage years going towards young adults. If the artist is female (like Lana Del Rey), it is extremely likely that mostly girls will listen to them (core audience). This is because girls are more likely to relate to the music video and lyrics. Furthermore, it is more common for females to listen to female artists. The audience for this genre and artist is mainstream. In relation to social grades, my target audience will be from grade A to C2 as these people are more likely to listen to pop, indie pop whereas classes D and below are less likely to listen to this genre of music.

The attitude for this type of audience, in my opinion feels like a group of girls who listen to indie pop. I can imagine them getting together to talk about that song they heard on the radio or saw on youtube. I believe that these girls will know the lyrics of the song and will sing along to it whenever they hear it. This is because the lyrics of the songs are open to interpretation.
I have done some audience research for myself. I produced a questionnaire to find out what people are interested in nowadays.

This is what I gathered from my questionnaire:

 

Target Audience

From the research I have concluded that my target audience is Indie, females aged between 18-25 as mostly females can relate to the music video as well as the lyrics. It will get the audience thinking and will allow them to interpret their own story into it. My video will be useful as it will inform them about the artist's life and that life isn't all about conforming and having the same routine everyday. It is fine if you want to go out and enjoy yourself with friends and family. I am also aiming to entertain my target audience so they can watch my music video again and again. (idea of the use and gratification theory)

My artist's song will be consumed through Youtube as audience members mostly spend their time socialising through the internet, online and other social networking sites such as Youtube, whatsapp and twitter. I believe that this has become more dominant than traditional forms of media texts like CD's DVD's etc as people can download music from these digital channels (youtube, spotify) straight onto their phone which means they can listen to the song wherever and whenever they want. Broadcasting my music video on mainstream music channels seems inappropriate for my artist and her audience, but maybe the radio will be better so people can listen to her in the car, when they're shopping and other places which will make them want to watch the music video just by listening to the lyrics of the song as the meaning of the song is open to interpretation. Using digital platforms to distribute will help me appeal to a wider audience as it is quick, easy and people will have easy access.

lyrics

I have interpreted the meaning of this song. I believe that I could do something unique with this song which I am looking forward to do. Perhaps I could create two sides of a girl. These days many females go through a lot of problems however they don't always show it. I think I want to show this somehow through the music video. Some women look alright from the outside but may be upset on the inside therefore I can use 'Summertime Sadness' to show this. Just through the title there is contradiction being shown. This could be done through the girl having a dream and showing the 'other' side of the girl.