CD Cover (Ideas & Development) 30 Nov 2010 - 6 May 2011

Here are a few images I have collected to potentially become the/a part of Distractions CD Cover. Found on Google Images, I dont think that these pictures will dominate the cover as i would like Distractions picture to be on the front cover and maybe have the sunshine as a backdrop for the set list/song title and back cover. "Let The Sun Shine" I'm trying express the songs lyrics through the visuals without trying to make this band look like your average young new rock band.

14 February 2011, I have taken some images myself of the sunlight shining down on some pleasant imagery; this has been shot with a 2.0 megapixel phone camera, the sony ericsson w610i. Here is a slideshow of my design for the CD cover. I have chosen this front cover picture because I wanted to make a small reference the song title and how everything else is in shadow it makes the sun more stronger and dominant over the rest of the setting. This picture of Distraction is one of the few that I had and I have chosen this one because it conveys a friendship attitude which will contrast with the depressing song and show audiences their true style. The layout is accurate in height and width to the traditional design of a cd single case because I thought that would be best seeing as it is only one song and it could possibly promote the band alot more. Initially a Crystal case design.

25th March 2011 Due to a minor problem I must drop my crystal-case plan and put what I have got into the digipack design used on LPs. Now I am at the point now where I have completed my "individual" CD design that has been created in the image of how only I would like it to be. It was made mostly with images from the internet which I would be unable to do for the final draft due to copyright issues however the secondary images that I did use gives you general idea of what I would like to acheive for the final front cover of the CD. The blue effect I decided to use at the last minute because putting this particular picture in black and white didnt really look that attractive so i thought blue effect would be nicer to look at and makes the front cover appear really attractive like a tropical lagoon at midnight. This colour has its mysterious effects so it will be quite eye-catching for the public. My last band pic (above) may still remain in the final CD design but I have added screencaps from the music video performance to create a filmstrip layout on the inner cover of the digipack. These pictures will remain in black and white in order to keep the moody effect that was created in the music video. I would like to possibly add a picture from the narrative with the RED effect demonstrating the romance genre, placed in the inner cover behind the disc - two characters holding hands, picture taken from behind them.

3rd April 2011 After discussing the Music Video with my team, I thought about the possibility that an audience may watch this video and may think that it is trying to pre-date back to the 40s - 50s judging by the B&W effect alone. Afterwards I thought we could use this concept to manipulate the original idea of design for the CD inner-cover by using frame contact sheets i.e. negative camera strips making it more interesting for the audience and making a nice change from just sunshine and screenshots. I felt that the negatives made the perfect frames for the screenshots of the band and made the bands image appear "scruffy but dont give a damn" it has its positive ways to portray a rock band. Below this I wrote a false "Thank You" statement from each of the band members thanking their family, friends and us. Here is the negative effect I am talking about:

6th May 2011 - This Negative effect will be Sliced down in order to be 'merged' with the limited band pics that we have. It will be featured on the inside cover of the Album "Let the Sun Shine" This frame style helps emphasise the Black and White effect used in the Music Video. Here is the final Filmstrip style created for the CDs inside cover.

This will be the final picture for the CDs front cover, I will alter the Suns rays and bring out more of a shadow and a purple colour that will emphasise the albums title and the effect created in the Music Video.

Magazine Advert (Ideas & Development) 30 Nov 2010 - 6 May 2011

Here is a picture of me playing Guitar Hero which is not going to stay put does give one of my general ideas for the magazine advert; Get a picture of Distraction and use fototrix.com to brighten it up and turn it into a proper advert. I thought Rolling Stones would be a good idea because it is well known and a highly used source of music information and entertainment. I will try and add customised sub-titles when I have figured out how to do it. 27th March 2011 After a long wait due to filming, editing and pre-production I have finally come up with the first basic idea of the print advert which is part of the promotional package which has to promote the band Distraction along with the music video and CD. I thought I should keep the B&W effect in the advert as it relates to their song "Let The Sun Shine"; the effect created in the music video. Due to copyright issues I have decided not to include large brand names in the advertisement, the lack of colour in the advertisements leaves a big window open for further advertisements in the future that will show how Distraction can come into their own and evolve along with a genre. I used the font from Fight Club as it cropped up 11 years ago so I thought it could be a good start to a possible logo for the band because it seems to emphasise their image of a teenage band who just like to rock. The quick slogans and bar chart puts more pressure on readers to quickly book without having time to think about further which will bring in more money for the band. I made this using Microsoft PowerPoint, the pictures of the band are screencaps from the music video itself. Using a built in free effect with the programme I blurred the pictures into the advertisement making it look much better. False Quotes from well-known labels makes the potential performance more unmissable for fans. Putting the prices in small writing does not make the advert appear to 'pushy' and 'desperate' to the audience.
3rd April 2011 I have made a mistake. The Print Advert must promote the CD Digipack NOT a Concert, I will learn from this and move on however the basic design of this advert will be used again in the correct aim; making changes to the information as well.
6th May 2011 - Due to lack of teamwork I had to do most of the practical work involving the Apple computers by myself and on the last week before all the coursework had to be handed in I quickly gathered some of my basic ideas above and created the final print advert which can be seen further up the page of my blog in the 2011 archive.

3rd Music Video Analysis "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias (2001)

Directed by Joseph Kahn.

Two young Male and Female characters, speeding through the desert highway with a bag full of cash in the back seat would suggest that they are on the run and obviously madly in love judging by their facial expressions, body language and the lyrics. The mise-en-scene used in this video is really interesting because it tries to appear modern with actions and settings that make the small reference to a classic, trditional love story seen on screen for example: The hollow stone house where they hold each other and he sings the chorus for the first time does not really make much sense narrativewise but does make the music video more romantic and heartwarming to watch. When the music video cuts back to him always putting his arms around her on the bed would suggest how the can cut out the rest of the world from them when they are together regardless of the cash and being on the run. The costumes seem like pretty basic clothes to last them while they are on the run from the gangsters, they are quite revealing at some stages to establish the traditional amount of sex appeal that a music video tends to have. The car is that typical american model that always tends to be used in a getaway or in the middle of nowhere where they are. An interesting use of cinematography would be that how on some shots when it zooms in there appears to be a circular frame around the outside of the lens. The camera stays in the low-corner angle when there is a quick shot of them driving into the sunset.

There is a big relationship between the lyrics and the video because the song is called "Let Me be Your Hero" and that is what he is doing in the music video other than also playing her love interest. The genre characteristic would be of a romance which it clearly is as it may still involve the hint of danger and guns but it still does not introduce another genre to the music video. The music is very soft and gentle throughout the music video even when he gets caught, the tone does become alot stronger but the melody remains the same near the end when he dies. Intertextuality plotwise would be that this music video relates alot to the Bonnie and Clyde storyline. Having Jennifer Love Hewitt and Mickey Rourke in this music video would hype up its image and make it more performance based. The narrative involves an ex-criminal running away with his girlfriend with alot of cash while men in suits (probably from the gang he deserted) track them and follow them, while on the run it would appear that they both rely on their love rather than being rich so they burn the money and get married. After the wedding they are confronted by Rourke who wounds Iglesias in front of Hewitt. Police arrive and Rourke and his men are arrested off-screen while Iglesias dies slowly in Hewitts arms. The intended audience would probably most likely be young women who love boy bands/singers and purchase alot of posters and music of theirs.

Enrique Iglesias cannot help but be represented as every girls fantasy in this music video, he is represented as the hero with the dark past which makes him a good protector for Jennifer Love Hewitt. The calm music and lyrics makes the music video more dreamy and romantic which brings out his softer side to audiences making it hard to dislike him at all. The music video runs on a linear timeline which has a narrative of the traditional young couple going on the run which is an interesting romance story to use. Camera shots consist of alot of two-shots to emphasise the powerful love that the two characters have for one another, low angle shots are used on Mickey Rourke during the confrontation scene to emphasise his dominance and the danger to them that he is. In comparison to Iglesias and Hewitt who are shot in low angles during the scene however they were never shot in high angles to begin with. The sound to go with the lyrics is very soothing which goes perfectly well with narrative, guitar crossed with piano performance that remains at a calm tone throught the music video until it becomes stronger than the lyrics near the end due to the unhappy ending; death of Iglesias. Costumes in the music video are casual clothes, Mickey Rourke wears the traditional suit in order to acheive the traditional gangster look.

Nickelback's Marketing Campaign

To remain fresh-faced and hip; the band Nickelback uses a wide range of methods to market themselves in order for their names to carry on cropping up whenever the rock genre is discussed in a conversation or on television. It will also maintain their worldwide audience instead of having a majority of them drift away once the dust settles after one of their live performances or new singles. Nowadays the ways to advertise are so advanced and effective that the audience are kept within a bands grasp as they are constantly entertained and hyped up by future events that the band has to offer. Social networks that have become increasingly popular among the world such as Facebook, Twitter opens a window for celebritys to market themselves and lets the audience come much closer to interacting with them than they could before. Clothing merchandise and signed gear has always been a traditional way of attracting attension and now that there are a variety of styles and fasions this area has greatly risen in popularity since the time of the odd autograph and plain t-shirt.

Once more, using social networking sites on the world wide web is now a very common method to look up your favourite bands (Nickelback) and find out about their history, listen to music samples and find out about upcoming tour dates, gigs and guest appearences.

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Nickelback?v=app_5179614317

Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/nickelback

Twitter page: http://twitter.com/nickelback_fans

Using the popular Guitar Hero game franchise to market and promote a band which is fresh or an oldie has recently come into play and acts such as Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen have been largely benefitted with money and a shot of revival for their bands. These games offer an

interactive virtual reality for Nickelback etc. fans and keeping them on such console platforms such as PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii will keep the games appearence fresh and new regardless of the date that they came out.

Here are a few examples of clothing merchandise available from Nickelback which not only just has their name on it but it relates to the style that they wear when seen live, on TV or on advertisements. Nowadays they keeps alot of their wardrobe black as they now sing with more darker moods than before.

Nickelback Research & Star Construction (with Links to our band "Distraction")

Nickelback is a canadian rock band from the US, formed in 1995 by Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake & drummer - Brandon Kroeger. The rock band are mostly involved with Hard Rock and Post-Grunge base however the band has also experimented with other genres such as Pop and Country music. The band has sold over 21,000,000 album copies in the US to date.
The band is based in Vancouver, Canada and the name originates from a time when band member: Mike Kroeger used to be employed at Starbucks and give change in "nickels" to customers. The band is signed to EMI and Roadrunner Records for the rest of the world. In July 2008 the band signed with Live nation for three touring and album cycles with an option for a fourth; their contract includes recordings, touring, merchandise and other rights.
Their first single in 2001 "How You Remind Me" was a huge success and automatically catapulted them into the mainstream rock genre.
For full information on the bands history including some of my own sources, follow the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelback

I believe that this band share alot in common with the potential rock band that me and my team are working with in college and will be working with throught the course of our media project. Nickelback does not have as many band members as Distraction does, willing to share the instruments and vocal work due to mixed skills and abilitys. Nickelback are far more professional and assign one person to each area of a performance i.e. if the lead singer of Nickelback were to switch with another member; the music would be unrecognisable to larger audiences which Distraction do not have. Distraction are not as creative as Nickelback but are creative in a sense by doing a cover song but performing it in another genre style. Distraction could potentially come to present the same image as Nickelback has been recognised to do so by critics; Critisism tends to focus on the bands themes of Strippers, Sex, Prostitutes, Drug, Sex, Drinking and Sex.
Obviously Distraction will not have as much hyped up Marketing or Publicity as Nickelback does, but they still try to market themselves in their own low-budget way e.g. several live performances at a public house located in town centre a year. CDs are able to be recorded, designed and published through the Myspace website. Nickelback have a worldwide advertising campaign but keep to the image it shares with Distraction. Nickelback; band members dress like a modern rock group and never seem to make any references to classic rock, 90s punk in the way they are presented in their live performances and music videos. The hair styles seem pretty normal with minor visibal piercing and tattoo art. This relates alot to the way the band members are presented in Distraction. Here are 2 examples of nickelbacks pop promos which is a taste of the image that they present and stand for:

"How You Remind Me" by Nickelback

"Far Away" by Nickelback (shows a romantic side to the moody band) here is the link, embedding was disabled for this particular music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4y-RzVGrHg

Nickelback Star Construction:

When they started out (around the year 2000); Nickelback seemed like the average young, new rock band on the scene with a hint of their own style and their own vocals to add to the rock culture. their appearence seemed like all-canadian with the certain brands of t-shirts that are available in their region which was their image at the time and it was how they wanted to be represented before altering it to fit into the larger scene in american rock culture. Back then their music seemed more softer and with more heart and feelings toward the storyline that included the romance narrative and precious memories (Far Away, Photograph) Their CD covers and print adverts were bright and cool but didnt really offer anything different to rock fans out there.

Since around 2006 Nickelback has grown more darker and destitute through their music which has changed their image making it more intense through extreme use of loud instruments with cranked up volume and voltage making it painful to listen to but in a good way. Their clothing has changed to jet black to express the dark and moody feelings they are trying to present to their wider targeted audience; they could possibly be targeting fans of gothic music in order to expand their fan clubs and audiences, sometimes they have shocks of white and red in their costumes to represent Light, Danger etc. Their CD covers seem to involve perculier symbols with pitch-black surroundings (Dark Horse album cover) rather than a picture of the band itself which would have changed since 6 years ago. Their music mood is now so different that one of their new songs "Burn it to the Ground" has been chosen to introduce WWE Wrestling due to it being so intense with action-packed feel to it.

Treatment & Synopsis for Music Video (2nd Draft with New Ideas)

After my Guitar Hero band idea was scrapped by others and we were set up with a Student band that is part of the Music programme at Suffolk New College; this caused me to rethink my last proposal entirely in order to make it run more smooth and slick with the Bands image and newley chosen song "Let the Sun Shine by Labrinth"

Due to the Band making the song more of a rock version than an RnB one, i thought the song projected a rather Dark feel to it which would automatically be the key theme for the music video. I wanted our group and the band to be credited equally for our work when this is done so I suggested that we film a narrative based around the song that seperates a story from the bands performance, making it clear what area certain people performed in. I also wanted to include a reference to the movie director David Fincher in the musc video in order to relate to my key theme of darkness in setting and soul. I wanted to add quick 7 second video clips from his movies for a quick reference avoiding domination over the music video. The clips i wanted to add were:

Fight Club - Jack & Tyler talking outside dingy club in an alleyway ultimatly leading to the idea of the Fight Club.

Se7en - Mills & Somerset arriving at the crime scene left by John Doe that is set in sleazy underground motel with heavy rock music and red light in the background i.e. Blood and Danger.

Zodiac - Victims of the Zodiac killer before the murder, Night time makes the mysterious cars headlights look more scary and intense for everyone.

The "New" Synopsis (My Way)

i wanted a dark storyline to go with the very depressing song to go with the very depressing song the band had chosen and other members of my team had accepted. So i created a storyline that will blend in with this new song; i wanted to keep filming local so I proposed that we shoot it in O Block (a part of the old college that has not been demolished yet) because our new college looks far too modern and safe for the kind of setting i wish to use and create. Moving on from O Block i wanted to shoot some more on the college grounds to establish past love interests and a life in which our main character has left behind; hence 'Let the sun shine'. Then afterwards maybe we can move closer to the town centre or toward the docks keeping the dingy, dark setting in motion. Here is my Proposal in more detail, emphasisng my creativity.

At the beginning i would like to begin with alot of CUs on the main character that will be played by myself. This will make a start in establishing what sort of person he is and how he will act. The focus will the be on the alcohol and the cigarettes on the table he is sitting at; there will also be a college text book on the table and the alcohol and fags on the table will represent how they can now interfere with his past life (clearly was a good student) As the music video will continue it will stick to this theme until thus coming to a flicker of hope for this lost soul 'Let the Sun Shine' A Gamble theme will be used and will be taking place in Suffolk New College with the presence of playing cards with cash or chips. I would also like to include a camera shot that will involve a fold gesture in which the main character will throw his cards over the lens ultimatly cutting to the next shot e.g. Casino Royale used this shot. After this a series of random encounters will occur making it more likely for the two to spark a potential relationship. After a small band performance clip the scene will take place on the waterfront at a small cafe which will involve the character maybe eating a bad breakfast or circling potential jobs as well as the horses in the paper. maybe the female character will come into this scene and maybe not but this will be a signifier on how the male character is now changing his ways.

Setting Re-think

Due to a possibility of inaccesebility in O Block, I have come up with a new proposal revolving around the setting area for our Music Video. My OWN idea would be to set it outside the Dolce Vita nightclub which was shut down in 1993 between the old fasioned style library building. This area is less crowded and the boarded up club will express the mood i am trying to create However this will be one of the settings i intend to use for the music video. For our main character to notice the potential love of his life, we must include random incounters rather than the main character following the women 24/7. Suffolk New College is too modern in which I have already established that however it can be part of the whole representation on how the new love interest can pull this lost soul out of the shadows and bring him back to the real world. Next scene could possibly be at one of those small cafes along the waterfront on the docks which would be introducing more of the public into his life as it starts to become more colourful and bearable. Maybe other locations around college to establish the idea that the male character and the female character are both students even if it is a little surreal throughout the video.