I am very pleased with both the positive and negative feedback that I have received from the audience throughout the production of my product.
The positive feedback I got was from many of my peers, complementing the range of simple creativity and complex effects which I had used to create the digipak, poster and music video. One of my peers, Oliver Marks, gave me feedback on my video saying, "I liked how the cuts were in time with the beat of the song and not just randomly placed." And "I like how the poster and digipak are so simple yet effective, it makes me want to listen to the album and maybe purchase it." Oliver also left a comment on my final video to say what he liked. (The video doesn't show up as the school network does not allow YouTube.)
Although I had much praise, there was also a fair share of constructive criticism and negative feedback during the production of my product. Such as when I had finished the 1st rough cut of the video, I asked the audience how I could improve and they said that more work would need to be done to it to make it seem like a real life product. Also, I had feedback on my poster, mainly because there was such little content, maybe too simple to look professional, so I went back to the drawing board and added more content in so that my poster would look authentic and like something the music industry would release. There was the same outcome with my digipak, constructive criticism telling me that more needed to be done. as I went over my work, I decided that, to improve, I would have to take the simple idea and add some more complex things into it, using more of the conventions of rap albums and not just Kanye's albums.
The positive and negative feedback helped me improve my product, but it also will help me prepare for a different approach if I was to make another music video.
The music video which I have created uses, challenges and develops forms
and conventions of real media products. The video to the song which I chose, ‘New
Slaves’ by Kanye West, is very different to typical rap videos. I was able to
take this change in convention and play with it, being able to challenge
conventions and in cases go completely against typical rap music video
conventions. For the advert which I created I decided I wanted to stick with
the same theme which Kanye had used, being very simple yet effective, with this
in mind I was able to create a poster, taking inspiration from existing
posters, which would fit with the style of the music video and also linked in with
the album which the song is on. At first it was hard to get the poster just
right, as I needed the correct balance of simplicity and effectiveness, but as I
developed my work, taking inspiration from the legitimate poster which
advertised the album ‘YEEZUS’, I was able to make a simple and effective poster
which would catch the eye of anyone who were to look at it.
Below is an image of the poster which I created.
I created the poster like this as I wanted to follow the conventions of real media pieces, such as posters made for Kanye's new album. Below is an image which II took inspiration from.
I have also created a digipak for the album. This took its time as I wanted
it to be similar to the actual album, but I also wanted to have my own spin on
it. As I had used a symbol which I created for the poster, I was able to
utilize this once more to create my digipak. I had decided to use one main
image to use on every page of the digipak, which I was able to do as the
created symbol was an easy fit onto the front/back cover, the spine and also
the inside of the digipak. I decided that I wanted to keep the digipak simple,
and the simple design of the created symbol was key to the design stage of the
digipak. Creating such a simple digipak would both challenge and use
conventions of rap digipaks. To challenge the conventions, I was able to use
such a simple design which meant it would look nothing like most rap albums,
but it would be using the same conventions as Kanye’s masterpiece as it was
that simple. Below is an image of the digipak which I created, I tried to follow conventions of Kanye's past albums but also I decided that I wanted to add my own spin on it.
Below are two images of the various 'Yeezus' digipaks. I used both of the albums to inspire me towards making my own digipak. I was able to use the idea of simplicity to my own product from the original versions, but I also used my own ideas towards making the digipak.
For the video I had decided that I wanted to use the same idea as Kanye
West in his video but also add my own parts in during the editing stage of the
video. As the music video goes I could argue that it follows the conventions
but also goes against the conventions of rap music videos. For the argument of
challenging the video, I would say that it is not like rap videos by Eminem or
JayZ, as it was nothing like they had ever done. This proves that my video
challenges the conventions of typical rap music videos. However, I would say that
it follows conventions of music videos. I would argue that I have followed and
took inspiration from Kanye’s legitimate music video, using few angles and not
many shots to make the political message seem a lot more serious. I like the
idea of not many shots or angles of the artist in the music video, this is
because for the song Kanye is being serious, talking about how slavery is still
about and how racism is everywhere. I used the idea of few shots as it gave my
video a more serious tone to it. This idea enabled me to make a simple yet
effective music video which followed the rest of my production stage which included
the poster and also the digipak. Below is my music video. I have tried to use conventions that Kanye uses so that I could make a professional looking music video. I believe that I have made a professional looking music video as I have used a variety of editing techniques so that the footage would fit with the music.
Below is the actual music video made by Kanye. I have used this as an inspiration as I have taken some ideas from the legitimate music video and put them into my music video. It is easy to tell where I have taken this inspiration from if you look at both of the videos.
(This is a projection of the legitimate music video as the real version is not allowed to be posted online due to it allegedly being racially-charged with the lyrics being the issue.)
This is what my editing process looks like. I have used multiple pieces of footage so that I could create a more professional music video, rather than just having a still shot of the actor lip syncing. I have been able to edit my video through Adobe Premiere Elements 12, which I was new to at the start of the course, but it was easy to pick up on how to get the best out of my video.
I have decided to use this found image as it follows Kanye Wests beliefs of Christianity and how Christians believe in being raptured. However, I have edited this image in Photoshop so that it is different to the original image, I changed the hue/saturation to a red so it matched with the logo and text. Also, this links to the story in the Bible when Jesus rises into heaven, looking like he has been raptured, with Jesus also being an inspiration to Kanye Wests Album name, 'Yeezus'. I have followed conventions of many posters by having a quote about the album and how you can listen to it via the internet. This is how I will set out my final poster but i will use my own image.
These are the mockups which I have made for the poster which will advertise the album. I have come up with 2 ideas for the poster, one being very simple with 'Yeezus' and the 'Y' symbol, and one with both of them elements and also an image of someone looking like they are about to get raptured. I have used this image as it links in with Christianity as they believe in being raptured, and also how Jesus seemed to be raptured on Easter Sunday.
This is what my digipak would look like if it was fully put together. It shows the outside of the digipak with the songs on the album on the back, the spine, and the front with the 'Y' symbol which I have created on Photoshop CS6. On the inside I have decided to develop the 'Y' symbol by duplicating it and putting 'YEEZUS' around it. I have also created the inside part which the CD would cover, the CD being represented by the white circle, when the CD is removed, it will reveal the 'Y' symbol and also 'Yeezus' with a mirrored effect.
These are the parts of the digipak from my mockups which I have decided to use. They are simple, yet follow conventions of Kanye West's album, which consists of a simple design. I have taken inspiration from the simple design of the legitimate 'Yeezus' album and used the 'Y' symbol, which I have created myself.
This is the inside of the digipak, which you would see if you took the CD out of the case. I have kept with the same theme as all of the digipak in using the 'Y' logo, and also the mirrored 'YEEZUS' text.
This is the final draft of the back cover I will be using for the digipak of the album I am using.
I have used the 'Y' symbol which I have created to enclose the song titles. I have also added a copyright blurb due to every CD needing one, and following the same conventions of the legitimate album 'Yeezus', I have used the same copyright.
This is the final draft of the front cover I will be using for my digipak. I have took into consideration how the legitimate album cover looks, as it follows no conventions of rap digipaks, I have decided to experiment on Photoshop and have come up with a digipak front cover which I think suits the album. I have created this Logo on Photoshop, I have done this due to the like between Kanye West's nickname 'Yeezus' and 'Jesus'. I have merged the 'Y' from 'Yeezus' which represents Kanye, with the cross which Jesus was put upon to create this new symbol. I have also added the conventional 'Parental Advisory' logo to warn parents that there are explicit lyrics in the songs on the album.
These are just some of the mock ups which I may use for my digipak. I will look further into the production of album artwork to see if I can make any digipak front covers which would suit the album more.
For the music video, the actor will need to be a grey jumper with any coloured shirt underneath, He would need no props as I plan to use none in the music video. The actor will show no emotion on his face as he is sending a political message and the lyrics are serious. The setting for the music video will be outiside at night with a light shining on the artist so that we can see him and the black and white effect which I will be using will work. He will also have a chain around his neck which can be compared to typical rap conventions with the rapper wearing gold chains.
No props needed. I do not need any props as in the music video I am going to just have simple shots of the head and upper torso of the actor as I am taking inspiration from the official 'New Slaves' Video. Also, I am going to have different shots and movements to follow a person walking down a long path.
Location
For the Location I have chosen to shoot my music video in a darkened room with a spotlight on the actor. I have taken inspiration from the official video for 'New Slaves' where Kanye West has a spot light on him with a plain background. I have also chose to use a long path and have a person walking down to represent a new slave.
The album 'Collision Course' is a collaboration album between rapper Jay-Z and punk band Linkin Park and the digipak reflects this through its artwork and theme. The use of graffiti styled prints and stencils shows the street based style of the music. the cover of the digipak (top right) is very busy, showing graffiti of things such as microphones and speakers, which can be seen to be linked with the hip-hop theme of the album represented by JayZ. There is also a punk type look to the cover, with the style of writing and background being very busy and straight edged.
The back of the digipak is of similar background to the cover, but just a stencil so that the songs on the album can easily be read. Aswell as this, there is the barcode and legal advisory on the back. The middle of the digipak shows similar images of graffiti and sharp text, further showing the mash up of the hip-hop/and punk music. the design of the CD is normal and does not challenge or confirm any of the conventions for this type of album.
This is the digipak for Jay-Z and Kanye West's 'Watch the Throne'. From the top part of the image we can see that the digipak does correspond with the title of the album, this is because when you think of a throne you think of gold and carvings, which is represented by the top part of the image which is the outside of the digipak. The inside of the digipak shows an American flag, 2 images of Jay-Z and Kanye West merged with an animal which is also seen to be used by the illuminati, and the other image is of angels. This could show their interest in the illuminati as they have been believed to be followers of it. This digipak does not follow the conventions of a typical rap digipak.
The images we see on the digipak are relevant to the digipak as Kanye West is a believer of Christianity, hence the title of the album 'Yeezus', which is a mix of Kanyes nickname (Yeezy) and the lord of Christianity (Jesus). On all of the images you can see that the eyes of the people have had something put over them, this could be to show that the religion has turned a blind eye or not seen how bad racism can be, and since the album is mainly about racism and sending out a political message and also about Kanye's faith, this is relevant to the digipak. This digipka does not follow the typical conventions of a rap digipak.
There are 3 types of Music Video, these types are: performance, narrative and conceptual.
Performance videos are the most common Music Videos. This type of video shows the artist/band singing in a concert with their fans. This is to give the feeling that you are actually at the concert.
Narrative videos present a sequence of events which tell a story. The most common narrative music videos are love stories where the boy meets the girl, boy loses the girl and then he gets her back.
Conceptual videos do not tell a story, but create a moood, a feeling to be evoked in the experience of viewing. Conceptual videos contain the possibility for multiple meanings as the metaphor is interpreted by the viewer.
What are conventions in music videos? The conventions of a music video vary depending on genre of music. However, some general conventions are: the artist is shown performing, the lyrics of the song influence what is shown in the video, the pace of editing fits the pace of the music, and the codes of dress reflect the mood of the song.
What are the conventions of a typical rap video? The rap genre of music has its varieties in music video, but all videos typically follow the convention of creating that “Star Image”, focusing on the artist primarily, and creating an image of the artist which the audience can in a sense be inspired to be like them. One typical common convention of rap music videos is that the video will show the artist illustrious and exotic life styles, illustrating the star’s daily life style in the videos. However, with the song which I have chosen, Kanye West's New Slaves, this can be shown to be completely different. We can see this in one of the projections that he had on show around the world, shown in the image below.
We can see that Kanye has gone against all conventions of a rap music video. He has done this by having a simple yet effective music video of just showing his face on the camera and not his illustrations or exotic life styles. It can be seen to be a serious music video as the song 'New Slaves' is a serious political message about black culture and how there is still racism in the world. This is completely different in the music video to 'Ni**as in Paris' by JayZ and Kanye West. The music video to this song shows a live performance by the pair and we can see the artist illustrations by them throwing their arms and jumping around, and also their lifestyles with what they are wearing and the venue which they are at.
This music video shows the other side to Kanye West, as he is seen to be dancing around, throwing his arms around and showing expression on his face, which is very different from his music video for 'New Slaves'. The conventions of a typical rap video can be seen in The Notorious B.I.G.’s song 'Warning'. We can see him in his natural lifestyle at home sitting around, showing his lifestyle and what he does in his time. A picture from the video is shown below.
[Verse 1] My momma was raised in an era when, Clean water was only served to the fairer skin Doing clothes you would have thought I had help But they wasn't satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself. You see it's broke n*@*a racism That's that "Don't touch anything in the store" And there's rich n*@*a racism That's that "Come here, please buy more" What you want a Bentley, fur coat and diamond chain? All you blacks want all the same things Used to only be n*@*as now everybody play me Spending everything on Alexander Wang New Slaves
[Hook] You see it's leaders and there's followers But I'd rather be a d*@k than a swallower You see it's leaders and there's followers But I'd rather be a d*@k than a swallower] [Verse 2] I throw these Maybach keys I wear my heart on the sleeve I know that we the new slaves I see the blood on the leaves I see the blood on the leaves I see the blood on the leaves I know that we the new slaves I see the blood on the leaves They throwing hate at me Want me to stay at ease F*@k you and your corporation Y'all n*@*as can't control me I know that we the new slaves I know that we the new slaves I'm about to wild the f*@k out I'm going Bobby Boucher I know that p*@*y ain't free You n*@*as p*@*y, ain't me Y'all throwing contracts at me You know that n*@*s can't read Throw on some Maybach keys F*@k it, c'est la vie I know that we the new slaves Y'all n*@*as can't f*@k with me Y'all n*@*as can't f*@k with Ye Y'all n*@*as can't f*@k with Ye I'll move my family out the country So you can't see where I stay So go and grab the reporters So I can smash their recorders See they'll confuse us with some bulls*@t like the New World Order Meanwhile the DEA Teamed up with the CCA They tryna lock n*@*as up They tryna make new slaves See that's that private owned prison Get your piece today They Probably all in the Hamptons Braggin' 'bout their maid F*@k you and your Hampton house I'll f*@k your Hampton spouse Came on her Hampton blouse And in her Hampton mouth Y'all 'bout to turn s*@t up I'm 'bout to tear s*@t down I'm 'bout to air s*@t out Now what the f*@k they gon' say now?
I have blanked out the explicit language by using '@' and '*' due to school filters blocking me from blogger.
Since the song I have chosen is copyrighted, I have decided to write to the two record labels which the song is copyrighted to. These 2 labels are Rocafella Records and Def-Jam Records, below is a copy of the email which I have sent to the two record labels.
I have decided to use the song 'New Slaves' by Kanye West. This song is about racism and how it is still around no matter what anyone says. I have chosen this song as it does not follow the conventions of a typical rap genre music video, I do not want to follow the typical conventions of a rap video so this song is the right choice for me.
This song will allow me to create a music video in whatever style I like as I do not have to follow the conventions of a typical rap music video. I can take this from the video as the artist does not jump around and throw his arms around like any rapper would, he simply stands there and raps. This is because the song is serious and he wants to get the message across to people about the way blacks are treated and to send a political message out there.
This poster is similar to the album artwork, which also shows us it follows typical conventions of rap posters. It shows the album artwork and also what date the album is to be released. It gives the same message as the artwork as they are the same picture. The colours on this poster show rap conventions but with Eminem's own spin on things showing him walking away.
This album artworks links to the title of the album, 'recovery'. It shows how Eminem has recovered from what had happened to him in past life and he can now walk away from everything which has affected him. It follows the conventions of rap albums as the artwork links to the title.
This poster follows the typical conventions of a rap poster, it shows who is playing and where, and it also shows the album which the artists will be performing. You can also see what you can expect Kanye and JayZ to look like as there is a picture from one of their gigs. This poster uses rap/hip-hop colour conventions using the dark background and highlighting the artists and easy to read text.
This is the album cover for JayZ and Kanye West's album Watch the Throne. From the artwork we can see that the gold patterns are what we would see on a throne of a King or Queen.As JayZ and Kanye are believers of the Illuminati there is signs all over the cover of things such as the pentagram and the triangles which represent the Illuminati. This album artwork does not follow the conventions of a typical rap album.
The poster which Lanye West used for his US tour shows how he has mixed his nickname 'Yeezy' and the name of the Christian leader 'Jesus' to make 'Yeezus'. We can see this as it looks as though Kanye is being elevated by a ray of light leading him to God, which also matches the name of the album as Jesus was taken after he resurected and Kanye has took that idea and made it his own. The colours on this poster show the hip-hop/rap conventions using the dark colours with a bright main image.
Kanye described his album cover as an “open casket funeral to the death of the CD.” It represented the changes in the music industry since the beginning of the Internet Age. The cover also fits with the rest of the album’s minimalist aesthetic. This album artwork does not follow the typical conventions of a rap albums album artwork.
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