R&B

R&B (rhythm and blues) is an African American style of music originating from 'disco' music. for example, this image above is a front cover to a R&B album. It portrays a typical scene involving the city skyline background with a flashing car which represents a materialistic lifestyle. The woman in the centre of the  image is posing in a suggestive manner which is typical of R&B covers. Often containing explicate material (swearing and adult themes) there is a warning for this printed on the front cover to warn parents buying the album that it might not be suitable for children. The fact that the front cover was shot at night suggests that the target audience is made up or 18+ who are able to go out and enjoy the nightlife. 

Florence and the Machine - You've got the love

in the video, the artist is in a dark room with a spotlight on her whilst she sings. It is very simple, you can't even see her body you can only see her face. She isnt looking into the camera, she is looking away to the side. The camera zooms out and you start to see what she is wearing, which is a glittery liatard. You then see her standing up on a glittery moon. The lights are very simple, its mainly dark with a few spotlights. You can then see that she is surrounded by people who are partying and its been slowed down so that you can see them all having a good time. 

Sum 41 - In Too Deep

This video is basically a story of a group of boys who are in a diving competition. They're up against tanned, good looking, muscular "jocks" who look like the favorites to win. The video is meant to tell a story about a group of underdogs that end up winning the competition. In a lot of video's there are clear story's that try to grip the viewer and make them remember the video. This video is meant to show that sometimes the 'popular' people don't always succeed and sometimes the underdogs win. 


The video the characters use a lot of eye contact to try and get the viewers attention. There is the background story of the diving competition, and then there is them actually singing and playing their instruments. There is also meant to be the humorous side of the video, that the underdogs are all very skinny, and don't look as though they have any chance. The other team are well groomed, very muscular and look like they have been properly trained to dive. 

Next To Me - Emeli Sande

In the video, you can see the artist Emeli walking into a large warehouse. The warehouse is empty apart from a piano, and a man at the drums. It is bright lighting and looks like it is daylight. Everything is quite natural colours, the warehouse isn't decorated at all, it is very plain. Her clothes are neutral colours, browns and blacks. The lights all turn off and instead there are two spotlights, one on her and one on the drummer. This draws attention to the fact that there isn't anything in the warehouse other then the artist and some drums. It makes the audience think that she doesn't need a massive production to show off her music, as her voice does the job anyway. You then see her infront of a white screen, dressed in blue. The fact that it isn't just a plain white screen adds an effect to the video, and the way she is dressed makes her look quite holy and regal. The way that she also uses her hands again makes her look very innocent.  The lights then change to bright colours, like pinks and blues. This makes her look interesting and gets peoples attention. They use a certain effect where you still see the artist but there is a black image over the top of her doing different movements to the clearer one that we are seeing.

Music Video's Analysed

Mockingbird - Eminem 




"This is an example of Eminem's rap storytelling ability, another being "Stan". The lyrics are a personal, undisguised account of his early relationship with his wife and daughters. Critics praised the song for its lyrics. This song mixes an original rap dialogue about Eminem's failed marriage, as he apologizes to his daughters with a straight melodic version of the traditional "Mockingbird" lullaby called "Hush, Little Baby". The second verse was about the difficulties including Kim and Eminem's divorce and the beginning of Eminem's fame. The music video begins with Eminem watching a compilation of his home videos of Hailie and Laney Mathers, which is the majority of the video including footage of Eminem at the MTV Video Music Awards and studio footage with Dr. Dre when Eminem raps about his life changing."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mockingbird_(Eminem_song)

Start of A2 Media Course.

In our first lesson back, we learnt about what a Digipack is, and how they are made so that they look attractive to the people buying them. 


A Digipack is basically a CD case. You have the front cover, the back cover and the insides. Music artists use them to show off their albums, and to try and attract people to buy them. They have to be eye catching, and look interesting and be different.

                                                                CHERYL COLE.

The more interesting and unique that they look, the more likely people are to want to buy the album. This is an example of Cheryl Cole's album. Its in black and white, to create an effect. There is also a quite sexual reference, as it doesn't look as if she is wearing anything other then the hat. It does get people interested and gets their attention. She is looking straight into the camera, which makes it feel more personal to the audience, as if she is looking at them. The swirly handwriting that says "Cheryl Cole 3 words" looks very feminine and dainty, where as she is shown in the picture as being very strong and independent. Her face is partly covered by the hat that she is wearing, this makes her look mysterious and makes her eyes look piercing. 

CEE LO GREEN.

In this image you can see that the artist Cee Lo Green is looking away from the camera, into the distance. He also has sunglasses on which means that he isn't making a connection with the audience. This could either mean that he is looking into the distance because he is 'thinking' about something, or done to make him look like he has got bit of an attitude. The writing is quite feminine for a male, with the pink swirly handwriting showing his name and the swirly blue writing showing what the album is called. 

EMINEM. 

This album cover is very different to the others. It doesn't actually show a picture of the artists face, instead it shows his lower half, which the other two didn't.  The big, bold, simple writing gets the message across to the person looking who it is, and what the albums called. The roses on the floor and the posture that he is in, as well as the curtains behind suggests that he has 'just been on stage' and that 'adoring fans' have thrown roses at him because he just gave a great performance. This is maybe insinuating that this is what the album is like, and that if you buy it you will love it. The 'Parental Advisory' mark in the bottom right hand corner shows that there is explicit content in the album. This might excite the younger generation who will probably be listening to it, and will attract them. Underneath the big, bold simple writing the quite faint swirls underneath just add a softer touch to the album.

 Of course, a digipack isn't just the front cover. It is the inside and the back as well. They need these because it gives the buyer a list of all of the songs inside so that they know what track they want to listen to and what the song is called, and the insides gives them a bit more detail about the lyrics, the artists, and who helped to produce the album itself. It is there to give people some extra information about the whole album.