Reflecting back on AS year: Digipak

 Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to produce a digipak over the summer holidays, but hopefully my digipak I will create this year will top anything I would have done!

Until then!

Stephanie

INTRODUCTION: Just me!

Hello! The wordle you see above you are just a few words to describe myself :) For our A2 year we are making our own music video and I am so excited! I will be researching ideas, increasing my knowledge and brushing up on my skills to make sure that our music video is the best it can be!

Until then!

Stephanie

State of music Industry In 2012 (Research)

When you think of music in 2012 you would say it is in it's hight as where ever you are or go there will always be a way for you to listen to music. Well think again The music industry is struggling and is facing problems, many can argue about why once such a lucrative industry is dying.

• Illegal Downloading - This is the biggest problem facing the music industry right now. People can now go online and get their favourite song for free it is great for listeners but this is a huge problem for music bosses who are loosing money. This could have been avoided as once there was only one site that people can go to a share files this site was called Napster. Napster had million of music consumers sharing files with one another this was a big chance for music bosses to work with napster and find a way for both to profit instead napster was shut down and all those millions of subscribers went separate way to other file sharing sites. 

• With less and less people buying music this has hit other businesses hard. I remember when I was younger I used to go to my local music shop and buy singles and albums. That shop is now closed and many more like them have gone. Even big music shops like Hmv are struggling, it was reported that 60 hmv shops where due to close as shares and sales slump. The success of itunes made people think that it can help save the struggling industry but with cheaper single's it destroys the notion of albums and there is not a huge profit to record labels

All is not lost as it has been found that older people prefer to buy physical cd's then download them. And also artist and bands with big fan bases can still shift cd's even in this digital age.

My Favourite Previous Student Video (Research)

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The world is yours from 283goswell on Vimeo.

This is my favourite previous student video. I really liked this video because I felt like it really went with the song like when it came to choosing the mis en scene, they shot scenes of the inner city vibe urban areas and people. I also thought that the editing was done on point as they had cuts ever 5 seconds so we got to see different scenes and locations. I also liked the use of the fish eye lens as it conveyed the sense of intimacy and gave the viewer that up and close feel while watching.The lip syncing was in sync and he really interacted with the camera and sold himself as an artist. The audience for this video would be young urban males and the genre is hip hop. The was no clear narrative in the video but some of the shots went with some key lyrics.
Here are some pictures of my favourite scenes from the clip

Andrew Goodwin

A summary of Andrew Goodwin's theory.




In music videos Andrew Goodwin has identified key aspects that make up a music video.
These are the following:
A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals either illustrating, or contradicting the lyrics.
In addition the second key to a music video is the idea of music having a relationship with the visuals, this time the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the actual music itself.
Furthermore the idea of constant close ups of the artists or vocalists to promote the artist with as much publicity as they could require. 
Also Inter textual references to other media texts may also be present.
He also mentions that Voyeurism plays a huge impact in music videos especially in relation to woman.


Here are some examples of music videos that follows his main ideas.

Although this video is very simple it covers the key ideas Goodwin mentions for example the constant use of the close up on the artists, whilst also having the artist dancing/moving along with the beat. Also with some of the lyrics going along with the actions of the artist as the lyrics say ''hips hops in my heart'' logic(artist) puts his hands towards the other person pointing at his chest to repersent the heart.

Heres another example that shows some of the keys in Goodwin's theory. Once again many close ups are shown but this time a specific edit is done to show many characters faces put into one to make it a full face. In addition it s an example of Disjuncture as the lyrics really do not show what the video is showing, which means it contradicts the lyrics, this song is more of a dance song then a romantic one.

This is an the final video which shows an example of Illustration, this is when the video is telling us a story along with the lyrics. 

And this is Andrew Goodwin himself..... 

Research : Developments in research skills

AS-A2

From my AS practical work, I am now aware of the importance of detailed and thorough research.
Research widens one's knowledge and insight into a particular subject area. It provides adequately preparation before the work begins.
Even in my blogs, I have learnt how to find adequate information and how to make it interesting and entertaining for people to read.
I have also learnt how to sift and sort through information as quick as possible in order to get the best information that will enhance my chances of a better grade.

Research : State of the music industry

"Music is Thriving, but the business is dying. Who can make it pay again?"
This quote is the headline for 20 February, 2011 issue of the Guardian.

Despite all the hype about Digital revolution, the music industry, as represented by the major record labels, is in serious financial trouble. Sales were down 7% last year in the U.K and by nearly 10% in the United states, the world's largest music market.
Two of the four music majors, Sony and Warner Music, admitted their pre Christmas sales were down 10% and 14% respectively.

It has been a decade since piracy and the arrival of iTunes which destroyed the notion of an album on favor of single, downloadable tracks, but the music industry has found nothing to repair lost CD sales.
The music industry has roughly halved in size since the last days of the CD-fuelled peak, when NSync's No Strings Attached album could sell more than 10m copies in 2000, but the hope was that one day, digital sales would pick up the growth as CD sales or physical sales leveled off. However, in the US, from where all music business trends start, download sales growth has all but stalled, posting just 1% growth throughout 2010.
Both the small record shops and big ones are in trouble. The fall of Woolworths and Zavvi has been followed by problems for HMV has lost 60 stores.

Solutions??? & !!!

However, the industry has come up with diverse new strategies in dealing with this crisis.

• Radio head: The honesty approach is one of the methods in which people could donate whatever they thought the album was worth, but it was priced at £6 for an open format MP3 download or £9 for a higher "CD-quality" WAV format file.

• Deluxe Edition: This is when the physical product is made more attractive and interesting. For example, Katy perry's new album is a nude picture of the pneumatic singer lying in a cloud of candyfloss, the audience are also given a fairground treat as the pack also smells of candyfloss.

• Ellie Goulding: who likes to run and sing hooked up with Nike and through her facebook page invited a small number of selected fans to run with her in seven different citie son her U.K. tour. A label niche market.

• Spotify: Many hope that music subscriptions services such as Spotify in Europe and Pandora in the United States, can generate new, meaningful forms of revenue. A streaming service with free advertising service. With more than 500,000 paying customers to its £9.99 a month all-you-can-listen-to-service.

• Merchandising: For example, Billy Bragg has got six different types of T-shirt that he sells for about £20 a time when someone adds in postage.