Audience Profile

Audience profile

View more presentations from DanielHancock.

I created this audience profile to visualise my target audience. This will help me to incorporate features that will appeal to them and therefore increase popularity and sales of my production.

Permission Request

This is a screenshot of the email that I sent to Universal Music Publishings. I sent this to ask for their permission to use the track 'Since You're Gone' by The Pretty Reckless in my music video. I made sure to specify that the track would be used for educational purposes only.

Initial Ideas

I created a wordle showing my initial ideas for the music video, digipak and advert I will be creating. Presenting my ideas in this format will ensure that I incorporate all of the necessary elements and will also aid the development of my ideas.

9 Frame Analysis

All Time Low- I Feel Like Dancin'

The video opens to an establishing shot of what appears to be a meeting between the band and a man in a suit. They are sat around a large glass table and there is quite a large gap separating them. This could represent the band’s feelings about theman’s suggestions, showing that they are unwilling and don’t really want to be associated with him. The first 50 seconds of the video act as a ‘prologue’ and introduce a narrative before the song starts, although an instrumental does play throughout. During this time there are lots of close-ups on the man in the suit who we can assume represents the record label they are signed to. His tone of voice suggests he is overly-confident and from the line “You are my puppets” we can see he will do anything to display his dominance. This character begins to give the video a very postmodern context because not only does he suggest the band parody other celebrities, he himself is a parody of record labels. As the ‘prologue’ ends the background music becomes progressively louder until it is dominant. During this transition we see a ‘title’ screen. Someone falls over in slow motion and reveals the text ‘Method 1 Product Placement’. This style continues throughout the video to break up each parody. The video has a lot of very fast paced editing which creates synaesthesia – Harmonizing the visual cuts with the beat of the music. The first shot that is maintained is a MEAT shot; a medium close-up of the lead singer. The high angle also allows other band members to be seen in the background. The band's image are portrayed in a very stereotypical way through the way they dress and their 'presence'. Their body language suggests dominance, despite the connotations created by the high angle. The camera pans slowly during this shot, alternating left and right between cuts. In this genre of music video we expect to see shots of the band playing their instruments. In order to fit with the pace of the song, in this video, band members (other than the lead singer) are shown through frequent cut-away sequences. These sequences are very short but maintain the shot of a band member long enough that the viewer can see they’re playing. To do this, the shots use a lot of movement which sticks to the fast pace of the song. The video becomes very busy with lots of movement and cuts, but as the first ‘method’ comes to an end it begins to slow down slightly and a long shot is used to display the band. This also helps to put the placement of everything into context and is almost like a break from the chaotic cuts – All of the fast paced editing could be linked to the fact they are advertising energy drink.

During ‘method 2’ another long shot is used but this time only focuses on the lead singer and two women. This type of shot is very appropriate as it relates to the idea they are parodying. While the band is playing, there are often cutaways to the man in the suit who aids the progression of the narrative, often by just shouting words. He is mainly seen from a slightly lower angle which shows his dominance over the situation. When the band begins the third method ‘Steal someone else’s idea’, a lot of the camera angles and movements are taken directly from the video they are parodying. This, as well as the costumes create an obvious link between the videos and is meant for comedic effect. In doing so it has made the video a lot more accessible to a mainstream audience, even if they aren’t typically a fan of the music genre. MEAT shots seem to be the main priority in the video. Other band members tend to be shown by wider shots while the lead singer is often shown through close-ups. This is intensified towards the end of the video when they are all wearing costumes. This is mainly to show he is still lip syncing to the song which is the vital link for the parody aspect.

30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie

The video opens to a match being lit in slow motion. This relates to the theme of the video and the idea of saving the melting ice caps. The flame is meant to represent us, because we are having a damaging effect on the environment; causing the ice caps to melt much like a flame would. This is when the title screen fades in. It has a very simple design’ a white background with red text in the centre. The colour red could be representative of the band’s anger towards the environmental damage.
Just before the band begins to play there are lots of high angled shots that are quickly cut together, mainly establishing the area. In one of these shots the lead singer is stood on top of a large, icy mountain. This appears to be very visually impressive and is attempting to gain the ‘awe factor’. A lot of the video is in slow motion which amplifies the bands strong posture, portraying them in a serious way which is very fitting to the tone of the song. They are also often shown as silhouettes, which creates a high contrast style that is continued throughout the video, again for the purpose of aesthetics.
The lead singer, as with many videos in this genre, is the focal point and is therefore captured by a lot of narrow and close-up camera angles. This is mainly done because generally the lead singer is the most recognisable member of the band is MEAT shots are more effective. Long shots of individual band members are also frequent as it allows the audience to clearly see their performance, which is a common convention within the genre. This also reveals the band’s costume which portrays them in a stereotypical way; the main colour they are wearing is black as it is commonly associated with the rock genre, but they are also in a snowy climate meaning they would be expected to dress warmly.
A long shot of the fill band together reveals the desolate area that surrounds them, intensifying the atmosphere created through the tone and meaning of the song. These shots tent to be followed up by medium close-ups of each band member. When the music begins to slow down, these medium close-ups are cross cut with a shot of a huge fire in slow motion. This again is to link to the melting ice caps and show that humans are responsible.
As the video comes to a close a montage of scenery shots are cut together. The shots have a lot of movement, mostly zooming and panning from a high angle. This suggests that it was probably filmed using a helicopter. All if these shots are for dramatic effect, in a similar style to that of charity adverts. Once the song is over another title sequence appears, explaining the meaning behind the song and providing statistics as well as showing movie-style credits. This is a very unconventional thing to see in a music video and hasn’t been done a lot but it shows that the band take pride in their work and it portrays them in a very good way for using their status to help the environment.

Digipak Analysis

A digipak is an alternative form of packaging for CDs and DVDs.

This is the Digipak for The Blackout's album The Best in Town. The two central panels in the top picture are very similar to the type of image that would be found on more common jewel case packaging. To the right is the album artwork while to the left is the track list. On the reverse side of the track list is where the disk tray is placed. In this Digipak there is only room for a single CD but it is not uncommon for them to contain multiple disks.

The images used are all a very specific cartoon art style which is very dark and creepy. Images such as the town have a very clear link to the album title. This helps to set a theme for rest of the images and begins to almost create a strange narrative.

The five panels I have not yet mentioned are what makes up this 'narrative'. This has been done by illustrating lyrics from songs on the album. I think this is a very clever way to provide a taste of the album without playing any music.

The artwork is very gloomy, using lots of blacks as well as darker tones of earthy colours such as browns and greens. White is also used to create a high contrast and create very atmospheric imagery. The theme even continues onto the disk itself which has no writing. This therefore suggests the style is individual enough for people to immediately recognise. The majority of text that is used on the digipak is in a handwritten font, adding to the creepy theme of the artwork. Some of the words are even faded to suggest they were written a long time ago. This is very relevant to the context of the lyrics such as "This is where the it all began, and this is where the story ends". The images and text work very well together because they are both highly stylised to develop the sinister atmosphere.

The band is represented in quite a disturbing way with the references to hell and the image of the hand emerging from the ground. It's evident they were attempting to create a very ominous sensation surrounding the album and I think they have achieved it very successfully. I also think it represents the tone of their lyrics very accurately, although you would probably expect their genre to be heavier. The style also suggests a lot about the institutional context of the music because we can definitely assume that it isn't designed for mainstream audiences.

The way this digipak has been designed makes it very relate-able to the band; the main signifier being the use of lyrics on certain panels. The design also makes it very appealing to the target audience which I would categorize as specialist.

This digipak is for Avril Lavigne's album Under my Skin. The artwork is very stylised to portray Avril in a way which will reflect her star persona. The album is mainly black and white, reflecting the tone of the album which is very depressing. Some areas are also highlighted in red which may relate to anger and pain, again reflecting the tone of the album and concept behind the lyrics. The red cross on her arm may also suggests that she feels targeted. This same red cross is shown on the disk, linking the two together.

Only two images are used on the digipak, both showing the the singer. This suggests the album is a reflection of her emotions and she relates to it. It is also used as a marketing technique as her star image may grab people's attention and sell the album. The same font is used for all of the text, except the small print at the back. The font is very stylised to conform to the dark nature of the album, this is very common in the singer's work. The album title, Under My Skin is written in red. Red is a very emotionally intense colour, amplifying the implications of the title.

The layout is very simple. This may be done to make the singer appear alone, an idea which is often inferred by her lyrics. This idea also links the images with the text to magnify their meaning. The dark style is something that is very common within the genre, especially when the album was released. The digipak has been created to give the impression that the music is quite underground when in fact it was known in mainstream media. The audience however, still seems to be fairly niche due to the gloomy feeling of the album.

Personal Skills Audit

Personal skills audit

View more documents from DanielHancock.

Magazine Advert Analysis

Magazine adverts often share some common features.

For example; all three of the adverts I will be looking at have the name of the band they are advertising at the very top. This means the advert is easily identifiable and may have an impact even if someone was to only glance at it. The adverts also follow a very specific colour scheme, which is often related to the album featured. This again helps to make the advert more identifiable. A release date for the album is often included and the images and graphics used are very relevant to the band, maintaining a similar style to the album artwork.

The images used in this advert make it appear very busy. It doesn’t seem to stick to a conventional colour scheme, instead using white text with a slightly transparent brown background which overlays the album artwork for 'Hold me down'. This creates a very strong contrast and makes the text stand out. The layout is very basic, and appears to be inspired by a poster style, using bold bursts of colour in the centre to capture the attention of the potential audience and surrounding it with very basic information. Although there appears to be quite a lot of text present, the majority just lists tour dates which is a common convention of larger adverts found in magazines. The fact the band are going on tour give them a higher priority and mean the magazine are more willing to scale up the advert. The name of the band ‘You Me at Six’ is the largest text on the page, ensuring that it is the focal point. The bottom of the page also has a release date which is expected on every advert. The same font is used for all of the text allowing it to appear a lot more structured against the background image. There seems to be very little relationship between the text and images other than the fact the album cover is used. However, this does act as a signifier creating an immediate link to the band. Without knowing who the band was, the audience would most likely be able to determine very basic information about them. For example the bright colours arranged into a busy explosion effect suggest that the music style would be quite up-tempo, possibly leaning towards the Pop genre. The lack of black also suggests the genre will be more ‘positive’ than the hard rock and metal that black is commonly associated with. The size of the advert shows that the band featured is becoming more prevalent in mainstream media. This would suggest that this isn’t the band’s first album and they are already quite established in the industry, especially because of the tour dates. From this advert we could also assume that the target audience is likely to be from around 15-25 and predominantly male. This is because of the very bright and bold colours and abstract imagery.

This advert is very different from the one above which could be because this is advertising an earlier album. The advert takes on a much more simplistic layout, only using 2 colours against a white background. This creates a very bold illusion which is understated while still having the same effect. The two colours used are black and orange which not only contrast against the white background but also clash against each other to maximise the bold effect. According to colour theory a dark orange colour can signify deceit or distrust which links to the title of their new single 'Kiss and Tell'. An image of the band is placed to the right which also follows the colour scheme of black and orange. A ‘splatter’ effect is used to fade the image into the background. This relates to the cover of the album which can be seen to the left, in which there is a large splash of colour over a black colour palette. The album is called ‘Take off your colours’ and I am therefore surprised that so few colours were used in this advert.The name of the band is at the top of the advert and again, is the largest text on the page. This causes it to be very prominent and therefore makes the advert very clear. There is very little text on this advert but gives very critical information such as the name of the album and the release date; it also mentions a single which will be available in attempts to draw more people in. Unlike in the other advert, we can see a very clear link between the images used and the text; an image of the band is placed directly next to their name at the very top and both the album and single mentioned both have artwork to accompany their names. I think the lack of colour and imagery detracts from the bands personality and therefore portrays them in a very generic way. This could potentially be problematic when trying to appeal to a new potential audience. The image of the band is used as very basic iconography, linking them directly to the advert. The images of the album artwork would also be expected to do the same job but they couldn’t be initially associated with the band because they haven’t been released yet. This advert seems to be breaking the conventions of adverts from a similar genre as we would typically expect to see a lot more colour. This advert suggests that it is most likely the band’s first album, mainly due to its simplicity. I think this restricts its potential target audience as it would be very easy to overlook.

This advert is another, which uses a poster-style layout, appearing very busy to attract attention. The layout is more complex than the other adverts as a lot of the images overlap that are placed on an angle. However, the name of the band is still placed at the very top of the advert. The busy effect created by the overlapping images is balanced out by the use of mostly one colour; brown. A wooden texture is used in the background, creating a simplistic rural feel, which is relevant to the origins of the band. It also appears to be quite worn which relates to the band almost splitting up before releasing the album. The butterfly image also links the advert to the album it is advertising ‘Brand New Eyes’. The name of the album is also written within one of the 3 brown boxes. All of the text is black which contrasts against the brown while still remaining understated. However the band’s name is highlighted with a white background, which creates a very strong contrast and makes the title stand out without it needing to be bold. The ‘title’ text is also in a different font and not punctuated which may link to the bands casual attitude to their music after the recovery from their split. The choice of language in the advert is very conventional, speaking directly to the audience; ‘Your favourite band is back’. Another feature, which isn’t commonly seen in adverts of music from this genre, is the ability to send a text to receive a ringtone. This method is more commonly seen in mainstream music.
The text and images work well together to demonstrate the theme of the album as well as replicate the simplicity of the album cover design. Minimal iconography is used which represents the band, this suggests they want to start fresh and not be stereotyped by their past work. At the bottom right of the advert there is a logo for the album that Paramore are signed to; ‘FuledByRamen’. This could suggest that Paramore are quite a well-established band because the label wants to be associated with them.
From this advert we can determine that the audience is mostly specialist but the band are trying to break into mainstream media (text for a ringtone feature).