Digipak: What is a digipak?

By definition, a digipak is: "a type of packaging for CD's or DVD's, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more disks." They are made out of paper or card with matt or gloss varnish with a plastic fixture that holds one or more discs, it is a sleek packaging solution and available at lower prices. A standard 4 panelled digipak has a finished size of 139.5mm x 6mm x 125.5mm

The most common CD digipak is the one with four panels which opens like a book, however, the digipak with six panels is also popular as it provides a larger canvas for artwork and text information about the CD. Furthermore, due to the use of cardboard, the number of panels is endless as there are 8 and even 10 panelled digipaks.

The digipak is an alternative to the common jewel case that grew in popularity among record labels and artists in the early 2000's. The digipak style is often used for special edition CD's or premium packaging for DVD's, however, digipaks are less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, meaning it shows signs of wear quicker. 

Manufacturers want to reduce the environmental impact of digipaks by  introducing recycled components into its trays: one has announced a tray made from recycled bottles, which eliminates the need for the brittle "teeth." Another case eliminates the plastic tray altogether and instead, replaces it with a paper tray made from sugar cane and egg cartons.

New Ideas

After being inspired by Dodie Clarke's Sick of Losing Soulmates new video we have reconsidered some of our video narrative. We have made some major changes to Ruby's story line, including her motivation for running away. Instead of having her mother character see her watching something liberal on TV, her parents will see her out with her girlfriend causing them to have a row and therefore prompting Ruby to leave and on her way. This new idea immediately ran into trouble as we were unsure why Ruby would run to Alexandra Palace instead of to her girlfriend but we are going to iron out these problems when we further develop this idea as we have yet to fully discuss or pursue this. 

Another new idea we had was to use Megan's real parents for her story line instead of Cem and Nadia because we felt that the pair looked too young to be Megan's actual parents as they will be more convincing and Megan will be able film them during the Christmas holidays. As well as possibly using our head of sixth-form and her husband to be Ruby's parents which requires a lot of planning and advanced coordination. However these ideas are in early stages of development and as a group we have yet to develop them. 

Sick of Losing Soulmates - Dodie Clarke

Dodie Clarke's song "Sick of Losing Soulmates" has had a video upgrade. The new video follows the story of a couple over time as they fall in and out of love. This video is inspiring because of its fantastic video editing and aesthetically pleasing shots. Furthermore, the story shown in this video is not unlike the one we developed for ourselves as it has lgbtq themes throughout as well as themes of loss and moving on. 

This video has inspired us to slightly change the narrative for our and instead of having Ruby watching something liberal on TV, we decided to have her "parents" see her out with her girlfriend. Futher consideration and planning will go into this and we are yet undecided whether we will persue this new idea. 

Act of the Apostle - God Help the Girl

This clip from the musical God Help the Girl can be is an inspiration for Ruby's story line, as in our music video as we include some things that this video does. For example, we wanted to use the shadow of Ruby's parents in the video instead of showing their faces, this creates an illusive feel to the piece whilst also allowing it to relate to audiences also in that situation. The video also includes a bit on the train, and whilst we did not intend to have as many shots on the train as this video has, as a group we can take ideas from this video and try several different shot types and see which one works the best in the final piece.

Sleep On The Floor - The Lumineers

The newest Lumineer song has been an in inspiration for our video for several reasons. The video itself is of very good quality, the shot variations the use of different screen orientations is very aesthetically pleasing and goes well with the meaning of the song. Also, this video has similar ideas to the one we are making, this will allow us to take inspiration from the things the video does so well in the sense of the travelling scenes, how it is cut to the music the seamless transition between locations etc. This video is something to live up to as it takes a simple concept and makes it beautiful which is what my group and I are aiming to do. 

Character Profile: Megan

We chose Megan to be one half of our music video as not only was she willing and able but she was exited to, that drive and determination allowed us to get filming done and done well. Additionally, Megan has not acted in many things before so this experience has allowed her to broaden her horizons. Finally, Megan seemed like a good fit for the story line we have paired with her, plus her athletic nature makes her a good and willing runner, so every shot in which she is running is convincing because she has committed to the run.

Audience Feedback

We showed the 30 second draft of our video to our peers to get their feedback. The main feedback we received was about the emotion of the characters in the video, some thought that the parents arguing did not contain enough anger and when Megan left the house she looked like she was smiling. Also, the tiny bit of silence between audio and visuals was jarring and many wanted the song to start with the first shot of arguing. In addition, Nadia (who played the mother,) did not look convincing as a mother. However, we have gathered that it may just be because the group we selected know Nadia. We will show the clip to other groups and ask for their feedback and see is the same answers reoccur. 

Music Video 30 Second Draft

Character Profile: Cem and Nadia

The people we chose to portray Megan's parents were our friends Cem and Nadia. We had some worries about them when shooting as we did not give them any script however the footage looks good and the dialogue is muted so you cannot hear them arguing about Trump. One problem that appeared was that they do not look like adults or parents of an 18-year-old, we hope it is believable to those who do not know the pair as we may have to reshoot if this fact draws away from the rest of the video. We hope the costume choice makes them look a bit older as I asked Nadia to dress "motherly," and Cem to dress as if going to work in an office. The dynamic between the two is hopefully enough to distract the audience from their age, additionally, the footage used in the video of the pair account to less than 15 seconds I hope people do not dwell on it too much and that the rest of the video makes up for that detail.

BFI Trip 2016

25th Nov - We travelled to the British Film Institute for a music video conference, we stayed for the morning session and learnt about how videos progressed through the years. We also viewed some past student videos that had gained full marks in order to extract key information and techniques that will aid us in doing the same, however, they focused mainly on performance videos which was not really beneficial to my group. We also developed ideas for the new Mac 1 and 4 and met a crazy drunk American whilst getting Starbucks. Overall, a good time. 

Filming Day 3

Today we shot at Megan's house, this filming day summates all the filming for Megan's plot-line, except the pinnacle moment when Ruby and Megan meet at Alexandra Palace. For the parents we used my friends Cem and Nadia who kindly offered up their study time to film this morning, it was difficult for them as they have never acted in many things before and we gave them little direction - just to argue. However, I think the footage we filmed was good and will make a good opening to our video.

Filming (ish) Day 2

We had planned to film at Alexandra Palace today but due to a broken down train several trains were cancelled and delayed, due to this we were unable to get to Alexandra Palace when we intended to so instead we have changed our shooting schedule slightly in order to film there another day. Today we filmed some scenes at the train station and edited some of the footage we shot the week prior. 

Filming Schedule 2.0

Due to some unplanned events we have had to change our shooting schedule slightly as we aim to get the bulk of our footage filmed by the end of the month, and if reshoots are needed they have been planned for the first week in December. 

Filming Day 1

Today half of our group went to film at Forty Hall, it was only Megan and I as we did not have any lessons in the morning and felt it a perfect opportunity. We ran into a few problems on the day, including a missing SD card that meant we could not use the DSLR, instead we shot on Megan's iPhone. Despite this, the footage we shot was good and surprisingly steady and of good quality. Other than our camera trouble the shoot day was productive but freezing.

On Location: Forty Hall

One of the places we chose to film at was Forty Hall, as it has several different sorts of landscaping that allows us to vary our shots without using too many different locations. Additionally, the autumnal look of the fields creates a sort of solemn tone in the shots which fits nicely with our narrative of family despair.

Shooting Schedule

Video Story Board

We edited our story board onto our song to give us a clear and specific idea of what our final product should look like. Many of the shots seem extremely long during this version as they are not moving video but most shot durations do not exceed 10 seconds, so during the final video shots may seem shorter than they currently are. We have also decided to create a script for the opening shots in which the parents are arguing to make it more consistent and realistic for our final video. 

Ok Go: The Ultimate One Shot Performance Video

Shot in an airplane at zero gravity, the band has a completely choreographed and rehearsed routine. The music video was all filmed in one take similar to a video they did years prior with the same one shot, dance routine idea. This shows the ultimate performance video, as not only do they lipsync but have choreographed movements. 

Email to Jagjaguwar

We have sent an email to the record label of the artist we intend to use, Bon Iver, asking permission for the use of his song Wash. We do not expect an immediate reply and we might not get one at all, however this is just to show that we did ask for legal permission.

Ruby's BFI Story

A short anecdote from Ruby's BFI adventures, the moral being always be aware and commit to the run!

Final Idea

Mood Board

This shows the main themes and locations of our video. As our video is out runaway teens I have put images of their troubles such as domestic problems and fear of coming out. I included some of the locations we intend to use such as Alexandra Palace and our colour scheme of warm morning dawn time and the cool blues of sunset.

Story Board

These are the first rough ideas for our music video; we have outlined the story we did not include every single shot we plan to do, as we plan to cut between establishing shots and the characters journey showing where they are and showing the contrast between urban and rural.

Lipsync

My group has decided not to use any lipsyning in our music video for several reasons. Firstly, as the musician has such a signature voice, none of the people my group would be believable enough to pretend to be the artist, also, the idea we have settled on does not require any lipsyncing as it does not fit the narrative. 

Wash. by Bon Iver

The song we have chosen to do is wash. by Bon Iver. We chose it because it is slow paced which creates a nice contrast to the tense and emotional scenes we have planned. Also, the lyrics are subjective, so even though we have a clear narrative each person can perceive something different from the song. For example, upon first listen I thought it was about a girl who was having trouble at home so she ran away. However the band themselves said it was about the spring rain is Eau Claire that "wash" away the snow.

Wash. by Bon Iver

Climb
is all we know
when thaw
is not below us
no, can’t grow up
in that iron ground
Claire, all too sore for sound

bet
is hardly shown
scraped
across the foam
like they stole it
and oh, how they hold it

Claire, we nearly forfeit

I… I’m growing like the quickening hues
I… I’m telling darkness from lines on you
over havens fora full and swollen morass, young habitat!
all been living alone, where the ice snap and the hold clast are known

home
we’re savage high
come
we finally cry
oh and we don it
because it’s right
Claire, I was too sore for sight

Jean (why we decided not to do it)

This is a very upbeat alternative song by Clean Cut Kid which was one of my groups song choices, but we decided to scrap the idea as the song itself left us  with limited range as the title and majority of the lyrics focus on a 'Jean' character. Due to this, the lyrics do not leave much room for exploration as they tell a very clear story, of a man in love with a woman who is no longer with him. This was not something we wanted to go into as it is very stereotypical and has been done several times in music videos covering several different genres.

Jean by Clean Cut Kid

I sing along along and I listen to my heartbeat 

and then I make believe it's yours

I hear the phone ring and I call for you to answer it

But you are not her anymore

I changed the channel and I look to see your eyes roll 

But no ones there to look across 

I'll always wonder where this fifty something years go 

But in my living room I've loved 

Jean

Won't you find me

Jean 

Won't you find me

I hope our children find a love like you and I do

Someone to guide you through the years 

I sing along and I look up to the sky too

Until my eyes are filled with tears

You're in my seconds, in my minutes, in my hours

And not a single day will pass

When I don't dream about a time God will allow us

To be together Jean and I

Jean

Won't you find me x4

Did I ever dream that we be seeing out these years so 

Far apart

Jean I hope you find me in the dark

You will always be, my Jean

Caitlin Moran: A letter to Teenage Girls

This was a stimulus that came up when doing our pitch that was related to one of our ideas. The video shows Caitlin Moran reading a letter she wrote to her younger self, which was an idea that we had come up with during our pitch. It shows her reassuring her younger self and telling her she can do anything she wants to be which would be a main theme for our video. 

BFI Music Video Trip

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=makingmusicvideos2016&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=

Pitch

We pitched our idea to the class, original it was about a young woman in contrast to her younger self who is afraid of growing up and as the video progressed she would realise that growing up is not so scary. However, as we continued our pitch our idea changed as people thought it confusing. We developed but we stuck to the message and the contrasts we intended originally. We started to think about maybe portaying the girl achieving something she told she couldn't as a child, maybe giving a "girls can" feminist messgae. We ended on the idea of a young woman reminiscing upon her childhood but we have yet to solidify an idea.

Our Music Choice:

We have chosen wash. by Bon Iver, mainly because it's calming, slow paced and has very subjective meaning to the lyrics allowing the viewers to create meaning for themselves. We have yet to solidify a narrative choice.

5 Inspirational Narrative Videos

As my group is doing a narrative music video, here are 5 narrative videos that may be influential in the way we film ours. 

Grenade by Bruno Mars - This is a good example of a balance of performance and narrative featuring contrast as the artist cuts between scenes showing the story of a man who would do anything for a girl including pull a piano all the way to her house and dark and dreary moments of performance lipsyncing away from the action. This is something we aim to do in our music video.

Wild by Troye Sivan - My group also had the idea of portraying a young friendship in our video cut in with scenes of them older selves or other adults to show the contrast of old and young and not wanting to grow up. This video is part of a trilogy that chronicles Troye's relationship with this boy as they grow up. I personally like the idea of showing young love or friendship in videos as it is very touching and audiences can maybe relate to their past relationships.

Take Me to Church by Hozier - This video set in a very urban area shows the story of two young men and how they handle their relationship in a very homophobic neighborhood, it is incredibly deep and meaningful and goes along with the lyrics as Hozier is stating that the church does not conventionally find this acceptable and they feel they must be judged. I like this video because of the meaning and social commentary it holds.

Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko - Like the previous video, this one also shows a "forbidden" relationship between two girls. I like this video because it is very upbeat but meaningful holds heavy social commentary on how people still find lesbian relationships unethical. I also like the type of daylight it is shot in as it gives the video a very picturesque, suburban sunset look which my group will be aiming for in our video in terms of lighting during some scenes.

Pretty Hurts by Beyonce - this song through the video and the lyrics show how people, girls especially, go through a lot of trouble just to be judged as pretty. Beyonce reflects this ridiculous pageant tradition in a negative light and showing how society feels women should dress and behave to be looked upon as pretty. In a way, it is very cynical but done in classic Beyonce style. I like the way this video is set as it has several different setting but based around one location that fits in with its narrative.

3 Inspirational Performance Videos

Even though my group is not doing a performance video we would like to incorporate some performance aspects into it to help tell the story. I have selected 3 videos that I think have some nice ideas throughout them that we may take inspiration from.

R.I.P 2 My Youth by The Neighborhood -  I like this video as reflects the lyrics throughout the song as the lead singer sings inside of a coffin. I also like the different shot types, for example, the close-ups of the drum. We could use the idea of extreme close-ups and light used to create interesting shadows, I feel it creates a nice effect. 

Scars by James Bay - This video starts off with a close-up shot of the artist and slowly pans out in different shots to reveal the entire band. I like this video because of its simplicity and how the artist interacts with his audience by looking directly into the camera throughout the video. 

Breathe Life by Jack Garratt - This video is completely set in the ocean using close-up and top down shots of the artist floating as well as backup dancers doing water aerobics. This video is inspiring as it is unlike any other video. Personally, I like this video as it is simple but visually beautiful.

Vlog

Kodaline All I Want

'All I Want' by Kodaline is an interesting example of a narrative music video, it is especially interesting because it has been split into two parts in which both videos use the same song as they follow the story of a "monster" looking man and his venture to find love and then his dog. The video is not only heartwarming and well made but also holds social commentary showing how society views people with physical deformities. 

The narrative aspect of this video is very inspiring as it not only tells a great story but also has an underlying meaning, which is what we as a group attempt to achieve in our music video.

Classic Performance and Narrative Videos

Micheal Jackson's Thriller was one of the most revolutionary music videos of the 20th century, as it changed how artists represent their songs through video. Not only did it have a huge budget but it but it was the first to introduce the concept of an extended music video to tell a larger story. My group may be interested in this concept as we are avid storytellers and want to create something that is as beautiful and inspired as Thriller.

I feel that Thriller took storytelling through music to another level, as it did not have a deep meaning but one that is fun, relatable and understandable through a song that is catchy, enjoyable and stands the test of time. 

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is another revolutionary music video, this time in the performance genre. It merges live performance with aesthetic moments that hook the audience with the close-up shots and dramatic lighting as the band performs. Though we have decided to focus our music video around a narrative we feel like the performance aspects of this video are the type we may include in ours because of its simplicity and effectiveness. 

Performance or Narrative?

We created a list of different narrative and performance videos:

In our lesson, we looked at several different videos in order to decide what kind we would choose, narrative or performance. My group has decided to go with a narrative video because we think telling a story is important and through this, we could portray and important message whether it be something important and relevant to what is happening in the world right now or something broader. I think my group wanted to do narrative because we all like to tell stories and this is just another why of doing that just through different media. We will not focus entirely on a narrative aspect however as we may include some performance aspects like lip syncing and dancing throughout the video.

Video Idea: Colour Powder

This spoken word piece uses colour powder against white clothing and background to create contrast, the use of colour powder in the video also relates to the lyrics from the artist as he is speaking about colour and how it changes people. Furthermore the use of slow motion increases the dramatic contrast of the colour against white background. 

If we were to use this in our video I think it will be interesting in a visual and narrative aspect as the use of the powder is aesthetically pleasing but could also be used as a way to establish a story in our music video as different colour can have universal meaning that shows emotion and characteristics. The colour powder could also be used in water to create the an colourful ink affect which is used as insert shots in music videos such as "Cough Syrup by Young the Giant."

Song Ideas

Within the indie genre we have been looking at the following songs, many of which do not have official videos which we think we will help with the creative process as there will be less pressure as we are not being held to a certain standard. Not having a video will also be helpful as we will be less tempted to copy it. Personally I feel like we could easily develop ideas and stories based on these songs and other music like it as the songs themselves have very obvious stories embedded in them all we would need to do is visualise it. 

Prelim: Bad Day

Indie Artists and Their Record Labels

Mumford and Sons is a British indie folk/ rock band formed in 2007

Record Label: Island Records, which is a major record label that was established in 1959 and is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. 

Last Album: Wilder Minds (2015)

The band has been nominated for a total of six Grammy Awards, and won a Brit award for best British Albums and other awards. They are also frequently top of the billboard 100's in the UK and the US which shows their huge fan base and presence in the music world.

Jake Bugg is a British indie folk/ rock artist 

Record Label: Mercury Records, an American based label also owned by the Universal Music Group founded in 1945. 

Last Album: On My One

Jake Bugg has recently been gaining success and popularity in the music world as his demographic has broadened.

Troye Sivan is an South-African musician who also is also an actor and YouTuber
Record Label: EMI Australia, is an Australian subsidiary label of EMI Recordings Ltd. which is one of Australia's largest independent dance music label.
Last Album: Blue Neighbourhood
Troye Sivan began as an actor/ YouTuber and then developed his musical career with his debut song Happy Little Pill which launched his career.

The Indie Genre

For our music video my group has decided to go with the Indie genre, mostly because this is the music we listen to daily and are accustomed to, so we feel it would be appropriate for us to try and replicate the themes and ideas we see in our favourite music. 

Personally I enjoy Indie music because I can relate to the themes that run through many of these songs, in addition I like the slow pace of the songs and the lyrics that reflect things that happen to me and people I know creating a connection between myself and the artist.

For example, below are some videos from the Indie genre showcasing both the narrative and performance style video.

Narrative

Performance

A2 Blog Checklist

A2 Media Studies Blog Checklist by jfoster10

Favourite ECS Music Videos

1) I particularly like the different locations used in this video, especially how the graffiti adds a pop of colour to the mise-en-scene. I also like the use of natural light.

2) I like the overlay of clips, and the projector used throughout the video as it creates a nice effect. I also like that the group used a band setting as many others just have one main singer with no visible instrument in the video.

3) In this video I like the use of flashing lights and short shots that change with the beat.