History of Music Videos

The history of music videos is like no other, with developments and additions in recent years, the profound music industry is possibly the most controversial yet simultaneously successful industry across a global scale.

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a piece of music and typically follows conventions of the genre stated.  It could be defined as a short film which accompanies a song and are often produced for either promotional or artistic purposes.

In the past decade, music videos have been primarily made to be used as a mass marketing tools with the intention to promote not only the sale of music recordings but the artist themselves.  

Music nowadays is arguably more manufactured and artificial as opposed to natural and meaningful (therefore having a direct effect upon the production and distribution of music videos), despite the creation and popularity of the Indie genre within recent years with the introduction of artists such as Ed Sheeran and Nina Nesbitt. A record label have lots of power over the artist signed to them and their overall image and representation. They have control over things such as fan interaction, interviews and performances. Many artists are not free to release certain material as it must meet standards so that lyrical content does not offend communities or the vulnerable people within them. It is also known that music videos can be deemed as inappropriate or controversial when released onto a Media platform for viewers to watch and share with others which therefore creates a chain of viewers in addition to listeners, thus 'making' or 'breaking' an artist, their song or created video. 

The birth of the first music channel was in 1981 with MTV. This became the first proper method of music video consumption which developed and popularised over a short period of time, and still to this day being the music channel conglomerate with a whole host of little channels consisting of varying genres from MTV Dance to MTV Rock- therefore attracting a larger audience which is more widespread depending on peoples individual music tastes.

Although the origins of music videos date back much further, they came into prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium, offering audiences the chance to engage further within the product, thus determining the success of the artist and whether they will endure the tough and competative industry of music. 

Music videos in the past half a decade have become slowly more predictable due to particular theorists (Goodwin and Dyer for example) exploring certain conventions which commonly appear followed by what we as consumers/audiences expect from them. 

Some music videos chose to challenge the genere characteristics assosiated with their type of music whilst others chose to break boundaries of visual art and therefore subvert the traditional conventions. Despite the high predictability point within recent years concerning music videos, there are still many that are highly original and innovative which aim to engage other audiences and have their art form discussed, therefore increasing in popularity; the more people talk about and share music video (any media) content, the higher the increase in popularity, determining success too.

Music videos support a song in a visual way and makes it easier to share music and videos combined. In recent years, music videos have become more popular and used as an almost manipulative mass marketing tool, used to not only promote the artist and their talent but their image too (which is considered fundamental nowadays)

The art form was first developed within the late 1970's but 'P The Big Bopper Richardson' was the first to coin the phrase we commonly know as 'music video' in 1959, a phrase which was to be recognised globally within the years to follow. Despite this, musicals of the 1950's led to short-form music videos.

The late 1970's was the era in which the famous British music show "Top of the Pops" was created and aired. Top of the Pops was a television music show in which artists would perform their upcoming singles alongside
 a countdown of the most popular tracks that week. 

Arguably, this show could be one of the first platforms for artists to perform and get known by a mass audience who tune in weekly and recommend it to friends, therefore benefitting both the BBC and the artist making both more successful and popular. 

Up until this period, music videos were mainly performance based as it included footage of them performing at a gig/concert in front of a paying audience but even then still included the familiar frames such as long-shots, mid-shots and close-ups. This helped create a story to tell and communicated the story to the audience viewing. This technique is not only used within filmmaking but also music videos, a more recent story telling art form which is nowadays considered to be a phenemenon.



While performance based videos were the main type of thing to be seen in the 1970's period, there were exceptions of artists who began to advance their videos. This advancement was achieved by making them overall more eye-catching and entriging, therefore engaging a larger audience consisting of not only fans of music (audio) but fans of video (visuals) too as the term includes the collision of the two art forms. Audiences previous to this advancement expected only a performance from watching music videos, but this all soon changed.

A music video which made history was the Pop-rock band Queen who were quite well-established before this but achieved success after this was the release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" This video was possibly the first to combine performance with a slight element of concept, changing the ways in which audiences viewed music videos forever.  Although this video involved lots of editing to be parallel to the audio, it is no where near as technically involved/advanced as videos we watch everyday which are viewed onto MTV/4 Music for example today. Music videos such Bohemian Rhapsody had a profound effect on the history of music videos, mainly as it began to show signs of how artists, their record labels and the rest of their team had started to realise that there was more than one way of drawing an audience and catching attention other than just the music alone, being different and new was clearly a way to encourage artists audiences to buy into their music, hence making more profit for the company. This is a technique that is still used by audiences today as I've recognised from my research into more modern music videos.

After Top of the Pops and 'the music video' slowly becoming more favourable therefore more fashionable, the whole idea of visuals to support/aid a song went mainstream. It became evident that the British public weren't just tuning in to watching music on Top of the Pops on BBC but expected other artists to develop music videos of their own to provide them with entertainment to support with their created audio. 

In 1981 MTV aired the likes of "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles and "Holiday" by Madonna which caused a rise in the want from the music industries audience to see various music videos from their favourite stars. This quickly made music videos an extremely important part of music marketing and was relied on heavily by big stars to create that extra buzz for their material. This doesn't go to say that the videos of this period were still not half as technical or advanced as they are now. Madonna is a prime example of a Pop artist which began to establish her own image which changed at any opportunity in the public eye that she had, therefore creating a 'hype' amongst audiences. Many of her costume choices within music videos created controversy within many communities, but this had far from a negative impact on her career. It was a good thing that her image was ever-changing because audiences expectations become irrelevant and people were shocked by this; therefore becoming an icon in music history.  Madonna was very much like a sex symbol in the 80's, evident in her 'Like A Prayer' video in which she is dressed in black carrying seductive connotations. The 'Like A Prayer' video is arguably the most controversial music video in all of music history in her particular era as it played upon religious symbols and was deemed extremely risky by many. It attracted and repelled audiences from different religions/cultures and ages globally. Madonna was Kylie Minogue's industry equal who was portrayed as a sweet, 'girl next door' type character and developed a strong fan base. Kylie's family friendly approach contrasts Madonna's sex symbol look which is very similar to ex-Disney stars Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez in their music videos today. This therefore acts as empirical evidence as to how celebrity/artist image plays a huge role in contributing towards audience impact and audiences impressions of them- 'making' or 'breaking' them as an artist. 

However, the following music video is the reason why this era was probably one of the most revolutionary for the history of the music video: Thriller by the King of Pop Michael Jackson released in 1983. It's budget was a vast $500,000 which paid for the elaborate horror themed make-up/costumes, the set/location and the choreographers/dancers involved in making the Thriller dance routine a classic/iconic dance which we still refer to today. The Thriller music video was one of the first videos in history around 14 minutes, the 

equivalent of a short film which gave audiences a different and more exciting insight into the art form which was to be recognised on a global scale. Thriller saw the rise of narrative based music videos and set the standards for inspiring and innovative ideas from other upcoming artists which would result in an enriching career and a sudden increase in fans from various genres. In addition to the Thriller video making history as a clear narrative based video in which audiences could follow with ease it was also considered to have used a very high-budget in comparison to the standard music video of the time. Nowadays, music videos do not tend to need such a high budget due to the evolution of technology which enables directors to create an effective video and have it edited in a desirable style to achieve success within the art form. 

Before technology and the growth of music it considered an impossible/mamoth task for aspiring singers to record a demo due to the expense which would follow. This is an equivilant situation when directing a video (once an established artist, of course) It wasn't until technological convergence and people being able to access affordable and usable cameras and software that people began to have a shot at recording their own music videos as aspiring directors staring out by filming music videos for amateurs at a not too expensive price to allow them to bring it to a record label in order to be signed. Due to the music industry expanding, it needed music video directors as well as specialists in cameras/sound/lighting plus location managers/hair/make-up artists/ (also gives fashion designers an opportunity to showcase their range/brand) In addition to artists having credible award evenings, creative media producers/directors do too which allows them prolific credibility in their own form. In hind sight, this also benefits the economy because it provides more jobs and opportunities to people on a global scale- people who were once fans/admirers of the art form can now become professionally involved therefore making individuals strive to achieve something and ultimately become successful.

In the most recent years, music videos are almost compulsory whenever an artist releases a single because without them the song cannot be shown on music channels, therefore losing a huge opportunity gap in the industry to showcase their works. Music videos are now highly anticipated by target audiences and often act out as the best promotional methods for singles when they release teasers/trailers via the internet as a successful platform for their art form.

In addition to the ever-changing music industry developing, the technology we use and simultaneously take for granted each day has expanded whilst becoming more affordable and accessible by a mass audience of which consume it as much as the air in which we breathe. This therefore has a direct effect on the way in which music videos are consumed.

Music video consumption has undoubtadley increased over the years due to technology evolving, therefore artists are now using social networking sites to their advantage (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to announce release dates and share their art form with a mass audience, also users of social media on a day to day basis.

The most watched video of all time is Gangnam Style by the Chinese artist PSY who has accumulating 1, 849, 924, 869 views to date! Gangnam Style the music video went viral in August 2012 and since then has influenced popular culture worldwide as we know it. This video is humorous and uses a dance move which would now be recognised as iconic within households worldwide which acts as evidence for it appealing to people of all ages which may be a contriburitory factor to it's vast popularity. Due to this, audiences (globally) have/can consume the music video which therefore results in the content accumulating a large amount of views and gaining wider recognition, which is all due to the development of technology within recent years which has introduced the revolutionary search engine (behind Google): YouTube.

YouTube was born in 2005 and founded/created by the 3 men displayed above who were former PayPal employee's. The service, free and available to everyone via the internet (excluding Russia and Turkey which are upcoming countries to be allowed access) includes the chance to upload, share and view video content of any genre from comedy to music to tutorial to documentary which is why it is so popular with many; because it offers something for every user as each user is unique and has their individual preferences. 

Above is a screenshot taken from the YouTube homepage a few months after it's official launch which has since developed.

This is proof that since it's birth over 8 years ago, it has been adapted, developed and now includes additions as evident within the image on the left hand side. Users now have the opportunity to 'subscribe' to channels (companies/record labels/professionals/artists etc) which means they will be notified whenever the channel uploads new content, whatever that may be. Thanks to this service, both the consumer and the company/channel is benefitted because the consumer can watch content they are informed/entertained by whilst the channel is raking in views/audience feedback to assist them with future uploads.

In reference to PSY music video, YouTube presents the audience with an opportunity to either click 'thumbs up' (like) or 'thumbs down' (dislike) if they have an existing account. If an audience member has 'liked' a particular video whatever that may be, it will appear upon their public profile therefore if another audience member is viewing someone else's profile and see's what they have 'liked' or 'disliked', it will then link them directly to the video by a URL/video screen shot, therefore encouraging others to watch the videos too which then leads to the video gaining even more views! The reason PSY wasn't given the official Vevo record was this video was not part of the VEVO collection the day it was first released in YouTube.

Although YouTube is an easily accessible distributor in terms of music videos, encouraging users/audiences to consume music videos on a huge/repetitive scale, Vevo is another effective website for music video consumption as it encourages the audience targeted to watch the music videos on a loop. Thus, influencing the overall success/response artists receieve from their fans because the more views they get it will correlate to a record title with Vevo. In relation to this, audiences will feel responsible for this title due to their exessive consumption of the visual product and will therefore feel as if they have developed a relationship with the artist and their occupational purpose of entertaining people. This is an ongoing cycle on a global scale, thus determining artists to become even more successful and beneficial financially! Vevo is known as a joint venture music video website owned and operated by Universal Music Group, Google, Sony Music Entertainment, and Abu Dhabi Media. YouTube has confirmed that it has signed an extension to it's content partnership with the music video platform/promoter VEVO which ends previous speculation about the two video distributing sites relationship. 

 VEVO alongside YouTube allows users/artists/record labels to upload content filmed 'behind the scenes', primarily giving the audience a deeper insight/experience into their favourite artists occupation. This therefore encourages the progression of music videos, not only their final outcome. Thus, the audience targeted will feel more involved within the artists life and will be more likely to buy into their talent (purchase their  CD album/merchandise/song/music video on iTunes to watch on their mobile device/tablet at any time applicable to the individual)- a point I will address in the future of this post. An example of a behind the scene video promoted by/in association with VEVO and posted upon YouTube is 'Roar' by Pop artist Katy Perry. Within this video, she identifies and explores the message expressed through the lyrics about self-empowerment and speaking up/sticking up for yourself/personal beliefs and therefore becomes a poignant experience for audiences watching. The artist talks directly to the camera, the eyes of the audience and therefore they enjoy a more intimate experience of the artist, something which could not be achieved by the music video uploaded alone. This behind the scenes product therefore acts as a supporting/additional experience for the audience to be entertained/informed/persuaded by the artist to buy into their final product by inviting them to what they will perceive as an exclusive insight into the process/production of their favourite video. 

We as an audience witness/experience the adventures of the 3 days it took to shoot the elaborate music video in LA captured within 17 minutes which is then followed by the video itself which has a duration of 4 minutes. It's evident that this music video had a vast budget, most likely because she is a huge international Pop star with many successes throughout her career within the music industry. For this particular video, the cost would have included the hire of animals/people to care for them in addition to a regular camera/sound crew as well as hair/make-up artists/costume designers... totalling to an estimated $1,000,000. During this behind the scenes video, the artist herself refers to her team of creative people behind the planning/production stages: "we like to have a light-hearted video that goes along with the song" This fulfils the aim of engaging the audience further into the process of production. 

In addition to this, we as an audience also get an insight into the artists personality and can relate to her sense of humour/down-to-earth personality, something in which we as a group creating an Indie music video wanted to achieve as it determines the artists success as a whole because audiences feel obliged to follow them on their journey through the industry as well as being entertained/inspired by their talents. Katy humorously befriends a monkey during the video which therefore suggests she adopts a considerate nature and expresses her inner personality. This therefore intrigues audiences to learn more about Katy as an actual person as opposed to a star who is sold to the masses as a commodity who cannot be related to by niche audiences. The narrative is also highlighted throughout this behind the scenes video as the artist explains it directly to the camera. She states that she is involved within a plane crash and that her actor boyfriend is eaten by the tiger which she later conquers/succeeds in scaring off by singing the catchy song title included within the chorus: "ROAR". We also see the artist on set with her Dad, which presents the idea that although she is famous she has not forgotten those important to her, educating the audience of her personal life whilst suggesting morals of staying true to who you are. 

Lastly, Katy Perry's stylist speaks into the camera lens (audience eyes) by commenting on the famous/iconic "cupcake bra", which is associated with her song featuring Snoop Dog entitled California Girls in which was shot in a studio with green screen showing a fantasy world made up of every thing sweet. This is symbolic of Katy's image pre-Roar/Unconditionally where she has developed and matured a person as well as an artist. The stylist explains how she is now "grown up, she's more of a woman" which also suggests that the stylist has worked closely alongside the artist through her career within the competitive industry. 

Within recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the amount of people purchasing music videos on iTunes; an Apple device. iTunes allows individuals to buy music, films, music videos etc and put them on other Apple devices such as an iPhone or iPad. iTunes is also available as an app and therefore it is also a portable source for music videos, just as easily accessed but costs money instead. To summarise, thanks to iTunes, individuals can now purchase music videos for a little extra money to transfer onto another Apple device, can watch them anywhere at anytime, thus in essence you as the consumer now own the product!

Music video budgets vary depending on who the artist is and how successful they have become at the time. For example, Michael Jackson, a global superstar had many music videos with huge budgets throughout his career such as Thriller which cost ____. Contrastingly, smaller artists under Independent Record labels such as the newly introduced Indie artist Shannon Saunders have much lower budgets to pay for their music video production. An example of this is her music video to the song Heart Of Blue which cost a minimal £9, this is not production costs as they were not necessary but instead costs of travel. These two artists and their genres differ massively which correlates to the budgets in which they use for their visual productions to distribute to audiences of different sizes. 

Michael Jackson ft. Janet Jackson- Scream

     Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop to many had a $7,000,000 budget to shoot the music video to the song Scream which also featured his sister, Janet Jackson. The video was filmed in 1995 and directed by Mark Romanek. The video required 10 sets which feature within it which include a spaceship in which the artists perform. The spaceship cost approximately ___ to construct and acts as a metaphor for how vacuumed and contained the artists lives are. As Jackson has been scrutinised during his very public life, this video responds to the Media in an aggressive manner. Although the video is aggressive, it is juxtaposed by the theme of meditation which is promoted throughout, in addition to the theme of expressionism which is hinted by the collection of electric guitars featured within. 

 The lyrics to the song were inspired by the paparazzi as he sings "Stop pressuring me!" directed at them.  The overall style of the video was Japanese anime, with a space ship and new types of technology, which contrasts the classical black and white appearance of the content.

The insight into a futuristic age is exaggerated by the futuristic fantasies into a reality. 
Therefore, his personal experiences are manifested into the video of Scream, with the help of his supportive sister, Janet, who also plays a vital role within it.

Scream involves a strong performance element which includes the combination/collision of dance and miming. As both artists are well known for their iconic and innovative dance moves, the preparation for particular video required 4 choreographers (2 per artist) in which assisted in making the video a success. Similarly to the dance moves being sharp and iconic, fast-paced editing is a style which is adopted and in turn enhances the intensity of the song which has an effect on the mass audience consuming the product. 

Shannon Saunders- Heart Of Blue (Indie) 

The artist herself has written below her uploaded video 'this video cost me £9 to film (Tube & bus fare) It was filmed around London (Oxford Street & Regents Park) All that was needed was a camera, a very talented director/editor/genius man (Damian Wellers) and a skateboard to film' The budget for this new and upcoming Indie artists first music video had a £9 budget, including travel fares as it had no production costs unlike Michael Jackson's video to Scream. The budgets differ vastly when comparing the two, the Scream budget being 777,777.788 times larger! Although it is evident that the budgets are completely contrasting, the music video to Heart of Blue is highly conventional of the Indie genre whilst the music video to Scream breaks traditional Pop characteristics. 



Technology/special effects:

Green screen was first introduced to the music video production industry in ____

Green screen is mainly associated with big budget action films such as Batman where elaborate city locations are fictionalised (Gotham City) with the addition of special effects too. 

Dj FreshVS Diplo ft. Dominique Young Unique- Earthquake 

Katy Perry- California Girls (Pop)

The music video for California Girls was shot in LA over a two day span whilst the  overall production from start to finish lasted from May through mid-June 2010. This is evidence of how much time and effort is devoted into producing a music video of high-quality and of strong entertainment value which benefits the artists sales of the song in addition to the production crew who would be accredited towards it. 


California Girls has a strong performance element which was shot against green screen on stage with some practical set-lets as partial backdrops to achieve a magical fictionalised world consisting of candy and fun. Visual Effects Supervisor John Fragomeni states "The scope of the visual effects work was very ambitious"20 custom environments were designed and created in which 3D shots were incorporated, again to achieve an outstanding visual outcome. CG matte painting backgrounds and environments were also intergrated within including evil gummy bears, peppermint snakes, a gingerbread man, melting popsicle, bubbling hot chocolate ponds, sugar cube dice, and a girl trapped in a Jello square. Software for the project included the prestigious: Maya, Zbrush, Synthese, Houdini, RealFlow, Nuke, and Flame used amongst a majority of industry professionals!

A-ha- Take On Me (Pop)

This video relies on the contrast of real life and the animated world and therefore uses special effects throughout to create this imagery. The official video for A-Ha "Take On Me". At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for "Take on Me" won six awards—Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer's Choice—and was nominated for two others, Best Group Video and Video of the Year. It was also nominated for Favourite Pop/Rock Video at the 13th American Music Awards in 1986.


How have music genres developed over the years?


Music genres, much like the industry and technology available have developed dramatically. Many decades ago, when listening and purchasing music became mainstream, genres were often known to be singular for example Pop as opposed to Indie Rock which we would listen to nowadays. A merging of two or more genres was introduced in recent years, with many cross-overs becoming available for audiences as they wanted to merge music types together. 

During the 80's and 90's, Pop music became the normality of many peoples lives as they often tuned into radio stations or watched Top of the Pops to get their mainstream fix. Also during those era's, there was only one music chart to follow, whereas nowadays there are many created by various radio stations such as Capital FM promoting/in association with The Official UK Top 40 which scores mainstream music on the amount of songs being purchased by the general public via iTunes. Ways in which audiences consume music has also changed, as people would purchase hard copies of music in vinyl/CD form. Although CD's are very much available  in stores such as HMV and many major supermarkets, mp3 downloads are what dictate which artist and which song as a collective is number 1-40 in the charts. 

Music channels.... variation due to genres.... 1st= MTV now there are 100's....

Taylor Swift- Love Story (Country/Pop)

Genres have always been available for audiences to access, from Jazz to Pop and Dance and Classical. However, within recent years, genres are often paired together to create one genre for example a combination of Indie and Pop would be known as Indie Pop and be classified as a singular genre rather two separate ones. This makes the music industry as a whole more flexible for artists to enter and experiment and also allows for more versitle music production. Due to this, audiences have been more welcoming of genres and accepting as part of this. 

Cross-overs of genres are often seen throughout the industry, especially amongst more recent years. For example, music of the Country genre has become increasingly popular due to Taylor Swift who has incorporated the Pop genre and intelligently merged the two to make her music more mainstream and in turn, more popular. Although Swift was inspired by much earlier Country music artists such as Dolly Parton, she has..... Artists who have influenced others plays a fundamental role in the cross-overs of genres.

Chart music during the 80's and 90's mainly consisted of either Pop or Rock genres with vairous artists because it was the only route to success with mass audiences (mainstream)

It has also become increasingly popular for artists to collaborate together, whether they belong to the same genre or varying ones. This gives audiences the opportunity to either discover a new genre or even a new artist, therefore benefitting artists in the long run. An example of a successful collaboration is Pop singer Jessie J having two completely different artists feature on her song entitled Wild. Big Sean originates from the US Rap scene where he is most successful in the US whilst Dizzie Rascal creates music of the Hip-Hop genre within the UK, again, where he is most successful with audiences. By combining 3 varying genres (Pop, Rap and Hip-Hop), it allows for audiences to enjoy all 3 artists and therefore genres simultaneously rather than having to listen to all 3 artists seperately to get a taste for what they stand for and produce. Also, because Wild is targeted at 3 different fan bases, the song gained more recognition and popularity, thus increasing fans of all 3 artists individually in addition to as a collective. 

Jessie J (Pop) ft. Dizzie Rascal (UK Hip-hop) and Big Sean (US rap)- Wild

Magazine Advert Reflection

How did you use your research into magazine adverts to start planning your own?

Conducting secondary research into magazine adverts has helped me in numerous ways. By analysing both Indie artist Nina Nesbitt and mixed Indie band Florence and The Machine, I learnt about the various conventions connected within my chosen genre. By doing so, thoughts and ideas were provoked which triggered design elements for my paper design. When analysing the two separate pieces, I praised and criticised certain elements. Although I disliked the complexity of the FATM  poster, I admired the elaborate editing and creativity involved. Nina's tour poster was much more informative and simple which I found effective as it achieved it's purpose without 'trying too hard' The artist's image represented within Nesbitt's tour poster was very conventional, with her long, blonde, messy hair and laid-back clothing which made her appear appealing to her target audience, so much so that they could find aspects they can relate with.

What are your ideas and inspirations behind your paper design?


Overall, my paper design is simplistic yet effective. I was inspired by many Indie adverts I had researched but made my individual advert original, although it twisted certain aspects I had previously seen. 

A fundamental element I needed to include was obviously the artists name, in which I wrote in a pink italics. I chose to do this because I wanted the italics to appear similar to an autograph, which communicates her fame. Despite this, when it comes to creating my artist logo, I will want a different outcome, possibly incorporating flowers to further justify the artists name in addition to a subtle reference to nature, of which is perfectly conventional to the Indie genre. 

A downfall of my paper design is that I drew the artist with her back facing the audience rather than her face which would conventionally be used to promote many artists of any genre. Therefore, there is a lack of artist image which carries mysterious connotations. This may either keep the audience guessing or alienate them and make them disinterested within her as an artist. After not being able to justify the lack of artist image, we will use an image of the artists face (possibly a mid-shot of her playing guitar/close-up wearing nosering to promote the song title and contemporary/quirky/unique Indie image) because it is imperative to present the whole of the artists image to increase her success within the industry which is based upon exterior appearance in addition to the talent expressed (sadly)
 From this paper design, I can conclude that the lack of identity approach which I initially considered may prove unsuccessful when creating it on Photoshop, therefore I will avoid this.

I also felt it was imperative to incorporate the motif of daisies formed into a daisy chain- this was mainly used to symbolise the artists strength of enduring her boyfriends misguided nature in addition to femininity. It also explicitly links to the artists name which has natural and youthful connotations, therefore relating to her target audience and is also visually appealing: all adding up to being conventional characteristics of the Indie genre.

Another element I incorporated within my individual magazine advert (paper design) was the use of a brick wall, an inspiration drawn from our chosen artists original tour poster. Brick walls are often associated with urban roots accompanied with graffiti. However, I used it because I felt it broke boundaries of what an audience may expect from a traditional Indie promotion, therefore subverting conventions and assumptions from the target audience point of view. By using the urban background, it can be easily correlated to the misguided nature of the artists love interest, therefore presenting a sense of the narrative within the music video to the audience before they view it.

Information I included within my paper design is both informative and persuasive. I decided not to involve too much information as it may overwhelm and eventually alienate the target audience, therefore they may decide not to take an initial interest in regard to the product targeted at them. By stating the single is the "fastest selling", it begins to draw in the audience targeted and builds a sudden 'hype' amongst them too. This therefore means that people within the target audience share what they have seen, thus benefitting the artist and their record label financially.

A colour scheme is a crucial component within my paper design. I decided to use a combination of pink and blue for the font which suggests my product has a unisex appeal. By it being unisex, it therefore attracts a larger target audience, evidently increasing the success of the artist who initially appeals to a rather niche sized audience. The colour red was used for the song title however, mainly to engage the audience and help them to notice that it is important information, therefore becoming more memorable to them which may involve them downloading the song/watching the video after witnessing the advert, therefore meaning the promotion was successful because after all, a successful promotion is when audiences recognise the artist through the design and overall portrayal to then go on to become acquainted with the artist and hopefully engage within her musical talents. 

How will this help you with creating it on Photoshop?

By creating a design onto paper before beginning to experiment on the Photoshop software, it allows me to visually see my design rather than having an image in my head.

I individually created 2 main magazine adverts on Photoshop, to the left is the image of my least successful attempt of which I built upon and improved to create a more professional outcome (below WILL ADD WHEN COMPLETE INCLUDING ANALYSIS)

Combine groups ideas to form one successful advert, particular elements worked well and were conventional ...developed ideas


Upon reflection, I can conclude that.........

Creating my magazine adverts is the first time I have ever used Photoshop, therefore, I found this task challenging and simultaneously enjoyable. At first, I found the process of creating and naming layers difficult, but once I taught myself a routine about how the software responds to certain things you would like to adapt, I found it much easier.

The first thing I did was select the appropriate artist image from our photoshoot and edit out (tool name) the background of the forest as I felt it was important to have a plain white background to follow conventions of the Indie genre and what I have witnessed amongst other magazine adverts of the same genre.

I then carefully selected the different fonts I wanted for each separate piece of information via an online font generator which had a variety of fonts to choose from. Each separate piece of information has its own font which is relevant to what it wants to communicate. For example, for  the artists logo I selected a font which involved the imagery of flowers within each letter which I felt was perfect as it reflects upon the feminity of the artist and the target audience whilst effectively relating to the use of a pink stripe which separates the main information from the large artist image. The pink stripe was important to communicate (which was not used within my paper design) and was purposely placed at the top in the centre to purposely engage the audience whilst providing the advert with a hint of colour as the scheme is very minimalistic with a white background supported with black fonts.

I wanted the font for 'Noserings' to be bold and eye-catching as it informs the audience of part of the song title whilst 'and' was intentionally chosen to be smaller therefore less noticeable as it is irrelevant in comparison to the last part of the title: 'Shoestrings' The font selected for 'Shoestrings' appears in an almost handwritten style whilst being italics and free flowing, much like the literal imagery of shoestrings is as they link together, therefore each letter joining symbolises the initial strength of both the relationship between the artist and her misguided boyfriend in addition to the relationship built with her fans. This is a particular element I feel strongly for and I would like to discuss this with my group to include within our final interpretation for our group magazine advert, which therefore proves I am able to reflect on my own work both positively and critically to construct and hopefully improve it. The font for 'out now' however is the same size as the artists name, therefore stressing the importance of it's existence within the advert. 'Out now' is also capitalised in a striking almost cartoon font placed directly in the centre in line with the artists name because it serves the dual purpose of being informative in addition to persuading audience to purchase the single as it is recent, thus exclusive, allowing audiences to become the 'first' to discover a new and upcoming Indie artist. Although my concept for the font is simplistic, I hope it is effective and I will improve it for the secondary Photoshop design.

Artist image within any magazine advert is fundamental because it gives the artist an opportunity to promote themselves, therefore a sense/snippet of their personality and talent is usually included to help boost single sales. The image in which I included within my 1st attempt of Photoshop was archived from the photoshoot we conducted previous to this task. I believe it follows conventions of the Indie genre and presents the artist to be relatable, which is a key component to engaging audiences, especially for a fairly recent artist who is just about to break the music industry, which is a difficult process if promotional tools are not executed efficiently. Although she is shown wearing dull colours, the image shows her in her performance mind-set as she is reflecting upon her inner thoughts, deep and emotional as expressed through her lyrics which are personal to her, conventional of the genre itself. Despite this image clearly presenting the artist exactly how we wanted, there is a lack of eye contact between the artist and audience, which could be something we would like to address differently within the future of creating a group/collective magazine advert. Her initial lack of eye contact with the audience however makes her appear mysterious and laid back, much like Ellie Goulding within many of her photoshoots. This therefore forces the audience to research into her recent career and will thus be intrigued to listen to her music which would eventually lead to purchasing the single. I decided to include a mid-shot of the artist playing her acoustic guitar because it vitally follows genre characteristics associated with Indie. This is to allow the audience to become familiar with her and they can begin to build a relationship with her as an artist. Also within the image the artist is seen wearing a nosering which provides the audience with a visual link to the 'Noserings and Shoestrings' , the song in which we are promoting throughout our production as we are creating the video to it.

I was much happier with my 2nd magazine advert attempt on Photoshop. I believe this is because I had developed basic skills by creating my 1st which allowed me to use them for the 2nd attempt in addition to having a clearer vision of what I wanted to achieve. Lastly, by conducting further research  

·       Do you think your magazine adverts are conventional to your genre? Consider the colours/connotation, images, layout etc

·       Do you think your target audience will be able to build a relationship with your artist?

·       What choices and decisions did you make and why?

·       Are your choices and decisions conventional to your music genre and why?

·       What could you change and why?

Reflection-

·       How will this draft assist you with creating your second?