Task One. What do you think are the major elements of an album marketing campaign?

Elements such as where the album is published are a crucial part of marketing campaigns, as if a rock album was advertised on a pop music channel, then the likelihood of the album being bought by those viewers is minimal. Alongside this, artists have to achieve the right look that channels there album, such as using imagery and wording that would attract their target market. Where have you encountered those elements in your daily life? Such as pop albums being advertised on channels such as capital whereas rock albums being advertised on channels such as Kerrang. What factors make you like a band and therefore download their music, buy their albums or attend their concerts. How do you decide which band is cool and which is not? Factors such as what vibe they give off to the audience is important, alongside the quality of their music. Ultimately, if you dont enjoy the bands music you are likely to believe they are uncool. If the lead singer acts a certain way that you deem to be uncool this can affect the way you perceive their music. Where and when do you watch music videos? I tend to watch music videos, through links posted by NME on twitter, or by viewing them on music channels such as MTV. Task Two. List as many features/conventions of music videos that you can think of Props Extras in the video, such as backing dancers or a band Costumes A scene- may this be a party or a beach A certain vibe- is the actor in the music video happy or sad? A storyline- is the singer pining over a person who doesnt love them, or is the singer singing about being in a bad mood? Camera shots Camera movements Camera speed Editing

Light/colour- this could affect the mood of the video Mise-en-scene- this can attract the audience to the video as places importance on aspects of the video

Task Three.

Textual analysis of music videos.Heart of Blue: Shannon Saunders

Features

Observation

Examples

Genre characteristics

amplification

Unusual ideas- barefoot in Centeral London & singing through mass crowds

Relationship between lyrics & visuals

I walk alone

Walking through London alone

Relationship between music & visuals

heart of blue

Close up of the blue necklace, to correspond with the heart of blue lyrics.

Are there close ups of the artists & star image motifs?

Close up of her walking suggesting that the artist is preferring to be alone/ feels alone in the mass crowd A lot of eye contract with the camera. Creates an emotional link between the artist and audience, unfolds the story of pain that the protagonist is feeling. close ups of the artist gazing into mid-air, suggesting a feeling of sadness and reflecting on pass events

Is there reference to the notion of looking? (Goodwins theory)

Are there intercontexual references? (Kristeva theory)

Reference of the feeling of loss

Is the video category illustration, disjuncture or amplification? How much of each?

A lot of amplification

. Walking through London barefoot, a lot of running through the streets.

Task Three- Kanye West: Love Lockdown Features Observations examples

Genre characteristics

disjunction The tribal men in the video

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

love locked down The simple set- white on white, getting away from everything.

Relationship between music and visuals

Beat of the drums in sync with the drums of the tribal men.

Are there close ups of the artist and star image motifs

Close up of Kanye in a suit looking smart and respectable. Showing that the woman hasnt destroyed him you loose

Are there reference to the notion of looking?

Close up

Showing that despite him being sad of having to go he is glad he isnt wasting time Standing up straight thoughout.

Are there intertexual references? Is the video category illustration disjuncture or amplification. How much of each?

I dont need you

Disjunction - Amplification -

The tribe White room- locked away from reality & being hurt

Task Four Answer all the questions ( Questions answered based on Heart of Blue- Shannon Saunders)

1.Why did you choose the text you were analysing? I choose Heart of Blue as this is a home shot video, similar to the video I shall be producing. I thought this video would be interesting to analyse as this is a low budget video therefore mirroring something that I produce. I liked the unusual approach that Shannon took in order to produce her video, as I believe the rawness of the video symbolises the feelings that she is trying to show in the video. 2. In what context did you encounter it? I have been following Shannon Saunders on twitter for years now, therefore keeping up to date with her progression. It was there where she posted the link to the video on youtube. 3.What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text? I believe that following Shannon on twitter allowed for an excitement over the release of the video, as prior to the release she was tweeting parts of the song therefore allowing for curiosity over the finished video. 4. What conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text? The stripped back, home video approach mirrors the indie genre to a certain extent. As for example The Vaccines did a similar video for the release of Post Break up Sex, as this video also had a stipped back vibe to it due to the distressed edit of the video. 5. To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of the genre? I believe the video tested the conventions of the genre such as walking around barefoot and gazing helplessly into the camera. The video didnt fully break into the indie genre as much of the video was simply repeated shots. 6. Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre? The text departs from the conventions of the genre, as in some aspects you could see the artist to be a pop singer due to the sometimes upbeat nature of her songs. The artists also depart from the conventions as her music isnt aired on any music channels due to her still being unknown by many. 7. What sort of audience did you feel the video was aimed at? I believe the video was aimed at audiences ranging from 14-20, as the laid back, not pushing the conventions, approach to the video was in order to appeal to the masses and to be non offence because the artist is keen for her music to be heard by many.

8. What sort of person does it assume you are? The video assumes that I am someone who is in touch with my emotions, and that Im someone who is shy and reserved due to the soft and mild nature of the video. 9. What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity? The assumptions are that Im a middle class teenager, that has access to the internet and a computer and that Im interested in music thats why Ive came across someone who is relatively unknown. Nevertheless, the artist was previously on My Camp Rock 7 years ago, therefore I could be a younger viewer who has followed the artist from her appearance on a Disney show 7 years prior. 10. What interests does is assume you have? There are no immediate interests that the video assumes I have, other than a love for music. 11. What relevance does the text actually have for you? The text doesnt have any immediate relevance to myself personally, however to someone going through a heart break the song could be quite moving. 12. What knowledge does it take for granted? The video assumes that you are aware of Shannons private life, and that youre aware that the song was written due to a break up that happened around the time of the song being written. 13. To what extent do you resemble the ideal reader that the video seeks to position you as? To a certain extent I resemble the ideal reader, as Im the same as Shannon, therefore it can be assumed that Ive had the same life experiences as her, and that Im facing similar problems in my own life. 14. Are there any notable shifts in the videos style? Not at all, the video remains very similar throughout, even to the point where most of the video appears to be repeats of the same shots. 15. What responses does the video seem to expect from you? The video appears to expect you to feel a sense of sadness for the artist due to the obvious fact of a heart break. 16. How open to negotiation is your response? There is no instruction whatsoever to respond to the video, however the viewer may wish to comment on the video through youtube or tweet the viewer their opinion of the video. 17. Is there any penalty for not responding in the expected ways? There are none ,apart from perhaps fans of the artist responding via social networking sites.

18. To what extent do you find yourself reading against the grain of the text and the genre? I rarely find myself reading against the grain due to the lack of negative views regarding this video. 19. How typical do you think this video is of music videos? I believe to an extent the music video is pretty unique, in the fact that the artist is barefoot and really the lyrics do all the work- as usually music videos are built up and require many different effects and props.