Set Options

Hello!

So while Cata and I have been working on the website and digipak, our main focus is the music video. As of now, we have our dancer, song, and artist, but the only thing we are missing is the set for the music video. After much searching our brains for the perfect set, Cata and I thought that an industrial-looking warehouse with black walls and a gray floor would be best fitted for the song. Here are some pictures of our ideal set:

This picture was our inspiration for the look of our dancer in the music video:

We scouted for different locations and we've narrowed it down to three:

Option #1: Cypress Bay Auditorium

Both Cata and I are extremely familiar with our high school's auditorium. After taking four years of musical theatre in there, it has become our home away from home. The great thing about filming in the auditorium is that we can get our hands in professional lighting, which would elevate the quality of our video and make it much more professional. The annoying part of filming in the auditorium is that it's almost always booked, so getting a time slot to film there might be hard (but not impossible!)

Option #2: Michael's Garage
Michael is one of our best friends, and he has a spacious garage where we could hang black blankets from the wall and film. However, the lighting is awful and it'd be hard to film in such a hot place for prolongued amounts of time. Nevertheless, it's accessibility to both Cata and I is great.

Option #3: Wynwood
Ah...Wynwood. You can never go wrong with Wynwood. It's colorful walls make for an incredibly aesthetic background for our dancer. I know it's the opposite of what our image for our set was, but I think it would work flawlesly (Cata not so much...). It must be said though, that Wynwood is an hour away from our homes, and taking two 15-year-olds with us to Wynwood might not be the best as they have pretty protective parents.

Overall, we decided that the auditorium would be the best place to film. We even asked our teacher, Ms. Lutwin, if we could use it and she let us borrow it on Monday at 6pm. This would set us back a day in filming but we believe its totally worth it.

That's all for today,
Isa


Sources:
http://afasiaarchzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Jo%C3%A3o-Mendes-Ribeiro-.-Ad%C3%A9mia-Office-Building-and-Industrial-Warehouse-.-Coimbra-27.jpg
http://www.sharpeproperties.com/uploads/homepageimages/original/premier-industrial-warehouse-interior.jpg
http://www.sharpeproperties.com/uploads/homepageimages/original/premier-industrial-warehouse-interior.jpg
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSHTTy8FQWH/?taken-by=sophialucia5678&hl=en

Progress(Part 2)! Digipak Rough Draft

Hello!

Cata and I have decided on our digipak layout and we are super happy to share it with the rest of the world! I'll try to explain our mental image to the best of my abilities! However, before I start, I wanted to share with you some of the digipaks that inspired our own layout. Shoutout to Mrs. Stoklosa for bringing digipaks we could physically touch and see to class. Thank you!

This first digipak to the right is from artist Courtney Bennet. Cata and I both loved the simplistic design of it, and thought that the white space gave it a very clean look. Taking that into consideration, we will play around with white space to create a similar look.

One thing we absolutely adored was the way that the packet of lyrics was designed. As you can see in the picture to the right, the paper unfolded to create a poster with some of the lyrics of the album. We feel that this is a very creative idea to keep fans immersed in music as they have the option to not only read the lyrics to the songs, but to hang up a poster in their rooms.

This next digipak was not necessarily our favorite. We didn't gravitate towards the two CD spaces and the song list and packet in the middle. However, we appreciated the three separate panels, and decided that we were definitely going to have three panels. Especially because it gives us more opportunity to share information with Em's fan base while at the same time creating an aesthetic theme.

So, what we've all been waiting for, our rough draft. TA-DA!

I know, I know... It's not the most beautiful thing, but like I've mentioned before, Cata and I are not artists. Nevertheless, it gets the point across. Maybe it'll be better once I explain it. As you know, the front cover is being designed by one of Em's friends who can actually draw, so that will be the front cover of the album. On the inside of that panel will be a small half-pocket with the booklet of song lyrics. These two are represented by the top and bottom square on the far right of the drawing. On the middle outside cover will be the song list with a minimalist design. The inside of this panel will be the CD holder. These two can be seen as the middle squares in the drawing. Finally, the last panel is the third one which goes into the album and comes out when you open it. The outside panel of the left would be the first thing that consumers notice once they open the album, and it will have a handwritten-type note from Em to make the album as personable as it can be. The inside of that panel will be full of her website and social media, so that fans who just buy the album can find others way to interact with her.

I hope that explanation helped in understanding what goes on inside our heads, but if it didn't, Cata and I are thinking of doing a vlog which will explain the digipak more in detail once we start the actual production of it. But more now, this is it!

Progress! Video Rough Draft

Hey there!

Cata and I met today in class and were super efficient in our preparations for the project. First, we discussed the music video. As we listened to the song, we came up with part of our storyboard. Since both Cata and I are horrible artists and we can clearly picture our storyboard in our heads, we decided to create a list of shots/angles/camera movements that we want to get.

Check them out below:

"Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe" CLOSE UP and PAN circling around Em's head.

"There is no escape, my head is killing me" CLOSE UP and STILL camera of Em's face with a                                                                                  tortured look as her hands touch her face

"I stand in my cage in silence and fear" CLOSE UP and STILL camera of Em's face staring straight                                                                   at the camera

"For the demons of darkness have driven me here" slow ZOOM OUT of CLOSE UP to MEDIUM shot

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart" quick ZOOM IN into Em's face, quick editing of various types of shots/angles.

"Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark" EDITING of different angles follows a fast/fast/slow pacing with many DUTCH angles.

Once the chorus starts with "I'm locked inside a cage", Cata and I are conflicted with what to do next. We are both sure that we want an illusion of going inside of Em's head, and we would like to express her emotions with a symbolic dancer. However, since we don't know that many dancers, we need to speak to them and see if they'd like to help us out. The dance would be a lyrical/contemporary style, with a dark undertone, ideally in an aesthetically-pleasing colorful background that would be juxtaposed to the simplistic shots and mise-en-scene of  Em's appearance in the beginning.


Some of our inspiration for the dance would be the Sia videos. Like you can see in the music video to the right, the main dancer portrays a lot of emotion through her movements. It's not necessarily a plot line that follows the lyrics, but it portrays the overall theme of the song.

The reason that we decided to include Em in the music video is due to the promotional value that it would hold for her as an artist. Since she is a new artist, consumers must be able to connect Em's music back to her. However, we feel that a strictly promotional music video wouldn't do "Cage" justice with its emotional value, which is why we feel that a mix of both promotional and artistic would be perfect.

We will be visiting some set locations during the weekend, so hopefully we can find the perfect place to film!

DigiPak Research

A digipak is defined by Wikipedia as "a type of optical disk packaging... Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside."

There are different panels in a digipak. The front panel of the digipak is the cover of the album, and is the main promoter of the CD. The back panel may contain a design must usually includes the songs inside the album. Both the front and back album are the main promoters of the disc, so they must be eye-catching. 

A rough draft of Em's album cover

For the front panel, Emmanuelle contacted a friend to design it. The cover will be a silhouette of Em's head with different symbols inside of it. When confronted with this idea, Cat and I both loved it. Em's silhouette would allow the album cover to connect with her physical self in a way, but it also encompasses the different inspirations and seeds of imagination for all of the songs inside the album.

Cat and I asked Em about her decision for her silhoutte. Here is her answer: "My silhouette is just a representation of what's personal to me, like the aspects of my songs specifically have to do with what goes on in my head and they all have very personal meaning." 

The rough draft to the right doesn't yet include the symbols inside her head. Yet Em told us that some of the symbols will be: "a girl holding a mirror and the mirror reflects a skull in a bed, because my darkest thoughts occur at night; an eye filled with flames, which is a metaphor for being blinded by  depression which prevents me from seeing all of the good things in life, and the flame represents my desire to see those good things."

As you can see, Em has put a lot of thought into the cover of her album, which is why Cata and I have the hard task of choosing a coherent digipak to go along with the amazing cover. To inspire us, we've looked into some digipaks that we liked. You can see some below.

Cat and I gravitated towards this abstract yet simple design

I adore this dark visual with mostly images. 

I want to stray away from Katy Perry's photoshoot-type digipak

Kylie's handwritten-type note in her lipstick package

While Cata and I are still coming up with the overall design for the digipak, another thing that we agreed to include was a 'personal note' inside of it. As ridiculous as this sounds, I got the idea from Kylie Jenner's lip kit packaging.  The reason for this is that it demonstrates a sense of individuality to each physical album that is sold, and creates a connection between Em and the buyer. Also, since technological trends have decreased the consumption of physical albums, Cata and I want to make a digipak that will be interactive, something that can be seen if the consumer decides to buy the digital version of the album.

Sources:

http://www.discwizards.com/images/ProdImages/Digipak-4-Panel-Booklet-1-Large.jpg

https://www.emaze.com/@AFTCQLCR/Conventions-of-a-Digipak.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipak

Music Video Decision: Cage

Last class, Cat and I met with Mrs. Stoklosa to discuss our progress. There were many aspects of the project that we talked about, but one major aspect stood out: the music video. As the major component of the project, the music video is an integral part of our grade and the overall music campaign. However, since both Cat and I have been busy researching the music industry and building Em’s brand, the music video had taken a backseat.

Nevertheless, we still discussed it and were torn between two of Em’s songs, “Cage” and “I’ll Be Fine". These are two of Em’s favorite songs, and they were both great options to choose from. However, “Cage” has a heavier beat and is more about the internal struggle of the mind, while “I’ll Be Fine” is a slower song that encompasses parts of each of the songs of the album in it. While Cat preferred to do “I’ll Be Fine”, I was leaning towards “Cage”. Yet by the end of the meeting with Mrs. Stoklosa, Cat and I decided on doing “Cage” since its stronger beats and lyrics would allow us to do some cool editing and a clear storyline.

                                                                         An excerpt of Em performing the acoustic version of "Cage"

Here are the lyrics to the song for our music video, “Cage”:

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Voices surround me, it's harder to breathe
there is no escape, my head is killing me 
i stand in my cage in silence and fear 
for the demons of darkness have driven me here

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark 

I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine 
My heart is locked in chains 
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?

People are watching, they think that i'm insane
I see them, they're talking, do they know i'm not okay?
Shadows are screaming that i am alone 
I hope it's all a dream, i'm out here on my own

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will tear me apart
Most of the monsters in my head only scare me in the dark 

I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine 
My heart is locked in chains 
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you
Can you save my soul?

Deep inside
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind
Oh, deep inside 
Where nothing's fine
I've lost my mind

I'm trapped inside a cage
I'm like a deadly machine 
My heart is locked in chains 
My mind is a disease
Can you
Can you save my soul?
Can you

Can you save my soul?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see from the lyrics, this song is very much a psychological struggle of being trapped inside one’s mind. Since the song follows a story, we want most of the visuals to correlate with the words of the song. Since “Cage” was the first song that Em wrote from the album, it holds a very personal place in her heart, which is why Cat and I want to include her into the creative process of the video as much as possible. In the next week, Cat and I will be exchanging ideas about the music video and hopefully come up with a storyboard by the beginning of the following week.

Until next time,
-Isa

Marketing Music in the 21st Century

The three main objectives of this project are:

-Music video
-Website
-Digipak

Since all of these products relate to the overall music campaign, it seems fitting to start my research by delving deeply into the music industry, to study how musicians nowadays are using technology and media to heighten their success.

“The answer is developing an audience focused on YOU. In a world where attention is scarce, it is artists who have built something that intrigues, and who have the attention of an audience that will win.” Dotted Music

This quote reminds me of the heightened importance of targeting an audience, in a place where there is so much content that quality is overshadowed by quantity. Because of this, Cata and I decided that Em’s alternative rock/pop music is best fitted towards Millennials and older Generation Z’s. Due to the large gap between age ranges, 15-30 years old, our marketing strategy needs to be all encompassing.

The Canadian website, Music Managers Forum, had some incredible insight into marketing music in the 21st century. It’s especially helpful as their information is targeted towards self-managed artists. MMF stated that being successful in this industry consists of three necessary steps:

1. Connecting with your audience


2. Building and maintaining that relationship


3. Converting that relationship into revenue.


As you can see, the audience is arguably one of the most substantial parts of the campaign. It’s about how we are going to make people reach Em’s content, and relate to it so much that they’ll yearn for any interaction with her, which brings me to the next point...INTERACTIVE EVERYTHING! YouTube, Soundcloud, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Em’s content needs to be everywhere. Her website needs to link back to all of her music, and all of her music needs to connect back to her website and social media outlets. 



Right now, Em has a YouTube Channel, EmmanuelleSasson, with over 260 subscribers. She is constantly uploading covers of songs, and sometimes even does personal diary-type posts. You can see her most popular cover so far(with over 1500 views!) on the left.

Em also has a personal Instagram, @_emmanuelle_s_, and one that she started only for her music image, @emsasson. However, she uses her personal one much more than her music one, something that we suggested changed. Em's twitter is @emsasson.



Sources:
"Music Marketing in the 21st Century." Music Managers Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://musicmanagersforum.ca/resources/music-marketing-for-the-21st-century/>.

"Selling Music in the 21st Century." Music Business Journal Berklee College of Music RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.thembj.org/2009/01/selling-music-in-the-21st-century/>.

"Being An Artist In The 21st Century." Dotted Music. N.p., 26 Oct. 2012. Web. <http://dottedmusic.com/2011/features/being-an-artist-in-the-21st-century/>.

Meeting and Case Study

This week, Mrs. Stoklosa divided us into groups, and we got to show some of our peers our blogs and get some feedback. Good news: everyone loved my blog! Yay! They said it was very clean and all the information was relevant. However, since we just started the projects, there was not much I could show them other than general content.

Something that they recommended, which I am about to do, is to find examples of certain artists who are similar to Em, and analyze their music videos, website, and digipaks. I feel that this would be a great way for Cata and I to expand our knowledge of the music industry while at the same time gaining ideas that we can apply to Em’s campaign. While I’m focusing on Ed Sheeran, Cat will focus on Alessia Cara.

Ed Sheeran is a British singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His music is a diverse mixture of acoustic pop, folk, and pop. Born in 1991, the red-haired popular artist released his first two albums by the age of 16. He moved from his home in Halifax to London in order to gain more exposure, and was eventually noticed by star Jamie Foxx. From there, his career skyrocketed as he signed with Elton John’s management agency, and has since won many awards for his touching music and performances

Ed Sheeran’s website is EdSheeran.com. Something that’s interesting is that the first thing that viewers see is a pop up promoting his new album, Divide. The advertisement gives you the option to buy the physical copy, the digital one, or just stream excerpts of it online. You can see the pop-up below:

On the bottom of the page, it gives you the option to continue to his website, where there are photos, news, merchandise, and even a tab with all of his social media. The main focus of the website is the huge image of Ed Sheeran. When clicked, the image becomes the music video for his latest hit, “Shape of You”.

Although the website is simple, I love the minimalistic look of it. Just like his music, his website seems raw and personable, yet it does its job of promoting Ed Sheeran and his music. This is something that I definitely want to incorporate into Em’s website, as I feel like her and Ed have a lot in common (other than the fact that they share the same initials. Coincidence? I think not…)

Cat and I also discussed the idea of having merchandise for Em, like a hoodie with the cover of her album on it. For some reason, Millennials and Gen Z’s love hoodies, unaware of the free advertisement that it does to the artist.

As for the music video, I watched another of Sheeran’s newest hits, “Castle on the Hill”. Although he doesn’t star for the majority of the video, he uses a younger look-alike to play him. I especially like this video because of its storytelling aspect. The mise-en-scene, shots, and angles are not highly managed or edited, it’s something that Cat and I would be able to do if we plan accordingly. The promotional element of it with Sheeran's presence is another thing that we definitely want to include, as we need our audience to recognize Em and connect her with the music that they are listening to. Since it is her first album, not only her music, but she as an artist needs to be marketed.

Sources:
"Ed Sheeran Official Website." Ed Sheeran Official Website. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.edsheeran.com/?frontpage=true>.
O'Brien, Jon. "Ed Sheeran | Biography & History." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ed-sheeran-mn0002639628/biography>.

Meet the Artist!

Hey!

Cata and I did an interview with Emmanuelle Sasson after we approached her, so that she could give us some information before we started creating her music campaign.  She was delighted for the help, especially as she was taking on her career all by herself. Here is our interview with her:

What's your name? 
Emmanuelle Sasson

When were you born? 
October 17th, 2001. So I'm 15.

Where are you from?
Manhattan, NYC, and I moved to Florida when I was 5. But my family is actually from Israel. My father is Turkish and my mom is Moroccan.

When did you start singing?
I’ve known I’ve wanted to be a musician ever since I was 3. When I was 14, I started taking vocal lessons with my teacher, Rachal Solomon. She’s really supportive of my music and has helped me manage my voice better.

Who’s your favorite singer/band?
Twenty One Pilots

Do you play any instruments?
I play the guitar, bass, piano, drums, and the ukulele. And I’ve learned them all on my own except for  the guitar.

How would you describe yourself?
I’m quirky, and I’m a thinker. I like to see the good in people rather than focus on the bad, and even in the darkest times, I try to focus on the good things such as my music and the people I love. I’m also very affectionate, and usually care more about other people over myself. Oh, and I love cracking jokes.

What’s the inspiration behind your debut album?
On February 4th, 2015, I had back surgery to treat my scoliosis. At 13, I was at the hospital for a week, and I had to miss school for a month. I fell into a severe depression because of it, so I started writing songs. “Cage” was the first song that I wrote which described how I was feeling. My music has to do a lot with my personal life, and who I’ve become and who I strive to be. It’s about humanity, our tendencies, and our bad habits. That’s why my my debut album is called “A Universal Paradox”, meaning that you can choose to do something but you can’t choose its consequences.

How would you describe your music?
Alternative rock/pop

What do you want your music to be to other people?
I want my music to be a support system for others. I want it to be comforting and relatable because I know how it feels to be alone and I don’t ever want other people to feel that way.

What are some of your goals as a musician?
I want to get people to feel something when they listen to my music, but to do that, I need to expand my YouTube presence. I also submitted an audition video to America's Got Talent, so that’s another exciting thing that I’m looking forward to. I’m also super excited for the release of my first album, “A Universal Paradox”, which will hopefully be available this summer!

Tentative Schedule

Last year, I decided to do a list of my personal deadlines towards the end of the project. Due to my success with that, I learned from experience and did one for this project... only I didn't wait until crunch time to actually put it together. So without further adieu, here is the tentative deadlines by which I hope to fulfill certain aspects of the project:

03/02/2017 Finalize Schedule
03/04/17 Interview with Em Sasson

03/08/2017 Genre Research
03/10/2017 Conventions of Music Videos
03/12/2017 Conventions of Digipaks

03/13/2017 Conventions of Musician Websites
03/14/2017 Photo shoot
03/16/2017 Business Card
03/18/2017 Website

03/20/2017 Plan for Music Video
03/22/2017 Storyboard
03/24/2017 Film Video and Begin Editing

03/27/2017 Digipak
03/29/2017 Finalize All Products
03/31/2017 Script and Finalize CCR

04/03/2017 Final Comments
04/05/2017 Post Project
04/08/2017 Post CCR

That's it for today! Cheers for time management :)
-Isa