Digipacks are widely used for special edition DVD releases, increasing its value and creating a premium product. In this sense, digipacks are versatile and are able to flexibly adapt to certain products in the form of CD, or compact disc.
This packaging enables products to be marketed conveniently and without hassle, due to its foldable casing. The cover allows the consumer to see clearly what songs are included at the back. Visually, a digipack has potential to grab the attention of the buyer depending on what colours and fonts are used.
Although the covers of digipacks are different from genre to genre, they are bought from a variety of people because of their music tastes.
Digipacks may not be popular anymore because of the convergence of music to more accessible forms like on the internet, through downloads on sites that offer the desirable song or songs.
For this reason, we have decided to do our own unique digipack despite it (realistically) not being popular and having less chance of people purchasing it, and a website.
R 'n' B is sometimes known as urban R 'n' B. It is not to be confused with earlier R&B (rhythm and blues), a style of black American music combining jazz and blues which emerged in the 1940s.
Rihanna is an R 'n' B artist.
Urban R 'n' B combines elements of soul and hip-hop. It often uses:
tight drum programming
disco-influenced string sounds
good production techniques
vocal arrangements often with close harmonies
hip-hop influence
We have decided to base our music video on the R'n'B genre as it is inspiring and we thought it'd be interesting to use the conventions that make a music video R'n'B.
R'n'B originated in the U.S. where African Americans made their music with some pop influence after the disco era of the 80's. Notable artists include Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, R. Kelly, Janet Jackson, Aaliyah and TLC all of whom brought the contemporary R'n'B mainstream.
Now in the 2000's, R'n'B has changed to accompany the start of a new millennium. Artists like Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Rihanna and others have combined R'n'B with contemporary pop, dance pop and electro pop.
Album covers that are used to market R'n'B music mainly are associated with gold chains, diamonds, a defined style of text, graffiti, studio lights, jewels, silhouttes, dark and bold colours, microphones, stereos and headphones, crowns, hats, an image of the artist his/herself, etc.
This image is of a bull's horns. This portrays power and authority. The slight low angle shows more of the horns, as opposed to if it was a high angle camera shot. This shot comes across as a random object to viewers because we don't see the full image. The use of brown and black has connotations of loneliness, vulnerability, danger and also authority. The use of a bull alone shows that this music video is about love and fighting as bulls have many connotations and symbols of being strong, confident, aggressive and determined. The use of a close up shot is to convey to the viewers the shape, texture and detail of the bull's horn. This captures the audiences' eyes, as it takes up the whole frame.
This image of a mountain surrounded by clouds suggests dominance and again, power because of its size. This is supported by the long shot that is used, portraying a setting, a mise en scene for this music video.
Because mountains connotate religion, this implies a belief in hierarchy, in good and evil, higher and lower, superior and inferior, and it is an obvious step to represent such spiritual differences by differences in altitude. In this case, it can be a difference between man and woman, the protagonists Drake and Rihanna.
Mountains also possess many routes, each starting from a different place and each having a different character and set of problems. The important thing is to reach the top, and choose a way.
White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection.
This low angle shot of Rihanna connotates that she has some authority and power. This goes against the stereotypical view of women as they are normally shown in high angle shots.
However, the audience is able to see that part of her is exposed. This conveys to the viewers that she is a sex object as she is looking at the camera in a sensual way. In this way,she is also interacting with the audience with her eyes.
The plain background helps to focus our attention on her, as she is on one of the hotspots on the rule of three.
This close up shot of a bird taking off is very abstract, as it doesn't relate to this particular music video.
Birds denote personality characteristics, usually high characteristics of beauty, joy and love that transcendent quality that lifts man from his lower self to his higher self, from the material world to the spiritual world. To see a bird fly can symbolise the desire to fly free or to reach heaven.
In this image, Drake is facing away from the camera. This could suggest that he doesn't care, full of himself, oblivious to what is happening.
The spotlight above him illuminates his head, making him seem almost angelic, though this isn't a quality associated with men.
His shirt is black, which can mean that he's dangerous and dominating. Also black could mean mysteriousness and the fact that he is looking away from the camera could mean that he a mysterious guy. The reason for this is because we only see half of his face so we don't really get the whole story of who he is.
The camera shot is mid shot, which helps the audience to see part of his body and his body language, but the fact that he isn't facing the audience makes it seem he is not an open person.
Ne-yo One In A Million
One In A Million - Ne-yo (2010)
Artist: Ne-Yo
Song: One In A Million
Album: Libra Scale
Genre: RnB/HipHop
Director: Wayne Isham
Year: 2010
Country of Origin: United States
At the start of the video, there are white credits across a black background. This breaks through many barriers of movies and music videos. It lets the audience know that it is a film to be enjoyed and not just a music video for promotional reasons. This music video is one from Ne-Yo's very inventive albumLibra Scale.The idea for all the music videos that are released through this album is for them to be clips of a film on the whole, the beginning of this video definitely highlights that by showing a continuation from a previous video as the narrative seems incomplete
Ne-Yo is the main protagonist in his narrative and the video starts with him talking to his friends about a young lady he is in pursuit of. I noticed that his importance is highlighted as his friends are sitting down and looking at their girlfriends while Ne-Yo is still talking to them. The audience aren't focused on his friends but are focused on him because he is the only one standing and talking at the time. His costume is black and white; a white shirt, with a black tie, black braces, black trousers and a black hat. The white in Ne-Yo's outfit connotes his innocence and purity but this is highly contrasted by the black which denotes darkness and possibly perverse intentions, the mixture of the two may show a good guy with a bad side.
The audience will see Ne-Yo as a gentleman and well dressed. His importance is also shown by the fact that his friends (the dancers) are dressed in a similar yet very different way to him. One is wearing a white t-shirt and black braces and trousers whilst the other one is wearing an open dress shirt that's also white with a black waistcoat. Their costume seems to be a lot more casual than Ne-Yo's and seem to have one element from Ne-Yo's costume each.
The female protagonists in most music videos in this genre are usually overly glamorized with make up and hair and bodies that set unrealistic standards for people watching. This video is different from others as the girl Ne-Yo is in pursuit of is not overly glamorised with minimal make up and casual wear. She is wearing an off-white top and cardigan with silver hoops. Though she looks very 'normal' she is still aspirational as through vicarious reinforcement women would want to be like her and men would want to be with someone like her. This is the 'male gaze'. The off-white connotes her innocence but also makes her glow in a way no other girl in the video does. This is an example of the visuals linking in with the lyrics when Ne-Yo sings 'makes your soul stand out from all the rest..."
She is also the one playing 'hard to get'. She seems to be not very interested in Ne-Yo as she tries her hardest to get away from him. This ties a narrative in, she is a female protagonist with 'male gaze' and Ne-Yo is a male protagonist with 'female gaze' but she seems like the only girl that doesn't want him. This makes the target audience - young women - feel more drawn to him.
The mise en scene is the busy street of a city, could be LA or New York but it seems like a place where women love to shop and hang out with friends. The yellow taxis let us know that it is set in a city in the USA. This busy and upbeat street ties in with the music video as it is an upbeat song and so is an example of how the visuals tie in with the lyrics.
The female dancers that arrive at the end have a different and more urban look. One is wearing denim shorts and a light pink patterned corset, another is wearing baggy trousers and a sleeveless tube top and the other is wearing a black tank top and leopard print leggings. These girls are 'sexy' but less focus is on them as the protagonist the audience aspire to still seems more glamorous than them whereas they seem quite wild.
At the end of the video, the song ends at it goes back to being a film with over-the-shoulder shots denoting that. It also goes back to dialogue as she shows her jealous rage when Ne-Yo dances with those female dancers.
The video is then interrupted by a dip to black and then in white the phrase 'To be continued...' is across the screen. This is also breaking a barrier between film and music videos adding to the movie feel of Ne-Yo's current music videos, the story carries on in his next video
Can't Hold Us Down - Christina Aguilera and Lil'Kim
Artist: Christina Aguilera and Lil'Kim
Song: Cant Hold Us Down
Album: Stripped
Genre: R&B/HipHop
Director: N/A
Year: 2002
Country of Origin: United States
This shot is at eye level and shows a car driving past, with young African or Latin Americanchildren in the background. We can tell this is a part of a neighbourhood where living is tough or not as fulfilling because of the graffiti in the background. We can say that the car, a significant prop in this shot, doesn't look that expensive. The driver inside is also wearing a hat and a short sleeved top. This makes us as the viewer conclude that this place and the surrounding area are not very well off because of what we can see in this screenshot.
This second shot is a low angle shot of a mural, with the words, 'Crack is Wack'. From The Online Slang Dictionary, the term 'wack' as an adjective is defined as crazy, bad, bizarre and awesome. Here, in this shot, the word 'wack' is used to describe crack (which is a drug) because both these words rhyme and so they can easily stick in the characters' mind and in ours'. The use of this slang word supports our assumption that the area is ghetto or otherwise neglected and where there is constant trouble because drugs like crack are promoted by graffiti and murals such as this one.
This shot is a long shot at eye level showing two groups; the women against the men. This mise en scene is used to put the lyrics visually in a way people could simply understand. The men at the right while the women are at the left conveys a sense of opposition and conflict between these two sexes.
We can see the women wearing clothes with tightly cling to their bodies, while the majority of the men are not showing flesh except for one we can clearly see wearing short shorts. The women outnumber the men, though, in exposing more flesh. We can also notice that the women are brightly clad in their clothes, while the men are wearing more neutral to dark toned colours, thus illustrating their differences.
Towards the end of the video there is an extreme long and high angle shot. It shows us the neighbourhood as a whole, with a yellow taxi visible in the center and the artist, Christina Aguilera walking towards the camera. The building at the back looks like the American equivalent of council housing, because of the flats clustered together in that building. There is small graffiti to the right of the lamp post.
This shot may be unexpected to be seen at the end of the video, as we would anticipate it at the beginning, where the setting is introduced to us via this type of shot. However, we could consider this to be a significant point in the video, where the setting is finally revealed.
Artist- Rihanna
Song- Rude Boy
Album: Rated R Genre: RnB Director: Melina Matsoukas Year: 2010
Country of Origin: United States
00:02 opening shot of a close up of Rihanna's foot with a green, yellow and red background representing the safari style of the video as it features animals such as lions and zebras. This could be because Rihanna likes to be different and creative with her videos as she's stated this many times in interviews.
0.08 After that Rihanna is seen against a yellow background in four corners of the screen playing the drums this may be to emphasise the use of instruments. There are pictures and videos that have surfaced on the internet of Travis Barker teaching Rihanna how to play the drums so she's obviously made full use of that in this video.
0.44 A bit later on when the song starts to reach the chorus Rihanna is seen dancing with large old fashioned cassettes turning with a multi coloured background. This maybe because in parts this video has an old fashioned theme to it as cassettes arent used nowadays.
1.32 Later on a similar scene is shown however with Rihanna's lips miming along and emphasising the lyrics. Then Rihanna is seen at either side dancing this is obviously special effects created with the camera. The whole video was filmed in a green screen studio in LA as Rihanna confirmed in an interview. She also said she wanted to film the video outdoors in her home country of Barbados however she said they didn't have time as the video had to be shot and she said it was strange filming it in that type of studio as she'd never done it before.
1.50 Rihanna's mouth is then seen again this time in all four corners of the screen similar to the drum scene. She is seen miming along to the lyrics often putting one side of her lip up showing that she has attitude which is a side to Rihanna that is often seen through her music and her videos. Also her lips are multi coloured which fit in with the concept of the video
1.56 When the lyrics 'boom boom boom' are sang Rihanna can be seen dancing in a provocative way against a bright yellow background with the words coming accross the screen in a pink font. This maybe because it's a catchy tune and she wants it to be a big hit for her fans to sing along to.
3.04 In a later shot Rihanna is seen twice against a purple background this time with long hair dancing and playing with it. She looks similar to when she first started her singing career in this shot and she did say that she was going back to her roots with this video including a carribean/Jamaican feel to it. Rihanna was very different when she first started as her music was described as reggae/danchall/carribean beats mixed with R&B now her musical style has changed to R&B mixed with pop.
2.59 As Rihanna is seen performing the chorus and dancing wearing sunglasses, a large amount of jewellery and a hat, a moving multi coloured background comes up behind her and hypnotises the audience.
3.32 In the last scene Rihanna is seen with a load of bouncy balls around her and she's holding one in the air with a multi coloured background. Then two eyes can be seen blinking at the screen which could be perceived as a bit creepy.
Artist:Aleesha Dixon
Alesha Dixon - Breathe Slow
Song: Breathe Slow
Album:Breathe Slow
Genre:R&B
Director: N/A
Year:2009
Audience:18+
Country of Origin: UK
This establishing shot is a long shot at eye level. We can see that there is a black and white filter applied to the video, which could mean that this narrative is set in the past. From this point in the music video we understand that a story is being told because of the filter that is used.
At the centre of this image is a dumpster with the number 25 on it. The number 25 could relate to the age of Alesha and how 'rubbish' she feels about it
At one of the hotspots of the rule of thirds, we can see Alesha coming out of a back door of some place. This makes us focus on her, as an audience, because she is the main character of this narrative.
This next shot is a close up of one of Alesha's hands gripping the dance bar. We can say that she may feel stressed and emotional as the bar could connotate life. Thus she could be struggling to hold onto her life because of how she's feeling.
The filter is still used here, so we are reassured that this is still in the past. The appearance of the bar as blurry could mean that her life is insignificant and it could be futile for her to hold on when it is disappearing.
This shot is a crucial one in the music video. Alesha is taking her wedding ring off her finger. This is emotional as it is a close up shot and also because the ring connotates love, relationship, attachment etc.
The high angle of the shot also signifies insignificance and futility, in relation to the ring because of the angle of the camera. This is later reaffirmed by the ring being placed on the bar counter and left when Alesha leaves.
This shot is of the bar where Alesha goes for a drink. She drinks from the white mug and then leaves the ring on the counter. Alesha then unbuttons her coat and reveals a show girl costume.
This shot is a slightly high angle at a mid to long shot. Alesha is situated at one of the hotspots of the rule of thirds. This, alongside the sparkly constumes fixes our attention to her.
This shot is one of the final shots in the music video. It is interesting because a lot of things are going on, compared to the previous shots.
We see to the left of the image two show girls with an Elvis Presley lookalike in between. The inclusion of this famous singer could signify how much of a Rock and Roll legend he was, how he was charming and 'to die for' in the mid 50-60s. He was a well known sex symbol, as can be seen here, where two girls are focusing their attention on him.
When Alesha walks passed the trio, they exchange glances and smile, so there is a sign of acknowledgement between them. We then see Alesha face the guard on the right. This could mean that she is an acquaintance of the two show girls, Elvis and the guard at the stool. This could convey to us that this is a familiar environment to the main character.
