Jem Nash - Oceans.. Finished Music Video!

My finished website.

https://madeleinerich.wixsite.com/jemnash

 I used videos to create something eye catching and interactive with my audience, I also used my own images from photoshoots and included links to all social media pages, upcoming live gigs and everything else that is crucial to include on the website of a recording artist.

I will be going through this step by step in the personal video evaluation of my ancilary task.

Finished digipak.

Making my Digipak

While making my digipak, I played around with different techniques using Photoshop as I haven't properly learnt how to use the software properly yet. I found this to be a very successful process and i definitely achieved the effect i wanted.

I chose a green/blue color palette as it goes with the piece of art i commissioned from the artist Danny Augustine. I used all photos from the same shoot as I needed it to look cohesive, I achieved this successfully. I added colorful accents of red and yellow to make it eye catching, and I found a font which didn't look tacky like some other that I have seen.

I also included some lyrics from the title track 'oceans', this is something that fans will appreciate as this would be the most popular record from the album, and they can take it out and put it on ther wall etc.

 

 

Creating a contact section for my website.

This section will appear at the bottom of my website, it is important because potential clients (for bookings etc) need to know the correct contact information.

It also needs to look professional, like something that would expect from any mainstream recording artist. I think that I achieved this effect.

I also included links to Jem's social media outlets as well as an option to subscribe to the mailing list to receive updates about upcoming gigs etc.

Creating a biography for my artist.

Today I created a biography for Jem to go on the website.

I included some testimonials about Jem from radio Djs and music critics, I also included information about how Jem was discovered and how he made it in the music business.

I chose this black and white picture as it is a typical convention of biographies to have a black white portrait, I also really like this picture of Jem.

Adding a news section to my website.

Today I added a 'News' section to my website. It is vital that I keep Jem's fans updated with the latest developments in his career, this section will be continuously updated with the lastest news, which will also be linked through Jem's social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Creating merchandise for my website.

Every successful artist has some form of merchandise, this is an important part of the branding and marketing for a musician as it creates something that is collectable for fans.

I used the website vista print (http://www.vistaprint.co.uk/) to create prototypes for hoodies, hats and t shirts. I know from my experience with fashion that these will be the most popular items. I tried to make them stylist and cool, I really like the embroidered hats and jumpers.

I also included shirts with Jem's face on it, as these will also appeal to the younger 'fangirls'.

Once I created the prototypes through vistaprint I put the images on my website using the 'store' tool on Wix.com, here I set the prices for the merch, this was based on looking at the prices of merchandise similar to mine from other musicians.

Adding tour dates to my website.

Today I added tour dates to my website for the upcoming tour for my artist Jem Nash.

I did this through Jem's facebook page, which I have been working on.

For each gig I put in the venue and the date, and the name of the tour named after his best known single off the album also named 'OCEANS'.

Once the dates are added on the facebook page, I can easily transfer them though the website.

The second image shows the tour dates now that they have been tranferred onto my website, I really like how professional it looks.

Using Twitter for audience feedback.

Designing my album cover.

This was my first prototype for my album cover using art which I sourced on the internet. I really liked the typewriter feel and the colours, however to link it in with the album name 'oceans' I wanted something that mirrored that slightly, thats why I prefer the use of Danny's art, which looks like an ocean, with the added aspect of the spraypaint which adds a cool urban vibe to the album cover, so as to not only appeal to the fangirls. I will put pictures of Jem inside the digipak to appeal to the younger 'fangirl' audiences.

When choosing the font, I wanted to go with something cool and contemporary, so as to fit in with other indie bands but also be eye catching when sitting on a shelf in a shop. I went with this cool understated font, as I already thought that the album cover artwork spoke for itself in the terms of being cool and eye catching. I kept a similar format from the mock that I did first, as I thought that this worked well, though I believe that my final outcome was an improvement and perfect for the image that I am going for.

Commissioning an artist for my album cover.

As explored when making the mock up for my digipak, I really like the idea of using a piece of abstract art for my album cover, which I will then match with a photo shoot of Jem (using the same colour palette etc.)

I want something that looks professional, as I am not very competant at painting or producing abstract art, I decided to look for an artist which I can comission to create some abstract. This is something that would happen usually in the music business. An example of this would be the album artwork of Royal Blood's self titled debut album. The work was from it was a work called ‘Falls’ by Dan Hillier inspired by Victorian etchings and a strong example of his surrealist art. 

"Born in 1986 and raised in Hackney, Danny studied Fine Art at the University of East London and completed his printmaking MA at the Royal Collage of Art in 2014. Danny's work deals predominantly with ideas of identity and gender and how it is portrayed in today's society, be it male, female, transgender or homosexual. Playing with a narrative which starts out as hope, quickly becomes a hegemony of power and a carnival of vice. In regards to love and family Danny's work leaves the viewer both with a sense of what could have been and with a sense of how those feelings have been distorted by gender politics."

Danny is a friend of mine who is also an artist, his work is perfect for the audience of Jems music and very 'on trend' - it will relate to the hipster art fans who also listen to indie music.

Here are some examples of his work:

Photoshoot: part two - studio shoot.

The next set of photos that I need is some pretty standard studio shots to use for the website.

I took some portraits in front of a shite background which I plan of putting in black and white to use for the biography section of my website.

I also played around with using Jem's headphones and taking some more 'fun loving' ones to shows Jems personality.

Overall I was really happy with the outcome of the shoot.

Outcome of the photoshoot!

Photoshoot with Jem: part one - on location.

Today we did a photoshoot wth Jem for my digipak and potentially for my website. I shot him using my cannon film camera using colour film.

I prefer the quality of film as it has a more authentic vibe to it.

I wanted to stick with a blue/green/yellow colour palette to mirror my cohesive theme of sea and ocean colours, so I incorporated these colours as much as I could. If I want this affact to be stronger, I can manipulate the photos in photoshop once I get them printed.

I wanted to make sure that Jem looked cool young and stylish, so i styled him in his own clothes but gave him a bomber jacket to wear which is on trend at the moment.

I also did some pictures with and some without glasses so switch it up a bit.

I'm taking the pictures to snappy snaps later today and I'm looking forward to see the outcome.

Planning our group evaluation.

Today we planned our group evaluation, we wanted to make it dynamic and interesting to watch, so we decided on four different creative ways of filming it.

 First I will play the role of the weather girl, I will talk about our video like its a weather forecast in front of a screen.

Then we will do a conference/interview with me and wini, and we will do screenflows for each of our personal evaluations of our ancilarry tasks.

Audience feedback.

Here are some examples of the audience feedback we had received from our primary audience about our music video. From everyone's we had received we had really positive feedback which enabled us to feel good about what we had produced; positive in making sure they felt a similar connection between the lyrics and visuals. 

It was good to hear that the primary audience felt that they could relate to the video and the story behind it, which enabled it to be more attractive to the age range. 

However, some of the audience feedback claimed the video could of been a bit more edited towards the end in making sure it was a bit faster with the music.

Dyer's Star Theory.

There is a difference between artists who are simply known for performing pop music and those who are known for being pop stars, who have an identity or persona which is not restricted solely to their musicianship.

One of the reasons so many pop performers are described as 'pop stars' is that they are quickly promoted to this status by their management, through the use of cleaver publicity such as a famous boyfriend/girlfriend or attendance at premiers.


However a true pop star has a lasting significance, and has "brand significance" across a wider market over a period of time.

Dyer proposes that a star is an image not a real person that is constucted (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of material (eg. advertising, magazines etc.)

Stars are made to appeal to audiences and generate revenue, therefore companies nurture stars and reproduce successful prototypes.

Making a twitter for my artist.

Today I made a Twitter for Jem which I will continue to update.

Twitter is one of the many ways in which artists connect with their fans and therefore this is an important aspect for the development of my artist.

This page is where fans will look for upcoming tour dates, news and updates about Jem. Furthermore, fans will feel like they are personally connected as Jem will also tweet personal thoughts ideas and opinions.

Drake concert.

Last night Wini, Sophia and I attended Drake's concert at the O2 arena. It was a sold out show packed with his fans, he is doing 7 shows in London and each one was sold out.

This inspired me to look in to how Drake is branded and how he became so successful.

Building a career in TV:

Drake began his career on the Canadian TV show, “Degrassi: The Next Generation”. From the young age of 15, Drake knew he could make a name for himself, and he recognized TV was the best way to do so. Fast forward to 2010. Already pretty big in the rap and music world, Drake signed his first major endorsement deal - with Sprite, a brand known for using other well-known rappers and celebrities in their campaigns. Drake’s deal with Sprite is still going on; this past June, his rap lyrics appeared on limited edition Sprite cans.

Building a fashion brand with Nike:
During a concert in 2013, Drake announced his plans to sign with Nike’s famed Jordan brand. His record label, OVO (October’s Very Own), even sells its own Drake merchandise - from sweatshirts to iPhone cases.

His strong relationship with the NBA:
Drake, a lifelong Toronto Raptors fan, announced in 2013 that he would become the Raptors’ team ambassador. In this year’s NBA All-Star Game, held in Toronto, Drake coached one of the Celebrity Game teams, and even handled the player introductions during the actual All-Star Game.

Partnership with Apple:
In June 2015, at Apple’s annual WWDC conference, he was part of the Apple Music launch. There have been rumors that Apple even funded Drake’s “Hotline Bling” music video.

This is how Drake became such a marketing powerhouse.

Here are some of my photos from the concert: