Digipack; Influence For Front Cover:

It is clear the similarities between these shots. I first saw the Abbey Road shot in a Media lesson at school and along with the influence of my research it gave me the idea of this particular shot.

The Software Used; Photoshop:

Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing programme developed and published by Adobe. Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th Major Release of Adobe Photoshop. The CS rebranding also resulted in Adobe offering numerous software packages containing multiple Adobe programs for a reduced price. There are two versions of Photoshop: Basic and Extended, with Extended having extra features available. Adobe Photoshop Extended is included in all of Adobe's Creative Suite offerings except Design Standard, which has the Basic version.

In 1987, Thomas Knoll, a PhD student at the University of Michigan, began writing a program on his Macintosh Plus to display grayscale images on a monochrome display. This program, called Display, caught the attention of his brother John Knoll, an Industrial Light & Magic employee, who recommended Thomas turn it into a fully-fledged image editing program.

Thomas took a six month break from his studies in 1988 to collaborate with his brother on the program, which had been renamed ImagePro. Later that year, Thomas renamed his program Photoshop and worked out a short-term deal with scanner manufacturer Barneyscan to distribute copies of the program with a slide scanner; a "total of about 200 copies of Photoshop were shipped" this way.

During this time, John traveled to Silicon Valley and gave a demonstration of the program to engineers at Apple and Russell Brown, art director at Adobe. Both showings were successful, and Adobe decided to purchase the license to distribute in September 1988. While John worked on plug-ins in California, Thomas remained in Ann Arbor writing program code. Photoshop 1.0 was released in 1990 for Macintosh exclusively.

Finished Advertisment:

This is my finished advertisment. It has similarities to my template however a few changes such as showing the entire long road I feel had a greater impact on illustrating the idea of possibilities.

Idea For Advertisment:

This was my original idea for my advertisement as I felt that it conveyed my ongoing idea of emptyness and mystery to what can happen.

Digipack; Back Cover:

I took this particular shot as I felt that it also contributed further to the idea of mystery and thoughtfulness surrounding James Mcullen himself.

Digipack; Inside Cover:

I took this photo to further show the band performing and further represent their style.

Digipack; Inside Cover:

This is the photo I took of James Mcullen and his formed band 'Lonesome Few' as it is them performing live and I thought it was a great shot to have.

Digipack; Inside Cover:

Once more I decided to capture an image of my actor looking into the unknown so to speak as I believe he portrays a somewhat conspicuous and yearn for the future feel in this particular shot.

Digipack; Inside Cover:

Again I chose to take another picture of my actor looking slightly thoughtful and mysterious as I believe it cements my depiction of an indie artist.

Digipack; Front Cover:

This is my front cover for my digipack. I chose to take this picture as I feel it falls in sync with my ideal image of my music video. The image I was going for was for my actor to be thoughtful and stylish, something I feel I successfully did.

Intertextuality And Cinema:

It is perhaps not surprising that so many music videos draw upon cinema as a starting point, since their directors are often film school graduates looking to move on eventually to the film industry itself.

From Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ (Mary Lambert 1985, drawing on ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’) to 2Pac and Dr Dre’s ‘California Love’ (Hype Williams 1996, drawing on ‘Mad Max’) there are many examples of cinematic references which dominate music video.

Television is often a point of reference too, as in The Beastie Boys’ spoof cop show titles sequence for Sabotage (Spike Jonze 1994) or REMs recent news show parody ‘Bad Day’ (Tim Hope 2003).

Visual reference in music video coming from a range of sources, though the three most frequent are perhaps cinema, fashion and art photography. Fashion sometimes takes the form of specific catwalk references and sometimes even the use of supermodels, as by George Michael in both ‘Father Figure’(Morahan/Michael 1988) and ‘Freedom’ (Fincher 1990).

Probably the most memorable example of reference to fashion photography is Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted to Love’ (Donovan 1986), parodied many times for its use of mannequin style females in the band fronted by a besuited Palmer. Shania Twain copied it for her ‘Man I feel like a woman’ (Paul Boyd 1999) and Tamra Davis directed a $350 parody of it for Tone Loc’s ‘Wild Thing’ (1988).

Andrew Goodwin writing in ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (Routledge 1992):

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
(e.g. stage performance in rock video, dance routine.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

Generic Conventions Of Music Videos; Development Of Technical Codes:

The key innovation in the development of the modern music video was, of course, video recording and editing processes, along with the development of a number of related effects such as chroma-key or Green/Blue Screen

The advent of high-quality colour videotape recorders and portable video cameras enabled many pop acts to produce promotional videos quickly and cheaply, in comparison to the relatively high costs of using film

In the 1990s, a number of technical codes became common:

Most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage


Many images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing


Split screens, colourisation are also commonly used effects


Non-representational techniques, in which the musical artist is never shown, become more common


Lack of edits, Long take/steadicam also a common experimentation.However, as the genre developed music video directors increasingly turned to 35mm film as the preferred medium, while others mixed film and video. By the mid-1980s releasing a music video to accompany a new single had become standard.

Generic Conventions Of Music Videos; Editing:

Though the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage, rendering many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing, there are videos which use slow pace and gentler transitions to establish mood. This is particularly apparent for the work of many female solo artists with a broad audience appeal, such as Dido. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This might take the form of split screens, colourisation and of course blockbuster film style CGI.

Generic Conventions Of Music Videos; Camera Work:

As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how images are sequenced will have a significant impact upon meaning. Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed. Camera movement may accompany movement of performers (walking, dancing, etc) but it may also be used to create a more dynamic feel to stage performance, by for instance constantly circling the band as they perform on stage.

The close up does predominate, as in most TV, partly because of the size of the screen and partly because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer. It also emphasises half of the commodity on sale (not just the song, but the artist, and particularly the voice).

Music Directors; Hype Williams:

Directed Aaliyah in her final music video, "Rock the Boat," which was completed several hours before her tragic death in a plane crash.Nickname "Hype" comes from his hyperactive nature as a child.Graduated from Andrew Jackson High School of Art and Music in 1987. Later attended Adelphi University. His trademark so to speak is his use of distinctive color schemes.Over his career Williams has directed over 100 music videos and worked with such artists as Usher, Busta Rhymes, Biggie Smalls, Puff Daddy, Will Smith, Blacksteet, R. Kelly, 2pac, Nas, and many others. Born as Harold Williams, Hype Williams graduated from Andrew Jackson High School of Art & Music in 1987 and pursued a degree in film production at Adelphi University in Long Island, NY.

Widely known for his "flashful" style, which he brings to his videos. Hype revinvigorated the music video landscape and set new limits for videos to take. During the 10th Annual Billboard Music Video Awards Hype Williams was nominated for six videos and won for best rap clip with "Dangerous"- Busta Rhymes. In the 1998 Music video Awards in Canada he won the People's Choice Favorite International Artist award with "Getting Jiggy Wit It"- Will Smith. Finishing out 1998 with the MTV Video Music Awards Williams was nominated for eleven awards, but received only one with best Rap Video, "Getting Jiggy Wit It"- Will Smith.

In the late part of 1998 Hype William's first movie that he ever directed was released. The film "Belly" stars some of Hip- Hop's big names like DMX, NAS, T-Boz, and Method Man. The movie uses William's trademarks such as the fisheye lens, and flashing lights. One effect was the green eyes in the beginning of the movie. Many have criticized the movie about it's profanity and violence, but almost everyone agrees that the perspective of the film is amazing and unusual.


Some of His Work:

Music Directors; Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze made up one-third (along with Andy Jenkins and Mark Lewman) of the triumvirate of genius minds behind Dirt Magazine, the brother publication of the much lamented ground-breaking Sassy Magazine. These three uncommon characters were all editors for Grand Royal Magazine as well, under the direction of Mike D and Adam Horovitz and Adam Yauch before the sad demise of Grand Royal Records. Jonze was also responsible for directing the famous Beastie Boys- Sabotage (1994) (V) short film as well as numerous other music videos for various artists.




Some of His Work:

Music Directors; David Fincher:

David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old, he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981 - 1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials and music videos after signing with N. Lee Lacy in Hollywood. He went on to found Propaganda in 1987 with fellow directors Dominic Sena, Greg Gold and Nigel Dick . Fincher has directed TV commercials for clients that include: Nike, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Heinekin, Pepsi, Levi's, Converse, AT & T, and Chanel. He has directed music videos for: Madonna, Sting, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson ,Aerosmith, George Michael, Iggy Pop , The Wallflowers, Billy Idol , Steve Winwood , The Motels and, most recently, A Perfect Circle.

Personal Quotes of Fincher:

I don't know how much movies should entertain. To me, I'm always interested in movies that scar. The thing I love about Jaws (1975) is the fact that I've never gone swimming in the ocean again.

I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but somebody has to.

I have demons you can't even imagine.

Directing ain't about drawing a neat little picture and showing it to the cameraman. I didn't want to go to film school. I didn't know what the point was. T

he fact is, you don't know what directing is until the sun is setting and you've got to get five shots and you're only going to get two.

People will say, 'There are a million ways to shoot a scene,' but I don't think so. I think there're two, maybe. And the other one is wrong.

As a director, film is about how you dole out the information so that the audience stays with you when they're supposed to stay with you, behind you when they're supposed to stay behind you, and ahead of you when they're supposed to stay ahead of you.

"Belligerence certainly helps. And there's a requisite paranoia. There's fear--fear of failure--and an overwhelming urge to be liked." - [about the personality traits that helps in being a director]

I'm totally anti-commercialism. I would never do commercials where people hold the product by their head and tell you how great it is, I just wouldn't do that stuff. It's all inference ... The Levis commercials I did weren't really about jeans, the Nike commercials weren't about shoes. The 'Instant Karma' spot was some of the better stuff I got offered, an

d it was never about people going, "Buy this shoe, this shoe will change everything," because I think that's nonsense. Anybody looking outside themselves to make themselves whole is delusional and probably sick.

I do agree you can't just make movies three hours long for no apparent reason. For a romantic comedy to be three hours long, that's longer than most marriages.

I don't know anything about Academy consideration. I don't know what an awards movie is.

I have a philosophy about the two extremes of filmmaking. The first is the "Kubrick way," where you're at the end of an alley in which four guys are kicking the shit out of a wino. Hopefull

y, the audience members will know that such a scenario is morally wrong, even though it's not presented as if the viewer is the one being beaten up; it's more as if you're witnessing an event. Inversely, there's the "Spielberg way," where you're dropped into the middle of the action and you're going to live the experience vicariously - not only through what's happening, but through the emotional flow of what people are saying. It's a muchmore involved style. I find myself attracted to both styles at different times, but mostly I'm interested in just presenting something and letting people decide for themselves what they want to look at.

On Alien 3 (1992): There were a lot of enormously talented people working on that movie. It's just a movie starts from a unified concept, and once you've unified the concept it becomes veryeasy to see the things you're not going to spend money on. And if a movie is constantly in flux because you're having to please this vice-president ot that vice-president of production...I think a movie set's a fascist dictatorship - you have to go in and know what it is you want to do because you have to tell 90 people what it is you want to do and

it has to be convincing. Otherwise, when they start to question it, the horse can easily run away with you and it's bigger than you are. So that was a movie where the time was not taken upfront to say, "This is what we're doing, and all of this is what we're not doing." So as we were shooting, a lot of people - I suppose in an effort to make it "better" or "more commercial" or more like the other ones they liked as opposed to the one that you liked - took to being extremely helpful, so that this could be more James Cameron than James Cameron. And of course you're sitting

there going, "Guys, remember I don't have any guns. I don't have any tripod guns or flamethrowers or any of that shit!" If a movie gets off on a wrong foot, when you've never done it before you assume everyone is going to be there to help you right the ship, but really you're beholden to a lot of banana republics.

[On losing his father, Jack Fincher] I remember the experience of being there when he breathed his last breath. It was incredibly profound. When you lose someone who helped form you in lots of ways, who is your 'true north', you lose the barometer of your life. You're no longer trying to please someone, or you're no longer reacting against something. In many ways, you're truly alone.

Some of his work: