CD design: What Format To Choose?

Here are the different designs that i have contemplated when designing my CD for Blighters. I have looked at a variety of design, both conventional and unconventional.

The Gatefold Card Case:


Here is the Arctic Monkeys 2007 album 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'. This design looks stylish, well made and i like how you open out the design to reveal the CD. Another advantage for this design is that more artwork can be shown in the design, showing images of the band or the house design. However, his design can be damaged easily due to the material used. I like this design and this is a main contender when making the final decision.

Molded Plastic CD Case:


This CD design is by Bloc Party for their 'Flux Remixes' CD single that was handed out with an issue of NME in 2007. I like how different this design is to all the other cases I have considered, making a simple thing interesting and cool. The downsides for this design is that it does not have much room for artwork to be displayed or a booklet to be included inside the design. Furthermore, this design would be difficult to use as the design is rare.

Super Jewel Plastic Case


Here is the standard CD case for a brand new CD single or album. This case, the Super Jewel Box, is the successor to the conventional clear plastic case that sold in the millions. I like look and feel of the design, but is too run of the mill for my liking as i want my design to stand out. I would prefer something that allows me to be more creative and i beleive that this does not allow that.

Plastic Jewel Case with Clear Plastic Sleeve:


This unconventional CD design is by Bloc Party, when releasing their second album, 'Weekend In The City'. This version of the album is a special edition which includes a DVD. Unlike the normal version of this album, the band name and album title is printed onto a clear plastic sleeve. Another difference for the edition is the red plastic jewel case, which makes in distinctive for other designs. I like this design as it is striking and different from most other designs. Also, the clear plastic clear could be used for many ideas to create the front or back covers.

Card Boxset Case:


This design was used for the 2008 album by Maximo Park called 'Quicken The Heart'. I really like this design for the CD/DVD version of the album as it looks very professional and a different design from the normal. Inside the card sleeve are two seperate card gatefold designs that include the CD or DVD and a booklet to go with it. Along with that is a booklet of pictures from the bands 'journey' when producing the album. As well as the look, I think the feel of the design is excellent and this is my favourite design from the ones I have reviewed.

Arctic Monkeys: 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'

Above is the Arctic Monkey’s second album, produced in 2007, which was titled ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’. The format of the CD is a card gatefold style, with a booklet including pictures to compliment the artwork. I like this format for band as it looks and feel like a quality product and also allows more artwork to be shown inside.

The artwork used by the Sheffield 4 piece band shows a council estate with modernist artwork within the windows. This setting for the album is a common place to the band, which grew up in the poor suburbs of the ‘Steel City’. The name of the album, ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ also connotes the rough and tough lifestyle in this part of the country, meaning it can be a nightmare at times but always good fun.

The front cover of the album represents the changing image of the band. Their first album, ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s what I am not’ had an image of a working class man between the ages of 18-25 smoking a cigarette, a stereotypical image of a man living in a council estate. The second album follows on in this style with the image of a council flats. Also, the dark saturation of the album cover conveys the gloomy and dark nature of council house lifestyle. In contrast to this connotation, the bright and vivid colours of the modernist artwork in the windows show another side to their lifestyle. This represents the artist’s playful side in their music and lifestyle, which has developed as their music popularity has grown. An example of their slightly eccentric side was in 2007; when they played live on the Jonathon Ross show dressed up as clowns.



The band image and album appeals to the target audience as the audience can connect to the bands lifestyle before they hit stardom. Before they became a massive hit through Myspace, they were four normal teenagers from Sheffield and this is showed through their music and artwork. There artwork is different from the norm, which usually includes the band in the front cover. However, they still suit the genre of the band, a rock/british indie style.

Textual Analysis of a Music Video: Lostprophets 'Shinobi Vs Drangon Ninja'

Lostprophets - Shinobi VS. Dragon Ninja - Music Video - The funniest videos are a click away

Above is 2001 video for 'Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja' by rockers Lostprophets. The video is based on the top level of a multi-story car park in an urban city. This setting connotes that the band is popular in the cool urban underground. The video is mostly made up of the live performance of the band and the surrounding crowd dancing and 'moshing' to the music. The band is performing at day time, with naturalistic lighting used to create a sense of reality about the performance.

The editing of this production is very synchronous to the pace of the song. When the big riffs and when the chorus is played, the editing is extremely quick, with shots only last one or two seconds at the most. These shots are made up mostly of the band playing, either close ups of the singer, Ian Watkins, or of the band playing their instruments. After the second chorus, the song slows down. As a consequence, the editing and shot timing changes. During this period, many slow motion shots are used to create the slow pace of this part of the song. However, this doesn't last long as the pace picks up again and the editing becomes even quicker, with shots last hundreds of a second. One shot that conveys the pace and beat of this song is at 6 seconds. This shot is a tracking shot of the audience running to the band. The tracking is very quick, while the girl in focus is sprinting past the camera. This shot is just before the music starts with all the instruments. I like this shot as it shows the path of the song and the pace of which it will go at. Also, I think is a great looking shot for the video.

Another way to show the energy of the band is through the audience. When the song is being played, the crowd are very energetic along with the band themselves. The target audience for the Lostprophets would be teenagers, from the ages of 14-24. This would be because of the style of music, which is mostly listened to by this age range. The energetic and frantic pace of this band is also needed in by the audience to create a good audience, hence the young looking crowd in the video.

To be honest, this video has no narrative structure or meaning to the song. For the first half of the video, all you see is the crowd running in there masses to the top level of the car park and the band playing the song. In the second half of the song, skateboarders are used to keep the attention of the audience. You see the skaters pass through the car park before reaching the top level. The ellipsis transition is used as you assume that they skate through the car park, only seeing them briefly move through it. One part of the video that I like is when the skaters are used in the slow motion shots. Slow motion skateboarding shots look excellent and defiantly add something to a very one-sided video. Skateboarders are used in this production as it is a stereotypical social group for this band. This genre of music, rock/metal/emo, was all the rage with skateboarders at the start of the 21st century.

The only type of transition used in this video is the cut. This is a simple yet effective transition for this kind of music video. It helps to create a sense of tempo about the video. By the end of the video, this start to become a little boring and repetitive.

Textual Analysis of a Music Video: Oren Lavie 'Her Morning Elegance'

The video above is by Oren Lavie. The song, 'Her Morning Elegance', uses Stop Motion to create a sense of movement. This is a very unconventional way of creating movement. Stop motion is created by taking thousands of still shots and changing the scene a small amount, thus producing a video when putting all of these images together. This technique is very effective in creating a kind of dreamlike feeling, which produces a better narrative using the various props used.

The Directors, Oren Lavie, Yuval & Merav Nathan, use the stop motion to bring in the audience to watch the video. The video has a weak narrative, thus using the unusual and clever technique to keep the audience interested. Furthermore, there is little variety to the camera angles used. The master shot is used for a majority of the video, which is a high angle medium shot of the bed. Apart from this shot, there are a few close ups of the woman and that is about all.

The video starts with the sun rising and shinning through the woman's bedroom window, like she is waking up from a dream. After that, the bed that she is lying on becomes the background for all of the shots, as a high angle shot is used throughout the film. As the narrative progresses, the woman starts to 'walk' in her 'dream'. This is created by taking still shots of the woman lying on he side, like she is walking normally. At this point, the man enters 'her dream', running with her side by side. The video uses pillows above the woman and man's head as clouds. These pillows change from white to grey to represent the change of mood in the narrative. Furthermore, the bed sheets change for white to black when see dives into the sea. All of props that are used in the video are from a normal bedroom. Items such as t-shirts are used as birds flying in the wind and blue bed sheets to create the sea. This idea for changing the scene is very effective as the audience can distinguish quickly that she has dived into the see thanks to her movement and the use of socks as fish.

The target audience for Oren Lavie's style of music is broad. This genre of music, a cross between pop and classical, can appeal to all age groups but is most likely to focus on the older age groups. I think that the age range for Oren Lavie would normally be between the ages of 25-40. I think that this style of music would be listened to by both male and female, but more by females as they usually prefer softer and slower music, which this is.

I believe that this video is an excellent piece of media. The use of stop motion really does set this apart from the norm of music video, involving a live performance and narrative. The problem with this video is that video is more interesting than the song. I think this is a major flaw as this video is remembered for the video, when trying to promote the song to the audience. This video has had over 7 million viewings on YouTube (11th October 2009) and most of these views are thanks to the techniques used. Looking at the past 10 comments for Lavie's song, only one person mentioned something the song, while the rest commented on the video techniques. However, after researching the artist further, i have found that this song is the most popular song on the album. On the US version of iTunes, this is easily the most popular song on the album 'The Opposite Side of the Sea'.

Location Scouting

MORE INFO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Below are video's of our location, Hethersett Skatepark

The first video is a shot that we are going to use in the video. It is a panning shot, focusing on the box (where the band will be 'playing')



The second video is a 360 degree shot of the skatepark. This video just shows what the view from the box is like and the point of view from the band. we may use a shot like this during the video.



This video is a 360 degree panning shot around the box. We achieved this shot by filming while on a skateboard, being pushed around. We used a skateboard is it is easy to film on and stable when moving.



The last video is another of the shots we want to use in the music video. This high angle shot we will use in the production.



As you can see from our videos, the skatepark is in a rural setting in a Norfolk village. This location is different to other music videos that include skateboarding/skateparks. Normally, skateboarding footage would be shot in an urban location, such as a city centre. Furthermore, skateparks are usually a lot bigger than Hethersett, packed with other skaters. The rural location connotes a more low-tech band, who have connections to their home and rural life. There is also a slightly humorous side to the production due to the location. Thanks to the rural location, it makes the band look quite amateur. Furthemore, the sheep in the background show the lighter side of the production and a stereotype of Norfolk, with masses of sheep and rural areas.

Initial Idea and Treatment

MORE INFO AND 2 EXAMPLE VIDEOS OF STOP MOTION AND HOW THEY HAVE INFLUENCED THE PRODUCTION

The Band: We have chosen the band Blighters. The song we are using is 'Boys in Motion', as me, Jake and Tyrrell all liked the song and thought that we could come up with some great ideas for the video thanks to the lyrics and title.

Video plan
We decided that a live performance of the band would be a good idea. We have chosen the skate park at Hethersett, as this is a good size for the performance and as all of us live in Hethersett, makes sense. We believe that the skatepark would be a great location thanks to the connotations we can use. Firstly, the 'Boys in Motion' title fits in well with the skatepark as a skatepark is normally used by boys/teenagers between the ages of 12 to 18. This is the also the target audience for our music. We think that both males and females will enjoy this music, but mostly males. Also, the age group would be between 15-25. Furthermore, they are using it for a sport, (usually skateboarding, BMXing or Inline Rollerblading), which describes the motion part of the title.


We want the band to perform on the jump box (the thing with 3 ramps and the flight of stairs for you non-skateboarders) with speakers, mics, drums, guitar. Furthermore, we will add shots of skaters using the park and add them to the video, as they are boys in motion. We would like an audience, however, this may be a step to far logistically with the numbers that would be needed. We believe that dusk would be the best time to do it, with spotlights (Garden lights and high-powered torches) lighting up the jump box from a high angle. We liked the idea of filming at dusk as we can create the right mood for the film. With the dark background, we can create a slightly moody atmosphere, which is a stereotypical feeling for male teenagers.

As well as the music performance, we want to incorporate Stop Motion. We will create little Story line's to fill out the video and break up the live shots. We have already experimented with this idea, as the video with Jake in the bed and the Post-it notes show. We believe that this would make our music video something special and different from the rest of the class. Furthermore, the use of stop motion would also appeal to our target audience, which was mentioned above. Videos such as 'Her Morning Elegance' by Oren Lavie and 'DEADLINE post-it stop motion' on YouTube have had millions of views. Our target audience of 15-21 are the main consumers of YouTube, showing that stop motion filming appeals to our audience.

When filming at the skatepark location, we will be following the narrative structure of song. As shown in are annotated lyrics sheet, we intend to use lines of the song and film them accordingly. Lines such as "Better get used to being lonely", we would shoot the lead skater on his own at the empty skatepark. Furthermore, the 'soldier' in this song will be the skateboarder.

Shooting Maps for Skatepark

NEW AND IMPROVED, WITH MORE WORK ON LIGHTING


Below is the lighting map for the skatepark. The blue boxes are the lighting, with the yellow beams showing were the lighting is going. Lighting comes from either side of the box hoping to create a spotlight crossover effect - This is ideal for the characteristics of the video as the box is like a stage. The shadows created will look great and we are hoping to have some some shots which include low-key lighting which we wish to use and having this type of lighting allows us to do this.

Two gaslights on the box - This should almost be the main part of the lighting and the low lighting should give off a great affect. After little experiments with the lights we have seen that they create great all round shadow effects. From these shadows we can then produce shots of the shadows which would be good for 'fill ins'

Here is a photo of the effect of low key lighting total darkness in the background and partial lighting to the cat. By using this effect we can create a sense of importance towards an object or person. We may use this effect on the instruments as well as the band members

Here is our main shot for the perfomance setting. As you can see from the lighting above, the shotlights will be focused on the band, with the camera facing to the camera.


Another shot that we want to use in the production is this panning shot. We would use a skate board to smoothly move around the band to create an excellent shot.



The next shot we have is of a high angle shot from the ramp. This will be useful to create different views of the band.

Casting and Costumes

NEW AND IMPROVED, WITH LOTS MORE WORK ON CUSTOMES AND THEIR CONNOTATIONS

To keep with the same style of the band, above, we have decided to have a smart/casual look during the live performance part of the production.

Lead Singer - Owen Taylor

Owen loves his music and has been scouted to be a model in the past. He also has the great look for a front man.Furthermore, he plays the guitar and is a good friend, who will be reliable.

Lead Singer - Quite Smart - Blazer and jeans
The Smartest connotes importance towards the lead singer which will contrast with the other band members and especially the skateboarder. Furthermore, as Owen is the smartest out of the 3 peice, it represents that he is the lead and the frontman of the group.

Bass Guitar - Ryan Hayward



As i am in the production group, it is much easier to have me playing in the band. I will always be around when we film.

Bass and Drums - Shirt and Jeans
After looking at photos of the band and also seeing them live, the band like to wear shirts. We have deciced to mirror this image, with both bassist and drummer wearing shirt and most probably jeans. The shirts represents the more smarter look of the band, while the more casual jeans so there more relaxed side. This can also be related to the target audience, who mostly wear jeans and shirts are in-fashion with the target audience of our band at the moment

Drums - Jake Mardell

Jake is also in the production group and loves to be involved. He likes to play the drums and looks the part.

Drums - Shirt and Jeans (See above for picture and discription)

Skaters - Toby Roper, Jake Mardell

Skaters - Hoody and Jeans (Stereotypical 'skater' clothing)

Below are the stereotypical look of a skater. We have decided to use the baggy jeans and hoody as it helps to make the production look authentic. Furthermore, the dress sense of these characters is something that the target audience can relate to. The look of the skaters also connotes their way of life. Their clothing isn't very flashy or high maintaince, which is reflected in their life style. We are also going to get him to wear a hat (below). This is a 'cool' trend at the moment and therefore matches the 'cool' skateboarding image



Below is a video of Toby Skateboarding

Shot List

MORE SHOTS HAVE BEEN ADDED

Rough Timeline

00:00 - 00:31 = Stop Motion / Journey to Skatepark
00:31 - 01:01 = Narrative
01:01 - 01:31 = Performance
01:31 - 02:01 = Both
02:01 - 02:30 = Both

Shot List
00:00 - 00:31
[Narrative]

1 - 3 - Waking up in Bed [Stop Motion similar to practice video]
4 - 5 - Eating breakfast & Postits [Stop Motion - Side shot - Postits band title]
6 - 8- Fridge magnets [Stop Motion - Song title]
9- 10 - Going out the door [Stop Motion then speeding up to normal]
11- 13 - Skateboarding to Park [Normal / faster speed] / fade out

Shot List
00:31 - 01:01
[Performance]

14 - 17 - Fade in at skatepark [Long tracking shot]
18 - 22 : Numerous performance shots with clips of skateboarding [360 shot, panning quick high and low angle shots]

Shot List
01.01 - 1.31
Skateboarding Narrative

23-26 : Skateboarding narrative part [Long shot, close ups]
27-30 : skateboarding stunt (ollie over the drums) involving two shots slow motion and normal merging the two [tracking + panning]

01.31 - 2.30
Performance
Skateboarding/ Performance

31-34: Performance shots - [high and low angle - 360 and panning shots ]
35-39 : Skating - [tracking ]
40 -45: Performance"
46-47: Sheep shot- [Long Shot] Fade out

Location

MORE INFO ON WHY WE ARE USING THE SKATEPARK AND TWO VIDEOS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED ARE PRODUCTION

Location - Hethersett Skate park (Summertime, Afternoon)

Here is the location for our video, Hethersett Skate Park. This will provide a contrast to other skateboarding videos, which use larger skateparks, as well as add a layed of humour with the sheep in the background. We will use the jump box (picture 3) for the band to perform and use the the ramps in pictures 1 and 4 for high angle shots. We may use the kicker, picture 2, for skating tricks to add to the video.






We are using skateboarding in our video as it ties in with the 'Boys in Motion' title and is used in music vidoes aimed at our target audeince. Music video's such as Lostprophets 'Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja' and Sum 41 with 'Fat Lip' both use skateboarding throughout. These bands many have have a slightly different genre, but still target the same audience that we plan to with the Blighters. Video's such as these show that skateboarding appeals to the target audience, which we hope to use to our advantage.


Lostprophets - Shinobi VS. Dragon Ninja - Music Video - The funniest videos are a click away



Another use for using skateboarding in our music video is also to keep the interest of the audience. If we were to use just live performance, then the audience would lose interest before the video has finished. When we introduce skateboarding tricks and shots into the video, it should help to keep the audience awake! Like the shots in the Lostprophets video, we want to use a lot of slow motion, as this is effective to the music and has a great contrast with the fast pace shots shown when the band perform.

Furthermore, the use of skateboarding can be used during the narrative to connote certain lines of the song. Lines such as "Better get used to being lonely", we would shoot the lead skater on his own at the empty skatepark. Furthermore, the 'soldier' in this song will be the skateboarder.

Another location that we intend to use is my house for any of the stop motion filming. Video's which we have done already, the bed scene and the Post-it clip, were filmed at my house when getting used to stop motion filming.

Props and Equipment

MORE ORGANISED AND INFORMATION ON THE PROPS, MORE CONNOTATIONS TOO!

Below are the props and equipment that will be needed on the day of filming.

Props
The band members
Lead/Guitarist: Owen, Guitar (Thanks to Jake), Clothing (Blazer and Jeans)
Bassist: Ryan, Bass (Thanks to Chris(another friend)), Clothing (Shirt and Jeans)
Drummer: Jake, Drum Kit (Either Toby or Owen), Clothing (Shirt and Jeans)
Microphone (Jake)
Amp's (Jake, Toby?)
Electrical Leads for music instruments
Skateboard, BMX etc. (Ryan, Jake, Toby)

For our music video, we have a selection of props that we intend to use during the song. Firstly, we have the instruments (Guitar, Bass Guitar and Drums) which are the instrumnets that are played by the blighters. Furthermore, we need microphones and Amp's to create a realistic music venue. The Electrical leads also add to this realism. luckily, all of the props can be sources from either the production group or good friends. This has helped massively as when don't have to use lots of people and all of the props come from the village, which makes it easy to get them to the skatepark without too much hassle.

We will use skateboards as this the other main part of footage at the skatepark. We may also use a BMX bike just to add a bit of variety to the film. The connotations of the skateboards is the title, 'Boys in Motion'. With shots of Toby and Jake flowing from ramp to ramp, it connotes them in motion. Furthermore, as mentioned in other posts, skateboarding is a stereotypical fill in in music video's that target our audience.

Equipment
Hethersett Stakepark
Lighting for the skatepark at early evening (Andy, Jake)
Speakers to play the track when filming (Ryan)
Step Ladder to film high angle shots (Ryan)

Storyboards

Shooting Schedules

Blighters - 'Boys in Motion' MP3

We are planning to cut this track down to around 2.30 due to not wanting an overly long music video. This will also make it far easier for us to fill the time limit with a more varying amount of shots and a cleaner narrative because we will not have to just create clips to fill space.

Annotated Lyrics for 'Boys In Motion'

‘Boys in Motion’ – Blighters Lyrics

The war has been won
The soldier must go on
in search of
New life, new work
You were my battle
And you have been won
Like the Soldier
I must move on

The boys in Motion
Fighting against me girl
This place like heaven

Oh boys in Motion
Fighting against me girl
This place like heaven

Girls smell so sweet
or so I remember
So why do you
Make it so hard to fall in love
I guess there's no one good for me
Better get used to being lonely
don't ever say
Fall in love

Oh boys in Motion
Fighting against me girl
This place like heaven

Oh boys in Motion
Fighting against me girl
This place like heaven

Nokia Tube: UK's Best Selling Portable Music Player | Tube5800.com

Nokia Tube: UK's Best Selling Portable Music Player | Tube5800.com: "Nokia’s new adverts in UK claims that Nokia 5800 is the new highest selling portable music player. According to GFK Retail and Technology data, the Nokia 5800 was the top device in both volume and value in Q1 of 2009 in the UK. This makes it the best selling portable music player beating even the Apple Ipod.
The touch phone has well placed itself as a phone come mp3 player in the market. Nokia 5800’s mega success has surprised the competitors, analysts and even the manufacturers. Nokia’s CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo recently said that the sales figures for 5800 are well beyond their expectations and this device has a potential to become the most sold Nokia phone ever."

The iPod Timeline

2001
October: At a press-only event at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif., campus, Apple unveils the iPod, a 5GB hard-drive-based music player that will sell for $399. “To have your whole CD library with you at all times is a quantum leap when it comes to music,” Steve Jobs tells the press. “You can fit your whole music library in your pocket.”

November: The iPod officially hits retail shelves on November 10.

December: Between the iPod’s November 10 release date and December 31, Apple sells 125,000 iPods.

2002
January: The first-generation iPod gets a -rating from Macworld winning praise for its high capacity, fast transfer speeds, and iTunes integration, but getting knocked for its price as well as the lack of a case or strap.

February: Testifying before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, Disney CEO Michael Eisner says Apple’s “Rip, Mix, Burn” ads promoting its digital hub concept suggest “that [you] can create a theft if you buy this computer.” Steve Jobs counters in the Wall Street Journal : “If you legally acquire music, you need to have the right to manage it on all other devices that you own.”

March: Apple adds a second iPod to its offerings —a 10GB model priced at $499. In addition, Apple makes free software available for downloading and storing names and addresses on the iPod; the company also introduces a custom-order laser engraving service that let users engrave two lines of text with up to 27 characters per line on the back of the iPod for $49.


July: Apple rolls out a new generation of iPods, topping out at 20GB in capacity. More important, instead of a scroll wheel, the 10GB and 20GB models feature a touch wheel and a door for protecting the iPod’s FireWire port. A software update lets the music player organize songs by genre or composer in addition to title, album, or playlist. The price of the 5GB iPod falls below $300.

August: iPods become available to Windows users for the first time.

2003
January: During his Macworld Expo keynote, Jobs notes that Apple has sold more than 600,000 iPods in the 14 months since its launch.

April: Apple introduces the iTunes Music Store; the online music service debuts with more than 200,000 songs available for download. Songs downloaded from iTunes can play on an unlimited number of iPods.


Also in April, the iPod’s interface adds a solid-state scroll wheel with four buttons—rewind, menu, play/pause, and fast-forward—on top. Replacing the FireWire port is a thin connector that let the device hook up to a Mac or PC with either FireWire or USB 2.0.

September: Apple ups capacity on the iPod line, offering 10GB ($299), 20GB ($399) and 40GB ($499).

Software developer Dave Winer creates an RSS-with-enclosures feed that can be used to distribute audio content. This will eventually grow into a phenomenon that, by 2004, becomes commonly known as “podcasting.”

October: Windows users get the chance to fill up their iPods with 99-cent downloads, as the iTunes Music Store goes cross-platform.

The iPod 2.1 software update adds the ability to store voice recordings and digital photos with the help of add-ons made by Belkin.

2004
January: Apple expands the iPod line with a new slimmed-down—and colorful—offering: the iPod mini. Half-an-inch thin and about the size of a business card, the mini comes in gold, blue, pink, and green anodized aluminum. The 4GB player sells for $249.



During the same keynote as the mini’s unveiling, Apple raises the capacity on the $299 iPod to 15GB. Jobs announces that Apple sold 730,000 iPods between October and December, pushing total iPod sales past the 2 million mark.

HP and Apple announce that HP will sell HP-branded iPods supplied by Apple.

June: Apple’s iTunes Store expands overseas, opening in the U.K., France, and Germany. By year's end, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Canada will have iTunes Music Stores of their own.

July: A new generation of iPods incorporates the Click Wheel interface introduced six months earlier with the iPod mini. A 20GB model sells for $299 while a 40GB iPod is available for $399.

September: HP releases its iPod offerings, which are identical to Apple’s 20GB and 40GB fourth-generation iPods—except for the HP logo on the back.


October: Apple introduces the color-screen iPod photo. Available in 40 and 60GB capacities, the device plays music as well as displays photos on a 220-by-176-pixel resolution screen. At that same launch event, Steve Jobs is joined by Bono and The Edge to introduce the 20GB iPod U2 Special Edition. Featuring a black case and red Click Wheel, the $349 iPod includes a $50 discount on a digital box set of all U2’s albums as well as rare and unreleased tracks.

November: Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of MP3 player manufacturer Creative Technology, declares “war” on the iPod.

December: During the holiday quarter, Apple sells more than 4.5 million iPods, a 500 percent jump from the same period in 2004. Apple’s total iPod sales climb past 10 million, with 8.2 million units sold in 2004 alone.

2005

January: Apple gets into the flash-based music player business, introducing the iPod shuffle. About the size of a stick of gum, the shuffle comes in 512MB ($99) and 1GB ($149) capacities.

At Macworld Expo, Apple announces that Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Volvo, and Scion will introduce iPod adapters for their factory-installed stereos in 2005.

February: The mini becomes available in 4GB and 6GB capacities. A 30GB iPod photo replaces Apple’s 40GB offering. Prices fall to $349 for the 30GB model and $449 for the 60GB one. On the full-size iPod front, Apple drops the 40GB model and cuts the price of the 20GB iPod to $249.

Napster launches its subscription-based Napster To Go service during the Super Bowl with an ad blasting the per-download pricing model Apple uses for its iTunes Store.

June: The iPod and iPod photo lines are merged into the iPod (color), ending the availability of monochrome-screen music players. The new iPod is available in 20GB ($299) and 60GB ($399) sizes. Also, Apple cuts the price of the 1GB shuffle to $129.

iTunes 4.9 adds download and subscription support for podcasts within the iTunes Music Store, as well as features for managing podcasts and moving them on and off iPods.

July: Creative Technology warns its investors to expect a quarterly operating loss because of softer-than-expected sales of its MP3 players. Meanwhile, HP announces it will stop selling its branded iPods in September.

August: Creative wins a patent for how files on digital music players are organized that it claims coves not only its own Zen and Nomad jukeboxes but also iPods.


September: Despite the popularity of the iPod mini, Apple replaces the miniature player with an even smaller device— the iPod nano. Available in glossy black or white, the nano features a color display and a grey Click Wheel. The 2GB and 4GB nanos sell for $199 and $249, respectively.

At the same event, Apple announces the first iTunes-compatible cell phone, Motorola’s Rokr. It will quickly become overshadowed by the nano.

October: Apple adds video playback capabilities to the iPod line. The fifth-generation iPod plays video on a 2.5-inch, 320-by-240, 260,000 color TFT display. It comes in 30GB ($299) and 60GB ($399) sizes. To coincide with the launch of the video iPod, Apple releases an updated version of iTunes that includes video playback. Disney becomes the first company to start offering television programs for sale at the iTunes Music Store, with episodes from four TV shows priced at $1.99 each.

2006
January: During his Macworld Expo keynote, Jobs notes that Apple has sold 42 million iPods since the device launched in 2001. Also, consumers have bought 850 millions songs through the iTunes Music Store. Eight million videos have been sold and downloaded since that service was added in the fall.

February: Apple adds a third offering to its iPod nano line— a $149 1GB model. Also, the company cuts prices on its 512MB and 1GB shuffles to $69 and $99, respectively.

May: Creative and Apple trade lawsuits, with each company alleging that the other has infringed upon its patents.

August: Apple agrees to pay Creative $100 million to resolve the legal dispute between the two companies. Creative agrees to begin making iPod accessories this year.


September: Apple overhauls its entire iPod product line. The second-generation shuffle comes in only one capacity in a clip-on case that’s roughly half the size of its predecessor. The second-generation nanos are available in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities—because of their new scratch-resistant shell, they come in a variety of colors. And the video-capable iPod sees some changes as well, namely a brighter screen, longer battery life, and other enhancements. The newly renamed iTunes Store begins offering feature-length movies for download.

The iPod faces what could be its most serious challenge yet, as Microsoft readies its Zune media player for a November launch.

October: The iPod line gets another new color, as Apple unveils a red 4GB nano, as part of the Project Red initiative for raising money to combat AIDS in Africa.

http://www.macworld.com/article/53499/ipodtimeline.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a38:g26:r11:c0.005157:b21018209:z0

The 5 best music websites

1 ITUNES
Praising iTunes is like endorsing chocolate and puppies: well, duh. Even so, any discussion of music on the Web has to start here. With its supersize catalog (more than 2 million tracks), fair pricing, and any-idiot-can-figure-it-out interface, it's most people's first stop for downloading the latest Kelly Clarkson single or Mariah Carey remix. Since it launched in 2003, iTunes has trounced its competitors, capturing close to 75 percent of the marketplace and selling more than a billion tracks.
But while everyone knows iTunes is big, fewer people realize how useful it can be for finding new tunes. Start with its top 100 downloads — updated daily — and you'll see an instant, direct reflection of American musical tastes: the newest Dixie Chicks single; surprise emo phenoms Panic! At the Disco; that Daniel Powter song that's on American Idol every week. Then move on to the ''essentials'' playlists, full of offbeat cult favorites. (Thanks to the ''Folk 101 Essentials,'' John Prine's epic ''Angel From Montgomery'' is our new after-work beer-sipping soundtrack.) And one of iTunes' best features is actually free: The site has grown into a portal for thousands of Web radio stations and eccentric podcasts, offering everything from rowdy dancehall reggae to classical music. Happy hunting.
GREAT FIND RJD2 & Ric Ocasek's ''Through the Walls''

2 EMUSIC.COM
This underappreciated, expertly curated MP3 store is the music geek's alternative to iTunes. It's packed with fantastic choices, and at $9.99 a month for 40 downloads, it's a great deal. Emusic sells tunes only from independent labels, which means you won't find most current pop hits here. But spend some time sifting through its 1.2 million tracks — including new stuff from Neko Case and Spoon and classics by Johnny Cash and Otis Redding — and you won't care. Best of all, the site's sharp editorial team steers you toward the good stuff with articles on the best Parisian jazz or the latest Brazilian pop. And their ''Dozens'' lists are essential 12-album starting points in categories like ''boomer-friendly rock,'' or ''English folk,'' or ''old-school punk.''
GREAT FIND Art Brut's Bang Bang Rock & Roll

3 PANDORA.COM
Perfect for anyone who likes surprises, Pandora is a wizardly website that lets you customize a radio station to fit your own tastes. After logging in, users type in the name of a song or a band (the Beatles, for example); then Pandora uses a complex mathematical algorithm to find tracks matching the Liverpool lads' musical characteristics. In addition to Fab Four songs, our station came up with some Kinks and Stones, lots of obscure '60s nuggets, and unexpected contemporary acts like the Pernice Brothers.
GREAT FIND The Move's ''Curly''

4 RHAPSODY.COM
If other MP3 stores leave you hungry, tuck into this musical buffet. Pop gluttons will love Rhapsody's all-you-can-eat subscription service, which lets you download as many songs as you like for $9.99 a month. (Though the tracks will vanish from your hard drive when you stop paying. And it won't work with an iPod.) Another draw is the playlists, the most creative and well thought-out of any MP3 store. Their genre mixes go way beyond the obvious into left-field genres like ''pub-rock explosion'' and '''80s paisley underground.'' And somebody on staff obviously has a sense of humor: ''Yacht rock'' features smooth-sailing soft pop (Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald) fit for a day of sipping Cape Codders down at the marina.
GREAT FIND Firefall's ''Just Remember I Love You''

5 Myspace.com
There's a lot to dislike about MySpace. It's uglier than a Commodore 64, the music tracks are slow to load, and it has been co-opted by record labels, which pay for prime placement. Still, with more than 1.8 million bands offering their own homepages, it's impossible to ignore — it seems like every act you've ever heard of (and countless unsigned acts you haven't) posts free songs here. Read about a band? Head to MySpace and you're basically guaranteed to get something for your time: a prerelease album preview, a new single, or even a raw demo. Weezer and Nine Inch Nails debuted their latest albums here, and Fred Durst recently posted a rant about former Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland. Maybe that's not a compelling advertisement, but hey, there are at least 999,999 non-Durst bands on there, too.
GREAT FIND Love Is All's ''Talk Talk Talk Talk''

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1195793,00.html 18th May 2006

iPod Unit Sales 2005-2008

Music Video Agreement for Blighters

If its too small read below
Blighters -
Hi guys,
No worries on using the song, would like to see the finished product!
Cheers Jamie

Us -

Hi Im using an old account just to send you a quick message. We are looking to use the song 'Boys in motion' as part of our year 13 media studies coursework for our A levels. This involves creating a music video and flyer to promote an unsigned band. We really love your music and recently went to your gig in norwich and really enojoyed it. This does not involve you in anyway but we just need your permission to use the song to promote your band. Cheers Jake and Ryan

Apple Sales figures for 2007

Here is a table showing the Sales figures of Apple for 2007. The important figures to pick out from this is under Subtotals CPU, showing the amount of iPods they have sold and the revenue they have received from that. Furthermore, the yearly change for the sales show how well they have done for the year. Lastly, the Operating Segments show how well they have done across the world and show how dominant Apple are globally.

Music download sales double, says BPI

Turns out that alongside the sky-rocketing popularity of illegal download services also comes a doubling in the popularity of legal ones. The BPI has announced that 9.5% of the population bought music downloads in 2008, compared with 5.1% in 2007.

The likely reason for the rapid growth is the removal of DRM from the last major label standouts in January 2008. It means that music downloads bought from anywhere can now be played on any device.

Digital singles now account for 95% of the market, selling 110 million copies in 2008 (42% up on 2007) and 10 million digital albums were sold - 65% up on the previous year.

Lastly, the BPI claims that 23% of those surveyed between the ages of 16 and 54 used illegal filesharing networks, with two-thirds of them using the networks as often as every month. As the BPI has a history of suing filesharers, it's possible that some of those questioned declined to reveal this info, so the real figure might be much higher.

Next year's statistics will be interesting, as the effects of services like Spotify, Comes with Music and Last.fm are likely to start to be felt in the numbers. Analysts believe that with over a million UK residents using Spotify, digital sales figures could soon begin to dip once more, due to the "access vs ownership" trend.


http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/24158/music-download-sales-double-bpi

iTunes sales figures for 2008

Apple's annual SEC 10K filing showed that music-related sales increased by US$844 million (or 34%) to $3.34 billion in fiscal 2008, up from US$2.5 billion in 2007. Apple cited "heightened consumer interest in downloading third-party digital content" as the reason for the hefty increase.


Apple noted increased net sales from the iTunes Store in each of its geographic regions. An increase in the amount and types of content available at the iTunes stores was pegged as part of this growth.


Apple is the largest U.S. music seller, having knocked Wal-mart from the #1 spot in April of 2008. The revenue figures for the music-related business do not include iPod or iPhone sales.

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/11/06/apples-10k-filing-shows-3-34-billion-in-2008-itunes-sales/

Stop Motion practice shots

Here is our first attempt using Stop Mtoion. we have created a simple scene using Stop Motion as the covers of the bed move down the bed. We used a time-lapse camera for this video.

Media Music Audience Research (In the Process)

Here is my Audience reasearch questionnaire, which at the moment has been posted on my facebook page. Hopefully my nice friends will complete it for me

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/note.php?note_id=126958111197&ref=nf

Name:

Age: 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 40+

Gender: Female Male

Occupation: Student (School/Collage) University Student Unemployed Employed

What is you favorite genres of music, Chose 4 at the most:
Rock Alternative Indie R&B Pop Jazz Metal Classical Techno Reggae Hip Hop Folk Punk Soul Drum ’n’ Bass Dance

How you purchase music songs normally?
CD
Internet downloads, Eg. iTunes
Vinyl
Tape
If other please specify:

How often do you like watch music video TV channels?
Every day
3 times+ a week
1 time+ a week
Once a month
Never

How often do you listen to radio?
Every day
3 times+ a week
1 time+ a week
Once a month
Never

Have you used a social networking site for research into the music and/or music artists? Yes No

Do you use music sharing websites to listen to music over the internet? (If yes, please state) Yes/No
YouTube Spotify Last F.M Others………………………………………..

Please circle any of the below that you own at the moment:
Mp3/MP4/iPod
CD player
Vinyl record player
Radio
Computer/Laptop
Mobile phone

Do you attended concerts or gigs? Yes No
If yes, how often do you usually see in a year?
…………………………………………….

Do you ever go onto a bands/artists web page over the internet? Yes No

Do you use websites like Q, MTV or NME to keep up-to-date with the music industry? Yes No

Do you buy music from retail stores? Yes No

How do you find out about new artists and music?
The Internet (YouTube/ iTunes etc.)
Radio
Music Magazines
Word of Mouth/friends
Live Gigs
Other please specify:


Does a band’s style of dress or attitude affect you? Yes/ No
If yes, how does it affect you? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Apple tries to gag Brit over exploding iPod

I found this very interesting story at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/aug/03/uk-ipod-explodes.

Times Online has an exploding iPod story with two major elements: the size of the explosion (fortunately no one was hurt), and Apple's response. The story says:

Ken Stanborough, 47, from Liverpool, dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie's iPod Touch last month. "It made a hissing noise," he said. "I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapour". Mr Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door, where "within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10ft in the air".

The story then moves on to the information dug up by KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, which was the subject of a blog post here on 23 July: iPods that sometimes burst into flames

KIRO said Apple's lawyers tried to prevent the information getting out, which leads the Times to say: "Last week it emerged that Apple had tried to keep a number of cases where its iPod digital music players had started to smoke, burst into flames and even burned their owners, out of the public eye." The Times adds that:


Last year the Japanese Government warned that iPod Nanos presented a potential fire risk, saying there had been 14 cases in the country where the players had caught alight, with two people suffering minor burns.

Apple reasearch: Apple says million iPhone 3GS sold in first three days

Apple says it has sold a million of its new iPhone 3GS model in the first three days since its worldwide launch on Friday. The press release is also interesting for including a "quote" from Steve Jobs, "Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "With over 50,000 applications available from Apple's revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever." Certainly no dispute about the momentum. Even the precipitious price for the new model doesn't seem to be putting people off, despite this hefty recession.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/jun/22/iphone3gs-million-sold-first-three-days

Ipod Research: Music pirates will buy if the price is right

The music, film and video game industries are pricing themselves out the market, according to new research from Ipsos MORI. They found that creative industries could increase their sales if they addressed the price gap between illegal music and legal music on iTunes.

They tested more than 30 digital content distribution models for music, movies and video games in interviews more than 1000 people over the age of 16. One of the most common complaints from the creative industries is that people won't pay for content online when they can get the content for free through a range of illegal file-sharing services, but the Ipsos study found that two-thirds of people they interviewed who pirated music would switch to official distribution channels if the price was right.

"This is a huge opportunity, but it depends on how hard they want to battle against the pirates," Bramley said.

Currently, Apple charges 79p per track on its iTunes store. Only about 10% of respondents were interested in buying tracks at that rate, but interest rose to 32% when the price dropped to 45p. Music fans also want tracks without DRM - digital rights management - so that they can shift the music to the device or format they want.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/jul/03/music-film-games-download-piracy-pricing

Music Video Ideas

For my Year 13 music video project, i had to find an unsinged track which could be used by our group.In the end,we decided to chose a song by 'Blighters', called 'Boys in Motion'.

The title for the song, 'Boys in Motion', will be used used for the basis of the video. The title gave us the idea of including skateboarding. Boys and skateboarding have always been a common stereotype and we which to enhance this idea. Furthermore, me and another member of the group, Jake Mardell, are experienced skaters and this will help to produce a good looking production. We want to use standout editing to make it unique and look like a quality production.

Stop motion is an idea that was mentioned by Jake and this could be used to great effect. This, along with the stakeboarding footage, will help to production an excellent concept.Stop-motion videos that have inspied us include 'Her Morning Elegance' by 'Oren Lavie'.

My music and media investigation project

Here is my proposal form for my music and media investigation project. I am going to investigate the extent that Apple and the ipod have influenced the music industry. I will look at how they have changed the industry thanks to programmes such as iTunes and apple products such as the iPod and iTouch. I will also you into the purchasing of music and how that has changed thanks to Apple.

I will use secondary and statistical analysis for my research project. I will use secondary research, such as newspaper articles, to look at the way Apple has changed the music industry such as how to sell and promote tracks. I will look at statistics for the purchasing of music and how successful Apple have been in selling and distributing music.

Unconventional Music Video - Bloc Party Flux

This music video, by Bloc Party, is an unconventional music video. This is due to the setting for the video. The monsters used and the toy town effects makes this a abnormal video. Furthermore, the band are not shown in the video, which is in conventional videos.

Conventional Music Video - Blod Party Talons

This video by Bloc Party is my example of a conventional music video. For the song, there is narrative structure, which follows the lyrics of the track. In the video, a man is running away from the monster that is chasing him. Furthermore, another conventional aspect of this video is the inclusion of the band. During the video, members of the band pop up, with the lead singer Kele singing part of the song.

Music and Media Investigation

Here are some ideas about the question that I will invetsigate:

How has Apple changed the music industry?
Are men represented are good or bad role models in the music industry?
What impact has music videos had on the music industry?
Has there been an improvement over sound quality in the past 20 years?

The online age is destroying the music industry

Above is our wonderful video of the advantages and disadvantages of the online age. I believe that the online age is killing the music industry. The availability of illegal music is causing huge problems for music businesses, whether they are production companies or shops. Thanks to internet sites such as Youtube and Limewire, music can now be obtained with the need to pay for it. Many people exploit this system, with artists and production companies losing millions of pounds. Furthermore, illegal downloads usually are of a lesser quality than legally downloaded or CD tracks. This makes the technical quality far worse.

Music Investigation Homework

Spotify is a file-sharing music programme that allows users to listen to tracks for free. The programme, which is free, allows the user to listen to millions of tracks over the internet with very little buffering delay. Spotify can’t to used to download music tracks or albums, but provides the listener with options on how to buy the track.

Spotify could have a large affect on the music industry across the world. Spotify allows users with an internet connection, to listen to their favourite tracks. This programme has become a strong opposition to music companies such as iTunes and Amazon. These companies are starting to lose out as people chose to listen to the free tracks of Spotify than download or purchase tracks from high street shops or over the internet.

Last.fm is an internet based radio system that builds up a personal profile of each user. The programme compiles a database for each user by what the user listens to through radio or via music players such as iTunes. Last.fm then recommends songs or artists that may be of interest to the user. Users can also create custom radio stations and playlists from any of Last.fm’s music library, were the user is able to listen to some individual tracks on demand, or download tracks if the rights holder has previously authorised it.

Last.fm is an important area for debate as it allows users to listen to music for free. The program is another reason for the loss of revenue for music companies as users do not have to pay it listen to the track. The track can be played for an unlimited time as a penny would not go to the artist or music company.

Subculture is a group of people who have different cultural backgrounds. Subcultures can be categorised through age, race, ethnicity, class, location, and/or gender of the members of the group. These different types of subculture have an impact on the way people consume music and the style of which they like.

Urban Tribes was a term used first by French sociologist Michel Maffesoli. Maffesoli used the term to describe groups of people who share common interests. These members usually have the same dress style and like the same music genres. An example of an Urban Tribe is Goth’s. Goth’s were the same style of clothes, all black and baggy clothes. They also listen to same genre of music, which is commonly Emo, Heavy Metal and Rock.

The music i like and hate

Lets start with the kinds of music and band i hate. Genres that i don't like include teen pop, R&B and any type of rap or hip hop. I think these types of music are pretty rubbish. Bands that i hate with a passion include Scooter, High School Musical, Flo Rida, Westlife and N Dubz.

Music genres that i like to listin to include Indie, Rock and a bit of electro. I like these genres as i was brought up around this type of music. Bands that of particular interest include:
Bloc Party (love them way to much)
The Subways
Maximo Park
Arctic Monkeys
Black Kids
Enter Shikari
Fall Out Boy
Feeder
Foo Fighters
Friendly Fires
Good Charlotte
Hockey
Jimmy Eat World
Kaiser Chiefs
The Killers
Kings of Leon
The Kooks
Klaxons
Linkin Park
Lostprophets
Muse
The Noisettes
Oasis
OneRepublic
Orson
Paramore
The Piegeon Detectives
Placebo
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Stereophonics
Sum 41
We Are Scientists
The Wombats
White Lies
30 Seconds to Mars

Video i like


Video i hate

Boo

Hi, i am ryan!!!!