CD Covers - Research

For my first subsidiary task, I will be creating a CD cover. To do this, I will first look at some already existing CD covers to help me with designing my own. I will also need to create a corporate identity for the band, a name that relates to the music and sound of the band in some way. However, I can still use the name of the song, Magnificent.

The first CD cover I am going to look at is U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind album cover. This was the 10th studio album to be released by the band, by Island Records in 2000. The album sold over 12 million copies and won 7 Grammy Awards. Below is the cover of the album:


The cover features a black and white photo taken by Anton Corbijn in the Roissy Hall second floor of the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris. The band are positioned in the centre of the image so that we as the audience focus mainly on them. Each member of the band is carrying luggage (the Edge typically has a guitar case at his feet) and it seems that Bono is checking his passport. The title of the album is positioned above the band members in a plain text, with each letter capitalised.

On the left, there is a sign that reads "J33-3→". Bono added this at the last minute, as a subtle religious message, refering to the verse Jeremiah 33:3 in the Bible; "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." This same religious message can also be found in the lyrics of Unknown Caller from No Line On The Horizon; "3:33 when the numbers fell off the clock face."

The airport used for the album photo is also the location used for parts of the video for Beautiful Day, which is one of the songs from the album. This links the album cover to the music, which I am going to do for mine. I will take photos at the location when filming my video and use one for my CD cover.

The second cover I am going to look at is from U2's 12th studio album No Line On The Horizon, released in 2009. Below is an image of the cover:

The majority of U2's album covers feature images of the band members, however this one does not and nor does it even have the band's name or album title written on it. This is because in the deal made between U2 and the Japanese photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto, a condition was made that U2 could not place any text over the image. In return, Sugimoto would be able to use the song No Line On The Horizon, the first track on the album, in his future work. Bono was inspired by the photograph to write this song.

The photograph features the Lake Constance, and is 1 of 200 images in the photographers Seascapes collection. The equals sign that appears over the image was not placed upon the image itself, but instead on the plastic sleeve which the album comes in.

I like this cover, and I think it suits the album very well. I think for mine I will use an image of the location for the cover, and maybe have the performer either on the back cover or the inside of the CD.

My Plan

To make sure I get all my work done by the deadline date, the 26th March 2010, I am going to devise a plan with dates by which I hope to complete certain tasks:

• The filming - I am planning to get all of my filming completed over half term, meaning I have from the 13th to the 22nd of February to do this.
• The editing - I will start this in the first week back after half term. I am unsure how long this stage will take, but I will allow myself at least 2 weeks for it. Therefore, it will hopefully be complete by the week commencing the 8th March.
• The subsidiary texts - I will begin planning and research for these today and maybe try to be working on these alongside the filming of the video over half term. After the research has been completed I will start work on the products straight away, hopefully getting both sorted within a week.

If all of this goes to plan, I will have a week left before the deadline to make any adjustments or improvements to my work, and to also write the conclusion.

Weather Conditions

A problem which I have had concerns the filming of my video. Having had a lot of snow over the Christmas holiday and into January, I have not been able to film anything for my video yet since I did not want to film in these conditions. The snow has completely cleared now, so I am waiting for a nice, bright, dry day to go out and film my video. This will have to be on a weekend to allow time to get to and from the location. I know I am starting to get a bit behind with my work now, as my filming should already have been done, so I am going to do it as soon as possible.

Shot List

I will now go through my storyboard, assessing each shot to make sure everything works ready for filming. I have already written the shot types and camera movements on my storyboard, but here I will do this in much more detail. I have also made some alterations to some of shots and changed some of them around.

Shot 1 - establishing shot of the location, a peaceful, secluded beach. The shot will feature the beach, with the sea in the background. It will hopefully be a bright day, blue sky with some clouds.

Shot 2 - a long shot looking along the beach.

Shot 3 - a shot of birds flying in the sky.

Shot 4 - another wildlife shot, birds on rocks or something else.

Shot 5 - extreme long shot along the beach, where a figure is now visible but not recognisable creating a sense of mystery.

Shot 6 - a wildlife shot, birds floating in the sea or something else.

Shot 7 - a long shot of the figure, from a different angle.

Shot 8 - forwards tracking in a long shot, following the figure who is now walking along the beach.

Shot 9 - sideways tracking shot of the figure in a medium long shot.

Shot 10 - forwards tracking shot again following the person in a medium long shot.

Shot 11 - sideways tracking shot again now with the person in a medium close up.

Shot 12 - backwards tracking shot, seeing the person clearly for the first time, in a medium shot.

Shot 13 - backwards tracking shot in a close up as the singing begins.

Shot 14 - backwards tracking shot now in a long shot of the person.

Shot 15 - camera stops moving and stays stationary, the person moves towards it until in a medium shot.

Shot 16 - wildlife shot, birds flying.

Shot 17 - location shot of beach, pan round to see performer in a long shot.

Shot 18 - performer in medium shot, singing.

Storyboard

This is my hand drawn storyboard of the first sequence of my video which is the first minute of the song, complete with duration of shots and shot type and camera movement written below each frame.

Filming Schedule And Planning

I am planning to get all of my filming done in one day, although I can not choose an exact date as I need the weather to be good. I would like to film on a sunny day, with a bright blue sky as this reflects the mood of the song. I will go out on a day over the Christmas holiday when the weather is good. If I do not manage to get my filming done over Christmas, I will aim to get it done as soon as possible in the new year.

I think I am going to be the "singer" in my video as I have not been able to find anyone else willing to do it. I will shoot all of the location and wildlife shots myself and I will have a friend or family member film the shots which I am in. I will set up and direct all shots to ensure that the video looks how I want it to. However, I would really prefer to do all of the filming myself so if I can manage to find someone suitable and willing to be my performer then I will use them instead of myself.

If I do end up being the performer, I will be dressed in black; black coat, black boots, black gloves, dark jeans. I think that this will look good as I will stand out in the location. I want to create a sense of contrast between the natural world and the human being.

I have planned out and timed each of my shots by drawing a storyboard for my video. I will scan it into my computer and post my work in my next blog post.

Audience Research

U2 have a mainstream audience, consisting of a massive number of fans whom they have collected up throughout their career in the music industry, spanning just over 30 years now. The ages of their fans therefore range widely from adults of about 40 - 50 years old, who would have become fans when the band first started their career, to young teenagers who have just discovered the band in recent years. I fall into the latter category, having only realised the existence of U2 in 2004, after seeing them on Top Of The Pops performing Vertigo.

U2 know how to interact with their large mainstream audience using all the technology available to them to get their music into the heads of fans and potential fans all over the world. Obviously, not all fans may be able to make it to a live show, so U2 have this year brought their music into the homes of millions. In October 2009, U2 broadcast an entire show from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on their 360° Tour live on YouTube to the world. It is estimated that nearly 10 million people watched the concert online between 188 countries, making the event the largest in YouTube's streaming history. In August 2009, U2's Sheffield concert was played live on the radio as well as the audio been streamed directly from u2.com to listeners all around the world. It is clear that U2 like to do things big to satisfy their ever growing number of fans and these events proved to be extremely successful.

U2's latest song, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, was released in two different music videos. One is a short animated film created by David O'Reilly and the other was filmed live at a 360° show. The animated film tells a short story, including different individual characters and how their lives entwine together one fateful day. The characters include a boy who runs away from home, his worried mother, a girl who has also run away from home, a girl who has lost her dog and a tramp. The tramp finds the dog and the mother rescues the runaway girl whilst looking for her son, who meanwhile is on a train. The train stops and the tramp gets on with the dog and sits opposite him. The boy, looking at the tramp, realises that he doesn't want to end up that way and leaves the train quickly with the dog following him. As they run, the owner of the dog is walking along in the opposite direction and is reunited with her dog. The boy keeps on running and rushes straight past a cafe where his mother and the girl are sat. Seeing him, the mother rushes outside shouting after him and they too are reunited. I think this video is really well done and sends across a good message. It has elements of humour in it as well as anxiety and sadness. I think this video appeals to the mainstream audience because of this. It is clearly not targeted at a specific age group as the messages in it can be read by fans of all ages and overall it is a very appealing and thought provoking video.

The other video for this song features the band performing on their 360° tour in Barcelona, directed by Alex Courtes. The song was not recorded live for the video, the pre-recorded version was used for the audio. I like this video a lot too, because I think it has been directed very well and gives the audience what they want to see - the band. Lots of close ups of the band members are used as well as shots of the crowd and the amazing 360° stage. Filming the video live at the first 360° concert allows fans to see what they will experience themselves when the tour comes to their country. It shows the band interacting with their audience, and this excites fans, making them want to be in that crowd in the video. It also allows potential fans to see what going to a U2 concert would be like. I think the two videos are both very good in their different styles and both definitely appeal to the audience.