Mcfly: Promoting Radio:ACTIVEThe
opening of the video shows a picture of the band, which appears to be from a photo shoot, with screaming fans and them playing in the background, this is a link to their obvious fame and showing the huge following they have, a few more from this photo shoot
fade in and fade out throughout the first few seconds, the use of these fades could symbolise the coming and going of the band, they tour then they go away to record and then come back again, but we never forget about them. This is also their way of introducing themselves so we immediately know it's all about Mcfly. Closely followed by the credits, so we know everyone by their names, putting us on a much more personal level. There is a short clip of a
performance at the iTunes festival, this places them as performers from the very beginning of the video. With this performance and any other time the band are performing or taking part in anything, a
title appears in the corner telling you where the band are and the date that they were there, which is a way again of keeping fans up to date, so even if they missed that performance they can still feel as though they were there. Then we move on to the band members giving us a
narration telling what they've been up to the past weeks and what they will be getting up to throughout the DVD and in the near future, this is so as an
audience we feel up to date and haven't missed out on anything the band have been doing, and we again feel more personal as it feels like they want us to know what they've been doing almost as casual chit-chat. By this we result in being reminded about the
relationship we have with the band, as the fans would obviously be up to date with what they had been up to but the loyalty factor shows in them repeating it to make sure everyone is at the same stage in understanding their career. Throughout the whole video the
interview is always in the same place, and always uses the same
camera angle, it is always a medium shot of the whole band sat on a sofa, this is so we see the whole band even when they are not all talking, we know they're all in agreement and this shows how close the band members all are. The
clothing in this interview is the same throughout the hour clip, they always appear to be laid-back and casual, and their clothes have a high-street look about them, which humanises the band, as they are not worried about splashing the cash, and they are more about their music than their image, which is how most people would want bands to be. The band are all seen as
narrators/performers, this is so we get a professional and a personal side from them, and shows off their many talents, of being able to not only perform, but then tell us about it afterwards, the audience then feels fully involved as if they were an interviewer finding out about how they band felt they had done. Here, even though they are in a working mode – being professional – the way they use their mode of address links with our friendly relationship theory.
The
setting of the majority of Mcfly's performances says a lot about the band. It is a theatre which is a lot smaller than most of the other gigs they have been doing, which have been large arena's with huge stages. This has an intimate feel to it, as everything is close. The stage is small so the members are all close together, and also the audience is close to the stage too. More than that though, this shows that even though they have done huge gigs they are still more than happy to come back and do smaller things, showing that all the fame has definitely not gone to their heads, and they know what fans want is the most important thing to them. In this theatre there is always shots of both the band playing and then wide shots of audience where they are standing, this is again to show the importance of the audience, as they do not want all the attention to be on them, but there fans also. In all these performance scenes, there is a orange/red lighting falling over the audience and partly the band, the reason for this is reds are seen as a romantic colour, and as mentioned earlier there is an intimate feeling to the whole performance so the lighting links in with this completely. When they are performing Mcfly show the usual attitude that most pop-rock bands are known for, when playing they are rarely seen standing still, and the guitar players are always jumping all over the stage while playing instead of just standing on the spot, looking in to the audience, this shows Mcfly's love for music, as they still find it fun, and know how to put on a show and get the crowd going. And throughout the performances, we can always see the bands
logo on the bass drum, which is seen in many of their music videos also, which of course means this is now known as the bands motif - so when you see it you immediately know who it's for.
The camera is always seen as though it’s just following the boys around, which makes the audience feel as if they are travelling around with them, most of the scenes are shot on a
hand held camera by one of the bands crew. This again relates to the relationship because they are putting you as their friend rather than a fan. No matter what they're doing the audience can always feel involved as they always have the camera with them so you get an insight to everything. On one of the journeys, the camera is put into
night vision mode, this is to show the audience that Mcfly work around the clock and don't stop until the late night, showing their dedication and determination to their job and music. We get to see a lot of the post-production and all the work that they put in, there's scenes of making a video, photo shoots and all the other work that goes in, showing that if you really want something then you have to go for it no matter how long it takes, and as we see, shooting videos takes Mcflys days. A lot of the time that the performances are being shown the edit called
split screen is used, the screen is usually split into about 2 or 3 blocks, showing different angles of the performance: the audience and the band, but also when they are on the set of making the video 'Lies' we see all the different steps that go into making it, the performing, the special effects etc. And also on one of their other songs 'Here's a song for the radio', the screen splits in half, one side showing the first draft of the video without edits and the other shows the finished project, this way we see how all the hard work pays off in the end when you have a successful music video, in this clip we also have a
notion of looking, as one camera goes behind the camera filming the music video and we see what they see, so it feels as though we are the director. Another reason for the split screen of course is so that we can watch all of the action going on but at once, so we can capture everything as there is a lot to watch. We then get to meet some of the crew who help on set of making one of the bands videos, this again makes a personal relationship with the audience, as we know people help Mcfly but you never get to see them or hear about them it's always just the band members, this also shows that Mcfly appreciate the help and this is their way of recognising them. Mcfly do show stuff that other musicians wouldn't want to be seen which shows there trust is fans and that they are not secretive about anything, in one scene we hear Danny Jones telling us that they are having to practice a few songs as they are not very good at them, and we see them trying and not succeeding at some songs, this again
humanises them as we realise they aren't just good straight away and they need practice to get better, as we see them performing you can sometimes forget about the rehearsing and stuff that comes first, so Mcfly are showing that they aren't perfect and want fans to know they are not, which some performers would want to steer clear of. But this is followed by a clip of Danny playing the guitar just for the sake of it, not on stage or anything just sat down, this shows his natural talent and ability and his obvious love for music and playing instruments as he does it when he has spare time. Also there is a scene which is a meeting with the band and their producer, and they are having a slight disagreement about something, and we can see the obvious struggle the band is going through, trying to make the right decision, this makes the audience feel what they are going through and also makes us feel like one of the crew members trying to help the band out. There are also more personal times that the band let us in on, when they are visiting Niagara Falls, the camera is
crabbed to the right, and all the band is standing in a line to the left, so it feels as though the audience is stood on the end, watching with them, which almost created a friendlier bond, as it's their free time from not performing and you are stood there with them, making you feel included. One of the performances is in
black and white, this is showing the bands
nostalgia as they are looking back to one of the gigs when they were not so big and famous, this shows they are obviously still proud of those smaller times, otherwise without them they wouldn't have got as far as they have now, as every band has to start somewhere.
The band do something very different to what any other band have ever done before which I feel will have been their
USP, they sold their whole album through
The Daily Mirror newspaper, which meant the fans could get the CD for the price of the newspaper. This immediately gave them a wider audience, as not only Mcfly fans, but people who read the newspaper daily would pick up the paper and have the CD, which could widen their
target audience also. In their video they showed them going to the interview with The Daily Mirror, I think they included this as they were promoting Mcfly so this was their way of Mcfly repaying the favour, and also you would have people who loved Mcfly and didn't normal buy the paper going out and getting it meaning their sales would increase, so it worked both ways. Again Mcfly included their audience on this interview and the camera was placed right between the band and the people they were talking to which almost made it like we we're being nosey and listening in, but were still aloud to be in on the conversation, as this press release obviously meant a lot to them.
The way Mcfly are seen in this video vanishes their
representation of the typical 'boy band' image- known to be cheesy and young. We see just how serious Mcfly are about their music and how much it means to them, and the fact that they write their own music is a big point to, as bands such as Busted didn't, and Mcfly are sometimes teased to be like them. And we see how they handle everything they get put through and how they get all of their busy schedules sorted and carry on even when we can see the exhaustion in their faces. They are also seen to be
'do-gooders' in this as we see them doing a meet and greet with all their fans, and the first fan we see them taking a photo with is a young disabled girl, and you can see the smile on her face from meeting them, this instantly raises Mcflys likability factor.
The video ends with a gig of theirs for the Olympic Torch event, this is an epic gig for them, with a lot more fans and backing singers and orchestra which they have never had before, this shows their ability to work under pressure, but by putting this as the ending to their video shows they want you to remember them as performers and the last thing you hear is their music. Then we see them getting into a car and driving off, this is a clear
symbolisation of the end of all their events. There is then a
fade into the credits which read 'To be continued..' This is Mcfly's way of telling us they will definitely be back for more and the word continue shows that it'll be like they never left in the first place. Throughout this whole ending we can hear the screaming fans in the background showing just how adored they are and how great their performance was, they are confident musicians.
Britney Spears - In The ZoneThe use of the
title 'In The Zone' immediately
establishes Britney as a singer who clearly takes her job seriously, as in the zone usually means that your in full concentration and nothing else matters. Also this line is featured in one of Madonna's hits, and as many may know, Madonna has a link to Britney's success. This promotional video is her way of showing off her talents and making sure the whole audience knows it's all about her. The way in which she narrates and performs shows this, the
narration shows it is personal and the performance shows all the attention is on her.
The beginning and ending of the video both feature and
establishing shot of New York, this is to show Britney's new
image - a new dark and urban image. As it begins there is narration over the top, this is how she introduces her self, straight into talking, almost as if she is telling a story to the audience. It is also a
review of her year so we are kept up to date with all her goings on and she wants us to know exactly what she's been through. At the end however it shows a final performance with titles and then shows New York again, this is so the last thing the audience remembers seeing and hearing is Britney performing, this is so you can remember her as an artist more than anything else. The song she chooses to perform is of course the controversial song with Madonna, which put her in all the headlines with the 'kiss' - she chose this one to link her to with fame and fortune again.
Britney is
represented in many different ways in this video, this is to show her change in image from her 'pop princess' days, and show she isn't just a one trick pony. In one of the songs, she has a sleeve on that makes it look like her arms are covered in tattoos, this is showing her
rebellious side, and that she is far from a princess now. Also in most of the songs shown she is playing a sexy role, which sometimes can be seen as unnecessarily sexy, almost too in your face, but this is her own way of coming across as a grown up who makes her own rules. However, she does loose this look when she performs a ballad; in this she is wearing a white, flowing dress. White is the
colour of innocence and links in with the song, showing she does know when to tone it down. In one song she also plays on smart clothing, as she wears a tie but the rest of her
clothes are as per usual - skimpy. This shows her ability to be smart while still pulling of the sexy look, also this style
links again to Madonna as this what she wore back in the 80's and as we notice throughout most of this video Madonna has quite a big influence on Britney whether she realises it or not. But with all this said however when seen on average days when she is not performing, she looks a lot more laid back and casual, saying that when she's on stage she is a star, but when not performing she knows how to just relax and be a normal, down to earth person this
humanises her, as sometimes audiences
idolise stars but forget about the backstage and non-performing life.
There are many
collaborations with other artist shown throughout. There is a preview of the famous song with Madonna and also she performs with hip-hop artists, this is to show her fame, Madonna is of course a very famous musician and for Britney to be linked with her immediately raises Britneys' fame. And the hip-hop artists show again that she can do more than one style and will not fall in to just one category. There is a song included that mixes country with hip-hop and R'n'B, the country is of course a link to Britney's routes, but again shows the multi-talent she has with different music
genres. Britney shows an ability to adapt and take on any kind of music, there is a song which takes on the cabaret
theme, and she addresses all the
conventions of a cabaret show, the way she dresses, the way she sings and even the way she acts. This shows she can take on any challenge given to her, building her star status. When the other artists are performing, Britney almost blends in to the background, almost as if she wants them to share her fame as well, as if she is so famous she can let some one else enjoy it for once.
The entire
behind scenes footage and family footage show Britney as a human-being not just a performer. Also the
photo montages do this too, as we do not only see photos from the shoots she has done that are professional but also selections of photos that are more personal, when she was younger and family photographs, this is to show the two sides of Britney coming together as one. She wants her
audience to know she is just like them, and anyone can get to where she was through trying. They show the build up of her career, the trying and struggling, showing that she wasn't just given it she had to work for it, which sends out a truthful
message for anyone who really wants to do something in life. Clips were shown of her when she was younger performing which shows the audience its something she's always wanted from a young age, and that she's been trying to get far for a long time. All of these clips are just to humanise Britney as we sometimes forget singers are just like us - we see them performing and forget they lead lives like ours, with their families and friends. We see the
relationship Britney has with them too, which almost make us feel like we're close to her as an audience as we are meeting the people she loves. One scene shows her driving in a normal taxi as she just wants to get away from it all, and she does a
talk to the camera, which puts the audience on a one to one level with her as if you were sitting there listening to her. Her 'Kids talent foundation' is mentioned to which shows her as a
do-gooder as she helps out with younger kids who want to get in to a career like she has, this gives her a likable factor immediately, as everyone wants their children to do well and Britney is helping with this.
The
setting in which the video itself is set also says a lot about Britney. It is set in a big building with huge columns all in the background, very over the top and powerful; it shows her as
high art. As everything is so big and extravagant, it's Britney's way of slightly hinting to us that she feels she is too, as she's got so far in the music world, she feels strong and powerful. The
lighting in the building is quite dim, which gives the whole video and intimate feel to it, which makes you feel close to Britney, but also relates to the sexual content that she is portraying throughout it all.
The camera seems to
pan and move around a lot, which is a way to make us feel as if we were there watching her, up close and personal as we see it from every
angle and don't miss out on any of the action. When Britney is dressed in some of her more promiscuous outfits and moving around sexually, the camera seems to move over her body a lot, over her hips and following the shape of her, almost as if it was a partner of hers putting his hands on her, this is another way to show Britney has lost the innocent young girl tag she used to have around her and now shes a free woman who can do what she wants with who she wants. The camera angles are always quite close, a lot of
close ups and never much further out than
mid shots - this is of course because it is to promote Britney so she is of course going to be the main focus, and with the camera always being close to her, the audience never misses any of her action, and it is a way to make you feel close to her on a personal level, rather than just a fan/idol relationship.
Overall this promotional video does exactly what it should do- shows Britney truthfully and shows the audience everything they would ever want to see; and publishes her not only as a performer but a normal human person, so the video builds a relationship with Britney on a more personal level.
Draft 1 back cover: 
The
The inside of the Digipak for meatloaf is pretty simple, which is in complete