Fightstar Album Covers Analysis

Fightstar’s album covers are a huge contrast to that of Busted, this album cover uses dark, miserable colours; differently to the more vibrant colours chosen by Busted. The difference in colour relates to the different image that both bands aim to create and also their target audience. The more miserable colours of Fightstar suggest that they are aiming for a more mature audience; these colours would not appeal to a younger audience therefore targeting an older age group. The text “be human” is placed alongside an image of a naked woman with a cow’s head; this image does not bring up any immediate interpretation which suggests that the band has a certain depth. The creative images of fightstar contrasts to the images of the band that Busted use, this shows the creative and emotional difference between the bands as Fightstar aim to use a more mature and creative image whereas Busted use less mature and less creative covers. Like Busted, Fightstar promote themselves by using their band name on the album cover however, they do not use a signature font like Busted’s stamp-like font; this could be because they want to be original and not become repetitive. This could relate to their music as each album could have a different sound thus making a new album more exciting for the audience.

This album cover maintains the creative artwork used in other Fightstar albums; this image is set in apocalyptic scenery with a futuristic robot-like person. It can be seen wearing an orange tie, this creates a comical feel which contrasts to the dreary scenery that surrounds it; this suggests that although the band make serious and mature music, they still want to create a sense of easy-goingness. The colours used in this image tend to be variations of grey and brown, which gives a more mature look. This use of subject, style and colour makes it seem as though that the target audience is quite mature, perhaps mid-teens and older. The subject matter tends to be one of fantasy. This provokes a more childish theme which contrasts with the mature feel of the colours.

Busted Album Covers Analysis

This album cover shows the band in a police line up, this creates an image of rebellion and immaturity. The message that the image creates suggests that the target audience is for a younger audience, around the ages of 10 and 14. I say this because at the audience’s age they are likely to be to be searching for an image and therefore they can relate to the older attitude that the band create. The band use this common ground to gain attention from their target audience and gain more popularity therefore making the band more successful. The band uses a stamp like font for the name of the band; the stamp is associated to prison and therefore emphasizes the whole rebellious look that the band created. The red font also relates to the whole rebellious idea as well as making the font iconic so it stands out and allows the audience to know it’s a Busted album.

This album cover revolves around 3 simple colours, red, black and white. The band are in white and black which contrasts with the red background. The huge contrast gives the cover an eye catching presence which makes it more appealing to the target audience. The band maintain the rebellious image as they stand in a arrogant and dominant pose, this again is done to appeal to their young target audience. Like other albums the band uses the stamp like font for the band name, this ensures the audience know exactly it’s a Busted album.

New Shoes Analysis

The video heavily relates to the lyrics, almost as a story; the opening scene in the bedroom shows Nutini going into the wardrobe, this relates to the lyric in the song “so I quickly opened the wardrobe”. The general lyrics of the song are upbeat as Nutini’s “new shoes” liften his mood; the music in the song reflect the upbeat feel of the lyrics by producing a fun and quirky sound. The mise en scene of the video also relates to the music and the lyrics as it consists of bright lights and colourful settings. Editing is also used to promote the upbeat mood by using lends flair to create a sunlight effect by keeping the contrast and brightness high enough to create a glowing effect on the screen.


The beginning of the video shows the camera placed in a position which shows a frontal view of Nutini, this establishes who the artist is so the audience can familiarize with him. As the video progresses the camera is placed in various places such as the fridge and the wardrobe, this is done to maintain the frontal view of Nutini as well as creating good opportunities for scene transition. As the fridge/wardrobe closes, the screen turns black which creates the perfect opportunity to cut to the next scene. The scene where Nutini is walking down the street uses a tracking shot so we can see him front on and maintain the familiarization of the artist. This shot is used in several videos such as Bittersweet Sympathy by The Verve and Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack.

Hurt Analysis

In 2002 Johnny Cash covered the song “Hurt” by the Nine Inch Nails. The original version from the Nine Inch Nails was industrial rock whereas Cash gave the song a more emotional take on the song. Cash produces a heartfelt video with hindsight to his life, examining the mistakes he made. The lyrics chosen by Cash are emotionally deep and really explain his depressive state of mind:




What have I become

My sweetest friend

Everyone I know goes away

In the end

And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt



Knowing his personal life helps us to understand the pain behind these lyrics, Cash has encountered several devastating events in his life that has helped contribute to his emotional pain. Cash was very close to his older brother, Jack, who in 1944 was pulled into a whirling table saw in the mill where he worked, and cut almost in two. He suffered for over a week before he died. Cash was only 12 at the times so you can imagine the emotional torture he experienced. But the experience that most relates to these lyrics is the divorce from his first wife, Vivian Liberto. Cash spent years of drugs, alcohol and affairs with other women during his marriage, the continuous problems led to a divorce in 1966. The divorce links heavily with the lyrics of the song – “I will let you down”, this suggests that Cash is admitting to making mistakes in his life and that the song is almost an apology.



The Nine Inch Nails cover expresses more anger than the emotional pain of Cash’ cover. A prime example of this expression of anger is how the band uses the quote “I wear this crown of shit”, whereas Cash quotes “I wear this crown of thorns”. These lyrics contrast the two different feelings that are created by both artists. Cash further expresses his pain through his video. Close-up shots of Cash reveal his fragile state, he looks old and exhausted, suggesting he’s very ill. The video promotes a more personal feel by using personal images, throughout the video we see clips of a younger Cash and his old home, which today is a museum in honour of the late singer. These personal images connect us more to Cash as like him, we reflect on his life. The images shown of a younger Cash shows him as being happy, this contrasts to the modern Cash who is shown as tired and depressive; this suggests that despite the happiness shown on the outside he was in fact hurting inside.



Cash’ “Hurt” video was different to any of the other videos he had ever made, this was the first time he had ever based a video solely around himself, his other videos would be based on events and not himself. Cash’ video was also new to the country music audience, country music is known for a more upbeat sound and the videos would be based in the countryside with the artist playing an acoustic guitar. Cash doesn’t set his video in the countryside as the video is personal and he wanted to set in a personal setting (his home). However, Cash keeps a certain iconography of country music by playing an acoustic guitar throughout the video.



The editing of the video helps to create a mellow atmosphere which helps to emphasize Cash’ pain. Gentle shot transitions are used throughout to create a slow pace and establish a calmer mood, this allows you to take in Cash’ words and helps you to understand his story. This editing technique is also used in Dido’s video “Don’t believe in love”, although the editing is not exactly the same as Cash’ video, they still both create the same atmosphere, and the result is effective. Another technique used to create a calmer mood is by using long takes, this technique is used in Cash’ video to calm the mood but also so the audience can take a longer look at Cash and really examine the pain in his aging face.



Most artists call upon intertextuality when writing music, Cash is no different in this instance, it is obvious that the Nine Inch Nails cover of Hurt is Cash’ source of inspiration. We do not know the exact reason for Cash wanting to cover Hurt but we can guess that he chose it because the lyrics relate to the story he wants to tell and therefore he felt it was necessary to use these lyrics but change the tune to relate to a more depressive mood. Cash could of also chosen these lyrics because of the biblical references, an example of this is the lyric “crown of thorns”. The biblical aspect of the song could relate to Cash repenting his sins, he has come to the time in his life where he is about to die and wants to leave with on a clean slate. Also, by using this song it can attract the attention of a wider audience, the original version was industrial rock so the song was listened predominantly by rock fans. Because the audience recognise the song, it flatters them and they become more engaged with the song; exactly what Cash wanted from the song.

Research Into Existing Products

For this unit we had to research existing films for ideas and techniques which would help us with our own production. I chose the film Mission Impossible 2. I looked at different aspects of film such as camera angles, sound, editing, special effects and mise en scene.

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Main Task Evaluation

During our planning process we drew ideas from other real media products, we looked at two films: Final Destination and Predator. We liked certain ideas from each film and exported them to our own product. In Final Destination, premonition was used without any camera techniques. In our own piece we used premonition but used editing effects such as zooming in with the camera, using quick takes and using different light effects; these effects allowed the scene to be more interesting and engaging to the eye.




 With the film Predator, the majority of the time we see the Predator through his own eyes, this creates a spooky and mysterious feel. To give more effect, the Predator's point of view would be seen in an abnormal range of colours which distinguishes the Predator from the other characters in the film but also adding more mystery to the film.We took ideas from this film and added our own take on it. We used the idea of using point of view to keep the identity of the character secret, this would make the character more mysterious relating to a theme of a thriller. We also took the idea of the using abnormal colours for the predator’s view, however we used our own use of colours using the editing programme. We used our own blend of colours to give our own unique twist to the film.

During the whole process we used a variety of technologies to research, plan and construct our product. During research and planning we used the internet to search for films that we could extract ideas from, once we had decided upon a film we would watch DVD's to inspect the ideas further and discuss how we could interpret them into our own film. For further research I used PowerPoint to make a slide show of a thriller. I looked at different techniques and related them to their desired effect. This part of the research extended my knowledge of what should be included in a thriller and what effect it would create. Ideas and scripts would be typed up on word so we could keep organised. We used CAM software to create a storyboard; the programme allowed us to create a good visual image of what are product would look like. After each process of planning and research we would post what we did on our blogs. With the construction of the product we used a recording camera to film, we took advantage of all the gadgets on the camera by interpreting a variety of camera techniques to give our film more creativity. The editing process allowed us to tidy up our film but also to improve it by adding special effects which we couldn’t do with the camera. We made the film more creative by adding quicker takes, appropriate sounds and lighting effects; as well as making the film more creative they also made are film more relevant to a thriller which was our target. Once we had finished editing our film we needed to upload it to our blogs. The site wouldn't let us upload it straight from the source so we had to upload it through You tube and then transfer the link onto the blog. Once the video was on the blog we could easily evaluate the film but also allow an audience to give us feedback.


The audience for our product is for people aged over 15, we chose to target people over 15 due to the violent nature and explicit language. We gained some positive feedback from people over 15. From the feedback we learned that we were capable of reading the brief and successful at exporting that into our own product. We received positive feedback on the number and quality of the camera shots. The feedback we got particularly liked the idea of using a point of view shot with special effects to create the mysterious phantom. The biggest improvement that was suggested was the opening shot, the audience felt the shot could of looked more professional. They thought the camera was not steady enough and did not establish the scene enough.


Over the whole process I learnt a great deal about different technologies. During the filming process I have progressed in my knowledge of using the recording camera, I am now more familiar with the buttons on the camera and how to use them effectively whilst recording. I have extended my knowledge of using the editing suite and feel comfortable using the software to produce well-made and creative films. Also, from the research and planning stages I have learned a great deal how to use different technologies to gain relevant information for ideas and planning. The skills I used in the preliminary task proved very useful for the main task. The whole process of the preliminary gave me a better understanding of how long each task would take, this particularly helped with the planning process. The filming of the preliminary task helped me understand more about how to use the camera effectively, this gave me confidence going into the main task to produce great quality camera-shots. The experience of editing on the preliminary was very useful as I developed key skills which enabled me to produce great visual effects for my main task.

Script

This is the final script we have decided upon for our filming.

Character List:
Will (played by Mike)
Chris (played by Joe)
Phantom (played by Reece)

Will: Chris, I really don’t know, this doesn’t feel right…

Chris: Will! We’ve been researching this for 6 whole years! And you want to back out now?

Will: Yeah… sorry, just last-minute nerves…

(Will glances up at abandoned school. Switch to phantom point of view)Phantom: (heavy breathing)

(Quick takes of phantom down stairs, out of door, going to the path. Phantom spies in bushes on Chris and Will talking)

Chris: Christ, Will, you look like you’ve seen a ghost... (Laughs)

Will: (shouts) SHUT UP! I can’t do this!(Will walks off. Twig snaps. Will turns round)

Chris: …the fuck?!(Phantom attacks Chris and kills him. Will starts running)(Trips over. Phantom attacks)

Will: ARRRGHHHH!(Camera zooms out of eye. Back to beginning)

Chris: Will! We’ve been researching this for 6 whole years! And you want to back out now?

Will: Chris! Listen to me, we can’t do this. I’ve seen what’s gunna happen…(Interrupted by Chris)

Chris: What?! Well, if you’re such a psychic, fuck off then. I’m doing this, whether you’re coming or not.

Will: Please, Chris! I’m begging you. Don’t go!

Chris: Did you just hear what I said? I’m going whether you’re coming or not.

Will: (angry) don’t say I didn’t warn you Chris!! (Storms off)

(Camera behind Will walking away. Looks round and hears scream)

(Zooms into Will’s eye. Blackout)