Textual Analysis of similar products

I'm going to analyse another video similar to my idea and see if it offers any inspiration, show me what could work or show me what parts aren't completely effective. 

The first video I'm analysing is That Green Gentleman by Panic! At The Disco

The video is very similar to my idea in terms of imagination, and I was surprised to see that there are things in this video that I was planning to do myself, like the character looking inside a small building and it actually being huge inside.

Camera Work

The video starts with a shot of a table that holds several toys and ornaments. The camera zooms in on a Russian Doll, clearly showing its importance in the narrative of the music video. This is also emphasised by the use of close ups and use of eyeline match on the doll. Apart from the zoom, no other camera movement is used in the opening of the music video, which is in contrast with the many tracking shots used further on. This could imply that the location of the opening of the video, the "real world" isn't as free as the hyperreality and imagination we view at a later point. This freedom of the imagination is also implied by the use of long shots as opposed to the many close ups in the opening sequence, giving the imaginary world a larger and less confined feel. It could also be shown through the handheld shot towards the end of the video, where a huge Russian Doll is rolled down a hill, as it gives the imaginary land a less stable atmosphere. 

Editing

The editing throughout the video is quite fast paced, with cross cuts used at very regular intervals. This gives off a more excitable feel to the video, which is helpful as the very idea of imagination is an exciting prospect. I don't think slow paced editing would be very effective in this video as it wouldn't portray the absurdity of the narrative but give it a more calm, normal feel. Special effects are clearly used in this video too, such as when the Russian Doll is the original vocalist of the music. This just helps contribute to the idea of imagination. Slow motion is used in certain parts of the video, like when the children are running alongside the Penny Farthings, and when the old men at the end of the video emerge and dance. Personally I feel as if the slow motion gives a feel of harmony, and this just gives a happy feel to the imaginary land. 

Sound

The images in the video fit the music of the song, yet the narrative doesn't always fit the lyrics. There are certain parts which seem to loosely fit the narrative, such as "everybody gets there" is sung whilst the characters run towards the fantasy land. "Things have changed for me" is sung after the characters  fallen into this land and "I wanna go where everyone feels the same" is sung when there is a shot of all the children playing, obviously in an equal state of happiness. 

Mise-En-Scene

The first shot of the video shows a few childlike toys such as a teddy bear and toy trumpet. The most colourful toy is a Russian Doll, and we later find out this doll is abnormal and related to the fantasy land. This shows that the hyperreal land is metaphorically brighter and more interesting than the "real world". Digging deeper, the doll could also represent a bigger message. In the fantasy land, the characters are free, yet in the "real world", the characters are confined within a doll. This could represent that in everyday life, people are confined within a fake environment (dolls are stereotypical symbol of fakeness), and have a lack of freedom. This heightens the excitement and happy feel of the imagination when the characters enter it. 

The "real world" is physically different to the imaginary world. The colours of the wall in the "Real world" are beige and plain apart from one painting. This is contrasted by the bright colours, sunshine, gold curtains, glitter and bright lighting of the hyperreality. It highlights the fact that imagination is more fun and freeing, and a better place to be. 

Imaginarion is also shown through other unlikely events, like young children wearing full suits, Penny Farthings being ridden, small sheds being huge halls inside that hold a magic show etc. 

I couldn't find a whole digipak for this band on the internet, but I found an album cover for the song featured in the music video I analysed:

The album cover features a beige background, which looks like the colour of paper after it has been ages or tea stained (an effect used to create an aged look). This gives the cover an authentic feel, and is emphasised by the use of calligraphic swirls entwined around the letters. The typography is large, bold and colourful, and looks very artistic. I appears to be going for a self-drawn effect, which is emphasised by some of the letters in the word "gentleman" being crossed out and redone afterwards. I feel as if this gives the album cover a more personal feel and this could help promote the product as it could appear to be more personal to the target audience. The bright, changing colours suggest that the song and artists are upbeat and vibrant, correctly. The layout of the cover follows the line of sight, starting at the top left with the name of the band and finishing at the bottom right with the finishing words of the title. The only imagery on the cover is that of the actual typography and the calligraphic, colourful swirls. I think this could be useful towards the sales of the product as no images are distracting the audience from the title of it, and therefore it is easier to recognise. 

The album cover seems to contain conventions of a fairytale, as the swirls look similar to the ones you would find on the front of a fairytale book. This suggests a form of imagination and this is in good correlation with the theme of the music video.

I also found a magazine advert for the album the song is featured on:

The typography at the top of the advert is exactly the same as the typography on the album cover, suggesting a trend or logo for the band. Having looked into it more, the typography seems circus-like, proven by circus posters such as:

This suggests a form of unlikely and unusual events, as that's what happens at a stereotypical circus. This correlates well with the music video I analysed as a series of unusual events take place in it. 

The borders of the advert are golden and intricate, also a common convention for a fairytale as stated before. This also correlates well with the music video for That Green Gentleman. 

Due to the line of site, out of all the information placed onto the advert, the information on the album's details will naturally be viewed last. This is helpful for the product as this means the details are naturally more likely to be remembered. 

The main imagery on the advert is that of a picture of the main album cover that features the song for the music video I analysed. This offers a form of recognition for the audience and can relate to The Uses and Gratifications theory, as the audience could feel gratification from the recognition of the album cover. It also helps the sales of the product as the product is more easily recognised with this image displayed boldly. The language of the product is very simple, the name of the band is shown along with the name of the album, then the main information is shown, the release date, a song featured on the album (recognition) and useful information such as the band's website. 

The simplicity means the advert is not unecessarily overwhelming, and makes it less effort for the audience to view, therefore making it more likely that the audience of the magazine will view it more intensely than if it was complicated and hard to understand.