J Cole - She Knows Analysis

 J Cole - She Knows

"She Knows" is a single by American Hip-Hop artist J Cole taken from his album Born Sinner, released in 2013. 

• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics ( Hip-Hop)

The very first shot demonstrates the Hip Hop genre as it pans through an American suburb (North Carolina) that looks cheap. Also all of the characters featured in the music video are mixed race or Black, which conforms to the Hip Hop genre. Once Kyle gets to school he meets his friend and decides to skip school. They go skateboarding and the setting very much conforms to the Hip Hop genre as it's run down, bleak and desert-like.

• There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals 

The relationship between the lyrics and visuals are subtle because the video is narrative but there are many links. For example the shot below is in time with the lyrics "Got me up so high". Also Kyle and his friend are seen running away from the cops in time with the lyrics "Can't be what you wan't from me" which could be referring to how Kyle is letting down his parents by skipping school. Both of these examples amplify the lyrics rather than contrast them.  

• There are normally close-ups of the artist to promote them

As the music video is a narrative based music video there are no close-ups of J Cole. However most record companies demand shots of the artist in music videos, which could well of happened as J Cole does have a cameo role. J Cole is depicted undressing Kyle's mother, just as Kyle walks in to see what's happening.

Final Website

Our completed website has five pages: Home, About, News, Store and Contact. All of the pages can be seen above. I tried to maintain the same image we have for the Digipack and music video and to make the website similar to Hip-Hop artists like Logic and G-Eazy. 

Digipack 1st Draft

Digipack 1st Draft

This is what Issak and I have produced so far for the Digipack. The front, back, CD, special thanks and extra content are complete. The top left is going to be updated to include an image of iSO and lyrics from our single Buried Alive.

Example of our Digipack in use 

Example of the back cover in use

Merchandise for Store

After researching other artists websites and specifically stores it became obvious that stores are a big part of artists like Logic and G-Eazy's websites. So I decided to dedicate a lot of time to making professional products and adding discounts.

Full store screenshot

As part of my research I identified that Black was very common in our genre but also in similar artists products. So many of the products, especially the clothing are Black. Offerings on G-Eazy's website were mainly types of clothing so I decided that our store should also largely feature clothing. However I have also included accessories such as phone cases and rucksacks.

Example of product preview for iSO stickers

In the preview section of the store I included at least one image of the chosen product, a description of the item and a SKU code. There are also links to social media as this was something that people suggested in the feedback for the website.

Example of 10% discount

As iSO is an up and coming artist I decided that our products should be priced very competitively. So I made the products all slightly above real cost and added a 10% discount code - "iso10". This was also something I identified from my website research as Logic is known for making his merchandise very cheap in order to give back to his fans.

Digipack Improvements

 Above is our first draft digipack, we have showed it to as many people as possible to get feedback. Nearly everyone thought that the front and back cover were good and fit into the Hip Hop genre. Most people also liked the special thanks which we included after analysing Logic's debut album. People thought the strain of DNA was good as it links to the album name but shouldn't be used twice.

To improve our Digipack we will:

• Add a lyric sheet to replace one of the DNA strands
• Move the special thanks up one one the grid so it is on the back 

Shooting Schedule #3

Above is our shooting schedule that Libby created for our group to understand what our plan was in terms of shots we still wanted and at which locations.

Acting On Website Feedback

After receiving feedback on my website I picked out some of the best comments and made changes based on the suggestions.

1. "The store icon doesn't fit in with the theme because of the colour."

I changed the store icon from Red to White as it fits in a lot better with the black and white background.

New store icon 

2. "The about page is too basic and doesn't have enough content."

I changed the layout of the about page completely and added a link to Instagram, a description of iSO and the record label as people were getting confused by the Real Proviso name.

Updated about page

3. "Social media links should be used more as that is a main form of promotion"

I added Twitter and Instagram links to every page and put them in the corner of each page to amintain consistency.

Example of Twitter link

Website Feedback

Today we received feedback from other media students on our website. Most of the feedback was very good with my website scoring on average 7/8 out of 10 from. However there was a lot of good comments on how I can improve the website, some of the best comments can be seen below:

iSO: 

On this website I really like how the background links with the album with the galaxy and colour scheme. the links at the top of the page look good and professional like the logo. the bag looks a little out of place and being red makes it sand out a lot which kinda emphasizes this. The pages themselves look good shows the artists themes and how he is represented well. merchandise looks really professional. the contact page looks really good with the pin on the record company. add the social networking sites to the bottom of each page so that it is consistent and easily accessible to the audience. On the store page make the phone case image larger so that it is easier to see.

iSO:

There is a visible theme (monochrome) and your genre is apparent. There are working links. There isn’t much text. Even though you have your new album cover on your homepage I feel like the background should be of the artist. There is only one photo of the artist which is used throughout the website.

The real Proviso(iso) - 8 Good layout on the front page and its good that it points straight to the new album. The quality of the iso could be improved. The about page is good and i like the way it goes straight to instagram. News page is the best page and its very good detail. I like the discount on the store. The map on the contact page is good. Could the background move at all?  

iSO: 

The website created by ISO is nearing completion and because of this the website looks professional the only comment I would make would be on the amount of information that is provided. Information that could be shown could be more about the creation of the song and more detail about the artist rather than a few sentences that give a slight idea but it is still unclear. The background of the website is very effective with creating the image of ISO because the black and white look is replicated within all products which have realistic prices. The use of the map to show the location of the Real Proviso is clever and makes it look professional.

ISO - The home page for ISO is very simple but effective. i like the dark background as it settles in with the image for his music video as well and the genre he is following. The about page is very poor as i feel it is organised badly therefore it looks basic and low budget. ISO could add more information on this page and set the pictures out differently to make it more effective and better to look at. The merchandise looks good and fits in with the dark colours from the website.

Website scores

Filming in Town and at Crematorium

As we were behind due to our lack of footage me and Issak decided to dedicate a whole day to filming. We went to the crematorium to get more shots as some of the stuff we filmed there before was very good. We also filmed in urban parts of town and at the Graffiti Wall.

As we spent all day filming we got the majority of footage for our music video. Especially the parts at the end that we were missing and we can now replace some of the poorer shots from our first time filming.

Panorama Issak took whilst standing on Graffiti wall

Shooting Schedule #2

Shootimg schedule #2

Digipack Feedback

After producing our first draft of the digipack, we received some feedback on ways in which we can improve it and also details that people liked about it.

Some positives of the digipack were:
Colour scheme works with the images on the digipack although the top left and top right pictures are too empty
Enough representation of the artist
Level 3
Colour scheme is good as it all links
The rainbow is used on all of the panels which is subtle but effective and makes them link
Level 3 - 8 marks
Like the images used as it fits with the genre and the artists image
The dark image used shows us clearly what genre they are trying to portray as a lot of rap music is dark and sinister
Front cover and song list is good
Whole digipak is a strong theme and artist genre is clear
6 marks - 1/3 of your digipak is a 9 but others let it down
DNA strands link with his album title
Personal identity is the theme
Level 3 - 8 marks
The title on the album is good, but doesn't necessarily match the genre
Level 3 - 7 marks
Photography is good with good editing to make the photos look better and look more professional
Good strong colour scheme looks professional
Clear artist image

Some constructive feedback was:
Text is good but the bottom left might look better if it went out wider to the sides of the frame
top left and right are too plain (why are panel 1&3 the same?)/ too simple
The font on the back cover doesn't fit with genre. Make this page and 'special thanks' page the same font to make the link clear
Don't agree with font used as it doesn't give off an urban feel to it more of a rock/indie feel
Colour is dark which makes it hard to outline the artist (are dull and boring)
Doesn't like the CD image, looks ok for genre of music
Level 2 - 4 marks
The back cover looks squashed
DNA is basic
No information on the spines
Special thanks is too long
Looks like pop genre
Level 2 - 6 marks
Only one picture of the artist, could use another
Level 2 - 5 marks

Creation of Merchandise

To create the majority of our merchandise I used Vistaprint. It is a website primarily for business cards but it also allows you to make branded merchandise such as t-shirts and bags. The built in website software makes it easy to add logos and images to clothing and other items.

Vistaprint

Example of t-shirt creation

Shooting Schedule #1

1st filming schedule

Above is our shooting schedule for which we have filled in to keep track of the shots we plan to shoot and when we plan to shoot. By doing this we can ensure that we all know which shots we want to shoot and when.

Website Feedback Scores

This is the feedback we have been given on our website. Other media students gave us an overall score and points to improve and what is good so far. Some of the suggested improvements I will add to the website.

Summary of our website feedback