Ancillary Task 1 - Israel Kamakawiwoʻole Previous Album Covers

Today I researched Isael Kamakawiwo'ole's previous album covers. I chose to do this as I believe it will help me with the creation of my digipack as I can base it on the style of his previous covers.
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's album covers have a strong sense of nature imagery. Furthermore, mostly all of them feature bright colours. Therefore when I take a picture for the front of my digipack I will make sure it features an aspect of nature and also that it involves vibrant colours.Each album cover also features the letters 'IZ'. I will make sure my album cover features these letters as they are obviously a trademark of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
Israel himself is always in the picture on the front of his albums. However, as he has such a distinctive look he will be very hard for me to represent. Therefore my album cover will not be able to feature a person acting as Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

Ancillary Task 1 - CD Digipack

Digipacks are a type of CD packaging made out of card or other heavy paper/cardboard material. Digipacks can open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one flap of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the middle. Usually, the part of the digipack that holds the CD is made of plastic like a traditional jewel case CD. The plastic part is just attached to the paper background.

MeadWestvaco first created digipacks and their product 'Digi-Pak', is trademarked. However, as the idea became more popular and began to be used by more manufacturers, the term "digipack" came to be used to describe all soft CD packaging.

Pros of digipacks

They look attractive which is why many bands and labels like to use them. The three section digipack sleeves opens up more design options because there is more room.

Digipacks don't crack like jewel cases do.

Digipacks can be more environmentally friendly than jewel cases because they can be made of recycled paper.

Cons of Digipacks
If the teeth of the tray breaks in a digipack the CD will fall out as unlike jewel cases there is nothing to hold it in.

Whilst they don't crack like jewel cases they will rip and eventually the paper will peel apart and separate.

There is not much protection in digipacks as the outer layer is made out of paper so the teeth that hold the CD in place crack and fall out easily.

Lyrical Analysis

Brief Analysis of an Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Music Video

Today I decided to analyse the video of Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole so I could then see if they were any key aspects of the video I should apply to my own.



The first thing I noticed about the music video was how there is a strong sense of nature imagery throughout. There are many clips of the ocean or the beach or even rainbows throughout. Obviously nature was very important to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and his videos and I shall try and include some in my own video.


Another key part of the video was how Israel himself was in it, miming along to the lyrics whilst playing the ukulele. There was a strong relationship between the artist and the video and I hope to reconstruct this in my own. However, due to having such a distinctive look I will not be able to cast anyone who looks like Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.


There was also a strong sense of people enjoying themselves throughout the video, it is very much a feel good video. I hope to capture this positivity in my own video.



Finally, one of the last things I noticed in the video was how there was a wide variety of age groups in the video. I believe this is because Israel is liked by such a wide age group of people and I will try my best to include a range of ages in my own music video.

Audience Research

Today I thought about the type of audience Israel Kamakawiwo'ole would appeal to. After much consideration I have decided that he appeals to anyone over the age of 16. I have decided that generally he will not appeal to anyone below 16 as he is simply not mainstream enough and when you are that age, generally mainstream music is what appeals the most. However, I believe that Israel Kamakawiwo'ole appeals to a wide range of people which is why the target audience I have settled on is so broad.

Genre Research

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's genre of music is generally described as pop/easy listening.

History of Easy Listening

The name "Easy Listening" was coined in 1965 by Claude Hall, radio-tv editor of Billboard Magazine to describe the sound of WPIX-FM.

Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1960s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR (middle-of-the-road) music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music and space age pop genres.

Easy listening is broad and may include instrumental arrangements of popular music designed for playing in shopping centers, department stores, telephone systems (while the caller is on hold) cruise ships, airports, doctors' and dentists' offices, and elevators. The term is also frequently applied as a generic (and often derogatory) term for any form of easy listening smooth jazz, or middle of the road music.

History of Pop

Pop Music is a type of music genre. Pop music was developed in the mid 1950s as a softer option to Rock and Roll. The focal point of Pop Music was the Youth Market, through short and basic Love songs. Whilst these simple features of the genre have stayed constant, pop music started to emerge influences from different forms of popular music.
Mostly borrowing the development of Rock music and using the key technological conventions to produce new Variations of present Themes.

Detailed Artist Research

Israel "IZ" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997) was a Hawaiian musician.
He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993. His medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and commercials.
Through his ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres (such as jazz and reggae), Kamakawiwoʻole remains one of the major influences in Hawaiian music over the course of 15 years.

Kamakawiwoʻole's musical career began when he formed the musical group Makaha Sons of Niʻihau with brother Skippy plus Louis "Moon" Kauakahi, Sam Gray and Jerome Koko. They recorded No Kristo in 1976 and released four more albums, including Kahea O Keale, Keala, Makaha Sons Of Niʻihau and Mahalo Ke Akua, before Skippy died of a heart attack in 1982. The group became Hawaii's most popular traditional group with breakout albums 1984's Puana Hou Me Ke Aloha and its follow-up, 1986's Hoʻola. Kamakawiwoʻole's last recorded album with the group was 1991's Hoʻoluana. It remains the group's top-selling CD.

In 1990, Kamakawiwoʻole released his first solo album Ka Ano, which won awards for Contemporary Album of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts (HARA). Facing Future was released in 1993 by The Mountain Apple Company. It featured his most popular song, the medley "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World", along with "Hawaiʻi 78", "White Sandy Beach of Hawaiʻi", "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man", and "Kaulana Kawaihae". Facing Future debuted at #25 on Billboard Magazine's Top Pop Catalogue chart. On October 26, 2005, "Facing Future" became Hawaii's first certified platinum album, selling more than a million CDs in the United States. On July 21, 2006, BBC Radio 1 announced that "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World(True Dreams)" would be released as a single in America.

Kamakawiwoʻole was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian Independence, both through his lyrics, which often stated the case for independence directly, and his life.

In 1997, Kamakawiwoʻole was again honored by HARA at the Annual Nā Hōkū Hanohano awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Favorite Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Island Contemporary Album of the Year. He watched the awards ceremony from a hospital room.

Alone in Iz World (2001) debuted at #1 on Billboard's World Chart and #135 on Billboard's Top 200, #13 on the Top Independent Albums Chart, and #15 on the Top Internet Album Sales charts

Throughout his life, Kamakawiwoʻole was obese and at one point carried 757 pounds (343 kg; 54.1 st) on his 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) frame. He endured several hospitalizations because of problems caused by his weight. At age 38, he died of weight-related respiratory illnesson June 26, 1997.




Discography
Albums
Ka ʻAnoʻi (1990)
Facing Future (1993)
E Ala E (1995)
N Dis Life (1996)
Iz in Concert: The Man and His Music (1998)
Alone in Iz World (2001)
Wonderful World (2007)
Over the Rainbow (2010)

The song 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World' is off the album 'Facing Future'.

Changing My Song Choice

After much careful consideration I have decided to change my song choice. This is because 'Just The Way You Are' has had a surge in popularity which means the video is well recognised. A well known video is a con as it means people will compare my video to the original as it is engraved in their minds.

New Song Choice

Artist - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Song Title - Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World
Running Time - 4:38

I have chosen this song because it is timeless so I will not tire of it and not many people are aware of the video or if there even is one.