RB - Digipak so far...

I've pretty much finished the digipak, all that's left to do now is print and assemble it. I have used all my own images except from one, which is Jakes. The logo that says 'chew lips' was taken from the bands website however I have edited it on photoshop substantially, enough to make it look like a new image, so technically all I have really used is a font. Below is the digipak set out in its template, and the final poster that will accompany the digipak, plus screenshots from photoshop.

Something extra I thought of whilst creating the digipak was on the back of the digipak where you have the barcode, track names, websites, etc was to create a QR (quick response) code. This, when scanned by smartphones will link you to a website of our choice, in this case it will link to the blog. Evidence of this below:

JD - Rough Cut #2

I completed the second full length rough cut in the lesson yesterday. The studio shots of Tina really helped to bring the whole video together and gave more continuity to the whole video as it linked the shots of the instruments with the rest of the video.
We still have to film the flour shot for near the beginning of the video but are undecided whether or not to still do it. there are also still a couple of shots that aren't properly synced.
We were planning on getting some feedback yesterday, but uploading the video didn't go too well and are hoping to get this done today.

Feedback:

Did you enjoy the video and why?

Bright colours, use of pullback focus, fast cutting rate

Does it stand up to repeated viewings?

Yes, due to the fast cutting rate and interesting locations/colours

How is the genre of the track apparent through the video?

Colours, empty urban spaces, has an electro feel in a subtle way

How do you percieve the artist/band?

Edgy, alternative, British

Name one shot you liked and why.

Foot splashing, sky transition, red performance shots

Name one area that could be improved.

Less repeated shots, link girl and boy together, some syncing is out.

SA - Video Progress and Timeline

On Thursday the 25th I completed the vast majority of our music video. There is only about 20 seconds to finish off and sync, although there is footage in that time space. I should be able to finish the whole video by the end of the week, and then that allows us to get some more feedback from the class and then leaves us time to change bits and tweak certain areas in order to produce a final music video.

This is a our timeline which helped us to plan our editing, shooting and print work construction etc:

JD - Looking at a Music Video

We were advised to look back at music videos again so that we didn't get lost in the editing and footage of our own videos. Looking at other music videos from our genre would help us to see again what a music video from our genre should look like.

I chose this video as it really shows the grimey side to drum and bass and almost shows the roots of drum and bass as it was formed in a very 'underground' environment in terms of music. The use of the slow motion and flour in this video is something that we were actually planning on doing and shows how effective it would have been, but we ended up deciding to not do it as it would make too much of a mess in the locations we would do it.

RB - contribution so far...

-Digi-pack mock, including poster and booklet.
-Record smashing shoot.
-Helped edit the video after the first rough cut.
-Tested certain shots at home (speaker shots).
-Filmed the flour drop shot
-Filmed the flour on drum shot.
-Filmed the flame shot.
-Final Digi-pak prototype

JD - Completed Tasks

So far in the production I have done:

- 2 minute rough cut
- Hastings shoots
- Drama studio shoots:
+ Instruments
+ With Tina
- Speaker shots
- Other half page advert
- Took photographs for Digipak

RB - The record smashing shoot.

During a lesson last week we shot the record smashing sequences. we started off in the studio but the records wouldn't smash on the wooden floor, so we went outside to smash them on concrete :).  Trying to smash the records proved quite difficult as they were very plastic-y so trying to throw them hard enough and at the right angle accurately was quite hard, but we got it done. Here are some pictures from the shoot:

SA - Looking at a Music Video

At this point of production, we were advised to look back at a music video that appeals to us and just look at the bigger picture of what a music video should be and look like. When producing and editing our own video, it is easy to get lost in your own footage and lose what the overall picture of the video should conform to, or not if applicable.

• I looked around for a music video that broke with the normal conventions of a music video because our genre doesn't usually make music videos, although more are coming through nowadays.
• I found 'Power - Kanye West' and this is completely unconventional as a music video, it is a continuous slow pan outwards with extreme CGI and super slow-motion. It has Kanye west in the middle looking straight at the camera and there is rapping over the top but his mouth in the video never moves and neither does his body.
• The video is only 1:42 minutes long making it extremely short as a music video, also the super slow motion and high definition of the video makes it a really rich video to watch.
• Below is the video:

SA - My Completed Tasks in Production

So far in the production I have done:
- The Hastings Shoot
- The Drama Studio Shoots:
1. instruments
2. with Tina
- The Record Smash Shoot (at school)
- One of the half-page adverts for a magazine
- Co-edited with Jake

JD - Studio Shoot #2

Overall I feel that this shoot went very well.

- We used mainly red light to get the same feel as the shots with the intrumetns and it helped to link them together.

- We directed Tina, our singer, to show more emotion in her singing due to the feedback we got form our rough cut.

- When we first started shooting we were using only the red light at full power, but after a few shots we found that this created very stark shadows under the eyes, so we got Tina to move backwards so the light was more infront of her than above her. We also reduced the power of the red light and turned a white light on that was facing her to help eliminate the shadows.

- We could have tried to use different coloured lights rather than just red to give a variation through the video.

Feedback #8

posts? Nothing for a week?

SA - Further Mag Advert Development and Final Advert

Here is the further development of my magazine advert for our music track.
Starting from the top left the progression goes across and down.

I have changed the font style and position, and added the song name. I also added both record labels to the bottom left of the advert to make it seem more professional, also I have added the websites of the bands and the main record label. These little details will make the advert more realistic and make it look like it could appear in a music magazine.

I have also turned up the contrast of the background so there are darker areas that create a more dramatic look to the advert, I felt the original image lacked a certain look.

THIS IS THE FINAL ADVERT:

RB - Mock Digipak write up.

These images are of my mock digipak. I used images that are all similar to each other and edited them on photoshop to make them black and white and I blurred them abit using gaussian blur. I also used photoshop to create and arrange the images in the correct orders. I then used a fullsize template to arrange the images in such a way that allows me to fold it up to create the main digipak without cutting any of it. In the final digipack I will be using my own images and one or two images from either Sam or Jake due to different cameras/lenses needed to create a certain effect.

The only problem I have found with creating this digipack is trying to get the booklet to be the right size after it has been printed, cut and folded. With the final digipak the booklet will be alot bigger. The correct size will be worked in the coming week.

The material the digipack will be printed on will be thick card to closely resemble existing digipaks and to make it seem as realistic as possible. I will also be using one of the plastic disc trays in the digipak to make it seem more professional. This is the final layout and design before making the actual digipak.

JD - Rough Cut #1 (With Feedback)

After showing our 2 minute rough cut to the class the feedback we got was extremely helpful.

Strong Points:
- Good Syncing
- Variety of shots
- Bright colour work well

Weaker Points:
- Loud points of vocals not carried over in performance
- Need a variey of close ups
- Camera movements need to be faster
- Not enough first person mode of address

SA - Further Mag Advert Development

- After looking at the way the first advert was panning out, I decided that it didn't really work , and there was too much difference in the band name and the re-mixers name. I also felt that the graffiti wasn't going to work very well.

- So I decided to make the advert a half page advert, that would still appear in 'Mixmag'.

- The measurements would now be 23cm wide and 15cm long.

SA - Mag Advert Development

After the initial sketches I created the document on Photoshop, with the measurements on 23cm wide and 30cm long. I made a dark background and found the 'Chew Lips' graphic and cut it out, fitting it onto the white circle and then creating the 'Karen' text and picked the colour from the wood texture of the graphic.

I then used the 'extrude' filter on the 'chew lips' graphic, which created the block looking texture on the letters. I then added the 'Netsky' text and the graffiti photo at the bottom. I faded it the photo into the black background using the rubber tool and then moved the text so it was on the line of the join of the two sections.

SA - Rough Sketch for Advert

This is a rough outline of an idea for my magazine advertisement that would appear in 'Mixmag'. I have used light trails as a main feature of the advert and the name of the original band, name of song and the remix artist.

The measurements of 'Mixmag' are 23cm wide and 30cm long, this sketch isn't to scale. When I create a mock up of the advert it will be the right size and there will be colours and more refined designs and font.

RB - Advert Analysis

This is a print ad for the album 'Crazy Itch Radio' by Basement Jaxx. The reading path in this ad start with the eye being drawn to the fairly odd radio-dog and then, because you look where the dog is looking, you move up the the band name, Basement Jaxx. Then you jump down to the text underneath the image which is the album name 'Crazy Itch Radio' followed by the information about the album. This reading path lets the reader spend more time looking at the ad and taking in more information about it, whilst keeping it simple at the same time.

The main linguistic sign in this advert is the band name, 'Basement Jaxx'. This helps us to identify the band and allows fans of the band to instantly recognise what the ad is about. The second linguistic sign is the album name 'Crazy Itch Radio' which in a way lets the reader get an idea of what type of music it is (alternative pop)

and is also connected to the main image of the ad. This title also constructs the band image as quirky and alternative.

Iconic signs in this advert are the font of the band name. It is futuristic looking which relates to the bands electro/dance subgenre. This helps create the bands image and will help people looking at the advert establish the thype of music the band create, in a short period of time. A second iconic sign is the font of the album name, its it quite generic but at the same time feels different to normal basic fonts, this could connote the bands sound is different but in some way feels like you know what to expect.

Another iconic sign is the colours of the ad. They are very bright and flourescent which could connote the bands electro/dance subgenre once again.

These signs help to construct the bands image by showing thier alternative/electronic/pop sound and signifies a youthful feel with the use of bright colours and quirky/random images.

Feedback #7

Rob - ad analysis from lunchtime? Also - as a group, post on editing progress / digipak etc

JD - Studio Shoot #1

- On Thursday we shot in the drama studio for the instrument shots we had storyboarded.
- We were able to experiment with the lighting to get exactly what we wanted. The shoot went well and the few shots that we managed to get into the edit and sync looked good and fitted in well.
- We may do another shoot in the drama studio with a dslr to get some more depth of field based shots.
- When we were playing the snare niether of us play the drums, so it took a while to get the beat right.
- When we were shooting there were points where I forgot about my shadow from the studio lights, so we had to repeat quite a lot of the shots.

JD - Hastings Shoot #2

- Weather turned out great and we feel that we got all the shots we need for the performance parts of our video. We also got some more slow motion shots with robs camera, experimenting with different frame rates.
- We found that the really high frame rates (240fps for example) began to loose quality, so we did the shots on 60fps and 240fps to see which come out best in the video.
- We didn't look at our story board at all during the shoot. This could have been because we went to Hastings the week before to practice and check the locations so we already knew what we were doing.
- After doing the shots we needed we explored Hastings a little further and found a new location next to the Childrens Library
- One of the locations we had chosen was infront of a garage, but when we first went there it was open with a car infornt of it so we had to go to a different location and hope that it was down when we went back, which luckily it was.

Feedback #6

Jake / Rob - ad analysis?

Feedback #5

Well done for completing the animatic to deadline. It is great to finally see how you are structuring the video.

I like the overall concept and feel - my comments are as follows:
1. It is all riding on a compelling performance from vocalist - make sure you clearly direct her and show her the animatic so that she has a sense of how close up the shots will be and can perform accordingly

2. I know the "slo-mo" style is a key part - however the track's beat really will demand a fast cutting rate in places. Particularly in opening 20 secs I think. Your animatic doesn't reflect that fast pased cutting rate - there definitely needs to be some montage sequences - think about the video with the birds eye of the decks.

Good luck this weekend _ I know JF was unexpectedly away on Friday; I hope you have all the equipment you need

SA, JD - Animatic with some footage

SA - Deconstructing Print Media (Advertisement)

This is a magazine advertisement that i found in 'Kerrang', although this is not the genre of music our track is associated with, i thought this advert suits the abstract/simplistic element of the track and original artist.

- The layout of the advert conforms to the Rule of Thirds with the band name covering the two top of points of the thirds. This draws your eye to the band name straight away and then your eye runs down the advert reading the album title and then the other information that is present on the advert, this reading path helps someone to take in all the information in a very short space of time.

- The first main linguistic sign is the band name, 'Kids in Glass Houses', helps us to identify the band, and can draw a fan to the advert. The second linguistic sign is the album name, 'Dirt'. This connotes teenage rebellion, nature and a sense of fun and youth.

- One of the iconic signs in the advert is the font of the band name, this is a block font that is coloured in a brown/red. It is a sans serif font with a slight eroded effect applied to it, this shows the band as being youthful and quirky as the font is quite unusual. The second iconic sign is the font of the album name, which has an ironic pattern applied to it. The flowery pattern on the word 'dirt' is an oxymoron and shows the band as quirky, and indie. Also the big, bold font adds to the overall look of the advert.

- Another iconic sign in the advert is the colours, which appear to be quite feminine with the pinks and light colours, however this style of graphic can now sometimes be associated with indie bands and the quirky/abstract look to band images. It shows the metro-sexual attitude towards males that can be represented with feminine iconography.

- The sum of all these signs creates the bands image to be one of indie/rock band. The font and colours of the advert represent the band as youthful, and not taking things too seriously. The flowers and light colours connote nature and the outdoors, yet the name of the band suggests something contrasting this. Although the band image would fit the random name they have, and this could be the reason for the quite avant garde design for the magazine advertisement.

- The ideological discourse present in the advertisement would most likely be youth and a feminine aspect. Although these ideologies are represented, the band's random image and name don't really match it, creating an overall band image of quite a random and indie feel. This also helps to explain the indexical signs that the audience would follow from this band. the audience would probably have the same avant garde and indie style that the band image shows.

SA - Researching Magazine Adverts in 'MixMag'

• After looking at the various music magazines that are popular today, I have come to the conclusion that our track would most probably be promoted in 'MixMag', which is "The Worlds Largest Dance Music and Clubbing Magazine". I think this style of magazine would suit our music track's electric/dnb genre and i can't see it fitting into any of the other popular music magazines.
• I bought the November issue of MixMag and flicked through to see some of the artist adverts, I found that a lot of them were for live shows. Some take up whole pages, whereas some are half pages or quarter pages. The bigger the artist the bigger the advertisement seems to be the key.
• The style of the advertisements in the magazine are quite simple designs with not too much of a busy pattern surrounding the text. In terms of text, it also seems to be quite simple.

Below are some examples of magazine advertisements I scanned in from Mixmag magazine: