Evaluation

Drafting and Planning: Final Digipak

Here is my final Digipak.

To improve from my draft, I have made the Island records logo on the back cover smaller and this allowed me to include more record companies. I also managed to fill in the little side part with album details in black so that it was coherent with the rest of the album design rather than white.

Drafting and Planning: Final Magazine Advertisement

Here is my final advertisement.

I followed the advice I recieved from my draft and this has improved my work greatly as the layout much better and is more informative. I also decided to add the bands website too so that there is another opportunity to purchase the album.

Drafting and Planning: Final Music Video

Here is my final music video:

Target Audience: Response to Digipak Advert

After posting my draft magazine poster, I have received some feedback on it. 

This feedback is extremely helpful as it will make my advert look more realistic and will also make it look less plain, which was one of my main concerns. 

Target Audience: Response To Complete Digipak

As well as getting feedback from my post on blogger, I also posted my digipak, including the disc, onto Twitter to see what people thought. 

This feedback is extremely encouraging and these small improvements will be made as I want my work to be the best it can. 

Drafting and Planning: Digipak Poster

Here is the first draft of my digipak poster: 

Drafting and Planning: Draft Digipak

Here is the draft of my digipak as a whole:

Back and Front covers

Inner tray

Target Audience: Response to Digipak

After posting my draft digipak front and back, I received some feedback. 

 

These comments are really nice and are encouraging as they show that my ideas are interesting to others and make people ask questions. 

Drafting and Planning: Magazine Ad Plan

Here is the plan of my magazine ad. I plan to use blocks to separate the text from the album cover so that there is a distinct attraction to the album and it is clear who it is by. On my ad, I plan to only use the image of the cover rather than having it with the text on, so that it's not repetitive and looks silly. I plan to use black and blue as the main colour scheme so that it is coherent with the album cover too. 

Research Into Similar Products: Magazine Ads

As well as looking at CD ads, I have also looked at adverts for products such as drinks. This advertisement for Dr Pepper Cherry has a layout which I quite like. The text is featured above and below the product with the name of it in bold. This draws immediately draws attention to what the product is. The coupon is also a nice idea, however this feature is irrelevant to my own poster as CD adverts do not use them. It also uses a distinct colour scheme that matches the product itself which keeps it coherent. 

I have also looked at a cornflakes ad. The way in which this has been laid out is also intriguing. All of the text has been placed beneath the image in a white box. I like this as the image is a thing in itself, making it the first thing you see and the most important thing. It also creates space specifically the product information which can be used on my own poster. 

Target Audience: Response to Music Video

After posting the first draft of my music video onto YouTube, I recieved some comments on what people thought of it.

This feedback is really encouraging as my video has been greatly recieved. It's very nice too as I was concerned about the reception of the use of the blue filter but everyone has liked it which is very reassuring.

Drafting and Planning: Front and Back of Digipak

Here is my draft of the front and back covers of my digipak. The photo on the left is the front cover and the photo on the right is the back. 

I am still yet to include the production details but I plan to include them underneath the track listing on the back cover. 

Drafting and Planning: First Draft of Music Video

Here is the first draft of my music video. However it is missing 20 seconds of flashbacks at the end but this is the main drift of what my music video is to be. 

Research Into Similar Products/Drafting and Planning: New Order Editing

New Order recently released a video for their new single 'Singularity' and was very intrigued by some of the editing styles that I saw. The one that I liked the most was the one below: 




The way in which it flicks at a fast pace between the two clips is something I find very interesting and could be included during the flashing sequence to show the varying emotions between the two people. 

I have taken some shots of my actress showing three states of emotion. I have done this to show the varying emotions shown within the relationship and how it begins to deteriorate. I plan to use these shots during each flash as my actor leaves the blanket. 

Drafting and Planning: Re-shoot Footgage

I have now filmed my final set of footage for my music video. I really feel that this is better than the footage I previously lost as the shots are brighter and have more feeling in them. 

Rather than film these tracking shots separately like I have done in the past, I have filmed it as one continuous shot, which I feel is much better as it looks more natural and gives me the chance to break up the shot as much as I would like. 

Research Into Similar Prodcuts: Inner Tray

I have been looking at my CD collection again for ideas on how the inner tray can look and how it can still be consistent with the rest of the album.

The first two CD's from my previous post (Pretty Hate Machine & Plans) both have black trays and so that could be an option for my own inner tray as there doesn't have to be a design. I could use a different colour rather than black also.

 The inner tray used in Arcade Fire's 'Neon Bible' is quite interesting. It uses a series of different photographs in a reel type layout. It also adopts the colour scheme uses throughout the album design too. I really like this as it's interesting and give you various different things to look at.

The inner cover for The Cure's 'Pornography' album is one of my favourites and is an idea that I am considering adopting for my own. It features lyrics to two of the songs typed out in a typewriter style, on a red background which matches the colour scheme of the album design. I really like this idea as it reflects the importance of the lyrics to this album and is an interesting design.

Oasis use the same photo as the album cover for the inner tray of '(What's the Story) Morning Glory.' This is an idea I hadn't thought of before and is a cool way of keeping the album design consistent and simple.

Research Into Similar Products: Digipak Disc

To get a feel for what kind of designs bands use for their album trays, I have looked at the discs of some of the Cd's that I own to see what they have done.

For the album 'Plans' by Death Cab For Cutie, the design is rather simple. There is only the name of the album included on this as well as some record company information. This is quite a nice design as it simple and fits in nicely with the colour scheme of the rest of the album design.

 The Nine Inch Nails tray for 'Pretty Hate Machine' is quite different from the Death Cab For Cutie one. This tray uses the same bright colours featured on the rest of the album design and features the track listing as well as the band name and album title. This is quite a nice design as it makes the track listing really clear and easy to find, especially as it's featured on the back cover too.

'The Downward Spiral', also by Nine Inch Nails, is rather interesting. It uses a spiral pattern which fits with the title of the album. However it features very little information on it, not even the album name. This simplistic design is nice as it doesn't detract attention from the rest of the art used for the album and is still coherent too.

I also decided to look at how the design for the inner tray of a double album would look. For this I looked at The Smashing Pumpkins 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' album. The two designs for the disk mirror the names of each disk. The first disc is named 'dawn to dusk' and features a happy face with bright colours to reflect this. The second disc is named 'Twilight to Starlight' which features a sad face with blue colours to reflect the melancholy mood. Both of these designs are in keeping with the designs of the rest of the album and are abstract and eye-catching. They also feature only the title of the disc so keeps the focus on the images.

Research Into Similar Products: Album Title & Album Covers

After looking at various different album covers, I have come to realise that the album title is not always included on the cover. Some album covers only feature the band name which could offer me a different approach for my album layout. 
Some of the most memorable albums do not feature the album name, and some do not even feature the band name, such as Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures. This gives full attention to the image featured on the cover which could add to the album covers memorability. 

There are also many albums that feature only the band name. Albums like Van Halen's 1984 is such an album. The cover is very well known and by only featuring the band name, it associates the memorable image with the band. 

 

However, Bombay Bicycle Club on their albums always include both album name and band name on their albums, so to keep to their philosophy, I will include both. 

To include both features on the album title, I could use a similar layout to that used by the Talking Heads in which they use blocks. I really like this layout as it offers a lot of attention for the main photo of the cover. 

Research Into Similar Products / Drafting and Planning: More Reshoots

After losing the footage on my SD card, I now have to reshoot the latest footage that I had acquired. Despite how unfortunate this is, this is has given me the chance to reflect on my footage and how I can do it better next time.
In this time I have realised that the tracking sequence I intended to have wouldn't actually look right when put together.

Therefore I have decided that to make it work better, I will include some tracking shots of the feet walking towards the camera as well as some shots of objects that could signify decay. For this shot I could use stuff such as dying flowers or dandelions to show something that was once beautiful which is now gone. This kind of thing has been done in various music videos such as Lana Del Rey's latest music video 'Freak'.




I could also use this idea throughout the rest of my video too to break up some of the shots and make it less concentrated on the two actors and appreciate the surroundings a bit more, as well as adding a bit of variety in what you see to the video.

Drafting and Planning: Flashback Footage

My actors have filmed some more footage on their trip to Ikea. This was a nice idea as it is rather romantic and corresponds to the movie '500 Days Of Summer,' therefore keeps the romantic feel to the flashback section. I like these videos as they are cute and natural. 

Research Into Similar Products: Single Cover - Saint Raymond

Saint Raymond released his track 'Come Back To You' as a single and the single cover is very nice. It offers an interesting text placement and use of colour. 

I really like how the photo is zoomed in and rather close up as it shows the closeness between the people involved. A feature that I was planning to use on my own album cover has been used as a blue filter has been used with this image. I really like this blue as it is has a hint of green in it, therefore making it a more interesting choice. The placement of the text on this cover is something I had not considered. By placing it in the middle, it is clear who and what the track is and the white font compliments the blue filter nicely. From this, I have decided to use a white font as it is clear and has been it evident to me, that it would compliment a blue filter which is what I planned to use. 

Reseach Into Similar Products: Album Back Cover Layout - Talking Heads

After looking at a few Talking Heads albums, I have seen a layout that I quite like. The back of the album 'Remain In Light' is something that really appeals to me and could definitely work for me.

The way in which the band name and track listing both have their own little block is something I quite like. It makes it clear who the album is by and makes the photo used memorable. Therefore the image is not clouded with text and spoiled by it. I will adopt a similar layout for my own album as I find this very appealing and gives the image it's own space.

Research Into Similar Products: Magazine Advert - Manic Street Preachers

Now that I have taken the photos and have started to put together my digipak, I have decided to start looking at how I can layout my advertisement. An advertisement that really stuck out to me was one for Manic Street Preachers.

I really like this advert as the album cover itself, as well as the title and band name, take up the majority of the space on this poster, therefore it's clear what is being advertised. It's also really consistent when looking at the colour scheme, as even the blue/green colour used on one line of text is present in the image used. All the text featured is also brief and too the point and even features a place where you can buy the album from.

When making my own, I think that I will use a similar layout as I feel it is really clear as to what is being sold and looks coherent.

Target Audience: Response to Editing

After posting the screenshots of the different types of editing I have done, my target audience have fed back to me how they feel about it.

This is also really encouraging as it means that my use of editing is interesting, which is what I was aiming for, as well as showing the distance between the two characters. These ideas have been well-recieved and therefore means that I am along the right path.

Target Audience: Response to Colours

After recieving feedback on my use of the colour blue, I have adjusted it to be more suitable, and since, have recieved feedback from my target audience on these improvements. 

It's really encouraging and pleasing to know that the improvements have been successful and well recieved as well as putting across the emotion I aim to achieve.

Drafting and Planning: Blue Effect

After receiving feedback on my use of effects from my target audience, I decided to act on the criticisms and make the blue less obvious. 

I decided to make the blue lighter so that it was more subtle, and used these settings to do so:

I like this blue more than the last as it isn't so strong, and so can show the weakness of their relationship now and has a sadder connotation to it.  

Drafting and Planning: Editing

As I have began the editing process, there are a few things that I have chosen to do. I have decided to overlay one of the flashback clips over the top of the original footage. I have done this to match the lyric 'our flowers fading.' I have done this to show how the past romance between them is fading. 

I also used a cross fade to make the footage flash up on the screen. I did this to show the various times that they have left each other behind and create a little sadness. 

I like these ideas as they are interesting to watch. None of these ideas were planned either so this is extra satisfying. 

Drafting and Planning: More Flashback Footage

My actors have filmed more footage of themselves doing 'coupley' things. I like these videos a lot as they are natural and don't seem forced. These would be really good when used in short bursts and have the effect I am aiming for. 

Drafting and Planning: Extra and Re-shot Footage

Today I have collected the last bits of footage I need for my music video. I have experimented with a few extra shot types, such as a low angle shot, to see how it looks. Due to weather difficulties, I have not been able to go through with my stop motion idea and so have only shot video footage. 




In editing, some of the longer videos will be cropped for just the best snippets, as some of the footage in some videos are not relevant.

Research Into Similar Products: David Bowie

To mark the release of his new album and also, sadly his death (R.I.P), David Bowie released the video for the track 'Lazarus.' This video is quite emotional and inspirational and has inspired me to try some new things when I reshoot some footage.

One thing that gripped me with this video is the use of the tracking shot that goes around the bed. I find this a very interesting shot as it shows everything about Bowie in his situation and the slow pace makes it rather eerie.



This is a shot that I would like to encorporate into my own video, only at a slightly faster pace. A good place to use this would be during the blanket scene, so I will attempt this shot and evaluate which shot I think is better.

Research Into Similar Products: Editings - All Tvvins

I've been considering ways to make my video seem a little more interesting and a way I thought I could do this is through the editing. After watching the video for 'Thank You' by All Tvvins, I really began to adore the idea of overlapping videos.



I really like this type of editing and if I were to use this type of editing in my own video, it could reflect how the couples closeness is a distant memory and only faintly there now. I may use them in clips such as these:






 

I could have a tracking shot of my actress overlapped with this to create this sort of emotion.

Target Audience: Effects

After uploading some of the effects that I have decided to use in my music video, a few members of my target audience have commented on them.

The fact that these commenter's like my choice of effects as it is very reassuring. It means that the aesthetic I'm going for has been achieved and accepted. These commenter's have also picked up on how these effects compliment the actors feelings, which is reassuring as it means that the emotion is being put across effectively and isn't too hard to see.

However, I recieved a comment which has been quite useful.

This may be because the blue is quite obvious and dominating. Maybe to make it seem more professional, I could tone it down a bit so it's not so 'in your face.'

These comments have been very useful and the mixed reactions have made me take a step back and realise how I can make it look better.

Drafting and Planning: Digipak Cover Effects

To give myself a rough idea of how I would like my front cover to look, I have used an app on my phone called 'VSCOCAM,' which edits photos. By doing this, I now know for definite, what effects I would like to use for the rest of the images for my album. The only problem is, is that by using the phone app, the photo quality is degraded and so I need to figure a way to create a similar effect using a program such as PagePlus.

I also took screenshots of the effects I combined and how much of each I used to create the effect above.

Target Audience: Stop Motion

After uploading my attempts at stop motion, I recieved some positive comments from this.

These comments are very comforting as they confirm that using stop motion would go down well with my target audience and would be greatly received.

Research Into Similar Products: Lykke Li

As I am going to do some extra filming for my video, I have been looking at different videos for more ideas as to what I can include. Whilst looking I stumbled across Lykke Li's video for 'I Follow Rivers' which includes a few ideas I quite enjoy.
The first being the idea of using a tracking establishing shot. I like this as it's much more interesting than a still establishing shot and, in this video in particular, keeps the action going rather than stopping still completely. The way in which it fades into the next shot also keeps the action going. This is something I will definitely include in my own video as I can include this just before the tracking shot in which my actress touches the leaves in passing.



Towards the end of the video, there's a shot of the two characters in the video reuniting and the content is shown to be quite intimate. Both seem desperate to be close and together and this is something I could include in my own video - the idea of getting close together but nothing coming of it.