Photoshoot images

With some spare times on my hands today I decided to bring together all of the images taken at our photoshoot to show the range that were taken. Many of them did not get used in the digipack as we picked out the ones with the best focus and that best suited the image we were trying to give.
Below is a slideshow containing all of the images.

Digipack Design

I have been playing around with photoshop and starting to use the images we have to create a front and back cover.

By doing this I have come up with the following designs.

These will need to be discussed further with the group, however we now have the template to be working with.

FRONT COVER - The original image that was taken, the people looked too small so with careful cutting and re-colouring I have been able to lay one image over the other and make it even better. It has enabled me to place them onto the hat so that they are sitting at the front of it. I then played around with the text and decided to put the artist name as though it was written on the hat. I chose the colour blue for this to add more sky colour into the image and so that is subtly stood out from the black and green grass. The yellowy, beige font on the album name I decided to use as it made it stand out from the grass but kept the natural colour in the image.

BACK COVER - This image was enhanced as a group making the frost on the grass stand out more. From this I have then used a the same style font as on the front cover and the same colour to keep the continuity. The black panels down the sides I have kept simplistic as from studying other albums these tend to have the same font used on the front cover but the background to them is generally a block colour. I also added the barcode and the EMI logo for extra effect. The track names were given to us by the original artist.

Digipack: Thoughts for Inlays

In today's lesson, as a group we managed to put together an rough overall layout of the digipack inlay booklet - this included making it as a physical object to make it easier to visualise it as a completed component. We agreed that the inlay should be a booklet rather than a 'fold out' and that the centre page should include one larger photograph of the band together.

Following this work, I have come up with a complete plan of the digipack (as the one as a group was a draft so therefore it had empty pages that needed filling). This draft idea should cover all the neccessary content for the 7 pages of the inlay booklet. This is one idea for the content and layout of our inlay booket for our digipack:

I have centred it around the lyrics of the artist's songs (Grace has contacted the original artist to enquire as to whether we are able to use their lyrics and track names - I believe we should have about 10 or 11 as this is becoming a generic convention of all artists in the music industry, it is almost an audience expectation because it represents value for money). I believe the printing of lyrics in an inlay is becoming more and more prominent, possibly because it allows fans to be committed to a band and 'get closer' to them i.e. so they can start to build a following, the audience seek the band's stardom. It is an aspirational lifestyle. I have also incorparated the idea of a computerised image to indicate a continuous theme throughout the album.

I have also noted down the other typical content found in an inlay (besides photos of the band and lyrics to their songs) for instance: the band thankyous on their own and together (centre and right), the note about the publishing of the album and other notable contributions to the album e.g. mixed/recorded/lyrics/photography/artwork by (left) and band member roles (centre).

If we decide that the layout and design for the inlay is not appropriate, then hopefully we can use this as content for the back pages of the booklet.

Fonts

 Henry and I have been looking at certain fonts from the wbsite dafont.com
We like the section script as we feel that there are many possibilities within it that can be used.

Here are some examples fron the Script - brush sections:

There are many other sections as possibilities to look at including Fancy - Eroded (Birth of a Hero and Master Plan). There are also some under Script - Handwritten (Throw my hands in the air [Possible inlay], Luna Bar and Hand of Sean).

I (Grace) also have a CD with over 1000 different fonts which can be looked at and imported if any are liked. 

Meeting

When we met today we managed to discuss the following:

1. Photoshoot date and time for digipack - Wednesday 24th November 8.00am at Newport - Weather permitting and Sam permitting
2. Insert for digipack (including fonts and sizes) - We decided on the photos to include in the digipack insert and have discussed possible content for the other pages including lyrics and credits.
3. Photos that we need to take to include in digipack other than those from the video - We need to take a pamoramic image of the band and also some posed photos (poster pictures) as well as the front and back cover photos with the hat

We managed to put together an rough overall layout of the digipack inlay booklet - this included making it as a physical object to make it easier to visualise it as a completed component. We agreed that the inlay should be a booklet rather than a 'fold out' and that the centre page should include one larger photograph of the band together.

Front cover of insert same as album cover

First double page spread - we were thinking that this would consist of lyrics from the tracks and maybe a couple of images. We believe there should be about 7 tracks on this album as this is generally around the number that are on other new releases albums. We have emailed the original band to ask for some more track names and lyrics to save us some time in making them all up.

Middle double page spread - this would be a panaramic image of all the band members and down the sides would be an artistic design maybe including some iconography and some images that link with the names 'Said the Hatter' or 'Out of a Hat'.

Last double page spread - one page will contain the other track lyrics that were not displayed previous and the other page will contain credits with an image of a soundboard across the bottom - the credits will include things like record label and mixing e.t.c. This page should probably also include a small section about the label and who the band are signed to.

Back cover of insert - 4 images taken from the music video

Next Time

When we next meet I feel that we need to discuss the following:

1. Photoshoot date and time for digipack
2. Insert for digipack (including fonts and sizes)
3. Photos that we need to take to include in digipack other than those from the video
4. Magazine advert - layout and design and images which are going to be used

Digipack Designing

We have come up with a couple of images which we would like to try and create for our front and back cover. This has been done through much research and thought.
When looking we found that the front cover tends to be busy and have a lot going on partly to attract the audience through the use of the particular image and partly to give a message of whats to come inside. The back cover we found was much more simplistic in most cases, generally using the same location as the front however with only the use of one or two props (maybe the same as the front cover) but making them look less like the main feature. Partly the reason for this is because on the back the track names must be readable.
As we have the album name 'Out of a Hat' we wanted to make this image stand out and thought that by visually displaying it it would become more interesting to the audience. We have also taken the theme that has been running throughout our video of the artificial in a natural environment and tried to continue this on the front and back cover.


FRONT COVER
The connotations of this are that there is alot going on. The hat and band dominate the image. It gives the message that there is a lot that has gone into it and that there is a lot to come from the album. This links with the theme of the 'Mad Hatter'.
The sightlines in the image will all be different. A couple of the artists will be looking at the camera and the others will be looking at each other or at what they are holding/doing. The artists should be fairly straight faced as this is what creates mood and atmosphere in the image.
The colours in the image will be natural to link with the theme of artificial in a natural environment. They may be enhanced slightly to make them look bolder and to sharpen the edges slightly more.
The hat and artist are positioned centre of the image and fill more of the page to link with the connotations and to make the image stand out.
The image may be cropped slightly to ensure that the hat and artists are centre and fill the image.
Within the image there is some instruments and a radio. This are to add to the 'busyness' of the image and to generally make the image more interesting to look at. The objects also link to the music video and what was included in it.
Dress will be similar or the same of that used in the music video to keep a constant theme and to ensure that the indie genre is kept.

BACK COVER
This contrasts the front cover. It displays to the audience that the album is finished. They have listened and watched the business of the band and now it has come to an end - this is done through the use of an empty image. There is still the hat left to signify that there is still something left of the band.
The majority of the image will be similar to that of the front cover however as said above the content is reduced and the 'busyness' is reduced to wind down the album - this then links with the music and the video in that they both reduce in hype and 'busyness' towards the end. The hat is positioned off centre and is relatively small in comparison to the rest of the image to show the reduction. It is the only prop in the image, so the audiences attention is drawn to it.

Digipack

These are just some rough sketches of some possible digipack ideas.
As our video contains many images of artifical objects in a natural surrounding I have built on this idea.

The following image gave me some inspriration on an image.

This image takes the idea of artificial in a natural envrionment. I have taken this image and built on it, adding the band members to it to show the audience who they are.

Paramore have used the image I had imagined for our front cover on their back cover. This therefore linkes with the front cover as it displays them as a band on the back cover. However, for our front cover as stated above I imagined the band members at different positions on the sofa.

This image takes the sof idea in a natural environment as shown in the Paramore image but places the band members around the sofa i.e. member sitting in front, member standing next to it, member sitting on back of sofa and member sitting on the sofa.

This image takes the 'Out of a Hat' idea and this is an example of the band members sitting on the hat. However the band member in front I don't think will be possible because of the illusion that is created on the following image:

This image is a possible back cover. I have had the thought of placing the band members in the skate park at the top of the ramp either with their legs hanging over and the track names written down the ramp or them standing at the top and facing over the back and the image taken from the back.

Meeting, Editing and Audience Feedback

This is a final copy of our video which we are now showing to audiences which will enable us to gain feedback so that we can polish it.

This video shows some of what we achieved yesterday. We had already got all shots into some sort of chronological order on Thursday and Friday, so our focus was to edit any shots which either didn't fit in the sequence or any camera shot which weren't great i.e. the steadiness of the shot or the framing.

We also managed to continue to look in to and make decisions on our digipak work. For instance, we had an idea for the front cover of the album so we tested this an took some photos. Our aim here was to get the depth of field right otherwise it won't work. Also at the time of taking the images there was not enough light, so the turn out was not exactly as we wanted it.

The photos below are some test shots for our digipack. We decided to test this idea as one of the suggestiong for the album name was 'Out of a hat' and the front cover was suggested to have the band members sitting on a hat. Unfortunatly we only has a Trillby to hand at the time but if we were to develop this further we would use a top hat.

This shot is too far away to create the illusion of the person sitting on the hat

This shot shows another postition and how more than one person could be placed on the hat

This image is the best that we have. If we have we have a shot in the field were there is only the hat then this shot should be successful.

This shot is slightly too far away to make it look as though the hat is being sat on

Storyboard

I have finally put together the rest of our storyboard and uploaded it to YouTube.

Filming and Editing

Yesterday during our media lesson I continued to edit our video with the rest of the group. We polished up a bit at the beginning from feedback I had gained and then started on a new sequence of the video.
I also filmed the storyboard, which needs to be uploaded and added to the rest of it.

Afterschool we filmed some of the performance scene focusing on the closeups and some of the long shots. We realised that we had too much to film in the time we had given ourselves and so will have to do the rest of that scene next week. Unfortunatly I had a feeling this was going to happen however did not want to be too pessimistic and therefore didn't say anything to the rest of the group, as it could have possibly impacted on the motivation to get done what we did.

On Sunday morning we are going to film the street scene and also the shot right at the end where they are chatting and playing cards. This is less demanding and therefore should not take too long to film - at the most I think just the morning.

Although it has taken us a while I feel that we are not behind and that we are working well together to get the final piece done.

Filming

With regards to filming we have organised to film the street scene on Wednesday afterschool and the shilouette section and performance on Friday afterschool. As we need a teacher with us when we record in the drama studio we have consulted Miss Menzies and she is happy to be with us while we film this last section of our storyboard.

Audience Feedback for Rough Cut 1

On the discussions board of the facebook page there has been a couple of feedback posts.

'i like the silent bit at the beggining, and thinks its mysterious/intriging that you dont' see emily's face for a while. i like the bit at the end of the 30 secs with the quick bits of different musical instruments.
hope that helps in some way :s'

'I also like the musical instruements that looks awsome and so does the car doors openiing etc. Also I like the bit and how it looks like a recording studio. However, I think there is too much silence at the begining and I like the idea of her setting up but i don't think u need the huge walk. Also I didn't get the car radio bit you would be better to shoe that you are turning on the radio but the song u have chosen plays out and you flash between in the car and in the studio. I hope this helps.'

'Opening's great... exactly what the first comment says. Although the continuity of the car doors isn't really right... One of the back doors is open before the person opens it! And can you actually fit a whole drum kit in the back with someone?'

This helps me to gain a better understanding of what the audience does and does not like and therefore helps me to improve the rough cut with the rest of the group.

I am hoping to gain more feedback than this but this is a start to helping us improve our video.

Artist Analysis for Music Video and Digipack

No Doubt: This image is something we should take inspiration from. This shows the band playing their instruments, all wearing suits (all tied
together by the theme of black and white).


Paramore: This image shows the four band members lying in the middle of the road. I believe this is something we should recreate as it encapulates the bare, abandoned, lonely feel that our video shows. The band members keep their individuality by the costumes they are wearing, however the lead singer catches the eye as she is nearest the camera and is the only one wearing white and therefore more visable.

Elements of both these photos can be used:

- mise en scene (both)
- location (paramore)
- sight lines (paramore)
- iconography (both)

Lighting

I have been thinking about lighting. Lighting is vital to our video as it creates atmosphere and also helps for the images within the video to be seen.

For the recording studio scene I think that the artificial ceiling lighting should be effective in this scene because in recording studio this is the type of lighting that is used.

For the Street scene we can use car headlights and also hopefully the street lights will give us enough light to help if we film when it is becoming dusk.

For the performance scene we need bright light to light up the band and also reflections of light off of the metal on the drum kit and guitar will create interesting effects.

For the silhouette scene we will need lighting from the font onto a white sheet of which we can then film.

For the car scene - this has already been filmed and with the natural lighting of the sun this created enough light to capture the car.

For the bar scene, the spot lights in the ceiling should light Emily at the bar and also the natural lighting from the window should create light on her face and illuminate her expression.

Cast

Unfortunately as Sean is now unavailable when we are going to be filming we have decided it would be most convenient to use Grace's brother, Joe, due to his availability. So due to him not having good knowledge of the track Jonny will be play the drums and Joe will play the keyboard.

Filming Schedule

Due to issues we have been having we have had to again revise our filming schedule.
Here is our new plan:

Thurday Afterschool 21/10/10
15.30 - Emily in Recording Studio

Friday Afterschool 22/10/10
15.30 - 16.50 - Skate Park - Joe, Sam, Jonny - Costume needed
Getting picked up from school in 6th form car park.
Pick up at 15.10 outside sixth form. Going to Great Dunmow - hour filming at skate park
Drive back to Newport

17.00 - dusk/18.30
Filming in Newport - Emily in shoot
Same costume needed, following on from earlier
Emily in shoot

Half Term
(TUES 26th - WED 27th)
Any and all shots of Emily alone, outside of recording studio/performance scenes

After Half Term
Organise shooting for silhouettes and performance scenes

"Said The Hatter" Artist Logo

When we were thinking about our artist's image and digipacks today, I also drew up a logo for our artist (albeit very basic). I was basing it on the Arctic Monkeys logo from their album Favourite Worst Nightmare, which has jagged edges and is quite wacky:

 I am aware that mine is not quite so good, but I still want to have our band image/logo/iconography to have a colourful, weird and random aspect to it - to conform to the independent 'indie' genre. Here is my initial idea for "Said The Hatter", even if the logo is weak, the principles it draws upon could be taken into account:

DigiPack Planning for our Artist

We have been discussing how to present and represent our artist "Said The Hatter" in our digipack. It is at a very basic at the moment but we hope to expand on these ideas further once filming is underway. Here is a spider diagram of the ideas we came up with:

The ideas discussed here although basic, help us to create an image for our band and also help the audience to see the reasons for using this title.

DigiPack Analysis and Research

Due to problems regarding the cast being unavailable to film and certain props and locations also being unavailable, I have decided to look ahead and start researching into what is included in an album package or digipack.


Here are three examples of digipacks/albums presented by artists within the music industry, which I will look into (ahead of putting together our own digipack):

• Linkin Park  (Alternative Rock/Nu-Metal) - Meteora - Enhanced CD for the same reason as Oasis
• You Me At Six (Alternative Rock) - Hold Me Down
• Oasis (Brit Pop) - Time Flies 1994-2009 - Special Digipack, made for those fans want something extra other than the conventional CD of the 16 or so hits

Linkin Park - Meteora

Front Cover: This album cover shows a young man (subtle hint about target audience) with a graffiti can, which has connotations of layering paint. This is just like the heavy levels of sampling and production that were involved in the sound of this album. The scaffolding in the album art may represent the ‘music in the making’ similar to buildings, as they also have to be constructed.

Middle Cover (within CD case): This image shows a close up of several spray can tops, continuing the theme of this image (prop) being shown throughout the digipack. Exactly like the front cover, this image helps to portray the large amount of sampling involved in the sound of the album because of the purpose of this item.




Back Cover: Tracklist on the left hand side. It also shows that this particular CD is ‘enhanced’, equipped with bonus features that were not present on the original version of the album. This allows the audience to get ‘closer’ to the band as they are allowed to see how the album was constructed, it also gives them the feeling of exclusivity i.e. not everyone will hold this album with these particular features. By the artist releasing this CD and allowing the audience to get ‘closer’ to them, it strengthens the relationship between them. This relationship would be proven as audiences will feel more obliged to go to their concert or purchase merchandise or further CDs, improving sales numbers for the artist.

Inlay:

Picture of Band Members: The picture is divided into six: one space/image for each band member. This allows them to showcase their different personalities but also showcases the band’s solidarity as the six images are still only shown as one whole one.

Lyrics and Comments: This shows the lyrics to the song, something which is repeated for all others on the album. It also writes about the constructing of the song in one paragraph, so the audience feel more attached to the work of the artist as they now have a deeper insight into the lengthy processes of making it.

Middle Page: Montage shot showing ‘snippets’ of what it is like being in a band, making the artist have power and become the envy of the audience. This helps to show the band’s position, illustrating their success. It can also personalise the band so that they are more accessible to the audience.

You Me At Six - Hold Me Down

Front Cover: This image on the front cover includes an explosion of colour coming from the centre (of looks to be a person) possibly signifying pouring their heart and soul into both the record and the
relationship (on which the album’s music is based). It shows a man posed in the crucifix position with arms out wide, showing he may be giving up, however this could also depict an angel (as his saviour). It looks as though a female is placed by his left shoulder indicating she was his inspiration for this album. The artist and album name look as if they have been written on a piece of scrap paper and held up by some tape. This may illustrate the state of mind of the lead singer about this relationship,  that the bare minimum has been done to hold the paper up i.e. he is just about surviving (linking back to him in the crucifix position). It is interesting to note that the front does not show an image of the band, but this band are not from the indie genre so different conventions may apply.

Back Cover: The track names have been written on scrap paper and held up by tape once again, showing a thread of consistency and theme throughout the album (from front to back)


CD: It continues with the main colour theme of green from the album as well as the image of roses. A hatching effect has been added to this image in order to please the audience as it is now more aesthetically pleasing but also to show that (the rose – signifying that love is blossoming) his love has been tainted and is no longer pure.

Inlay:

First Page: The first page continues theme of love/loss with images of red roses placed on the end of the pages, possibly signifying the start and end of a relationship which is further eluded to by the music on the album

Second Page: The second page shows a picture of the band in the centre of the page (on the centre page of the inlay). It gives the audience to visualise the band and start to build a personal relationship with them. All the band members are looking straight forward to (you), the lead singer is shown slightly off-centre possibly conforming to a music stereotype.

Oasis - Time Flies 1994-2009


This album is different from the usual presentation of an album or digipack as it is a greatest hits collection; it comemerates the existence of this band for the duration of the 15 years they made music. 

Front Cover: This digipack is presented as a special digipack for those who paid extra for additional on the album like: the music videos of all 27 singles on the album, the band's last ever live gig recorded as well as the 2-Disc album of songs itself. Therefore the digipack is presented as a box and not as a conventional CD (to differentiate between the two editions but to also give those fans who bought this edition something extra) however the front cover design does not differ from the original edition to the extended edition.
It illustrates the band's iconic iconography in the top left hand corner, which has appeared on the majority of their previous studio albums. This helps to identify with and please their (built up) fanbase as this has almost become an expectation of this particular artist. It shows the crowds at a packed out Oasis gig eagerly awaiting their arrival (similar to the person who bought this record eagerly awaiting to hear the music). It helps to convey the size of the band within the industry, it is a bold statement playing on the reputation of the band and does not even require any images of the band members on the front cover.

Back Cover: The back cover's image is the reverse of the front cover - where audiences were waiting to hear the music, now the gig (and album) has finished, it demonstrates the clear up at the end of the concert. This may also indicate to audiences that the album is supposed to be presented as a live performance (in as much as the presentation and track listing, not the sound). So the theme of a concert has been started and ended as we 'journey' through the album. This is something I would want to consider when creating our digipack.

CD: The CDs are contained in pockets. On these, there are audience members shown at an Oasis live concert, maintaining the strong theme of celebrating this band's work and it being illustrated as another gig.

Inlay: The digipack is also sold with a booket, inside it shows quotes from fans of the band which again enhances the status of the band. On the first page (important as as introduction) there is a picture of a fan holding a Union Jack flag indicating this global band's origins, something which they are proud of and (obviously) want to illustrate.

All of this may have been done to 'preserve' the band's legacy in years to come.