Digipak Ideas #2 - Album Covers Inspiration

1. Kate boy - Northern Lights:  What I love about this album cover is the black and white. I'm a very monochrome person in reality and I feel like you just can't beat a good black and white…anything. I love the simplicity of this and the placing of the artist - dead centre. I also like how the font is anchoring the image by being either side of her. I think the lighting and shadows also create a alternative look on an album as most female artists show their faces (as you can see from above).

2. Sea Lion - Mercy Land: Number 2 is by the artist Sea Lion who is another European singer. What I like about this cover is how it's close up and concentrates on her profile. I also like that it's not a frontal photo of her but more from the side which makes it more personal I feel - she has a wanderlust expression. I also think the idea to go with a sepia tone over full colour or black and white is a nice difference as well.

3. Hard Fi - Once Upon a Time in the West: Hard-Fi are a band that I've loved since I was 14 (also 6 years!) anyway, they are a great band and I adore this album cover. Okay, so it looks plain but to me it is the simplicity that makes it as good as I think it is. I love the bright yellow background but the text and font colours being monochrome. This works well; also the choice of font is nice it speaks impact and strong body. 

4. Adele - 21: 21 by Adele is a beautiful album cover. Again it's black and white with a green hue for the number 21. This is a statement over the rest of the album. I think the front profile of her is striking and her eyes being closed makes it more 'emotional' feeling. I love the lighting and I'd like to incorporate some strong contrast on my cover.

5. Charli XCX - True Romance: This to me is a 'typical' album cover but also not. I think it's typical because the title and name are above and below the artist which creates a nice structure and her being in the middle also gives it balance. I find it 'not typical' by the way it's been edited and the cosmic effect overlaying her.  I really like this touch - I also feel the bold font is something that works at the top then the finer font at the bottom.

6. Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart (acoustic): Another one of my favourite artists, Marina always looks fabulous and especially on her album covers. I love this because it's not typical grey scale it's got a prism effect over it.

7. Lana Del Rey - Born to Die: Again the album cover has the artist in the middle looking straight ahead - this gives another symbol of strength and vibrancy. I also like how the font is behind her head as it gives it some three-dimension and detail, more appealing to the eye.

Some examples of digipaks:

Marina and the Diamonds 4 panel digipak is what I've took most of my influence from. I stuck to the traditional 4 panel as it matches my target of simplicity and contemporary trends. I also like the creativity of the track listing with the curved writing falling like her hair.

Katy Perry's Prism digipak is another one I really like. I like the 'prism' 3D effect it has and the freebie sticker makes fans feel like they have something collectable. 

I really like Daft Punks art, abstract style digipak. Although it has no images of the artists it's not needed as Daft Punk are well known for their art music videos and technology influenced appearance.

Post-Production Editing #2

After the audience feedback on my current progress with my music video I'm really proud of what I've created. My editing is improving and I'm feeling more confident with effects, cutting to the beat of the music and matching lip syncing. Below are some images of the things I've added to my video.

First off I added in the new footage from my second day of shooting which was in the woods with the smoke grenades. I'm so glad the pigment of the yellow was such high quality as it made editing and colour correction a lot easier and smoother to work with. As you can see from this screenshot I've played around with the scale to crop out any unwanted footage and I've ticked the colour correction box:

Above is the colour correction box with my percentages and degrees of colour used to make the yellow more prominent in the video. I kept the highlight where it is as it didn't create the desired visuals I wanted. I also made sure to keep the green as 'green' as possible to contrast with the yellow.

Here is my timeline and in specific this is the section of new footage I've been working on. It's quite zoomed in so they look a little long for a video but they are round about 1-2 seconds long each and cut quickly to the beat. I've also done some layering to keep it visually stimulating.

And finally, some effects I've added as well. I chose the TV static look and mirroring as it matches with my abstract feel. It also features in my artist inspiration, Charli XCX's video 'Nuclear Seasons' which I think works really well. 

The One Before the Rough Cut and Audience Feedback

In class today it was time to show case our progress so far with our music videos. One by one we watched each others projects and gave positive feedback and ways to improve. My turn came around and I was a little anxious about showing it as I know how much it is in the early stages and that there is a lot to fill in but I don't know why I was so worried.
My feedback from the class was so uplifting and positive! They commented on how professional the lighting was saying it was "very nice". Another member of class said all the extra pops I had put in it had made it all the more 'real' such as the smoke grenades and that it was "creative and cool".
My favourite comment was that my editing came across and "very convincing" which makes me feel like I'm going about my video and editing the right way to appeal to my target audience. 

My class being between the age ranges of my desired audience means that if they approve and like it many other people of this age will also more than likely enjoy it also! 

I was also surprised to see that when asked about if there was anything for me to improve on no one had anything to say. It was all only positive comments and it made me feel really happy with what I've done so far.

Overall I am really proud of what I have achieved so far and think that my progression with the music video and the comments have boosted my confidence in making a professional quality music video.

Diary Entry #8 - Day Two Behind the Scenes

Day 3 Shoot by Slidely Slideshow

This weekend I decided to film the wood scenes with the smoke grenades and I chose this location as the yellow and green are quite contrasting colours and enables me to colour correct in FCPX more effectively. 

We found a clearing in the woods that was perfect for what I had envisioned and we we're extremely lucky that there wasn't many people about only the occasional dog walker. First we scouted the area a bit more in case there was something better. We found a little path that led to another clearing only this time there was lots of bushes and the sky was very visible. I thought this would be a great place to shoot an establishing shot with the smoke grenade and it turned out to be just so:

We then went back inside the woods to the original clearing and begin shooting some more. I bought 5 smoke grenades and we already tested  2 out just to make sure they would work and the colour pigment was strong enough. The wind also that day was perfect as it was barely there but was enough to softly carry the smoke away. 

The smoke was quite dense too which also worked well.

After setting up, we tried to get as many shots of the smoke as possible - we only had one DSLR camera with us so we used a Nokia Lumia phone for some footage also as the quality for it is quite high. After the smoke shots I had to quickly change into my costume as it was freezing! We shot some cinematic footage which look great on camera, especially with the sun light peaking through the trees and through the skirt train. 

Finally, to end the day as it was nearing sunset and getting quite bitter; we saw some spider webs glistening in the sunlight which looked very pretty and with the DSLR I used some focus-pulls to create the 'bokeh' effect which look really soft and delicate in comparison to my strong, sharp studio look.

Digipak Ideas #1 - Fonts

Fonts are a key part of a digipak and when it comes to choosing them, it has to be just right. To me, a font can ruin everything and some fonts I find seriously offensive (Comic Sans *coughcough*) so picking the perfect font that matches the theme, genre and feel of the music is very  essential. I've spent many hours scrolling through a renowned font website known as dafont.com and have whittled down my favourites. I've asked people to view the fonts and then give me their opinions on them, baring in mind these people are around my age and are in my target audience specifications. So here they are numbered 1 to 12:

And the verdict is this...
From Twitter

From Facebook

It seems font 5 and 6 are most popular so with this I'll do two copies with either font on and present again to see the final audience feedback 

Post-Production - Editing #1

Tuesday 19th November, 15:04pm: Today I started the process of editing my music video. As of this moment I only have 1 days worth of footage but enough to play with to get in the flow of it all. First off I began by opening up the editing software, Final Cut Pro X 4

(the middle icon)

I then opened up my pre-made event titled "MUSIC VIDEO - KATE BOY" and began looking through the footage.

After watching through them all I highlighted which ones were usable and which were not and started to place them in the timeline.

I then started to piece together certain parts of my footage to the same parts of the song which mirror my storyboard. Using black and white overlays and adjusting the brightness and contrast I managed to find a black and white that is more true and not of a more greyscale nature.

After changing the colour of all the desired clips I then also cropped the images to suit my ideal framing for the video which I feel makes the video seem more professional and tidy.

As it stands today I think i've done well matching things to the music and lyrics and picking out some key shots, of course I will tweak it continuously while putting in new footage but for the time being I am happy with how it's turning out and excited to see the final product. This is my time line as I've left it on day 1 of editing:

As you can see the large files are just fillers and the blank (black) blocks are also fillers for when i get the rest of my footage ready.

Research Into Planning

In the beginning, my idea was clear what I wanted but I needed the research to back up my planning and the reality of if my music video will be successful or not in bringing in the correct target audience.

We looked at a range of theorists with the experience and knowledge of music video and what it is that makes them the way they are and what draws in the audiences. Vernallis, Goodwin, Barthes and Neale - each of these theorists have had influence over the media and have made it what is it to this day. 

I wanted my music video to not be your standard performance based music video with the artist(s) on a stage performing or dancing. I knew from the start I wanted something more aesthetically  mature and sophisticated and turned to the abstract/art based videos, taking inspiration from artists such as Kate Boy, Charli XCX and Alt-J and even make-up influence from the film Tron. These all grasped my ideal type of music video oh sleek, monochrome, contemporary vibes and didn't need narration or performance to pull them through a 3 minute song and got just as much, if not more, great attention from their target audiences.

Barthes's

Barthes's had a formula known as his '5 Codes' in narrative theory. These activate the reader and allow them to understand the processes of the story. As I mentioned I didn't want a narrative based music video. When watching my video you know there is no narrative and I think some people find this difficult to understand as it's not a 1,2,3 process and could make the audience uninterested. But this didn't phase me and I still went on with my abstract based video. I think Barthes's theory is important and does clarify simply what it is t have a narrative based music/media video. If I was to be doing a narration it would be important to follow his 5 steps in order to be successful.

Goodwin's & Mulvey's

Andrew Goodwin was one of the first theorists we looked into and he had a similar thinking process as Barthes where he had 6 key steps into reading music videos.  Out of all the theorists I used Goodwin's theory to help me understand a way of creating a convincing music video. I used 5 out of 6 steps as follows:

1. A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The visuals thus illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.

I tried to pin point a key word out of the lyrics to help me create my video. For this I eventually used the word 'gold' and based most of the colours around this. I wanted a sharp juxtaposition between the black and white, sleek studio shots with the coloured exterior shots. For this I used gold metallic body paint on my hands to reference the lyric "everything we touch turns to gold" and I wanted something really different and out there to also enhance this so I ordered in yellow smoke grenades and with Final Cut really brought to brightness up and played with the hues to get this pure, golden smoke effect. 

When looking at these images in contrast to the black and white I think it's very effective and gives it a more contemporary, professional feel which I'm proud of. Also in the above photo (top right) I used a 'Sin City' effect where colour is pin pointed out and the surroundings are black and white - this really adds that conflicting colour balance.

I also used his theory that the artist is clearly shown through multiple camera angles. These being close ups, medium shots and long shots. 

I also used Goodwin's and Mulvey's theory of voyeurism and 'male gaze' which is typically used on female artists. I didn't want this to captivate my entire video and it isn't about 'sexualising' myself or the song but I think a sense of voyeurism is always more interesting to watch and holds the audiences attention. 

I used various shots of extreme close ups of my face, particularly the eyes and lips which are usually the places the male gaze drift towards. I also wore in my costume a high-low skirt which exposes my legs and I got some shots of my legs too to express the sense of a male gaze. I also used some hand held camera work to show a sense of voyeurism and a 'home movie' feel. The bottom left image is an example of this and it's also slightly out of focus which I really like as it makes it seem more voyeuristic and some what cinematic.

Versallis's

Versallis's theory concentrated on the editing that goes into a music video.  Here is a quote from my previous post on Carl Versallis's theory which you can read HERE:

"A brief overview of her concept:

Continuity Editing - Broken edits are used to draw attention to the screen and pulls the eye to what is happening.

Edits - Drawing attention to them deliberately in order to catch the audiences interest. Such things are special effects and wipes.

Jump Cuts - This technique is used frequently in music videos to speed things up as songs are usually only around the 2-4 minute mark. 

Master Shot - These are also known as the base track. It gives the video structure.

Camera -  You'll find the camera consistently moves in time with the beat of the music to give it more rhythm. "

I think I stuck quite closely to her theory of editing - I cut the video in time with the beat of the music in order to make it flow. I also used editing effects such as 'Bad TV' and 'Negative' which we're inspiration from Charli XCX's music video 'Nuclear Seasons'. My style of cutting is very frequent - the jump cut technique I wanted to make sure I nailed as it's important to keep the audiences attention and as it's only a 2-3 minute clip it;s got to be captivating. 

This shows some of the effects I've been using and how I've edited some clips together. Such as mirror, green screen, Bad TV and Negative.

Diary Entry #7 - Day One Behind the Scenes

I thought it would be fun to create some 'Behind the Scenes' footage in the style of a real music video and how they put them together on channels such as MTV. This also let me get creative in Final Cut Pro X again which I absolutely love doing and I was trying out some new effects which I haven't used before such as cropping, filters, colour balance/contrast. I also tried editing to the time of the music in some parts to get a feel for my real one.

Overall the first day of filming went really well and got lots of footage to go through. I was fortunate enough to have help with the camera assistance however I set everything up, chose what to use and asked for them to sit in frame so I knew exactly how it look. You could say I was the 'Boss Man' hah. 

After this first day I'm looking forward to getting the rest done and also more behind the scenes footage as it makes it feel so much more official and increases my editing time to try new things out. 

That's a wrap!

Diary Entry #6 - Costumes, Costumes

The idea behind my costumes to keep things clean, chic, minimal and contemporary. Black is such a defined tone that it can decode any messages to any audience. Black can be used in all genres depending on what else is with it. 

I went with an all black costume as it fits my vision perfectly. It gives a chic, sharp look to the video; especially in the studio where everything has to look defined. The idea of me and Sam both being in black also symbolises unity and as the lyrics in the song are "I can feel you breathing in my bones" it displays a sense of unification. 

The collage below is an example of different genres in music embracing the all black outfits for their music videos - proving you don't need to be a certain type of genre to use black and not be labled that one thing.

The images are taken from each artists music video Kate Boy being 'electro-pop', Adele is 'soul', Charli XCX as 'synth-pop', Marina and the Diamonds is the normal 'pop' genre and The Pretty Reckless as a 'rock' genre.

Diary Entry #5 - Make-up Trial

I decided to play around a little with how I want my make up to look. I want it to be some what futuristic yet contemporary, so I turned to the film 'Tron'. Now, although I haven't actually seen the movie I've researched into inspired make up looks and decided it would it perfectly with what I want my music video to look like. Below are some photos of the look and as you can tell it is very minimal but I find this aesthetic to be quite effective. A black, dramatic winged eye liner with some gunmetal grey in the crease for definition and some three-dimension. I kept the face and lips bare with a slight contour on the cheek bones to give it that sharp 'edgy' look. I want all the attention on the eyes. I feel like this look matches well with my chosen genre and audience tribes as it's something wearable for the audience on evenings or even can be toned down during the day. My audience tribes being that of the 'stylers' and 'trendies' and some what 'alternative' groups I think will find this appealing. Also, many artists capture this look within their videos of an abstract/performance based nature which is what also inspired me. 

My main inspiration this make up is Charli XCX as she is known to have dramatic eye liner in most of her photo shoots and videos and Tron the film.

As  for hair I'm still undecided as to whether I was my hair all up or down - I'll see how it looks and feels on the day. 

Some of the make up products I used are below:

Treatment Planning #6 - Shooting Schedule

Wednesday 13th November 2013 1:00pm - Start of filming! Today I will shoot all of my own singular shots in the studio. These include all the mid shots, close ups and long shots. I'm hoping filming will take between an hour to two hours tops, but if I run over it will be okay as the studio is free for us to use till 4:30pm. Today Farhath will be accompanying me on this shoot as I'll need someone to make sure I'm always in shot after I've placed the camera.

Monday 18th November or Wednesday 20th November 1:00pm onwards - The reason I've wrote either Monday or Wednesday is due to the studio and casting availability. Hopefully I can get footage both Monday and Wednesday but if not definitely Wednesday will be mine and Sam's scenes together with gold paint and props.

Saturday 23rd - Sunday 24th all day - Hopefully the weather isn't horrible and raining as these will be my days to shoot outdoors at Uphill and the beach. I think I'll need most of the day to film footage as the weather at the moment is unreliable and the light is not always around!

Hopefully by then I will have all the footage I need to spend the next week editing my video to perfection! 

Diary Entry #4 - Green Screen Testing

Today I was able to try out the green screen for the first time. I was completely new to this and very unsure on how to set it up and how to get lighting right. Unfortunately, due to the hype and excitement I felt I completely forgot about light (VERY BAD ERROR) and so it looks very obvious that I have been placed slap bang in front of a green screen, which is not my desired effect.

I used some HD short clips I found on the internet for my backdrops that I think work really well with my abstract performance idea. It matches the minimal and contemporary feel I was trying to get across. 

Things to remember for real shoot:

1. LIGHTING! 
2. Positioning of the camera

Overall i really enjoyed experimenting with the green screen, it was something new and stimulating to work with and I think it will add something more to my final piece.

Diary Entry #3 - Prop Hunt in Primark

Today me and Sam embark on a mission to Bristol's Cabot Circus to find a costume for my music video. We was searching for a plain black top and jeans as my music video is very minimal and arty and black is a perfect resemblance for this as most of the artists who film abstract videos tend to use black clothing. I decided to video out mini adventure for one of my diary entries to show our trip.

Treatment Planning #5 - Storyboard Animatic

Below is my story board and animatic of my chosen song "Northern Lights" by Kate Boy. I spent a lot of time listening to the lyrics, rhythm of the music and trying to match everything how I wanted yet also in time with the beat. Over all I am happy with the outcome and I think the animatic brings my vision more into perspective and awakens it.