Printed Digipak

Coursework: Evaluation

Below is a video to my evaluation of my final pieces 

Coursework: Final Digipak

Below is a slideshow of a close up of images of each panel for my digipak which is my final piece.








 The image below is a look of my final digipak before it would be printed/folded, click to enlarge:

Coursework: Final Poster Advertisement

My poster was created by using Photoshop and a Wacom Bamboo tablet, using these allowed me to explore in to the creativeness of all the ideas that I had. It was essential to include the shoes that my video revolves around, and also the digipak includes also, so this iconic symbol would relate back to the artist. Yet again it is also in black and white, very much so like my video and digipak, the only colour to be seen is the Central point in the poster of the lines. This was inspired by the line art idea that I had, but more so by the tube lines integrating with on another as he travels all around, which is why I placed the image of his shoes on top showing his journey. I think that the poster is a good way to advertise the musician, it does not give too much away about the genre, song, or musician himself if the audience was never to heard of him, however I think that it draws the attention of the audience and would want to make them know more.

I used the theme of line art again when creating  the laces etc. I used the Bamboo tablet to draw on the laces, and too then outline images of london landscapes/skylines. I added these to make the page a little bit more busy, but also to relate to the song, and the title itself, I think that it fits well within the poster to finish it off, and also makes it look more modern and appealing to the younger audience.

In the bottom left corner is an image of a paw print, this is added to represent Ed Sheeran, as he include this on all his media products, the paw print represents his own record label that he created and signed himself too when still trying to reach fame. The symbol is famous and iconic of the musician, so I felt it was important to include it, as this is how he is recognised by the audience members.

Magazine Advertisement Poster Purpose

Before creating an advertisement for a magazine, I researched in to the importance and purposes of this idea, and what is essential to include in order to approach your audience.


I read online 'How Magazine Advertising Works' by Guy Consterdine in July 2005.
The theory has excellent examples of how magazines connect with the audience, and how to get your wanted outcome, when creating you have to almost imagine you are the audience member.
From it I learnt the average number of times an adult looks/reads a magazine, page exposure scores for music for men equalled too 2.46 and for women 1.87


things to consider:


- getting the audiences attention
- using conventions of your genre
- selling the product
- bold fonts

Digipak Mini Model

- click picture to enlarge - 

The picture above shows the printed template of a digipak that I had gotten offline, I then drew my idea on to it, which shows the outline of a pair of shoes as the front cover, however the laces extend up too the inserts sleeves, as well as representing his laces, I also wanted it to represent the idea of the River Thames, or his path of journey - which is why I included little images of london skyline buildings etc, to set where it was. The sleeve in which the cd would sit, also contains more line art, and squiggles of different colours, representing his journey, and the london tube map.




Below are pictures of a mini version of my digipak:

I am still in the process of editing from this idea, I want to add more images of buildings etc on to the laces to make it more eye catching, however it cannot look to crowded, as it wouldnt match the style of Ed Sheeran's more simplistic approach that I wanted to show.

Line Art

After researching in to different artist's album covers, I found even more so that I wanted to use the idea of Line Art, to create my album cover. I like the simplicity, yet striking effectiveness that Line art can hold amongst an audience, in order to learn more. Also it follows Ed Sheeran and his brand, as from research I found his videos and album covers are very simply created, and look almost 'ameutr.'  I was also very interested as my video is edited in black and white, so the black lines, and white background could resemble this, making it an iconic figure of Ed Sheeran. Also the lines could symbolise his journey and the underground lines that he takes.


Here is a definition I found on line about line art:
"Line art is any image that consists of distinct straight and curved lines placed against a (usually plain) background, without gradations in shade (darkness) or hue (colour) to represent two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects. Line art can use lines of different colours, although line art is usually monochromatic. Overall it is a great piece of art and refreshment for those who love painting. It is also called line drawing."

Some of the images that inspired me:

Screenshot of Editing

Original:

After:

As you can see I used the video effects to put it on a black and white/greyscale effect, I had to do this to every single video captures, even ones that I did not eventually use. I feel that the quality of the video looks better also, as when it got darker, the lighting became very dim due to no flash.

Similar Artists and CD Cover Work

The next process of creating a Digipak was to look at similar artists and their cover work for CDS/Albums. This would help me too get further inspiration and creative ideas by looking at examples of the iconic music genre (Altervative Folk Pop/Rock). From looking at these, I instantly knew that I wanted to create a digipak that would be simplistic - in the sense it is not too 'busy.'

Above is an image of pop, soul and alternative rock artist Jason Mraz, for his 2008 album 'We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.' The cover is very similar to Ed Sheerans in the way it contains a black and white edited effect, and also similar within the sketch/creativity that it holds of himself. His name stands out in bold, the image is of himself, and the album name is slightly smaller, but still noticeable.

Above is a smaller group called 'Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly' in which the cover art work is also very creative, and looks very abstract. It does not hold distinctive figures about the band, for example images of them. I really like the line work that is covering half of the cover, its very different and memorable, it also looks like it is set for  the younger generation. It makes me want to hear there music, and look further into the band.

Ben Howard, an English folk, rock artist album is slightly more different to Ed Sheerans, in that it doesn't have any form of drawing on, instead it has photography shot of somebody under water. I like the unique, vintage/alternative look that the image holds, through the editing choices. I like the big font, and the choice of having the font white makes it stand out and appeal to the audience. His audience is a younger generation so I feel it fits well to appeal to them.


I also then looked in to elder artists that are in the music genre, to see how it has developed/ or in some cases stayed similar. I looked at covers that where also of different genres, as the covers generally interested, and appealed to me.

This the album for 'The Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd released in 1973 - an English progressive rock band. The sleeve was designed by Hipgnosis and George Hardie. Richard Wright had specifically asked for a cover with something 'smarter, neater - more classy' and something 'simple and bold.'
I found online this section about the cover: "the gatefold design also includes a visual representation of the heartbeat sound used throughout the album, and the back of the album cover contains Thorgerson's suggestion of another prism recombining the spectrum of light, facilitating interesting layouts of the sleeve in record shops." I like the simplicity of the art work, and how eye catching it is. It does not give away too much about the band or their music, which appeals to the audience too listen further. I also like how the artist has visually represented the meaning of heartbeats etc, I think that its very effective and cleverly done.

Coursework: Final Video

After spending time carefully planning, filming and editing the video I have finished with a final outcome. To view, watch below.

Soon after posting the video, i received messages through all types of social network media, they are all very similar, one of the first ones I got through is held below:

"I think this video shows the viewer a really good story. By filming the "mystery" persons white trainers, you instantly want to know more - such as who is he? whats his journey? I like the use of editing also, how the scenery changes but relates again on the chorus by using the chorus signs. It makes the whole story/footage come together. It does a great job of appealing to the younger audience with its black and white effect making it easy to view - such as the trainers standing out more, chorus signs, using a younger person as main character! I love it!!!"

As you can see I have uploaded the video on to Youtbe, social media platform for sharing videos with others worldwide, from this I could share the link on my Facebook and Twitter account, which would also be available to the public. By advertising this way, meant that I could connect to the young generation who are more in use with 

these social network sites. Below are screen shots from doing so:

Idea's for a Digipak

To begin to get ideas for my final piece, I found a picture off of Google of a drawn black and white animated landscape of London/Buildings. I put this on to Photoshop and Google Paint, and began editing, finding ways to make it look interesting - so that I could gather new and original ideas from it. See the pictures below to view/click to enlarge.

I also was very fascinated by images of the London Underground Tube map, and how he follows it whilst making his journey - Also I like the line art that is held within it - which is something that I would look to include in my digipak. I used Photoshop and Google Paint again to edit it, I wanted it to look different/distorted and more modern and interesting to the young generation of my target audience as well as recognisable to resemble the song title.

Inspiration

Before creating my own Digipak, I looked at Ed Sheeran's current/previous cover work for his music, to gain influence in creating a digipak in the style of Ed Sheeran.

The cover above is for his latest album '+' which as you can see is very appealing and eye catching to the audience. His face is  the main focus of the cover, instantly relating the album to his work. The album name is only a small detail in the corner of the cover.


I then looked in to Ed Sheeran's CD Covers for the released songs from his album '+' to gain further inspiration to follow in the style of him  to make it iconic and memorable. The CD covers are all very similar and simple, in the way that it is a white background with sketching/drawing of things relative to the song, including a screen shot of 'The A Team' edited into a sketch, a drink for 'Drunk' and a sketch of himself for 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' as it is about himself. Also for his song 'Lego House' the center image is also sketched, with lego bricks. I was very interested in the idea of sketching/drawing and the line art that is within it, also the effect of black and white as my video is edited this way. See the pictures below for exampls, click to enlarge.

Brainstorming for Digipak

Below are the key points/narrative of my music video:

• The City - City Landscape, London
• Signs - Words
• Black and White
• Pavement - Journey, Shoes
• Mysterious Boy - Unknown, 'Lost in the Crowd'
• Map of London - Highlight routes of where he travels, Lines, Roads

Now below is some bullet points of ideas that I had thought of for my Digipak;


- Layers of city landscape skyline
- City landscape continuously through digipak sides
- London map faintly showing with a red or black line showing his route/journey
- Collage of signs/words with 'The City' standing out in the middle
- Sketch of trainers/London bridge
- Collage images related
- Write in capitals - Bold
- Graphic = Simple = Will be remembered
-City lights?

The Beginning Process of Editing

I have decided to use 'Windows Movie Maker' as it is a sufficient and an easily accessible editing software for me to use. I have used the software previously, and I have a very good understanding of how to use it properly in order to achieve a great outcome of work. I also decided to use this video software because after finding research into Ed Sheeran's past videos, that they look of a low price quality, so finding a priced or more complicated software would be unnecessary.

What is a digipak?

A Digipak is a type of CD/DVD case with packaging usually made from a thick card/heavy paper material against shattering like usual jewel cases. They are bigger than a usual kind of CD, as they open up to reveal more sleeves as if flipping like a book, allowing more room for the musician/label to add more graphics reaching to their market audience.

Examples below

- ADD IMAGES -

Health & Safety

When/Whilst filming it was important to consider our own health and safety as well as recording, however none of my location was in an enclosed area, where fire extinguishers and other safety checks were not too be seen.


The most important thing to check was our spacial awareness, as large crowds where continuously around us in the streets of London, and also was to be aware of the yellow line when recording in busy crowds in the under ground, and also aware of the busy road traffic when we was recording around these areas.

Production List - Locations

As the song is called 'The City' and often mentions the words 'London' it is essential that my video takes place in London. I have places in mind that I would like to visit and film, however when I get there I may come across places that I hadn't thought of, so some of the places will be decided on the spot when I am there, to get too much footage rather than not enough. Also some things depend on what the place is like when I get there, For example I know that I would like to include the street performers - however when I get there, there may be none or perhaps too busy to catch on film.

Places in mind:

- London Underground

-Trafalgar Square

-Piccadilly Circus

-Leicester Square

-London Tower Bridge

-Covent Garden

- London Eye

-London Backstreet

-London telephone box

Pre Production

Below will be a list of the equipment I will need  to think about/buy to carry out this project
Equipment:
Flip Camera
Tripod
Computer - Editing Software


Props List:


- For the chorus I will need to have prepared cue card signs with the words 'London, Stranger and My Home' written in a black bold pen so that they will stand out on the camera.
- I will need a London underground tube map as I would like to experiment my ideas of using it to open up or end the video.


I am only having one person taking place in my video, I would need to think about the costume however I would just want an everday outfit, but consiting of dull/dark colours as I am planning to use black and white - I wouldn't want bright clothing. This would just be a leather jacket, trousers however the shoes I would want to be white because then they would stand out and also I am planning to focus on him walking so if they stand out it will catch the audience's eye.

Analysing A Music Video 2 - 'Mama Do The Hump' by Rizzle Kicks

The next video I decided to look at was the video to 'Mama Do The Hump' by Rizzle Kicks released in November 2011. Although they are a British Hip Hop type genre band, they hold Indie features throughout their music style and also their music videos often have many similarities to a typical music video of the styles that I am looking at.



The video is very abstract along with the lyrics and are not there to tell a story or narrate. The video begins with two people preparing a hand hold camera, to then knock on the door of a house. The music does not play for the first 28 seconds, before it starts they enter the boys house, where they welcome one another. It looks very 'home made' and almost 'amateur' which many music video of these styles are. We can see it is a family gathering with the two elder ladies (who we guess are playing the dispatchers - mother figures)and men as well as the younger boys, who then go to the CD player and turn the music on - which where the music begins. When the boy is turning it on, he looks in to the camera and it is a close up of his face, he then walks away and is followed - the camera shot is quite shaky - showing the 'home made' and low budget film style that was intended within its genre characteristics. (In which I would like to show through out mine).


The camera then pans over to the elder lady at the table, who we assume to be the Mum of one of the boys, she then begins miming to the boys voice giving it a quirkiness and unique flow.
An element of Goodwin's theory can be seen within the Lyrics reflecting through images, the song is quite so repetitive for example 'a verse of rap, to the chorus and then back to the verse etc' and when it does break to the chorus the words "Mama do the hump mama do the hump hump, mama, Won't you please let me do the hump hump." Where each time we see the boys doing a 'signature move' specially for the song lyrics in which they get more and more people doing by the end of the video, including actor James Corden. Once the chorus is over, it repeats back to the ladies miming the lyrics.

In terms of notion of looking there is none and the gaze of how someone is presented, the ladies are often shown more on camera, and have much more action taking place rather than being restricted. In terms of representation it shows oppositions and contrasts with the stereotypes of elder women, which the audience would not expect as they are miming lyrics and acting younger then they are, where as the boys who are teenagers, are represented more sensible and more restricted from the camera.


There are extreme close ups on many of their faces which are contrasting with the stereotypical genre characteristics, meaning that usually the video and the camera shots would be prioritized on the band or on young and more attractive people who would be interested in the music. However the video juxtaposes this concept as it primarily sets if focus on the elder ladies, holding long shots on close up of their faces and they do not stereotypically represent people who would be attracted to their music.


Record labels do have certain control over artists that they sign and I think that through the video they wanted to represent the band as a modern and unique trendsetters to appeal to their younger audience - also meaning that both genders would be interested in the music video as it is not set to appeal to just females, or just males like other genres.


There is hardly any signs of Intertextuality within the music video, meaning that there are no other signs of other media examples - things that have been seen in other films/music videos within the same genre. By not including these examples allows the video to have its own uniqueness and creates its own signature video - which will be remembered through the video style, lyrics or signature dance from its audience (because it has not been shown before)

List of People Involved

I will be working independently on this project, meaning planning, pre production, prop making and recording/editing etc.

I have asked a boy named Ricky Veale (Image above) to act as the centre role boy in which the music video will revolve around.  I asked him because I found he was free for the time period in which I was planning to record, so I knew that he would be reliable if we would have to go back to London for extra shots and also because he had done acting in the past, I felt he would follow instructions well. Also because he looks 'ordinary' in the fact he doesn't have a distinct stereotypical features to give away of which genre of music he likes so he will fit the role well playing the mysterious boy lost beyond the crowds in London. At the age of 19 with the style and look he carries he will be re presentable for many teenage boys that the video is aimed for.

Music Video Producers and Influences

Other than just watching music videos to gain influence, I decided to research into successful or just starting out, music video production companies online. I found a site called 'Pixelloft' which has produced videos for many famous music artists, as well as smaller and less well known artists (of all different genres).A few examples of this could be Mclean, The Courtneers, McFly, Pendulum, Kids in Glass Houses and You Me At Six.


The music video director is Nick Barlett, who has been directing for over 7 years, creating a portfolio for more than ove 40 music videos. The style of video that he chooses to follow is along the lines of Storytelling with art and graphic direction. The company is based in Worcestershire, UK and Los Angeles, USA. To view the company site click the link http://www.pixelloft.com/index.html
Below are some screen shots from the index page, and the work portfolio page: (Click images to enlarge)

I then searched online 'Ed Sheeran's Music Video Producers' and the first thing was too appear was the creators behind 'The A Team' which the company is called 'River Rush.' The creator and main contributor is called Ruskin Kyle, who has expirence in writing, directing, lighting camera and editing/adding effects. His earliest and most successful piece of work was creating 'The A Team' in which came Number 3 in UK Singles Chart, playlisted on major music channels on TV aswell as over 15 Million hits on YouTube. The site tells us that aswell as the standard music video format that the company also specialise in filming 'live' performances, studio and location shoots. The company are quite small, but up and coming in terms of numbers of videos they have created, however they can create the ideal video that the artist wishes on a small or big amount of budget money.
To view this site click the link: http://www.riversrush.com/index.html
Below are screen shots of sections of the site (Click images to enlarge)

Looking at the lyrics

To focus on the themes throughout the song, I printed off the lyrics and annotated what I would like to include in my video, either relevant or not to the lyrics. The song is about him being an individual in London, as if lost in the crowd.

Storyboarding

I am currently in the process of drawing ideas in the order of my music video, having this sort of planning will help me bring my ideas together and will be easily adaptable when it comes to recording the video. Once I have finished the storyboard I shall upload it on to my blog, however it could take a short length of time as my location is very big and unpredictable (In London, on the day of filming there may be incidents that clash with my storyboard) so it will be very basic in terms of that.

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