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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

media - slideshow dvd