What I Have Taken From Digipack Research

• Similar Imagery: All of the images in the digipack will have similar imagery and colours. I have found this is a theme in all of the digipacks that I have analysed with the desert tones for Danger Days, the blue suit and pink monkey outfit for Hesitant Alien, the multi-coloured illustrations in Life in Cartoon Motion and the beach/hippie vibes in Oracular Spectacular.
• Artists Name: I will be using the name of the artist, MAX, as the most prominent piece of text information on the front cover, as seen with the large MIKA protruding past the smaller illustrations on Life in Cartoon Motion and the MGMT digipack cover.
• Iconography: The front cover will have a piece of iconography that is associated to my artist and their branding like the spider stamp on Danger Days, the blue suit on the artist in Hesitant Alien and the hippie clothing in Oracular Spectacular.
• Title Repeated: Album title will be repeated in a smaller text on the back of the cover like in Danger Days.
• No Spine Significance: I do not plan on creating a spine for my digipack, but I will look into it if I have spare time at the end of my project. It wont be used significantly however, like it is for MGMT's album.
• Psychedelic:  I want the whole digipack to be 'trippy' in a light hearted way using colours like in MGMT and MIKA's album.
• Simple Inside Cover: Like in all except Hesitant Alien, the design on the inside will be a lot more simplistic than the imagery on the outside.

Rough Cut 4

This is my edited version using the teacher feedback from last lesson.

Rough Cut 4 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

More Digipack Designs

I have added some songs onto the back cover of my digipack after realising the average amount of songs on an album is 10. During this, I played around a bit more with the colours, testing which would look better and more effective.

This is the design with two layers of hue, making the blue colours pop out even more. This one only has one layer of brightness, so the brighter colours are less obvious,

This is the same edit as the first one but without the second layer of hue. I prefer the one above to this one because I don't think this one is as eye catching to me target audience as the one with two layers of hue.

This is an edit with one layer of hue but with two layers of brightness, so it is more purple based than blue based like the first design. I am undecided which I prefer.

Here, I have used the paint brush with 0 hardness to paint under the track listing and album title. This was just a test to see whether it would make the track listing more clear and easy to read. However I think I prefer it without the purple paint.

This is without any hue, so it has completely changed the colour scheme to blue and pink and yellow as opposed to purple blue and yellow. I created this one to see whether this colour scheme would be more effective than the purple one, but I think that the purple one is more youthful and fun, which will appeal more to my target audience.

This is the edit of the added paint beneath the text without any hue on. I wont be using this edit for the same reasons as I wont be using the edit above.

Editing Update

I have started putting in more footage in order to speed up the cutting towards the end of the video.
Soon, I will have pretty much doubled the speed of the final shots of Ben dancing in the different locations.
I have edited the tint and contrast onto all of the shots needed.

Audience Feedback

I have received verbal feedback on my rough cut.
It has been suggested that I:
-speed up more towards the end of the song by cutting up some of the shots and adding more in
-add in performance footage (but we concluded that it would be difficult to include as I don't know which clips I would take out to put performance in)
-tighten up the editing on some of the shots

I will be starting to use this feedback this lesson and start my fourth rough cut to upload.
 I will screen my video to a small group of people in my target audience and ask for constructive feedback.

Until then,

Elleah

Rough Cut 3

Rough Cut 3 from Elleah Stanton on Vimeo.

Here is my completed music video (bar the final shot).
The one I exported does not seem to have the contrast and tinting changed, so I will upload an edited version later this week.

-Update-

The media servers were down on Friday so I was unable to export my music video and upload to Vimeo. Hopefully they will be back working next week and you will be able to see my completed rough final cut.
I am very happy with how it looks. The only part missing is the final shot of Rachel and Ben together, this will have to be filmed soon as both my actors have busy schedules.

Until then,

Elleah

Trying Different Software

I have now sampled some more ideas for the print products using pixlr.com/express. I used this for my first attempt at creating a magazine album advert using the mannequins, but I wanted to use it and create some different images that I may be able to use for the digipack, or the booklet inside.
My ideas have turned quite pop arty recently, as I have been using four images then changing the hue on each of them. Here are some of the samples I made with this idea on pixlr:


They were very quick trials and I probably wont use them in my print products due to the fact that they are quite dark, which is something that I want to avoid in my branding.

Using the same image, I played around with some of the design features and it randomly inserted lines and cut up some of the image. Again I do like these, however after looking at them more, they are also too dark to use in my digipack:

Then using the collage feature, I put together four different images, edited each one so the colours were different then played around with the rest of the tools:

I don't really like the use of colour in the black and white areas because it makes it seem quite solemn and sad, so I wont be using this image. 

Again, the lack of colour here makes me dislike this. I do however really like the look of the lines, 

Too dark, again. I do like the squares of colour though. I will try to create something similar using Photoshop and make the base images colourful too.

I really like this design and I am tempted to use it in my booklet, or at least base my designs off this image. I could have the whole four page booklet with the images of the mannequins and lines around them.

After some thought, even though this design is also quite dark, it would look quite effective among other designs in the booklet and help bring the other colours to life through contrast.

More Photoshop

I have created more trials for the my final digipack. I have played around with the colours and some of the other images that I took of the mannequins.

 Using the design I created on Photoshop for the inside over, I put together a four piece trial digipack so show an idea of what my final products will look like.
I then realised that the colours don't quite match very well with the front cover, so I altered the design using the hue feature and the colour correcting feature to make it more blue and purple and this was the result:

I think this one is a lot more effective in matching and creating a fun and funky vibe.
After this, I decided I would make another text front cover for the digipack, using a different photo of the mannequins. This was the result:

Green and Orange

Blue and Green

Blue and Purple

Red and Pink

 I really like the look of the hand drawn heart behind the dolls, as it makes sure that the print product matches my music video, where I have a shot of the two dolls stood together in front of the big heart. This creates my brand identity. The different colour schemes create an extremely fun atmosphere which will be enjoyed by the audience  I have also photoshopped this into my digipack design to see if it would fit:

 I really like the look of this front cover, even though it doesn't connect with the back cover as well as the first design in terms of colour scheme. However, this does not strike me as a problem, as my brand is supposed to be full of random colours.
After this, I then took the imagery of the dolls and the heart and created my first attempt as the CD disk design:

I have used the same copyright information that I put on my CD back cover, along with the logo for Compact Disc commonly seen on CDS's and the record labels logo. (Originally my record label was 'STANTON RECORDS' but it is now Fueled By Ramen). I really like the look of the dolls, and I am tempted to use this as a final design.

SCHEDULE!

- My analysing of exisiting digipacks and magazine adverts and any other planning will be completed by 22nd Jan.
- The final, final edit of my video will be completed by the 12th Feb.
- Final deadline for finished print products is the 11th March, however I think I will have these done quicker.
- My evaluation will be completed by the end of the Easter Holidays.

Digipack Trial Final Idea

I have edited the photos I took of my mannequins trialing different ones for the album cover. I have decided on the blue and purple colour scheme for the outside of the digipack, but I want to have a different colour scheme for the inside of the digipack, maybe red and orange colours.

I have also created a final trial for the back of the cd cover,including the copyright information at the bottom:

As for the inside, I have planned to have a whirl wind of string like lines. I have made a quick example on photoshop using the brush tool and altering the hue:

I really like the bright colours of the digipack. I decided to use a colourful colour scheme because it reflects the fun and upbeat tones of the songs featured, pop music and my music video. The mannequins create a branding identity for MAX. The idea of the multicoloured inside cover came from the MIKA // Life in Cartoon Motion cover. 

Digipack Template

I had first decided to plan my digipack as if I was using the typical jewel case design, but after researching existing digipacks including Hesitant Alien and Oracular Spectacular, I have realised that it is deemed quite individual and experimental to use the digipack design where it opens out like a book. Since my artist's target audience is young people, I think that if I use a more trendy digipack design, then it will appeal more to them. I will either go with this design:

or one similar to Hesitant Alien and Oracular Spectacular:

I will still be using this digipack template when editing my images together, but when I put together my final products, I will present them in a way that shows they open like a book. I may even print the images out and create an example piece to fully explain my idea.

Record Label

I had originally planned to create my own record label for MAX, (STANTON RECORDS). However, after planning and researching the print products, I found that I would need to have a logo, something that would be a lot easier if I just chose an existing record company. This then lead me to choose Fueled By Ramen, known for signing young, pop-rock artists and groups. They are also  part of my chosen music company/distributor, Warner Music Group.
They are commonly known to target younger audiences, so I felt it was appropriate.

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Gerard Way // Hesitant Alien Digipack Analysis

http://prezi.com/on6qmjveygqj/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

MGMT // Oracular Spectacular Digipack Analysis

http://prezi.com/oosaju7jsdbw/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

MIKA // Life In Cartoon Motion Digipack Analysis

The cover of the digipack is all one illustration that seems to be hand drawn with an assortment of colourful lines and patterns. Among this are small illustrations of cogs, dolls, flowers and random house hold objects. It seems to be a visual representation of someones mind, either MIKA's or one of the characters in his songs including 'Billy Brown'. It also continued the name of the album 'Life in Cartoon Motion', with cartoons all over the cover. It seems that the small cartoon man has dreamed up all the illustrations. The name of the artist is incorporated in with the drawings in large bold capital letters, and looks as though it has also been dreamed up by the man.
The cover is very psychedelic and is reminiscent of artwork made whilst being on drugs. This tells the audience that the songs will be quite fun, upbeat and strange. The wild colours and images keep up MIKA's branding identity which has been his signature identity since he first became a well known artist.
On the back of the cover, the track list is written down the left side in the same font as the album title on the front cover. The illustrations are carried on from the front cover. The copy right and legal information is listed vertically on the right side.
The CD design is again, the same illustrations from the front cover, but the colour and orientation have been altered.

This is the design for the inside of the cd. It takes the images of the cogs on the front cover and plasters them all over the page.
Inside the cover seems to be a lot more simple than the design on the front and back of the cover. This is something that I will adopt for my digipack.

From this album, I will take these ideas:
- Less design on the inside cover
- Bright random colours to make a statement

My Chemical Romance // Danger Days Digipack Analysis

The front cover consists of a background of an image of a deserted desert at early evening before the sun has gone down. The desolate location mirrors that of older cowboy films, which may link to the story about two groups of people being against each other that the album follows. This idea of fighting is then followed up with the title of the album 'Danger Days', with the word 'danger' written in capital letters, an opposite colour to the background and block writing in the center of the page. The font is loud and 'in your face'. The name of the band is smaller above the title.
In the bottom there is a logo for parental advisory, warning the consumer that the content may be unsuitable for younger people. This is very much in line with rock music as it is the fashion to be viewed as tough and dangerous. Behind the text is a large stamp of a spider with a lightening bold on the head, a logo used as part of the bands branding for this era. The back of the cover continues this theme, with a different image of the deserted desert, but the lighting is a lot happier as it appears to be midday. The album title is repeated again in white this time, with a logo of a skull with a lightening bolt on the head of it, following on from the spider, above it, creating a branding image.The tracks are listed beneath this in small white writing. The beneath this it writes who its producer by, engineered by and mixed by. At the bottom of the page the copy right information is given in very small writing, along with the bands website and the record labels website.

The inside of the digipack contains a grainy image of one of the characters from the series of music videos for this album. They seem to be stills from the music videos that follow the story 'of the fabulous killjoys'. The grainy quality and the slightly sandy filter furthers the desolate environment that they are fighting in, maybe resembling the look of  sandstorm. The CD contains the same stamp of the spider from the front cover, with the artist logo and the title of the album.There is a fuscia pink circle around around it which stands out against the paler tones.

Inside there is a booklet containing the lyrics to all the songs and photographs of all the band members from the music videos,

Section A - Real Media Texts

This is my short prezi on the possible real media texts section of the exam.

I am not too sure what else I would talk about so I am going to try and find some examplar answers.

http://prezi.com/cbbxjfzizzdu/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Kings of Leon // Only By The Night Advert Analysis + FINDINGS

Kings of Leon Only By The Night Advert Analysis from elleahmedia

I decided to analyse a different genre to pop to make sure that I cover all aspects of making a magazine album advert.
The things that I have found from analysing this advert are the same as the things I learnt from analysing the pop magazine adverts.

I have found that:
- the image from the album cover is the same as the image used in the advert, a brand identity is created.
- the graphics used look aesthetically pleasing at first glance but when you look closer they tell a story with a deeper meaning.
-The release date is the most important piece of information after the name of the artist.
-The artist's logo does not have to be included, but if it is, the logo is normally just the artists name written in a certain font that is recognisable.
-The artist's website is included in really small print at the bottom of the page, along with the record label.

MIKA // The Boy Who Knew Too Much Advert Analysis

MIKA // The Boy Who Knew Too Much Advert ANALYSIS from elleahmedia

(I have had to reupload this after realising that the colour of the writing was unreadable.)

Changes Made

After looking at my audience feedback from my second rough cut, I have made the following changes to my video so far:

-Inserted more clips of Ben in the start of the video to introduce him earlier.
The video definitely flow better now that he is introduced around the beginning of the video.

-I have looked at changing the contrast.
The colours look a lot more fun and inviting, giving my video an overall makeover.

Before Contrast:

After Contrast:

I have also looked at changing the colours of the forest and school scenes of Ben, giving it a slightly blue tint to it to portray a sort of magical world.

After

Before

-I have looked at transitions
Here I tried using an Iris Box video transition. However after looking through some of the other transitions on premier pro, I have decided that I wont be including transitions as I feel that it inertupts from the flow of the video.