Final Advert

This is the final rendition of the advertisement for our digipak. We have used the same Triangle design that I made for the digipak as a method of brand identity, this way people will be able to associate the advert with the digipak and notice our brand.The typography is the same as that of our digipak because we wanted to keep the theme constant throughout. We have altered the colour scheme slightly so that it is brighter and more appealing to look at. We have featured the Interscope Records label at the bottom left corner because that is the Record label for Imagine Dragons. The Q magazine rating is an accurate rating as they rate out of 5 stars. The QR code was an idea we came up with making the digipak, this sends whoever scans it to our music video on youtube. We did this as our target audience would have access to mobile devices capable of doing so. The itunes icon at the top right corner is there to let everyone know where the song can be bought. As itunes is the most popular method of downloading music we thought it would be the best idea to include it in our advertisement.

Editing process

 The editing process for the digipak was fairly simple to do. I set up a canvas with the correct digipak dimensions and then inserted the background image into it. I didn't want to stretch or distort the image so I left it as it was. I tried to get the trees to be as symmetrical as I could so that the triangle effects would look better. To make the triangles I found a vector of a triangle on google and used the magic wand tool to highlight it. I then made the area transparent and placed the images within the triangles. I then placed the triangles in the centre of the image, the smallest within the largest. I chose to do the landscape within a landscape look after seeing similar digipak covers done with the same landscape. I put a twist on a common theme which is really what indie is about, straying away from the norm. I went onto DaFont.com to get the font for the "Imagine Dragons" Logo. I chose this geometric font as I thought it would be like the kind of font that a band like Imagine Dragons would use in their artwork. I didn't use their logo because we were making their artwork in our style, we weren't copying their style of work. The font for "On Top Of The World" was a standard photoshop font. I decided upon a thinner, more spaced out font to stand out from the bulky geometric font for "Imagine Dragons". I placed the text within the triangle symmetrically on top of the triangles.

 Here are the images I used to make our digipak. For the background I used this simplistic horizon shot of a forest by a lake. I think the reflection creates an interesting effect when coupled with the two triangles.




I used this image taken by Greg Rolfes as the first triangle. Like the background image this is also a horizon shot. I liked the idea of mixing the vintage looking photographs with the HD, it is contrasting in terms of quality. I also Liked the idea of interlinking a desolate landscape with a livelier scene.









For the smaller triangle I used this image. Here we can see two astronauts walking across a desert, mars like landscape. They did not make it into the final cut of the digipak as I thought it would draw focus away from the concept of the triangles.

Digipak Advert Feedback

We showed our three Digipak advertisement ideas to the class to see what they liked and what could be improved. This was the feedback that would contribute to our final advertisement so we took it all in and chose to pursue the tips given to us.








The group preferred this design the most due to its appealing colour scheme and simplicity. There is clear brand identity which they noticed straight away, something we had in mind whilst making it. Overall they decided that this idea and idea 3 were the best as the black background did not suit the advert in the way that the other adverts did. They said that we should remove the DVD logo as it was not necessary due to the fact that no video would be featured on the Digipak. They also told us to have some ratings and a link to the record label and the band website. We took this into consideration and decided that it was a good idea, we are currently working on where everything should go with the new additions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              



They liked the QR code as all of them knew what it was and what it would do. This is exactly what we wanted when we added it to the advert, we wanted our target audience to be able to feel as if everything had been catered towards them. The QR code would allow them to have easy access to our product, using the devices we expected them to have. They also like the itunes link as it shows that we are focusing on the platforms our target audience uses in order to listen to and purchase music.











We were very pleased with the feedback from the class and it should not be difficult to incorporate their ideas into our work. For an Alternative and Indie Digipak we wanted to keep things simple which they understood and appreciated, the feedback they gave helped us with this as we made everything that needed to be there as simplistic as possible. We hope that the final advert should cater to their needs as well as maintaining the standard for Alternative/Indie Digipak adverts.
                                                             

Student Digipak Advert Analysis

Analysis of Digipak Advertisements

Brand Identity

Digipak magazine advert draft feedback

 

We got into a group and showed our ideas to each other. It was exactly like our digipak draft meeting but it was much quicker as we know what we were doing. Bex and I showed off our 3 drafts and we got our feedback from the group. They preffered the first draft to the other ones but they said to add the revies/ ratings and website information to the bottom of the poster. 

We used a QR barcode generator to make a barcode that would link to our video. All you would need to do is scan the code on your smartphone or any other mobile device with a camera and it would take you to the video we made on YouTube. We included the record label at the bottom of the image as well as information on its availability on iTunes. We included a rating from Q Magazine with a 5 star rating as Q magazine uses stars as their rating system. We got rid of the DVD logo as the Digipak has no videos included on the disk. Bex had kept her idea to have the websites at the top left of the image which looks better than if it were to be in the centre with everything else.

Digipak Editing Update

Here is our group working together to produce a digipak for our music video for Imagine Dragons song "On Top Of The World". As you can see on the screen we have the Front and back covers as well as the inlay almost completed. The design for the front cover features three landscape images, two of which are within triangles. I had the idea when looking at similar digipaks but none had been done like this before. All we need to do is write up a track listing for the back cover, use a barcode generator to have a barcode on the back and type up all the copyright information that is featured at the bottom.

digipak art

this is an album cover I have made on photoshop so we could have a draft for what I wanted to achieve as our album cover. It got good feedback however we cannot use this as our final cover artwork as the images used are not mine. Bex and I are gathering our own images and trying to replicate this as best as we can.

After looking through the pictures I had I found some suitable photos for the cover. I went onto Photoshop, experimenting with a variety of different hues and filters to accomplish the same look as what I had done before. Here are the attempts I made.

 

The last image is the one we have chosen for our Digipak cover. I chose a dull, vintage colour scheme because it is a typical convention of the indie/alternative genre. The geometric font was because I have seen many similar bands use that style. The triangles are because I have seen bands such as Chvrches use triangles on their covers before and I was inspired by these covers.

 The photo I took for the background is at London, the big triangle is my front garden in winter and the inner triangle is a photo I took in the fog. I think the variety of the images helps add to the peculiar effect of interlinking images like this. For the disk we plan on incorporating the triangle effect.

 

 

This is the class showing off their ideas to each other and discussing what we like and dislike. The class were in favour of the triangle design over the black and white diamonds. We have now decided as a group and from the feedback we received that should use our first draft as our cover art and keep that theme throughout our digipak. It is best that we carry this theme onto posters and magazine advertisements as well.

 

Conventions of digipak adverts

Generic Conventions of Indie and Alternative Digipaks

Favourite album covers

 

Kain Stones

Conventions of digipaks

Digipak brief

We have to promotion package for the release of an album and this has to include;

A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)

A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

Editing Feedback

We showed our video to the class to get their feedback on everything before we completed our video. Overall it was very positive, it seemed to go down well with everyone and they enjoyed it. The issues that were brought up were things that needed minor tweaks which we will carry out in our final edit. They said that there were scenes that went on for a few seconds too long which did not fit in with the upbeat pace of the video. They said that some of the light leaks were a little intense whereas some were barely even noticeable. Some people were confused as to whether the characters left their places because of the time or because of something else and suggested we make this more clear. We then explained that we wanted to leave the video more ambiguous rather than a music video that spoon feeds the viewer. This is what makes the viewer keep on watching, the characters never make it clear where they're all going and it is this kind of enigma that makes indie and alternative music videos successful. 

Editing update No.3

This was the last push for editing before the holidays, we took the feedback we got from the group and added the final touches to our video. Jess and I had filmed some additional scenes where she took the camera on a tripod and walked along the road slowly, we then sped it up and stabilized it so that it would look like we were looking from the perspective of a car. We applied more light leaks to some scenes and reduced them in others until we reached a good balance. Bex had edited the transition in which Jess changes her clothes and we added that to the timeline, it all fit in perfectly on beat. The video should be done very soon, with final tweaks and touches to make sure it is exactly how we want it to be.

Editing update No.2

I had been looking into using Light Leaks in our video since its inception. I thought it fit very well with the genre of alternative and indie as it is a convention of hipster photography. I wanted to incorporate this into our video so that it would appeal to our target audience more. In order to do this I had to find several videos with stock light leak footage and use a URL converter to download it into the correct video file.I then added it to sony vegas and began altering the opacity and vibrancy until I reached the desired effect.

Here is a still image from one of the final scenes of our video with the light leak filters applied. 

Editing Update No.1

We begun editing our footage today and so far it has been easy to do so. There is a recurring beat which makes everything easier to track and place video clips over. We chose to edit almost everything on beat as it is professional and for such a fast paced song it is ideal. The cross cutting and transitioning looks much neater this way so we plan on using it throughout the editing process. We have chosen the bridge that will lead the transport scenes into the final scenes and we are building up from there. We should be able to finish our first draft soon and we will then get feedback from the rest of the group.

filming update #2

We filmed Ross' scenes as a window cleaner outside of the boarding house windows. Originally we were going to have Ross in Lincoln cleaning the windows of a hotel with one side of the building being entirely glass. We decided that it would be a waste of time to go all the way to Lincoln if we were told we couldn't do it so instead we settled for school. We chose the boarding house, a side of it that was out of the way so nobody could tell it was school property. We had brought a bucket and various window cleaning utensils for Ross to use as well as a ladder as scenery. I think that putting Ross' character in a posh environment helped differentiate the wealthy from the working class.

filming update #3

I met up with Jess at her work in Market Rasen to do the office scenes. The location was great as it was a single desk in one room so it connoted a sort of isolation from the outside world. We reached the end of the tape which we worried about however we found 30 minutes of space left at the beginning which we then used for the filming at Hubbards hills. We drove to Hubbards hills picking Ross up along the way. We chose a sunny day to film on , the 28th of September. Despite how cold and dark it became it does not seem this way in the video. I altered the colour balance and exposure of the footage as well as applying some orange and red light leaks.

 The scenes we filmed were of the party scene. The scene in which everyone came together to get away from the monotonous drone of working life. I think the look of the footage we got was much different from that of the travelling scenes. It was calm and colourful unlike the saturated and gritty scenes of the working life.

filming update #1

I went into Lincoln with my friend Sam to film some shots. I went in costume and gave Sam the camera, taught him how to use it and then we scouted for filming locations. We went to three different car parks because they were the kind of cold, desolate buildings we were looking for. There we got the shots of me running through the different levels and taking off my work clothes. I chose to film in the car parks because barely anybody was there and it made the location of the final scenes seem much more visually appealing. We did not take a tripod as we thought the running scenes would look better if they were more frantic and slightly shaky. In hindsight, it would have been wise to bring one along. I was constantly having to fix my hair so that it didn't look different in any of the other shots. On the way back to Market Rasen we got a shot of myself on the train like we had planned before. Overall the day was a success and we got more than enough clips  just in case.

Risk assessment

Student video analysis

shooting schedule

shot list

Job Roles

Rebecca Scuffham: Camera operator, lighting technician, director.

What the jobs entail: Bex will be in charge of directing the entire video and she will be behind the camera for the majority if not all of the shots. She will also be in charge of making sure that every shot is lit perfectly.

Why was this person chosen?: Bex was the director of the last video we did for media and she did a great job of it. She was also in charge of operating the camera and I liked the shots that we got for our film.




Jessica Bell: Producer, Make up artist, costume designer.


What the jobs entail: Jess will assist Bex in directing and also design and make costumes for the characters.

Why was this person chosen?: Jess is very fashionable and also has a keen eye for what looks good in music videos.




Kain Stones (Me): Actor, editor and runner.

What the jobs entail: I will be in charge of editing the music video and will also be portraying the role of the Intern/Office worker. I will also go back and forth doing jobs for Bex and Jess.

Why was this person chosen?: I enjoyed editing the last film we did and I have had plenty of experience editing. I also enjoy acting.

Locations

For our music video we have chosen several ideal locations and back up locations. We have decided that the final scenes will be filmed at Hubbards Hills in Louth because of its contrast between the Natural world and the industrial world our characters were confined to.


We chose to film Ross' scenes as the cleaner outside the boarding house windows as it was under development and there was a lot of tools and equipment that would look great with Ross working amongst it all. Jess Bell has offered to use her workplace as a location for my scenes as The Intern. It is a stereotypical office environment so it should suit the character very well. Anna's scenes as the busker will be done under a bridge in Lincoln by the docklands, we chose this as it is not usually very busy and will be nice to see the city incorporated into the video. It is also were buskers in Lincoln often go. Bex has offered to use her mothers Florists for Jess Bramhill's working scenes and we will then film her on a bus for her transport scenes.

Final Cast

 Anna (The Busker)

age: 17

Anna is a musician so it would be natural to have her in the role of the busker.
She is very good on guitar so she is the best person to fit the role.

 Jess Bell (The Dancer)

age:18

originally we were going to have Jess as a call centre operator however we chose instead to have her as a dancer as we felt her role was too similar to that of the intern and that her natural aptitude for dance would come in handy.

Jess Bramhill (The Florist)

age: 17

We chose Jess to play the role of the florist due to her girly appearance that would suit the atmosphere of the shop.

Kain/Me (The Intern)

age: 17

I was cast as the role of the Intern because I fit the appearance of someone who is a hipster in smart clothes, trapped in a 9 to 5 office job.

Ross (The Cleaner)

age: 17

We chose Ross to play the cleaner as he has a look about him that suggests he is a very manual person, the cleaner being the most ideal job amongst the 5, we cast him.