Music Video - Final Edit

Digipak Design Final Edit

 Front Cover & Spine

 From gathering feedback on the design of my digipak, I learnt that many people felt that the image used on the digipak front cover should be in colour as it appears in colour on the magazine advert. I re added the image of the hands forming a heart and altered the setting slightly so that the image wasn't too dark.

 

I also darkened the font used for the artist name and made the album title bigger so that they stood out against the background image. I also positioned the album title slightly lower down so that it wasn't overlapping the thumbs on the background image. By positioning it over the white dress on the background image, this helped it to stand out.

 

 

 Back Cover & Spine

For the back cover of the digipak, I only made slight changes. Some people suggested that the image would look better if the both the record label logos used on my magazine advert were included. I added the 'Island Jam Records' logo and made both slightly smaller so they fit neatly next to the barcode. I also darked the right side of the image slightly so that I could add the track listing in a more interesting way. I made the new darkened area of the image blend in with the original image by using the eraser tool on a soft setting.

I also changed the font used for the track listing as I felt the first font I used was plain and boring. However I kept the same white colour for the font as the text stands out clearly from the background image in this colour.

 

 

Booklet (Inside Left Panel)

    (Booklet Cover)

No changes were made to the booklet cover as I am happy with the design I originally came up with.
 

 (Internal booklet pages)

Even though I recieved some comments in the feedback for my digipak design, saying that the internal booklet pages were a little simple. Therefore I looked at other booklets inside digipaks and decided that the design of the booklet pages is suitable as most lyric pages in booklets are quite simple. Therefore I made no changes to the booklet pages.

 
CD Housing - (Inside Right Panel)

 

Even though I wasn't given any negative feedback for the CD Housing panel, I decided to change the rose image in the background, cropping the image used on the internal booklet pages. I altered this to make it more red so it stands out. The black area represents the CD and how it would sit over the top of this image.

Magazine Advert Final Edit

This is my final edit of my Magazine Advert to advertise the album. I made minor adjustments to the design, following the advice given to me through feedback on my first draft design.

Firstly I lightened the background image slightly, as on my first draft the image was a little dark and therefore the font used for the artist name didn't really stand out as well from the poster. I really liked the font I had chosen so didn't really want to change it, so to help it stand out even more I darkened the text so that it stood out more. I tried changing the colour of the font to reflect the colour from the roses at the bottom of the advert but didnt like the results, so left the text black. I also changed the size and positioning of the album title text. This is because it overlapped part of the thumbs in the background image and again this didn't allow the text to jump out as part of it was overlapping a dark image. I made the text slightly smaller and then moved it down slightly so that is was positioned over the white area of the background image.

After looking back at the magazine adverts I had analysed and reading peoples feedback, someone had commented on the fact that there wasn't any websites added to the poster. Using a small white font, (the same as the one used for the reviews), I added in a website for the artist and also a website for the record label. Some people had also said that in the top left corner it looked slightly blank and off balance, as my advert had some aspects of symmetry, and suggested that I add something to that top corner. I added another record label logo in that corner to balance out the design.

Evaulation - Question 4

Evaluation - Question 3

Audience Feedback Part 1 - Music Video




Audience Feedback Part 2 - Magazine Advert & Digipak

Evaluation - Question 2

Evaluation - Question 1

 

Digipak Design Feedback

Digipak - First Draft

Front Cover

Back Cover

Front cover of booklet (inside left)

Booklet pages

The back page of  the booklet would be plain white if made as this would be stuck inside the case onto the left hand side, and therefore wouldn't be seen.

 



CD housing design (inside right)

Creating my Digipak

 

Magazine Advert Feedback

Magazine Advert - First Draft

Creating my Magazine Advert

 

Audience Feedback - Music Video (First Draft)

 

Editing the first draft - Part 2

In my next 2 hour long lesson, I continued making sure that all the shots were in time with the song and managed to finish this stage of the editing process. During this, I had to look at altering the speed/duration of some of the clips. I had originally decided that most of the narrative shots would be in slow motion, and also that the tracking shot used at the start would be in slow motion.

During the third verse of the song, the lyrics say 'I got sent away..' and this gave me the idea of the actor fading from the shot. To do this I had to film the actor in the shot and then the same shot without the actor. I then placed these in the same place on the time line, except one of the footage clips had to be placed in the video 2 section of the time line. On this clip, I then added an additive dissolve which made this clip fade out and therefore resulted in the actor fading out the shot.

I then decided that in some places of the video, the clips lasted for too long and normally music videos constantly cut between shots. I got a few of the narrative performance clips and edited them in so that it was more fast paced, but made sure that my music video was still performance led.

Editing the first draft - Part 1

On the first editing session, I opened the track in the Adobe Premiere Pro software and as the track lasted for over 4 minutes, I decided to cut it down in length. I removed around 20 - 30 seconds of the instrumental at the end of the track. As I had to cut the middle of the instrumental I thought I would struggle to get the two remaining sections to line up so that it wasn't noticeable. Luckily it only took a few attempts. I then went on to  put all the individual clips of footage in the right order on the time line. This took me 2 hours in total, because I had to work out the order using my storyboard. I had also decided to repeat some shots and added in a few extra shots in some places.

In the next editing session, I went on to line up the clips with the track. This involved making sure the lip-syncing was in time with the singer on the track. I managed to work through a third of the track in the hour long lesson. As I went along each clip I made sure that the sound from the footage was muted so that only the track could be heard playing alongside the footage.

First Draft



The Filming Process

Magazine Advert Mock-up

 

Digipak Mock-up

 

Risk Assessment

Location Planning

 

Costumes, Props & Actor Decisions

 

Storyboard

 

Shooting Schedule

 

Treatment

 

Brainstorming Ideas

 

Applying for permission to use chosen track

Track Lyrics

These are the lyrics for the track I will be using for my music video. I chose this song because I really like the meanings and emotions from within the lyrics, and feel that it is different from most tracks as it relates to friendship and the ups and downs, unlike a majority of songs that relate more to relationships and either being in love or heartbroken. I felt that this would make the portrayal of the lyrics through the music video more interesting. Also I really like the artists style and feel that this influenced both costume ideas and also the chosen location for the shoot.

'This is what makes us girls' - Lana Del Rey (2012)

'Remember how we used to party up all night
Sneaking out and looking for a taste of real life
Drinking in the small town firelight
(Pabst Blue Ribbon on ice)

Sweet sixteen and we had arrived
Walking down the streets as they whistle, "Hi, hi!"
Stealin' police cars with the senior guys
Teachers said we'd never make it out alive

There she was my new best friend
High heels in her hands, swayin' in the wind
While she starts to cry, mascara runnin' down her little Bambi eyes:
"Lana, how I hate those guys."

This is what makes us girls
We all look for heaven and we put our love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's our curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put our love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen

And that's where the beginning of the end begun
Everybody knew that we had too much fun
We were skippin' school and drinkin' on the job
(With the boss)

Sweet sixteen and we had arrived
Baby's table dancin' at the local dive
Cheerin our names in the pink spotlight
Drinkin' cherry schnapps in the velvet night

Yo we used to go break in
To the hotel pool, glimmer and we’d swim
Runnin' from the cops in our black bikini tops
Screaming, "Get us while we're hot. Get us while we're hot"
(Come on take a shot)

This is what makes us girls
We all look for heaven and we put our love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's our curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put our love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen

The prettiest in crowd that you had ever seen
Ribbons in our hair and our eyes gleamed mean
A freshmen generation of degenerate beauty queens
And you know something?

They were the only friends I ever had
We got into trouble and when stuff got bad
I got sent away, I was waving on the train platform
Crying 'cause I know I'm never comin' back.

This is what makes us girls
We all look for heaven and we put our love first
Somethin' that we'd die for, it's our curse
Don't cry about it, don't cry about it
This is what makes us girls
We don't stick together 'cause we put our love first
Don't cry about him, don't cry about him
It's all gonna happen'

Track

Interscope Records

History of Interscope Records
Interscope records is an American based record label owned by the Universal Music Group and is based in Santa Monica, California and was founded by 1990 by Jimmy Lovine and Interscope Communications' Ted Field with financial support from Atlantic Records who owned a 53% stock in the label. The labels first release was Gerardo's Mo' Ritmo (a Latin Rap artist) in 1991.

At first, the labels focus was upon the Hip-Hop and Urban Music genres, but by the mid 1990s its range of genres began to expand, signing artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, rock band Limp Bizkit, and also the Latin artist Kings Of Flow (through partnership with a Los Angeles based indie Latin label).

After the Universal Music Group acquired PolyGram in 1998, Geffen Records and A&M Records were merged into Interscope Records. This was followed by the merging of DreamWorks Records with the Interscope-Geffen-A&M group in 2004, bringing artists including Blink-182, Nelly Furtardo, The All-American Rejects, Papa Roach, Rise Against and many others. These artists were divided amongst Interscope and Geffen with most going to the latter. In 2005 Interscope launched Cherrytree Records, with the main focus of the new label being emerging artists, and this soon saw the signing of artists such as The Lovemakers, Far East Movement and Robyn. Lady Gaga was also part of Cherrytree Records but as of 2011 has been transferred to Interscope Records.

In May 2007, Interscope announced they were joining forces with Justin Timberlake to create a new label known as Tennman Records, and the first artist to be signed to this label was Esmée Denters.

The Interscope Record label has received criticism from some artists such as Nine Inch Nails and 50 Cent. Nine Inch Nails claim that the Universal Music Group overcharged him for his album 'Year Zero' in Australia, and also claims that when he asked why it was so much, they replied "you've got a core audience that's gonna buy whatever we put out, so we can charge more for that. True fans will pay whatever". They are no longer signed to Interscope Records nor do they associate with the label. Rapper 50 Cent engaged in a feud with Interscope stating that "Not everyone is committed to releasing my new album" (referencing his yet to be released fifth studio album).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interscope_Records

Polydor Records

Polydor History

The Polydor record label (founded in 1924 by Deutsche Grammophon) is owned by the Universal Music Group, but headquartered in the UK. Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical music label that was founded in 1898 by Emile Berliner and is also linked to the Universal Music Group.

 

Polydor became a popular music label in 1946, and in the early 1960s, Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers, who later became known as The Beatles we signed to Polydor by orchestra leader Bert Kaempfert. Popular German entertainers such as James Last and Bert Kaempfert appeared on the Polydor label alongside many Latin American, French and Spanish figures. In 1969, Polydor opened a US division, but we not prominent in the US record industry until they purchased a recording contract as well as a back catalogue of R&B star James Brown in 1971. Also at this time, Polydors parent company PolyGram (founded in 1972) took over the MGM Records label in 1972, pushing the Polydor label further into the spotlight. Previously in 1970, Polydor purchased Diamond Records, a Hong Kong based label which was founded by Ren da Silva, a Portuguese merchant in the late 1950's. Throughout the 1970s, Polydor became a major rock label and was also associated with disco, being home to acts such as the Bee Gees and Gloria Gaynor.

 

Into the 1980's, in spite of becoming overshadowed by its sister label Mercury Records, Polydor continued to sign deals with acts. By the early 1990s, Polydor began to under perform and therefore began to operate under the umbrella of the PolyGram Label Group (known as PLG). This newly constructed label was specifically designed to oversee  PolyGrams lesser performing record labels, including Island Records, London Records, Atlas Records and Verve Records.

 

In 1994, Island Records recovered and resulted in PolyGram dissolving most of PLG into it. Also for a brief period of time, Polydor and Atlas Records merged and were known as Polydor/Atlas. The began operating through A&M Records, also a PolyGram subsidiary.

This merge of record labels Polydor and Atlas Records only lasted until 1995, when Polydor/Atlas simply became Polydor Records again.

 

Polydor UK

In the early 1970's, the main source of income for Polydor Records is reported to have been from the hugely successful UK band Slade. In the 1970s and 1980s, the label was also home to acts such as The Jam and successful British Glam Rock act Sweet, who were signed to the label in 1977. Even though the American Polydor Branch is no longer in operation, the UK Polydor remains one of the strongest record labels in the country. Now, the label consists of artists such as Esmée Denters, Take That, N-Dubz, Cheryl Cole, The Saturdays, James Morrison, Ellie Goulding, Lawson and many more. There is a wide range of Genres within the Polydor label including indie bands such as Elbow, White Lies and The Maccabees.

 

Polydor UK works with Interscope Records and acts as the UK label for American based acts under Interscope-Geffen-A&M, such as Eminem, Limp Bizkit, Timberland, The All-American Rejects, The Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, Lana Del Rey and many more.

 

Polydor launched Fascination Records in 2006, a label that is dedicated to pop music, with acts such as Girls Aloud and Sophie Ellis-Bextor transferring to the new label. Several teen pop acts, such as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez & the Scene have been signed to Fascination Records.

 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydor_Records

Indie Pop Genre Research

Indie Pop is a sub-genre in music, (formed from the main genre of Alternative Rock), that originated in the UK in the mid-1980s, with its roots in Scottish post-punk bands such as ‘The Smiths’. Indie Pop was inspired by punks DIY ethic and related ideologies, and generated a thriving fanzine, label and club/gig circuit. Indie Pop differs from Indie Rock to the extent that it is more melodic and less abrasive.

The term "indie" had been used for some time to describe artists on independent labels (and the labels themselves), but the key moment in the naming of "indie pop" as a genre was the release of NME's C86 tape in 1986. The compilation featured artists such as ‘Primal Scream’, ‘The Pastels’ and ‘The Wedding Present’, and "indie" quickly became shorthand for a genre whose defining conventions were identified as melodic power pop song stuctures. Originally, the genre was dubbed "C86" after the tape itself.

The Indie Pop scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, and continues to have a strong following and inspire musicians, not just in the UK but around the world with new bands, labels and clubs devoted to the sound.

The birth of indie pop can be traced back to the post-punk explosion in a limited-circulation of small shop-based record labels such as ‘London's Rough Trade Records’ and ‘Glasgow's Postcard Records’. The publication in Record Business magazine of the first weekly indie singles and album charts (for the week ending 19 January 1980) and the adoption of such charts in the UK music press stimulated activity. In order to reflect this, the British musical weekly New Musical Express released an era-defining compilation cassette called C81. This cassette featured a wide range of groups, reflecting the different approaches of the immediate post-punk era.

Artist Research

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lana_Del_Rey

Storyboarding Task



We were asked to choose a one of the  music videos we previously analysed and storyboard for a 30 second segment of the video to give us a better understanding of how detailed our music video storyboard should be. I chose to storyboard for the Lana Del Rey track 'Born to Die'(2012) in this task because of the many different types of shots included and chose the segment 2:18 - 2:48. The completed task is on the slide share below.

 

I found this task extremely beneficial as it made me realise how detailed the storyboard had to be to portray the types of shot and different angles used in the video. A total of 11 shots appear in this 30 second clip and this made me realise how many shots it must take to make an entire video that is good quality and has the repeatability factor through the use and combination of different shots.

Evaluation of Digipak Analysis

The process of evaluating digipaks has been extremely beneficial to me, as I have gained a better understanding of the different aspects included (e.g. images, text, font, how they house the CD or Booklet etc.). I also found looking at digipaks with different numbers of sides also beneficial as this gave me ideas on how a digipak is made interesting and attractive to the target audience but how it also links to the band/artist and the music genre. For example the Evanescence digipak reflects the heavy rock genre through the use of the graphics (e.g. the thorns and font style and how the two are integrated together). Overall I have a better understanding of the use of digipaks and how some of the sides appear as wallets to hold the CD's and booklets or contain a plastic case to hold the CD.

Digipak Analysis - (Daughtry) Deluxe Edition

FRONT:

 

All the different sections of the front cover are laid out centrally, first drawing our eyes to the main image of the singer and the band name. A full body shot has been used of the lead singer but only his head and torso are in focus as the rest of his body appears slightly blurry. This draws our attention to the singers face whilst creating a connection between the star and the consumer. Also the fact that his body is out of focus allows the background image and the image of the star to flow, as the rest of the band are burred in with the background, allowing the singer to stand out and reflect his significance. As the band is name after the lead singer, the ability to only see him clearly below the title creates this link. The band name is written in a white font and almost appears to have been sprayed onto the background image. The messy edges of each letter combined with the spacing used between each letter makes it more eye catching, whilst the white colour helps it to stand out to the consumer. The album name is the same as the band name and therefore the deluxe edition information tag is positioned on the right under the title. The same font style has been used but the is smaller. However as it is yellow is stands out from the green tinted background image and is therefore clear to the consumer.

 

INSIDE:

As this digipak has 6 sides, there are 3 sides inside which have been made into wallets to hold the Cd's and a booklet. The background image used has been spread across the three sides, and shows the crowd at one of the bands concerts. This creates a flow between these 3 sides and is reflective of the DVD content.

Side one is a wallets which contains the booklet. The contains all the lyric information and actions shots of the band on tour. This side of the digipak has 3 images that are slightly overlapping each other showing the band on tour, reflecting how they are a playing band but are also snapshots from the included DVD. These images have been given white borders allowing them to stand out to the consumer whilst tying in the white and green colour scheme used on the front cover of the digipak.

Side two shows one image of the lead singer playing guitar at one of the bands concerts, again a snapshot from the DVD. This side has a wallet that holds the CD, and combined with the use of the image, it again reflects the bands name and how it relates to the lead singer. Again the image has a white border reflecting the use of colour used on a majority of the digipak sides, tying the digipak together.

Side three shows the 3 images that are slightly overlapping, mirroring the layout style on side one of the digipak. This creates continuity and ties the digipack together. This side is a wallet that holds the DVD which shows 5 music videos, 2 live concert performances and an interview. This again enables a connection to be created between the band and the consumer.
 

 

 

 

 

OUTSIDE:

This side has a black and white image of the lead singer. This high angle shot is looking down on the star who is climbing some stairs, possibly reflecting the singers climb to fame through TV talent shows and allows a connection between the stars role in the music industry and the consumer. The use of black and white is perhaps also reflective of the lead singers journey to fame and how there are good and bad aspects that you have to overcome to reach your goals.

This side also contains tag information on the content of the DVD, which is positioned on the top right in small white writing. The Titles of each section of the content are in capitals to make them stand out more to the consumer, whilst Director information is is lowercase below.

 

BACK COVER:

The back cover has a black and white photo of the band on an American industrial estate. This is clear through the American style cars and trucks in the background. Also this is a low angle shot perhaps reflecting power whilst the use of black and white helps this cover to tie in with the colour scheme used throughout the digipak. The bar code is place over the bottom right corner of the image.

Below the image is the track information. The track numbers are in a basic Ariel red font helping them to stand out from the black background. The Track names are in the same font but white in colour, separating them from the track numbers and making them clearer to the consumers eye. Also the bonus tracks and DVD content are listed below yellow titles. All the writing is in capitals.

The Record label logo's are small and located at the sides of the release and copyright information at the bottom of the pack. This writing and the logo's are also red in colour so that the consumers eyes are more drawn towards the track names written it white.

 

Digipak analysis - (Evanescence) The Open Door

FRONT:
 

The digipak for 'The Open Door' album by Evanescence is 4 sided. The front cover consists of an image of the lead singer looking over her shoulder in an open doorway, and she is facing out of this door. This shot gives the impression that she is stepping out into a new life perhaps or is  leaving the past behind and moving forward which appears to relate to the album lyrically. Also the stone door is slightly distorted as it appears tall and narrows off towards the top, and we can see that the door way opens up into a cloudy sky. This perhaps relates to lyrics of the album and the distorted door is perhaps reflective of a big world that ,as individuals, we are a small part of. I also think that the decorative stonework around the door is very reflective of the music genre, whilst making the image more interesting, especially though the cold stonework colours combined with the lead singers black hair and the darkness of the image to the right of the door. In this dark space beside the door (top right of the cover), the band name and album title have been placed over the image. The gold colouring of the font makes it stand out whilst keeping with the cold colour scheme, and compensates for the small size of the font. Also spiral thorn graphics have been designed around the band name and album title, which again fits with the music genre but also helps the writing stand out. The font is serif with flicks on the letters, tying together the thorn spiral graphics and the writing. The album title is smaller still, and in a similar style calligraphy font creating continuity in the graphics and overall design.

 

INSIDE:
 

The digipak opens out with 2 sides. The left side contains a lyric booklet, with the back page stook to the digipak. The front of the booklet has the album title in a large front, in gold with black shadow added to it making the lettering stand out as the background colour of the paper booklet is also a light golden brown colour. This is accompanied by thorn style spiral graphics like on the front of the digipak, in the same gold colour as the font. The font is also the same as the front colour and this continuity ties in all the sides of the digipak with each other. Decorative page corner graphics have been added to the booklet cover, creating a round cricle in which the album title is positioned, possibly reflecting a lyrical reference to songs on the album such as 'Weight of the World'. Each page inside the booklet either contains song lyrics or photos, that relate to music videos, the band themselves and object photography that ties in well with the album theme. Some examples of internal booklet pictures are below.

 

The right hand side has a plastic CD holder glued to it. Underneath printed on this side and central to the page is a black lower case 'E' with the gold thorn graphics slightly overlapping it. The 'E' is black with gold highlighting on the edge, allowing the gold thorn graphics to be visible over the top of the letter. The style of the 'E' is fitting with music genre. This part of the digipak is shown in the picture below.

 

 

 

BACK:

 

The back cover is an image that almost appears like someone is peering round the edge of the door frame and looking out into the dark cloud. Also the distorted effect is still clear from this close up image. The track names are listed to the left of the doorway with the same thorn graphic running down the edge. The list is also slightly staggered to the left, allowing them to flow with the thorn graphics. Also both the thorn graphic and the font for the track list are gold, with the same font style used throughout and keeping the style flowing and clear throughout the digipak. The tags include the information on the release year and copyright laws. Also the record label logo is located just above it information and are in line with the bar code. The Album producers are located just above the bar code. All of this information is small, allowing the main image to still be the first place out eyes are drawn to.



Digipak Analysis - (Coldplay) Viva La Vida

FRONT:

The front cover of the Digipak for Coldplays album Viva La Vida is made up of an image adapted by the band themselves. The main image is a 1830's painting by Eugene Delacroix 'Liberty Leading the People'. The phrase 'Viva la vida' translates 'live the life' and I think that the Spanish title played some part in the creation of the album artwork. Also, lyrically there are references to love, life, death and war which the painting quite clearly reflects. The band then adapted the image by painting the album title in the centre of the image, creating paint splatters that are clear across the image. The use of white for the title makes it stand out from the background, with the use of paint linking to the use of a famous painting for the background. The title has been painted on quite roughly and some of the letters overlap although they are still clear to read, and I think that this helps to reflect the chaos of the painting in the background. Even though the title is quite large and has been painted over the centre, the background image is still clear.

 

INSIDE (Left):

This side has four square action shots in black and white (one of each band member), allowing the consumer to see that they are a playing band. The use of black and white images follows the colour scheme throughout the digipak. This side is also a wallet that contains a booklet, showing images of 9 abstract paintings that the band created which have been influenced by the tracks on this album. This creates a visual for most of the tracks and portrays the song lyrics. The action shots have been taken at various angles making them more eye catching and interesting to look at.

INSIDE (Right):

This side is very plain with the band name and album title written on it, almost like its an introduction to the CD. The Serif font used is old looking and reflects the time period of the painting 'Liberty Leading the People'. The font size is fairly small but the gold colour makes it stand out from the background. The writing is central to the page and therefore looks neat and clear, and is written all in capitals although the first letter of every word is bigger and this again is used as a way to catch peoples eye. This side is also a wallet which holds the CD.

BACK:

The back is very similar to the inside right wallet. The same font, size and colour has been used for the track listing to tie the digipak together and keep the continuity. Directly below the track listing there is the tag line which state the record label and copyright details as well as the release year and the bands website. Again all this information is central on the back which also has a black background. At the bottom the Parlophone record label logo is positioned central just above the bar code, and is extremely small in size. However the logo also appear on the spine along with the band name and album title in the same gold font.