Planning and Production

 

For our planning we tried out different techniques and software in order to find something that is the most effective, we've kept a record of what we had to make and the photo and filming shoots that we had to conduct.

 

 

Half way through our planning for this we had some issues with casting our characters and as this was a huge issue so we were forced to change our song choice and decided to use over you by Ingrid michalelson this meant we had to re choose fonts, logo and Digi pack layout but it was the best way out and even though it pushed us out of our comfort zone we were able to see how we could adapt to any issues faced. Any planning after the change is written in green.

 

Various

These were used over our entire product and allowed our pieces to all tie in together.

 

Record label name 

 

For our record label name we looked into the big four and what their names were, they had things like Sony music entertainment or universal music group so we came up with the name Infinity Music Entertainment. For this we created a logo in Adobe Photoshop. We used cut out to remove the background and a gradient effect to make it look slightly tie dyed we used the font Annie BTN this gives it a feminine soft look that looks simple. we wanted to make the logo interesting and different because we didn't like how simple some of the other logos were, they just weren't memorable we liked how in film company logos they are more eye catching so we created this logo with that in mind we also wanted to make it softer to make the company seem more trust worthy, it gives of an impression of being everyone's friend and not being a big corporation, the company works to help smaller bands make their name and focus more on the people and not the money.

 

Finished logo for our music company, it came out really nice and works well to give the effect we wanted. Coincidently this logo actually fit more for the pop softer genre than the punk individual boy band that we first chose. This was then used on the Digi pack and on the website

Creating the logo

After trying to use the program serif page plus  (cut-out studio) we came to the conclusion that it was not the best program to use for the specific task. As the logo we designed had a white background and we will need to put it onto the website and onto various different album covers we needed something that would give us clear defined lines all around the logo however when using page plus we found that it was difficult to get the lines as defined as we needed them to be for it to look like it was professionally made. As we found that this software was no good for what we needed we chose to use Photoshop as it would allow us to get much more defined lines and the overall product would look much more professional.

As you can see in the image above where to the lines are cut they do not fill the curve of the logo; When you exit the editing studio the black lines appear wobbly and uneven which makes the whole logo look like it was rushed and didn't have much care put into it when being edited. Using this application to do the cutting out was also very time-consuming compared to other applications such as Adobe Photo-Shop which is easier, quicker and would also leave you with a much more aesthetically pleasing finish.

 

 

 As you can see from this logo it looks much more professional; the lines are more defined and the whole logo looks much more professional. By using photo-shop we was able to manipulate the image much more and alter every little bit so it looks much neater rather than it did when using serif Page-Plus.

We thought that this logo wasn't really appropriate for our genre and artist but because our artist we made was Olivia Long we used the same letters and idea but used a softer font. This was used on the website and the Digi pack.

Font 

whilst looking at various fonts to use for the band name, this will be on our Digi pack and the website, we wanted to find something similar to the logo so we tried out a few different fonts. the font used for the band name will be the same as in the video for the band name so we have continuity through out our product. because we are planning to use a cartoon effect in the video we may use some text such as 'ouch' in a comic style font some of these fonts may be ok to use for some of the writing.

The first was KG second chance 

This font is very bold and solid and has a very drawn on, 2D, cartoon look that makes the band seen younger, this font would be good if we were aiming at a preteen, female market but because we are aiming at a late teen market we will need something more edgy and grown up but still make it a little quirky so that it doesn't look to old for the target market. for this reason we decided not to use this font if we were doing more of a love song by a band built like one direction or the wanted this font would be ideal for the album cover and Digi pack and could also be used in the video.

The second font we looked at was Pundak

This font was also very comic book styled but this one was more 3D it stood out more and looked more aesthetically pleasing. the only problem is its still a bit young for our desired audience and also it also doesn't flow very well with the logo and both wouldn't look right when they are placed next to each other this wouldn't make the album look good and would be unrealistic. however this font would work well in the music video and could fit nicely in as the font for the song title.

 When completing my final product we actually used a wide variety of fonts for different things but we looked at a few for the Digi pack front cover.

 

 

 

 

These were all on the editing software we used, pixlr, so we could easily put them onto my image. We used the second font for the artists name, this was perfect because it was simple, soft and feminine which really worked well for my product. then we used the fifth for the title because it looked the best with the artist font and tied in nicely with the effect we was going for.

 

Digi pack

Our Digi pack was created using serif we tried using adobe but this was the easiest and most effective for my final product.

 

When making the Digi pack we looked at many different examples of Digi packs in our research and we pulled the best parts that we thought was effective, we wanted to do something a bit different so we came up with this layout

For the back of the track list we used the logo on a grey Smokey background so when its closed you see the logo as a whole and when it opens up its separate this works really nicely and is the most effective way of incorporating the band logo without it being to obvious.

 

For my Digi pack we decided to go for a more simpler Digi pack template and used a 6 squared on like this one.

The first step for this was to edit all the pictures we used an editing software called pixlr for this, this site allowed me to edit the lighting and brightness as well as using the blemish tool to remove any imperfections. another toll we were able to use in this software was the liquid tool which allowed me to shrink and push the picture so we were able to follow codes and conventions on how artists should look making my artist look a lot thinner.

The next step was to add and fonts to the back or front of my Digi pack, this we did via pixlr.





Then to make the third side we used word and the curved line feature to make what looks like sound waves this we tried in two different colours and after asking a group of people decided to use the black one.

For the disk we wanted to have an interesting disc so we added a blue speckled background onto the disk with the font on top and a few butterfly's on it as well. we used the serif cut out studio and cut out the outer then inner circle this then allowed to add any extra decoration. Unlike the possible designs for the other digipak which focused around darker, grey colours we decided to experiment with some brighter, calmer colours whilst still adding some effect. We feel that the above design works well as it features more vibrant colours and makes use of effects alterations however will allow us to add images without there being too much on the digipak.

Out of the two patterns we decided to use the second as it worked the best and when a group were asked 4/6 said the first one.

The final side to create was the right side panel this needed to have a collage of photos so we cut out some old polaroid frames and put pictures in so they would look like old photos, we then cut out some butterflies which ended up being a common theme with the digipak and the website. we then added the music company logo which made the digipak more realistic.

Website
when creating the website we looked at a few website crating sites like wix.com and Moonfruit but we ended up using IM Creator which had better tools and was much easier to use and gave a better overall product.

Initially we made a quick website were we just played around with some features and see what worked well. when we asked peers they said didn't like the bright colour scheme but thought they did like the areas behind pictures and information. they also said they would have preferred a multi page website so when making our actual website we did this.

For the website we used all images of other products and from photo-shoots we did during filming. we used similar colours to those used in the music video with dark purples like the costumes worn by the lead and used butterflies like in the digipak so there was a common feature throughout our final product.

Music video

Song choice 

In the end we chose the song 'CHEATER CHEATER BOYFRIEND EATER' by Never Shout Never.

As you can see from this collage choosing the song we were going to use was  a long process. Between us we came up with a list of songs however this list was narrowed down after time. In the end we chose a song which was not on the list initially as we didn't hear it until we had started the process of deciding on a song. We sat down and brain-stormed ideas for each song from the final list until we decided which one would allow us to use more editing, technical shots, props and other more advanced filming aspects.

 

As for our change of song we decided to go for one of the top three, one which we had a few ideas for already and it was no real reason we didn't choose it, so we thought about it and choose Over You by Ingrid Michalelson. This song is a slow Indi pop song and was a really good choice for us to use.

Lyrics/location

After looking at the lyrics all together we have come to the conclusion that when we film our music video, most of it will take place in a school with a few differing locations; after looking at the lyrics we decided it was the most appropriate place to shoot in order to make our video as realistic as possible; there are some very child-like themes (as you can see below) therefore we feel that it would be the best location for it.

 

As the whole song is based around very adolescent issues we thought in more depth about modern day teenagers and from that we made the decision that, as well as filming in a school, we would also film some of our video in a coffee shop (Starbucks or Costa) as these are very common locations for modern day teens to spend their free time creating a sense of realism. 

Instead we looked at a few locations one had to be a house so we used the house of our main character Emily, we also manage to use a large hall which had great lighting as well as another that had the huge curtains which made a great backdrop, which both gave different effects but worked perfectly for what we needed. 

 

Storyboard

Obviously, once we changed our song choice we had to create a whole new idea for what our video was going to include... As we had thought about using the new song as our final one before we had some very clear ideas for things that we could include so creating  a new plan for our video was much easier! instead of using a story board we chose to write our plan as a timeline; this was much more effective as our plot was very complicated and to write our plan like this meant that we were able to go through in a more logical order and read exactly what we had planned. Extra notes and details were much easier to include.


Casting

When casting for the female lead we looked at a variety of friends and colleges and we wanted to go for a more down to earth girl next door look than the usual sexual female artist. after comparing their looks and schedules we decided to cast a friend and fellow media student who fit the look, Emily. As she was a fellow student she understood how filming goes and what's needed but she also acted as a judge who we could ask her opinion during filming and we used this to improve our filming.

Casting the male lead was much more difficult as we needed them t have an on screen romance with our female lead which may be hard to fake, we originally looked at a friend and fellow media student but he was unable to make the dates but when one of our original ideas Emily's partner Tom, who was down for our filming dates and had the perfect look we decided to cast him as our lead.

Costume

As for costume we needed two types for each character the first was the smart look and for Emily we decided to put her in a purple full length dress which worked really well against the dark background. and for tom we put him in a navy suit which also worked well against the background.

As for the casual scenes we put them both in jeans and tee shirts this was supposed to show the normal everyday them, the people the viewers could relate to. which worked really nicely in the music video and matched the themes of the song.

Photo shoot 1

The photo's from this shoot will be used for our digipak, our social network sites and to compile various different slideshows on the band's website; Although in the photos from this shoot the outfits, on a whole are very elegant and evening dress style we will also be doing another shoot in which more casual photos will be taken. Photos from this shoot will be used for our social networking sites in order to show the band in a very contrasted light to the first shoot. We did film some in more casual outfits as the location was free and we had the right outfits. We brought in outfits, make-up and jewellery that we decided would be fitting for our video and we tried in various combinations and compared them with each other until we found combinations that worked well together. We also got some filming done on this day to include in our music video however this was done in more casual clothes to contrast with the sophisticated photo shoot and the other more formal shots we were going to use in our video.

We brought in a variety of different outfits that we tried on in order to find the best one for our film shoot.

We had arranged for someone to come and do our makeup however at the last minute this person was ill therefore we had to use our own makeup do it ourselves. As you can see from below we did not use large amounts; just enough to conceal any blemishes on the camera; only incorporating a small amount of lipstick to add sophistication, elegance and a little bit of colour to the photos.

While setting up the second part of the shoot we had to think about the camera positioning as we were working with natural lighting and the positioning of the piano and singer meant we had to position the camera in the exact right place to ensure that the light did not block the shot or make the shot too light.

 we had to move the room around to ensure that when we filmed nothing extra (chairs, microphones, instruments) were in the shot so it looked as professional as possible. We had to think about what we actually wanted in the shot as well- we went for the stereotypical, simple microphone and piano in the end to add effect of emptiness to the video

These are some of the images that we look from the photoshoot. As you can see we used a variety of clothing and alternative locations in order to show different sides to the artist. As the song deals with very emotional themes we decided that, rather than having any eccentric backgrounds we would use a rather plain, simple one instead; in these images you can see that the artist stands out from the shoot emphasising her more and creating more sense of her dominance. 

 

 

By having the plain background and the artist stood on her on, it also fits in with the theme of the song (a character being very alone) however her stature and positioning's present us with an image of a very powerful, confident girl fitting in with the lyrics 'over you'; she is showing how she doesn't need anyone else and will be okay on her own. 
Editing the photos



After looking at various different digipaks we made note that very few pictures that get featured on them are simple; most photos will be graphically designed or have some sort of effect/ editing involved. Using the programme 'Pixlr' we took some of the photos from the shoot and manipulated, added effects and changed the images from to shoot that we wanted to include on the digipak to make it more realistic to a real digipak and to show our editing skills.