Thursday 31 December 2009
Wednesday 30 December 2009
The Digi-pak
So here it is ... My Digi-pack.
This is one of the last photos that was taken and it was almost the perfect shot, or at least the one I was looking for. In order to achieve what I wanted I had to edit the image to create the desired effect. I used photoshop to edit the contrasts and saturation of the image, as well as cropping the frames and adjusting the highlights.
I had some rough ideas in my mind before I started taking the photos and designing the product. I searched through image hosting websites to try and find some inspiration for my photo and from looking at my research and other photos I have come up with a few ideas as to what I want to include in my final image.
Black and White saturation
Eye contact
Extreme Close up
High Contrast between black and white highlights
Limited clothing to connote raw emotion
A lot of decisions went into making this pack work, some of which include font choices, image choices and colour changes. As the image is the most important part of the entire product it took me a long time to make a final decision that I was happy with. I first held a photoshoot and went through numerous images until settling on the final image. Some of the other images are below. (The photos were all taken from a digital 450 SLR using a portable studio to really create a high contrast between light and dark)
This is one of the first pictures that was taken, it was on the right lines as to what I wanted to achieve but I just wasn't there yet. I didn't like the way the hair in the image looked and I also felt that there was not enough of the actual person in the photo.
This was a second attempt and I was getting closer, the image looks like the photo I took for inspiration but I don't think the lack of eye contact in the image works and I also think that the photo should be taken front on, in a close up shot.
This is one of the last photos that was taken and it was almost the perfect shot, or at least the one I was looking for. In order to achieve what I wanted I had to edit the image to create the desired effect. I used photoshop to edit the contrasts and saturation of the image, as well as cropping the frames and adjusting the highlights. When the editing was complete I added my final photo to my digipak to create .................
Digipak Research
Before I start designing my digipak it would be sensible to look at industry standard promotional products so I can look at common conventions and apply them to my own work. Just from searching for didgpaks I have found it quite hard to find ones that would help me in terms of genre and style so I have subsequentl choosen to look at and research CD covers and tour DVD's just for a few ideas, I think that the same ideas used i nthese products would be applied to the digipaks anyway.
The first item is the cover image from Miley Cyrus's debut album. Her fan base and style of music appeal very much to the same audience as my artist, tween pop culture, if not a little younger. There is direct eye contact with teh audience and the props in the image present clearly and quickly what the image is promoting and representing. Her clothes represent and youthful image aswel as her body position which emphasises a more laid back and playful representation. The colours in the image are also very youthful and playful which build apon the fandom and representation of the artist. The artists name is made the most prominant fearture of the image and the font used also connotes a more playful and youthful imafe due to the use of the lower case letters and the star in the center of the text. From the cover it is easy to determine the taregt audience of the artists without having to look to hard for it. I think that this is the most important thing to consider when designing your own music products, if your audience are not clear as to whether or not your product is meant for them it will not be succesful.
The second product is taken from the actual artist that sings my chosen song. This is extremely helpful as it allows me to find a bench mark and a starting place in terms of representation and audience expectations. Unlike the previous product there is little eye contact with the audience and the colours connote a more mysterious and darker representation which would indicate that the target audience is perhaps a little olfer and more mature. The clothing would also indicate this. The darker colours of this product appeal more to me as a media student because it means that I can use hints of colour to emphasise specific aspects of the product, such as the use of pink in the title to highlight the name of the artist. The image itself is a more mysterious image than the one used previously but the second, smaller image in the background is the complete reverse of the main picture, which could indicate different sides of the artists music and style. Something to consider.
The final product is also taken from Ashley tisdale, the singer who sung my chosen song. This time the product is for the release of her album and the image is the cover for her self titled debut album. Unlike the product above colour has taken a more prominant part in the product but they still connote a more mature audience tham those used on the cover of Miley's album because of the use of high contrasts in the colours and the image sthat the colours connote. The text on the cover also indicates a more rebelious and mature audience, as well as the clothing anf styling of the artist emphasising an older generation aged between 17 - 20.
The first item is the cover image from Miley Cyrus's debut album. Her fan base and style of music appeal very much to the same audience as my artist, tween pop culture, if not a little younger. There is direct eye contact with teh audience and the props in the image present clearly and quickly what the image is promoting and representing. Her clothes represent and youthful image aswel as her body position which emphasises a more laid back and playful representation. The colours in the image are also very youthful and playful which build apon the fandom and representation of the artist. The artists name is made the most prominant fearture of the image and the font used also connotes a more playful and youthful imafe due to the use of the lower case letters and the star in the center of the text. From the cover it is easy to determine the taregt audience of the artists without having to look to hard for it. I think that this is the most important thing to consider when designing your own music products, if your audience are not clear as to whether or not your product is meant for them it will not be succesful.
The second product is taken from the actual artist that sings my chosen song. This is extremely helpful as it allows me to find a bench mark and a starting place in terms of representation and audience expectations. Unlike the previous product there is little eye contact with the audience and the colours connote a more mysterious and darker representation which would indicate that the target audience is perhaps a little olfer and more mature. The clothing would also indicate this. The darker colours of this product appeal more to me as a media student because it means that I can use hints of colour to emphasise specific aspects of the product, such as the use of pink in the title to highlight the name of the artist. The image itself is a more mysterious image than the one used previously but the second, smaller image in the background is the complete reverse of the main picture, which could indicate different sides of the artists music and style. Something to consider.
The final product is also taken from Ashley tisdale, the singer who sung my chosen song. This time the product is for the release of her album and the image is the cover for her self titled debut album. Unlike the product above colour has taken a more prominant part in the product but they still connote a more mature audience tham those used on the cover of Miley's album because of the use of high contrasts in the colours and the image sthat the colours connote. The text on the cover also indicates a more rebelious and mature audience, as well as the clothing anf styling of the artist emphasising an older generation aged between 17 - 20.
Thinking about my promotional items
Brain Waves
So I now have a finished music video, finally. Its now time to start thinking about promotional products. I plan to do some industry research into how artist promote themselves and their videos. Initially I plan to create a digi-pack that will promote my video itself, but I will also look into designing a webpage, poster and insert. This means I will need to hold a photo-shoo in-order to use professional looking images that will make my products look even better.
Tuesday 29 December 2009
VOYEURISM
Voyeurism (from the French voyeur, "one who looks") can take several forms, but its principle characteristic is that the voyeur does not normally relate directly with the subject of their interest, who is often unaware of being observed. The voyeur may observe the subject from a distance, or use stealth to observe the subject with the use of two-way mirrors,hidden cameras, secret photography,
Voyeurism is a central concept in the genre of music videos I aim to recreate
Above is a music video that captures voyeurism in music videos to its full extent.
Friday 25 December 2009
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Focus group Opinions
Comments and criticism.
I recorded their responses and have created a link below.
Tuesday 15 December 2009
CUT 2
SO FAR.....
I have created my first cut of my music video and re-filmed the parts of my footage that I felt needed to be filmed using more light. I have gone back through the original cut and made some editing tweaks in terms of shot sequences and framing to come up with a second cut. I intend to show this to my focus group and get feedback for the final cut.
Here is my second cut which includes the re-filmed shots:
First Cut
First Cut
I have completed my first draft and so far some problems that have arisen are:
Low lit shots
Shaky camera work
Syncing
unknown software
My first cut has enabled me to see that some of my shots towards the end of my video are badly lit and cannot be lightened on the editing software because of the quality of the camera and the resolution, consequently I will have to go back and re-film these sequences but because I have already filmed them once it shouldn't be to difficult.
When I have done the re filming and re editing I will show my video to my focus group and get some feedback before I cut my final copy.
tweaking
Editing an tweaking....
I have finally started to edit the start of my music from the footage I have taken over the past few weeks. At first I felt a little intimidated and unsure where to begin but after referring my storyboards and treatment I took the plunge and started. So far I have the beginning verse and chorus to my music video but I have quite quickly realised I will definitely need to film moor footage in order to create different shot sequences to make it seem less repetitive. So far the carnival scenes work really well and are a good contrast between the emotion in the first verse, I think it allows audiences to get a clear understanding of the message in the video and especially highlighting the lyrics in a visual sense. The hardest part of the editing so far is by far the syncing, fortunately my research taught me never to film just one take of the same scene in order to give yourself options so I have got some of the same scenes shot 4 different times from different angles so if one shot doesn't work it is easy to find a replacement, one the is more visually pleasing and one that easier to sync.
Filming take 2
Filming... TAKE 1
Today I started to film the fair ground scenes of my music video. I filmed over three hours of footage to make sure I would have enough to look through and add into my music video during editing. It was harder to film than I intially would have expected maninly due to the amount of people that were passing by. There were plenty of opportunities for me to create interesting camera angles which I think will work really well in the finished video. One effect that I think will work really well includes footage of my talent on rides themselves, mostly hand held camera work. This has created a more personal feel and really higjlights expression and emotion, something I was aiming to emphasise. This style of camera work also makes use of the lights in the grounds themselves as the bright neon lights add an extra dimension to the sequences as well as making them look more professional.
And the rest.....
Okay, so woth the fair ground shots out of the way it was time for me to start work on the rest of the scenes.
Using my tripod and storyboard I spent a whole day inside my house setting up different shots and scenes that I thought would visually work as well as incorporate the message and emotion I wanted to include in my music video.
With images of voyeurism in mind I started looking into filming shots infront of a mirror, camera filming from behind whilst my talent was concentrating on her own self reflection. I am really happy with these shots and I think that will work really well in the finished product.
My researched has taught me that eye contact, the rule of thirds and angles are extremely important when filming music videos, so I stuck to these concepts whilst filming using a range of shots I have listed below...
Head shots
Medium Close ups
Over the shoulder shots
Tracking shots
Full body shots
I already had a strong sense of direction in my mind when I started to film my video and shots so filming the different scenes didn't take as long as I though it might have done. I think the shots I have so far will be a good starting point but untill I start to edit my footage I will not know how well they all work together, and I may have to go back and film some shots again and even include new shots entirely.
Today I started to film the fair ground scenes of my music video. I filmed over three hours of footage to make sure I would have enough to look through and add into my music video during editing. It was harder to film than I intially would have expected maninly due to the amount of people that were passing by. There were plenty of opportunities for me to create interesting camera angles which I think will work really well in the finished video. One effect that I think will work really well includes footage of my talent on rides themselves, mostly hand held camera work. This has created a more personal feel and really higjlights expression and emotion, something I was aiming to emphasise. This style of camera work also makes use of the lights in the grounds themselves as the bright neon lights add an extra dimension to the sequences as well as making them look more professional.
And the rest.....
Okay, so woth the fair ground shots out of the way it was time for me to start work on the rest of the scenes.
Using my tripod and storyboard I spent a whole day inside my house setting up different shots and scenes that I thought would visually work as well as incorporate the message and emotion I wanted to include in my music video.
With images of voyeurism in mind I started looking into filming shots infront of a mirror, camera filming from behind whilst my talent was concentrating on her own self reflection. I am really happy with these shots and I think that will work really well in the finished product.
My researched has taught me that eye contact, the rule of thirds and angles are extremely important when filming music videos, so I stuck to these concepts whilst filming using a range of shots I have listed below...
Head shots
Medium Close ups
Over the shoulder shots
Tracking shots
Full body shots
I already had a strong sense of direction in my mind when I started to film my video and shots so filming the different scenes didn't take as long as I though it might have done. I think the shots I have so far will be a good starting point but untill I start to edit my footage I will not know how well they all work together, and I may have to go back and film some shots again and even include new shots entirely.
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