Print advert - applying new effects:

 I have tried many different effects to the whole digipak print advert. This was to see what effect was the most desired. It also gave me the opportunity to see if the current design is limited or not.

I used an application to change the effect on the print advert. The process was quite quick, yet I did so many designs that I had to keep deleting the bad ones and then re-make. I have shortlisted, my personal favourites and put them into a video above. This is so that I can see what designs I have and see whether I like them. I'm relatively happy with the amount of designs that I have made as it gives me the chance to see if the design can be bettered. 

I will from this video now shortlist my personal favourites and then create an online poll, so that anyone that visits my blog can vote on their favourite design. I will include the original as one of the options and three of my personal favourite designs. This way they can compare the original design to the new ones. Usually, I have an opinion on which design is my favourite, but out of theses designs I am unsure, so whatever the outcome, I will use the publics decision.

To make the above video, I used I movie on my iPad and then uploaded all the images and then, exported the video to YouTube so that you could see my visual documentation of the new outcomes. I think this is a successful media platform to showcase these designs as, on a blog post they would be never ending. It's also an easy way to compare and contrast from each of the designs, as they are continuous.

Bostal Woods Footage

 

Today, I started filming for my second location, which was Bostal woods. As usual the action had planned footage to be shot for, so I knew what sequence had to be shot for today, but because this footage was so small I thought that it would be best If I try and films some sequences that could be used in the music video if the other footage is not so good. I found that this was a good idea from the Greenwich park footage thus meaning that it could've a

good idea again. 

Today's filming was fun as usual, and a lot of the footage was shot, meaning it was successful. I do though feel that because of the cold weather the opportunity to film certain sequences I had planned for became tire some and that some of the sequences I could have done as extra people's were missed. Though, this is not a problem as a second shoot can be easily arranged.

 

I think that the most successful part of filming today had to be that I got to do make an animatic, that I hope will be used in the music video. I decided to do an animatic because I think that successful music videos are dynamic and use a variety of filming skills to make the video more interesting. To make sure that this animatic works well I will when Im back at school upload the images and then add the footage to the video and see if it works with the video.

 

I think the one thing that I didn't do enough of today had to be lip syncing, as there wasn't much lip syncing completed. Though, I feel that with the next lot of filming this will be corrected; though this is on my checklist for completing.

Journal Post

I just wanted to add a journal post to say what I have currently worked on in connection with my Music video as well as what I plan to do in the upcoming week.

I have so far as you can see from my blog made big changes to my Digi pak and my print advert and these changes I think we're completely necessary as they have made my designs look more professional. Therefore, I will get a better mark. I think the changes to the design were also effective in showing that the artist was less about her image, it has also made my artist have stronger routes with urban Jazz as the colours are more organic.

I hope to in the next upcoming week try and make some more drastic change to the project, by making both my Digi pak and my print advert even more sophisticated by playing with effects on the overall designs. This will help me to see if the colours are effective. From this I plan to try and do an online poll to see what colours are the most liked. This gives me the chance to source audience feedback from a range of people that visit my blog as well as have a design that is less controlled by just my own opinion.

I also plan to try and get all of the second location footage onto my Final Cut Pro design, so I know what to do next. It will also give me the opportunity to retake footage if needed. I think that I also need to try and make a clear calendar that will detail some self set deadlines. This is essential as I know that the deadline for the first shoot is close looming and I don't want to have to make lots of changes to my music video after that screening.

Changes to the cross media designs:

Cross Media Changes:

So far after having completed both the prelim army designs of my digipak and my print advert, I have made many changes to try and increase the production value of the prices. I think these changes have been extremely important as they have made the campaign more cohesive and successful. First of all, I have changed the front cover to one of the location shots I took from Greenwich park, I did this because it shows continuity of the locations and because the effect that I tried out on this was more imaginative.

I'm not completely sure of this becoming the front cover yet though, because its quite irregular to see on any new artists front cover of their digipak, a location instead of their appearance. I will though think about what I could do instead. Clearly, because I made this change my print advert had to be updated so that the front cover appeared on the adverts for product familiarity.

I think that the design template that I have used with the blocks and changing of colours and saturation s is very effective and far more intriguing then a single photo thus, why I felt the need to use this effect several times on the digipak. To improve what I have currently completed, I think I need to ensure the digi-pak is perfect and no more changes are needed and then look at keeping the overall design of the digipak, but making moderations to it where needed.

Changes to Digipak:

As you can see I have started to make multiple changes to my digipak design and this is because I want the design to be more effective and look more professional. I feel like the previous design was far more ineffective at showing what the artist was about and had quite a low production value because everything was less considered. This was especially clear through the placement of images and the minimal changes to the images that cold have be reworked on Photoshop.

After realising that my previous design was indifferent to any school project, I thought now was the time to make the design far more effective and give it more credibility. To do this I decided to play around with all of the possible effects that were on offer on Photoshop. As a result of playing around with all of these effects I found a very effective design and this happened to be cutting each image into cubes and then with each individual cube colouring it with a different saturation, effect or brightness. I think that this worked really well as I could control the connotations of the image. As if the image was bright and colourful with a pink saturation, it would have connoted the brand was for girls. I used black and white, brightness and changed the opacity to give a natural and organic effect to the images that I used.

I think that this design is very effective and far more interesting to look at them the original design which is great as it has more of a professional appeal. Though, I think that the overall design of my digi-pak does still need to be considered more and looked at, in terms of layout, colours etc. I will look at these desired changes and make them within the upcoming week. (This will be documented in my next journal post).

Location 2 Planned:

 

Above is the location planned for today  showing that I have considered the location and thought about what is to happen when i get there. I have considered the dates and the timings of everything and foreseen all of the risks that might occur, any controllable variables that can be prevented have been considered and i hope that everything goes okay. I have also planned all the date of reviewing the filming and editing. I think I should do this quickly after filming so the footage is still in my head and so time for re-filming is available.

Print Advert conventions

Conventions of a Print Advert- Above I have created a mind-map as a check-list for my print advert; so that I can make sure that every convention is being followed and adhered to.

Progressing digi-pak:

I have as you can see from the above really progressed the design of my digi-pak and made it far more professional, obviously though there are far more things that have it be considered and completed, but I think the overall impact is far greater with the changes.

As you can see I have put an image of the flowers on, change the background design, added swirls, a self taken image, a tree taken from the woods and moved some of the font. I think that this gives the design the more sophisticated layout I desired. I also think now the colour palette is more coherent throughout as it blends well. 

To improve the design more it think that I need to make the cd's far more complex and nicer to look at, get rid of the green on the tree, move the font on the Cd's, add another diagonal swirl opposite the preexisting one, make the sticker look more professional and removable, carbon print the old record player and play around with the colours and the contrasts of the opening this panel. I could also play around with the contrast on the front panel.

Progressing Print Advert:

I have as you can see made a lot of alterations to the print advert and this was to try and make the design more professional and nicer to look at. 

The main changes that I made were changing the background, positioning of certain layers, adding writing etc. I think that all these changes were necessary to make the design more professional and coherent to the artist. The most successful alteration has to be the background as it is far more easier to look at, and more interesting. I think that prior to having the crumbled paper and the swirls the design was less likely to look as if it would be an existing product in the music industry. I love the continuous colour scheme.

To improve the design I think that I should possibly try and add some more layers and just look at what conventions of the print advert are missing. Once I have looked at all the conventions of the print advert I should add the ones missing and add them.  The only conventions though that I know of and think should be on the design are already there though.      

Evaluating Current progress with digi-pak:

Above I have made a video that evaluates my current progress with Sinead's unit. I think that everything has been mentioned. The video has a question answer format and because I was working by myself for this unit I got Megan Meade to ask me the questions that I had written for her. This is evidence of me documenting what is happening and showing how I will progress.

Watercolours onto the Carbon Prints

I decided that I would today try and add colour to the prints and this was to see if they were more successful with the colours on the print. I thought that this would look really nice, and be effective for the print as it is quite eye catching and would ultimately introduce colour.

The process of introducing the colour was not hard at all, as all I had to do was use the outline as a template and then just apply the colour using a brush. I think this was a successful technique as any other technique would have resulted in the watercolour spilling thus, making it lack that sense of sophistication that is needed, for an existing product in the media eye.

I think that it is successful to an extent as it is far more visually attractive and nicer to look at, but I think that in the future I should possibly move away from this route as the simple feel of the drawing is what makes it stand out. Meaning that when introducing the colour it becomes far more complex and looses that once organic vibe that it had.

Therefore, I think that I will avoid using the colour and stick with the original templates as they were far more interesting to look at and fit into the overall feel of my artist. I will know just in case, carry out some research asking people what they think of each idea and this is because it will mean that my decision is less bias.

Chat With Sinead

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCImtSt0Lfj9NyEov97XsNA

unfortunately the video is not linking to blogger, though it is available  on my YouTube channel down the bottom as one of the earlier videos. Sorry for the confusion, it seems to b the only way I can share the video.

As, you can see from the video both me and Sinead discussed how the project is currently going, Sinead thinks that my current progress with both my digi-pak and poster is good and that I am meeting the deadlines very well. Sinead thinks that my ideas and style is coherent and that all I need to work on is making the small rough edges smoother such as refining small details such as the spine. We both agreed that the design will only become the best that it can through experiment so thought, that it would be beneficial if I carry on playing with tools in Photoshop. Sinead, also suggested that I should possibly even try and make the digi-pak using a real case, though this is completely up to me and is not essential, she thought that this may make my product seem more realistic though, no marks are gained from the process of making. I am very happy that me and Sinead had this chat as it has reinforced that I have put enough time into the project and that I am so far doing a good job.

Costuming From Greenwich Park

The costuming from my first music video shoot was quite simplistic but was almost the way I have intended throughout the whole outcome. I personally picked the outfit as I was the one in chare, directing the music video so needed to be in complete control of what the audience view. I thought that the outfit should be quite simplistic and everyday and this is because I want the audience to relate themselves to the artist.

I also purposely chose colours that were not exactly in your face and this is because I don't want the location to look out of place with her outfit.

Overall, the top was quite stylish, but understated and didn't distract form the video, the Jeans were an everyday bottom half of clothing which everyone can relate to, the scarf indicated the season that the shoot was filmed, the boots highlighted the weather and the coat was modern and contempary but had an indie twist; meaning the demographic was not limited to people enjoyed just her music.

I need to be aware of what she wore today, as any professional artist would not wear the same thing twice or wear the same thing at a different location. The last thing she needs to be is predictable.

New Digi-pak Photos

I thought, that whilst shooting my first location for my music video today that I should take some photos of the location. This is because you can never have too many shots to choose from. I also thought the fact that I had a charged DSLR camera on me and the artist was available made the idea even better as it was just convenient.

 From taking the shots that I did I have selected my favourites. The majority of the shots are the location and don't include Ruby Collins. I thought, that with me throughout the whole of the project saying how Ruby Collins was not an artist that sold records down to her appearance meant that I could focus on the natural surroundings as oppose to her image.

I really like the images as the are very natural and show what beauties the world habitats. I think the fact that I have photographed in the winter is not necessarily a bad thing as it has meant that there are far more bright colours that are organic and inviting. I think that the oranges and the brown will also work on my current digi-pak design as the background colour is white and any colour would work on the blank canvas.

My favourite image that I took has to be the larger image and this is because if you look at the image, it looks as though it has been superimposed, to make the scene seem unnatural, but the image is actually taken on the camera. I also like the way that you are drawn into the image because of the perspective of the scene and the way that both the foreground and sky blend to the background.

I intend on blogging the progress of my digi-pak.

Next Planned Location

My next planned location is bostal woods.


The reason that I have chosen this specific location is because it is an accessible area that is convenient for shooting. Also, because it is so close and near-by it allows me to re-shoot if needed. I have been to location many times and because it is within walking distance, it will mean that I can take as many props with me as needed.

When filming here, I do have consider that because it is now mid December and cold, there may be serious problems with the location being too cold to film, or hard to film around. As, if it is a cold day- Collins will not be able to sit on the floor, as there will be mud patches. Therefore, in my production log I need to consider all of the possible obstacles and how they can all be tackled to get the best possible outcome.

I think that it will also be beneficial if I walk around the location first and find the best parts to film. This could though on the other hand limit me to the amount of places that I film, as I may presume that one location is best to film in from seeing it and miss out a possible epic location for the video. I feel that for this reason I will avoid limiting myself to one location and just shoot the footage at many places and have choice when editing. 

I thought that I should research the location online to see if the location was right for me, below I have evaluated:

From the images that I have sourced online I think that the location is very suitable and quite inviting through the organic colours. Though, I do feel that filming in the woods from these images needs to be thought about closely because depending on the light and the area, it could represent another genre of media. For example, if you look at the third image you can see that there are broken and burnt trees; significant of horror genre. Therefore, I have to bare in mind that I am filing for a feel-good factor music video.

For this reason I think that it makes it even more clear that filming everywhere is better, to have choice and abide the genre.

Journal

This week I have really started to make a dent on the work associated with the music video and it is because so far I haven't completed any footage. Therefore, this week was essential for me, as I needed to make sure that some sort of footage was filmed and edited so that I could build from that.

Luckily, I have been able to complete that this week; as I have filmed all the scenes that I planned on the storyboard that needed to be filmed at Greenwich park. The shoot was a success though took a long time to film and travel there and back. As well as this I got the chance to actually edit this footage too; which meant that I finally had something, next to the track in the final cut pro document. I found it quite difficult to edit though as I didn't really know the whole pace of the video yet as the other footage was not completed. I also found it difficult to use the equipment as although, I have used final cut pro before and know the basics, there are things more advance that I need to conquer such as using, effects, the toolbar down the side of the timeline and exporting clips. Though, I think becoming better at this programme will only come with experience of use and continuing to make the video.

I also amongst filming the Greenwich park footage and editing, got to refocus my digi-pak. Which allowed me to consider how to add some conventions to the digi-pak in the Photoshop document.

I found this quite fun as with every layer that was getting put onto the document, the more professional the layout was becoming. Though I did keep having some problems with the tools as, with the magic wand kept selecting everything to get rid of. Meaning I spent quit e a long time trying to deselect everything. For this exact reason I moved the document from Photoshop elements 10toS6 as it meant that I could just free transform the document and it work better for me and quicker.

I plan to in the next upcoming week, continue filming footage for the music video and hopefully improving the digi-pak and consider the poster.

Editing 28/11/13:

The screenshots on this blog post show all of the development of my editing. I have only just started to edit the music video today so as you can see from the above moving timeline, there is not that much footage. though, I do think that from one location I filmed quite a lot of things that could actually be kept in the final product.

Personally I am quite happy with the footage as it came out in very good quality and it was a great day to film.

The success of editing early is that I can see what areas in the music video need to be altered and what pieces of music are missing some footage. I haven't put them  all in the finished areas, as I haven't filmed the whole of the video, though, this doesn't matter as I personally think that it is probably best if I film a range of sequences and then merge them altogether so the video is less continuous and repetitive. I think that editing after every stage of filming will be a good thing as it means I look at the video with fresh eyes every time I edit. It will also hopefully give me more of a knowledge of the music video.  

Filming 26/11/13

Greenwich Park:

Today was my first day of filming and we filmed at Greenwich park today. I filmed here first because it is the furthest location so I thought it best that I gave myself the most time to re-shoot for this specific location. 

The filming actually went really well and the quality of the shots was surprisingly professional. I am sure that from all of the filming that I have completed today that there will be enough great footage to make my music video somewhat successful. I filmed many little sequences and this was because I did not have that much footage planned fro this location; but I thought to be on the safe side that I should possibly film little sequences that could be used.

I used a variety of shots, though I do recognize that there may not be enough close up shots, I will look at this though in the editing stages though.

I think the organic vibe of the location is really successful and that filming at this time was very convenient as if I filmed when the children were out of school the park would have been full, there would have been pressure on the artist to do it first time around. Meaning the performance would have been superficial.

There was one sequence though, were I don't abide the continuity rules and this is because I want to mess with the audiences head and show that Collins is moving really fast. If there is a problem with this I can re-evaluate keeping it or re-film; but I am happy to discuss why it is used.

I think that this process of filming worked and I hope to complete filming again on another Tuesday, as it seems to be the best day to do it.

The next step: Editing.

Re-focussed Mock-up Print Advert

As you can see from the above I have re-focussed my print advert to try and make it more successful and this is because I thought that the first design was quite simplistic and unprofessional. I also forgot about some of the conventions that needed to be followed and this meant that it lacked a sense of realism in the industry.

 

I think that this design is far more complex and sophisticated because there is more to analyse and look at meaning that it has been more considered. Some of the changes that I made included changing the background into a neutral colour that was picked up the image. I wanted to do this s that there was consistency throughout the whole of the template. I also thought that a blank canvas would be quite boring for this type of artist; as the light brown is more organic.

 

I think that I like this design far more then the other designs because it has a complex nature about it. I think that adding the CD cover onto this design also works well because it creates product familiarity and makes the artist seem more "real". To improves this template I think that I know need to start finding a way of making the font more readable and making the poster more eye catching as ultimately, this is what sells the artist.

Planning the first Shoots for Music Video:

As you can see from the above table I have started to plan the first shooting of the scene for my music video. I have decided to start shooting my music video in the last week of November and this is because I know that if I leave the first shoot any longer that it will not have time for a if needed second shooting. 

I have chosen to start the shooting on Tuesday 26th November, as it is the most convenient time for me to do the shooting without interruptions of school etc. I then hope to once I have completed all of the shooting from my first location to edit the scene as soon as possible so that if there are faults there is enough time to rectify them. Then, on Saturday 30th November I plan on going to another location and seeing if that location is viable and looks good enough for me to film.

The planning of each of these stages will hopefully only make it easier for me to plan and get everything done on time as they are all planned to the date and not improvised like last year. I hope to review the process of filming after I have completed it.