Constructing the Digipak

Constructing the Digipak

When making the digipak, I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 to create a professional looking digipak. I knew that when I have seen CD cases in the past, there are six panels and a spine to the case. I noticed that the is often a picture stretched out across the top three panels and then in the bottom left, there is the inside cover, with the middle panel on the bottom is where the back of the case would be. I therefore used the bottom right panel to put the front cover on it. This is what a digipak should look like.

Therefore, before using Photoshop, I used a digipak template which was six blank panels on which I placed the pictures on top of. I used one screenshot from my film where I am looking into the distance as it was a great shot and it conveys a lot of emotions that can be interpreted from the song. I cut parts out of the picture that I took a screenshot of and then cropped out the remaining parts of the edges. I then proceeded to add a faint blur on the picture before using it for my digipak. The other three pictures that I used for the three remaining panels were pictures that I took when I filmed the music video so I used these after having manipulated them on Photoshop. I used the sharpening tool on two of the images and then cropped them until they were in the shape of a square so that they could fit on the panels. I also used the text tool to write the songs from the album on the back of the cover and the artist's public web address. I also used this tool for the title on the front cover along with the artist's name. I used the radial blur tool for the pictures to make them slightly distorted and I then played with the contrast until I was happy with how the images looked. This was my final digipak.

Constructing the Advert

Constructing The Advert

 When constructing the magazine, I began with a handful of images. I then chose which was the best image. I then considered the things that I would need for the magazine advert. It must have a picture, an album title, maybe a release date and perhaps a rating from a newspaper or a successful musician. I knew I needed manipulate the image but also need to make sure that it is relevant to the name of the song and the album title. On the magazine advert, I will have the picture in the centre of the page and there will be the album title "Soldier". I have looked at album covers from artists such as Taylor Swift, Rita Ora, and Beyonce and this has given me some ideas as to the way that I want my album cover and my magazine advert to look. I have decided to make the album title the same name as the name of the song because there are a number of artists who use the same title for both album and song title. This also means that I can be more creative with how the album looks.

 Once I had chosen the photo I would use, I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 for my magazine advert and this is an ideal programme to use because it is a very helpful piece of software that allows you to be creative with your work. I used the sharpening tool on the picture and this made it clearer. However, I then continued to use it and this led to the picture becoming grainy. This was an effect that I liked the look of and it meant that I could add other images on top without it looking extremely unprofessional as I could blend them together. I added very faint ripple effects also to enable the reader to focus on the centre of the page. I chose to have a QR code in the bottom corner of the magazine advert so that readers can access the album on their phones and tablets. I also put images of the HMV logo and the iTunes logo along with the Spotify logo so that readers knew where exactly to find the album. This was the original picture alongside the finished product.

Editing the Music Video

Editing The Music Video

 After I had made my music video, I had to edit it. In order to do this, I used Adobe Premiere Pro which is a type of editing software. This allowed me to make my music video and put all of the shots in order and see which shots needed to be re-done and which shots aren't included even though they need to be. After careful consideration as to what I could do to improve my video, I decided to put the first version on YouTube and name it "Rough Cut" so that I could see the difference between the two. This is my first version. 

I noticed that I stuck with one shot for far too long at a time, so I went out and shot in different locations with different shots as opposed to the long shot of Jade on the bandstand, and the shot where she's standing on the balcony. I also edited to the beat a lot more. For example, every time that she says "stay" I changed shot and so there was an entirely different shot type and shot location and it was a more entertaining video. I also added many different cuts throughout the music video when the song had multiple beats in a limited amount of time. After having done this, I uploaded my final outcome onto YouTube and this is my finished version of my music video.

1st Production Meeting/Plan

 This is me and my partner taking part in the first production meeting. We are planning what we will do when making the music video. This includes what we will film, where we will film, and what shots we will film. This allowed us to be properly prepared for the making of the music video with both the filming and editing.

Blog 6 Andrew Goodwin Part 2

Blog 6 Andrew Goodwin Part 2

 Many people have their own ideas as to what a music video must include. People may believe that it consists of images of the artist surrounded by people perceived as the object of erotic desire. There are often music videos where girls where nothing or very little and the men are just focussing on the camera or they are not leaving the girls alone, it is very rarely one or the other as it is one extreme to the other.

 The idea that there must always be a link of some kind between the lyrics and the demonstration that is visual in the video is one that is widely believed to be true. This is an idea that mainly comes from Andrew Goodwin's belief that this was crucial and that there was always some link between the video and the lyrics.

 He strongly believed that they must either be illustrative, amplifying or contradictory. The video to the song "Fireflies" by Owl City shows the illustrative part of Andrew Goodwin's belief as he is singing about fireflies when they appear on the screen.  The video for the song "Homecoming" by Kanye West very much fits in with this belief in terms of the amplifying element as the video shows his home and him coming home. Finally, the music video to the song by Usher and Will.i.am called "OMG" represents the contradictory side as it is not a video that necessarily show the story of the lyrics.

Blog 12 Alex Southam Case Study 3

Blog 12 Alex Southam Case Study 3

 Alex Southam trained as a lawyer and studied law at University. He thought that it was tedious and so decided to start again and instead began a career in music video production. At first he wanted to start making music videos to learn the ply of the trade in order to make the change from law to film production.

 Alex Southam previously worked for "Agile Films" who, on their website, describe him as "an exciting new talent". Initially, he took on all aspects of music video production such as the camera, lighting, and editing. However, he has now made the decision to use a director of Photography.

 Alex likes the format of music videos. He feels there is real freedom and you can do anything you want. He does not like to shoot commercials because he feels there is more direction and no room for his own ideas. Occasionally Alex Southam uses Vimeo to advertise his projects and videos. He uses Vimeo as generally it is seen as more respectable than YouTube.

 Southam first made an impact with the video for "Tesselate" by Alt J which took only one day to shoot and cost £10,000. He used various special effects which earned him many plaudits.




Another video that Southam is credited for is the video for the Chase and status song "Lost and Not Found" which had a £50,000 budget. It was filmed in LA at 36 frames a second and then played slowly for a distinctive effect. This is partly because he wanted a 1990's VHS look. Interestingly, there are only three edits in the entire video. 

Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback

 During the making of my music video, I wanted to constantly ensure that I was doing well so I asked for an opinion from my peers and teachers. I had this feedback throughout the making of the first music video which subsequently became my rough cut and I then had feedback after I had completed the video. I asked a host of questions and took the responses and constructive criticism away to complete the music video to the best of my ability. 
 Some of the questions that I asked were met by the following answers:

• Question: Was the lip syncing in time with the song?
• Response: Yes, it was in time and it looks as though the singer is singing the song.

• Question: Are there any problems with the speed of editing?
• Response: There could be a different editing speed when the word "stay" is sung.

• Question: What are your thoughts about the shots of the boy?
• Response: The shots imply that the boy is the "Soldier" that is being sung about which I'm sure was your aim.

• Question: Finally, are there any locations that aren't included that perhaps should be?
• Response: I think that there could be one or two other locations as the locations at the moment are showing both the romantic side of the relationship and the part of the relationship where the couple clash.

 I took the first response on board and I kept the clips where they were in terms of how they looked with the timing of the song. I felt that the speed of the editing was a problem and so when I was told that this should be altered, it confirmed my suspicion so I set about changing this and this resulted in the video being edited up to 3 times a second. I certainly felt that the change in the speed of editing meant that my video flowed from shot to shot more naturally.

 The third response was pleasing for me to hear as it meant that I had successfully got the message across to the audience as to how the boy was related to the lyrics. Finally, the fourth response was something that I found useful but unfortunately I did not have enough time to make these recommended changes despite my wishes because I did not leave enough time towards the end of the year. 

This is my finished video that reflects the changes that I made to the original rough cut version.