Journal - Location Shots

Over the weekend, we went to Winter Wonderland for location scouting. Our feedback suggested that we use Winter Wonderland as the primary location for our music video because it is essentially a fairground, yet we wanted to check it would be appropriate. The Christmas theme is something that we are concerned about; we want our music video to look like a funfair, as opposed to something festive and limited to Christmas only.

Winter Wonderland Website Photos:

I definitely think that there are elements that we could use for our shoot;  for example, the ferris wheel and funhouse could be key locations in our music video but we would have to be careful to avoid including Christmas themed things in the shot.

Our own Winter Wonderland location shots:

Filming at Winter Wonderland means that we will have to consider weather conditions when filming, though this will be a obstacle no matter where we film if it is outside. We may have to consider permit issues also. As a tourist/seasonal location, it may be difficult to film there due to the overwhelming amount of people. Another issue is expenses. For these reasons, we have decided not to use Winter Wonderland as a location for our music video.

Journal - Music Video Post Production

We began sorting through all of the clips we have shot so far, editing the ones we needed in Final Cut Pro. We purposely filmed different takes of the same shot to get the best possible shot, however this meant that it took a while to sort through and pick the right shots.

Though we still have more filming to do, we ordered all the shots where they are supposed to go in order to see if we had got the pace right. Most of our shots have fit perfectly and worked well, though we have found some gaps (i.e certain shots, like the pan of Isla's hair, do not work for the length of time we originally storyboarded because it goes on for too long and slows down the pace of our song).

We purposely ordered these shots at the beginning of our music video as it is our first location before building up to the arcade and London. This means that the focus is immediately on Isla and she is established as a selling point from the beginning of the video. Also, we included Isla singing the first line of the song as that it is a common characteristics of music videos.

We cut the shots of Isla with her polaroids very quickly to match the fast-pace of the song. In particular, we used jump cuts during the shots of Isla making her way to the mirror and applying lipstick so that it remained engaging and did not drag. The long shots used during this sequence allow the audience to take in her outfit and fashion however they also do not dwell on shots that her face isn't in. The act of putting on lipstick is a feminine one that we included to emphasise on her femininity, common for female artist in the music industry.

Experimenting with our clips also allowed us to play around with settings on Final Cut Pro, such as brightness and contrast, to enhance our lighting as we want our music video to have a warm atmosphere to it. However, we found that most of the other effects were too drastic. For example, we used the colour corrector tool on the shot of Isla applying lipstick but found it looked too superficial and created an orange tint.

Journal - Digipak Advert (Second Draft)

Here is the second draft of digipak advert. I adjusted the font for my smaller text and changed the colour of my album title so that it was clearer to read, like my feedback stated. Changing the font of my smaller text meant that I could now include numbers (my previous font was not available for numbers and symbols, only letters) so I changed my text to read "#1" as the success of a single will encourage people to buy the album and is commonly used when marketing digipaks and adverts.

I also added the date for the upcoming album.

I am happy with my digipak advert; I think that using one bold photo means that it is simple yet the faded palm tree background and lens flares provide artistic elements. I also think that, as a marketing tool, it is also effective as it references different media platforms and advertises my artist.

Journal - Music Video Shoot

We commenced the filming of our music video today (Monday 9th December). The majority of our shots are located in London (so we will be filming that later on location) however we spent today filming all the shots of Isla inside her bedroom, i.e at my group partner's house.

The shots consisted of Isla singing on her bed and into the mirror. The mirror shot in particular links to Goodwin's analysis - a reference to the notion of looking. We used the same costume throughout - a red crop top and black skirt to reflect current trends -- though we also included some props: polaroid photos, lipstick, a hat and a flower crown. The flower crown is a reference to Lana Del Rey, again linking to Goodwin's analysis -- intertextual referencing.

Our equipment included a lamp to adjust the lighting -- though natural lighting was key in our shoot - the camera and a tripod. Weather was not an issue as our shot was inside, however it was important that we finished our shots between before 3:30pm at the latest so that the natural lighting was consistent.

The shots in the bedroom will appear in the beginning of the music video. We shot Isla singing the first few lines of the song so that the music video will open with her immediately.

We also incorporated the use of polaroids to communicate an artistic influence: we filmed Isla laying among the polaroids and throwing them up in the air. We also shot an extreme close-up of Isla hand's going through the polaroids that we plan to reverse in editing.

Filming went well; we got most of the shots we needed, sticking both to our storyboards and production plan. The only problem we faced was keeping the camera steady during a pan of Isla's hair; it was difficult to move the tripod smoothly so a reshoot may be necessary. It took around an hour to clear the bedroom of unneeded props and do the hair/make-up for our artist, but the shoot lasted from around 12PM to 3PM.

As we were already in costume and on location, we decided to shoot some filler shots in case they are needed later on in editing. These shots included a close-up of Isla writing her name on paper; a quick shot that can be used to fill a small gap.

Journal - Digipak Advert (First Draft)

This is the advertisement for my digipak. Through analysing other digipak adverts, I learnt the codes and conventions of an advert -- they mostly consist of the album cover [if not a photo from the album shoot] paired with the artist's name that takes up most of the focus.  

I decided to use a different photo of Isla, as opposed to the one used on the album cover, because the positioning of it in the middle looks better than the other one. I edited the contrast of the photo so that the white background had a pinkish tint to it but I also added in the palm tree background from my album cover, but turned the opacity down so that it is faint.

I added in the Polydor logo and a link to Isla's website to show the influence of the record label and market my artist across different media platforms. To help market the album, I included the 'success' of a single on the poster. As most of the digipaks I analysized featured the actual album cover, I added mine in at the bottom right corner.

After presenting this to my teacher -- whilst she felt that it communicated both the genre of our artist and conventions of an advert -- a point that she made was the typography of the small text. She felt that it didn't read as clear as it could be, so in my second draft I will use a clearer font. We also surmised that the 'Indigo' text should be in white in order for it to stand out against the purple background.

Journal - Digipak Template

Here is my full digipak template following the changes I have made after feedback:

I am happy with this draft of my digipak. I feel like I have taken into consideration the feedback I was given (like changing the font) but most notably taking the background out of one of my inside panels.

Whilst the sample of my target audience felt that this photo from my first draft template communicated the importance of fashion in my image very well, they agreed that the background didn't fit in with the rest of the photoshoot as there were no purple elements and it gave it almost an urban feel.

In order to resolve this, I cropped the background out of the photos and replaced it with my palm tree background. However, this looked empty and unfinished as the background took up too much of the panel. There were several photos that we had taken that I hadn't used so I used this photo of Isla's hair, again adjusting the opacity so it looked almost faded into the background. There was still a gap in the corner, so I filled this with another photo of Isla with a a Diana F camera. This completed this panel.

For practical reasons, I also made a copy of my digipak with the upper panels upside down.

Journal - Poll Results

I sent a online poll to several members of my target audience (male and female) to see their feedback.

The majority of votes preferred the mirror effect cover, including myself, and so this is the album cover that I have decided to go with. The mirroring effect is commonly used for indie-pop female artists and so I think this suits my artist more.

My previous design of a collage, however, I think is quite artistic and still presents the indie genre so I plan to experiment with using it for another panel, with or without the white lines.

Journal - Digipak Spine

I wanted the spine of my digipak to be simple and to link in specifically with the album cover so I used the same background. I selected the area of the background that had the most lens flare on it.

I used the spine as an opportunity to print my logo onto my digipak. I changed my logo so that it was transparent as the floral background (or any type of background) would clash with my palm tree background.

White was the easiest colour to read, so I used that as the font colour. I tried out the gradient effect again on both my text and logo but this just made it more difficult to read.

To make my typography and logo stand out more, I added a drop shadow.

Journal - Poll

As I couldn't decide which draft of my album cover was the most suitable, I devised a poll that I will present to samples of my target audience for their feedback.

This is the link to my online poll:

Below are the three options for my album cover:

Option 1: A collage style front cover with thinner/straighter lines 

Option 2 - A collage style front cover with thicker/diagonal lines

Option 3 -  mirror effect album cover [option 3]

Journal - Final Album Cover Decisions

Below is a printscreen of another draft of my album cover. I added in the polaroid frame stencil to give my digipak a more alternative feel, as my feedback said that some elements of my digipak were too pop and didn't communicate the indie element of our genre. I previously used a polaroid stencil on another panel for my digipak but kept the background black, where is here I made the inside of the polaroid transparent. I think this is more effective than a black background because it gives the panel more colour and makes it more eyecatching.

Whilst I like the use of the polaroid stencil, I do not think that it fits for the album cover. However, it is important that my digipak does have an artistic/indie element so I plan to experiment with this stencil for another panel of my digipak.

So far, I have constructed three drafts of my album cover. It has been helpful to experiment with my photos and tools on photoshop so I can visually judge what works and take elements away for other panels. After reviewing all my album cover drafts, I have narrowed my final choice down to two.

Final Album Cover (Draft 1)

Using a mirroring effect was a tool that I had never previously used on photoshop so this process has provided me with a new skill. After analyzing a Florence and the Machine digipak where this effect was used and finding more on the internet, I decided to experiment with this effect myself.

I really like how my mirroring effect looks; I feel it provides an artistic vibe and helps lean my digipak more towards the indie genre, as opposed to just pop. It also allows Isla to be the main focus of the cover with the background secondary.

Final Album Cover (Draft 2)

However, I also like the use of multiple photos separated with white lines on my original design so I decided to revisit it. Using the same photos, I changed the positioning and width of the lines to make it look neater. The photo in which Isla's hair is fanned around her has been difficult to edit; there are several gaps that I am still currently disposing off using the Magic Eraser tool on Photoshop. I made another draft of this album cover where I kept the photo at it's usual size and left the background in, but felt this defeated the purpose of my background.

Journal - Digipak CD

Though my previous draft for my disc involved a galaxy background a floral logo, I decided to change this to make my digipak less feminine. I designed my CD before deciding on a purple theme for my digipak, so my original designs do not go with my digipak as a whole.

As a digipak needs to have additional features as a selling point, my digipak will have two CD's: the first being a music CD and the second a DVD with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Isla on tour and filming her music videos. This additional CD will be in a pull out style case: instead of the usual plastic case, this CD will be underneath a paper flap [that will be a printed photo of Isla] that buyers will have to slide out.

For my first draft, I wanted to keep the design simple and so I stayed away from using a loud background. Experimenting with photoshop allowed me to discover the gradient tool (where text or a background can change colour as it goes down or up) and I used this on a blank CD template. I comtemplated having the design for my additional CD the same gradient effect -- though with the colour gradient in reverse -- but after trying out these designs with the rest of my digipak, I decided using the same background from my front cover would look better.

I adjusted the opacity of the panel behind the CD to see what it would look like.

Whilst I really liked my long exposure photos and received positive feedback on them, I personally felt as if the white lighting meant that they stuck out slightly in my all purple digipak. I adjusted the saturation levels to get a purple hue and will use this photo for the panel behind my first CD. I used the my chosen Harbell Script font (taken from dafont.coom) as the font for the CD number and my album/artist name.

I combined both of these backgrounds, changing the opacity on my palm tree background on Photoshop so that they were faded into the background with the gradient effect still present. This resulted in my background looking brighter and I decided to use this design as my final CD.

Again, I adjusted the opacity of the CD once I put it together with the long exposure panel.

I used the same design for both designs but to indicate that my additional CD will have to be pulled out, I placed it more to the side of the image.

Journal - Production Plan (First Day of Shooting)

Since we have finished our storyboards and our animatic, we decided to set out our plans for production.

The majority of our music video takes places in London and we are hoping to shoot this all on the same day for practicality and continuity reasons, though have not currently set a date for this. We were hoping to film in London on Saturday 14th and/or Sunday 15th December, but some of our actors are unavailable at this date and so we have had to postpone this until further notice.

We have acknowledged that we will need to consider weather conditions when shooting in London, and so shooting can easily be postponed. Some of the locations of our shots, however, (the arcade, train station, underpass graffiti area) can still be shot even if it is raining however the shots of various London landmarks may need to be rescheduled.

As the location is the most practical of our whole shoot, we decided to shoot this first. We have no concerns for weather etc as the location of the shoot is inside, at my group partner's house, as all we need is a white wall, bedroom, window ledge and a mirror.

Below is our  production plan for the first day of shooting for our music video.

The costume we have chosen for this portion of our music video consists of a skirt and crop top [current trends] to help communicate the importance of fashion in our image. Some of this shoot will also feature Isla with red lipstick, a bowler hat and a red flower crown.