Digipak Feedback

For my digipak, I was told that I need to make some changes mostly on the artists name. I'm thinking of moving the name to the back of the digipak, and filling in the letters of the artist like I have on my album name, as well as removing the white box behind it. I'm also thinking of changing two of my images into better ones, or maybe photoshopping one and changing the other. I need to include more professional elements such as a record company logo and the credits.

For my advert I firstly need to use my own photo for the background. I will also change the colour of my stars to yellow rather than the green, and just have NME underneath rather than NME music magazine. The text at the bottom of the advert will be made smaller to look more professional.

Draft Problems

I can't deny that the draft of our video hasn't worked as well as we'd hoped, however I don't feel this means that our original idea won't work but just that we need to develop a better way of capturing our footage. Once we have done this I think that our idea will work as it will flow much better than our draft has and will look neater in general.
Here is an image of all my thoughts on the problems we have encountered in the production of the draft and everything I think is wrong. I have noted down all the corrections I think we need to make and everything we will need to take in to account to make the final draft perfect.

Piledriver Waltz Music Video Draft

This was our first draft for the video. We aren't 100% happy due to problems with our filming and therefore how we could edit it together, I will detail these issues in another post.

Draft Filming Completed

As we planned we began and completed filming for our draft on Monday afternoon (24th of October). 

This is an image of our 'cafe' setting, which I think worked quite well. Not all of our filming has worked as well as we would have hoped but we think there are plenty of ways we can improve the video without ruining the integrity of our idea.

Props

This morning we went out into Lutterworth town and aquired all the props we were missing for our filming today. Some of the props we had already brought with us, such as; tomato ketchup, a plate, a torch and a fake rose. We have made arrangements for the table and chair that we will need for our fake cafe to be brought  to us later on when we film. The props that we bought from the town are; Oats So Simple instant porridge, party poppers, and a white rose. In the end we decided to buy a white rose rather than using a fake rose as we thought it would look more professional overall. We also decided to use porridge instead of an English breakfast as it is easier, and looks more unappealing, which fits in the the lyrics of miserable food.

 

When preparing the breakfast meal we chose for the lyric 'You look like you've been for breakfast at the Heartbreak Hotel', we made it look as disgusting as possible to reflect it looking 'miserable'. We think this worked quite well as the congealed porridge just looks awful!

Shooting Plan and Location Update

We are going to begin our filming today from around 2 onwards. We aim to have filmed most, if not all, of our shots, which will gives us plenty of time to edit it well. The weather today is sunny but cloudy and there is also a strong wind, however this isn't a problem as we feel it creates a more natural setting and fits with the melancholy tempo of the song.

Not only have we changed our actor but our location too (again). We are still going to film it outside in a field but in Lutterworth rather than Narborough to allow more time due to the winter sun set time and because it is easier to access. All our actors will already be in Lutterworth and can stay to film. The field is a public footpath, which could pose a problem as passers by may get in the way however we will work around them and hope they will respect our work. There is a large dip in the field creating a shelter from the wind and obstructing the road.

Actor Adjustments

Due to clashing schedules and a lack of commitment we have had to change the actor playing our artist, Oliver Quad. We are using one of our backups, they also dress in the indie style and we feel he may actually be better as his style is less preppy and he is older, meaning he will look much more appropriate for our video. He is also an avid music fan and is much more outgoing so he will seem more natural on camera.

Music Video Development

Annoyingly due to a lack of communication on our artist's part and unavailable back ups we have been unable to film as we had planned during this week. Unfortunately this leaves us with only the afternoons of early next week to actually film. With it being october we are even more limited as it will become dark much earlier now, this will mean we have to be very focused and work very hard to get it all done before we lose daylight.

Panic! At The Disco Magazine Advert Analysis

Magazine Analysis 3

Pearl Jam Magazine Advert Analysis

Magazine Analysis 2

Magazine Advert Analysis - Laura Marling

This magazine advert is for Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim, but mainly for the single Cross Your Fingers/Crawled Out of the Sea. The image on the advert is not a photo like the other adverts I have analysed but an image of a man, whose body outline is devised by drawings of plants and leaves with a poppy flower as a heart. The image take up 3/4 of the page, consequently drawing the attention to it because of its size. The image fits in with the artists natural style, and country style music, the nature used in the image represents the artist. The layout of the advert is simple, with the image above the text.This puts the focus on the image as it is the first thing consumers would see. There are 3 colours in the advert, dark green, cream and orange. The cream is a subtle colour and therefore allows the dark green and orange to mediate with each other easily, as well as stand out. As the orange colour is brighter than the green, it stands out even more such as the heart. The typography used for the information at the bottom of the advert could be considered as posh, as the style is elegant. The same font is used for the artist name, which is bigger than the rest of the text, making it stand out more, but keeping in theme with the rest of the text. The song name is in a different font, letting people know that it isn't the album or the artist but the song.

Overall the advert looks simplistic but elegant, and I like the use of fonts because it stands out on the page and looks good. I think I will use a similar layout. because I like the simplicity of the design and think it looks professional, and will look aesthetically pleasing.

Magazine Advert Draft

Draft Magazine Advert

Coldplay Magazine Advert Analysis

Magazine Analysis

Magazine Advert Analysis - Black Sheep

This magazine advert is for the Black Sheep album - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing. The image is simple, only being a field, with stationary and moving sheep. The image works well for the advert, because it links in with the band name Black Sheep. The sheep in the image are a direct link to the band and the field helps to create the atmosphere of nature, a habitat in which you would expect to find farmyard animals such as sheep. The image is also blurred out at the top of the advert, meaning the focus of the advert is on the text on the left hand side and the lone sheep in the bottom right corner. This means that the information is more noticeable to possible consumers of the album, and fans of the band will make the connection when they see the sheep and the band name. The image had also been edited to make it look quite light, giving the impression of a cold winters morning, a time in which you would expect to see sheep huddled together as they are at the top of the advert. This would consequently make the lone sheep look like an outsider, something which again links to the band name Black Sheep, as black sheep are not a common sight, and will therefore could be considered to be an outsider, like the sheep in the image. The colours used for the font are black and red, meaning that they stand out against the image easily, and draw the eye. Having the single name in red whilst the rest of the text is black again helps it to stand out against everything because it is the only red thing. This single could also be a well known single, and consequently people who have heard the song, but wouldn't recognise the band would be more interested. This could again link into the idea of isolation, as it is the only thing on the advert like it, making it unique. The shot used for the background is a long shot, allowing more information to be given about the location of the image. The typography in the advert is quite simple, the spacious text is used for the main information, which is in a smaller size. A different font is used for the band name, making it stand out, and it is also the biggest font on the advert, meaning the information of the artist will be seen easily by fans. The single track is again in a different font, maybe to show that it is a song from the album, and to pique the consumers interest.

Overall, I like how the image focuses mainly on the right hand side and has the text on the left hand side because it makes the advert look evenly proportioned, and lets all the information be seen easily and clearly. It also doesn't focus the attention on one particular thing as much, another aspect which I like. From this advert I would take how the image has been used, because I think it works well with the text and look professional.

Digipak Draft

This is my first draft of the Digipak, I have followed the design I developed in my mock. 

Back Cover Analysis

Here I like how the artists face is seen on the back, but isn't centre, meaning that the songs and the image get a similar amount of attention. It also means that everything looks evenly spread out instead of being bunched together, and therefore I will probably use this layout for my digipak.

I like the simplicity of this design, and how the tracks are evenly spaced, meaning each one is its own song, rather than just being part of the album. I think I will use this can of spacing for my tracks because I think it looks simple but professional, and also signifies a good layout.

Draft 'Artist' Photos

These are a small selection of the images I took to use in my draft digipak.  Firstly I have taken photos of Liana, in place for our artist. I wanted these photos to look natural as though the subject was unaware they were being take. I chose the location because it's where we're going to film our video, as it's a natural setting the mise en scene is already creating giving an interesting lighting and back drop. The two other pictures are for the front and the first inside panel. I have used my own Kodak Instamatic camera I bought from a vintage fair. I made a make shift back drop so that the camera looks as though it's in a realistic, but still plain, setting rather than having a digital background. This create a more authentic, vintage look due to the colours in back.

Back Cover

The style I want to use on my back cover is to have the track list centred in the page in a centred format. This will mean the song names aren't lined up and the lengths will be individual, meaning that they will each greatly stand out. The different lengths will also breaking up the text, making it far easier to read. Two albums which I have that follow this convention and are therefore a great influence for my back cover design are Submarine (Alex Turner) and Myths of the Near Future (Klaxons):

Track List

The average number of songs featured on a regular album is being 10 and 12. I have followed this rule when creating my song list which is as follows:
1. Fabrication
2. Piledriver Waltz
3. Cat Eye
4. Little Tragedies
5. Easy Target
6. King of Hearts
7. Life's A Different Story
8. Endless Repetition
9. Captive
10. Average To Poor

I have used both of my discarded album title ideas as I feel they would work better as song titles. To develop a few of the other names carry small links to original songs and albums by popular indie artist.

Song List For Digipak

This is my draft idea for the songs that will be appearing on my digipak. I chose to have 12 songs on my digipak, as that is about the number of songs that I have seen on most albums. Some of the songs I have taken from existing bands, but most of the songs I have created myself to be more original.

1. Brianstorm
2. Inhaler
3. Precious Eyes
4. Intro
5. Disco Hopes
6. Mercy Exposed
7. Restrictions
8. 5 Less Dreams
9. False Clues
10. Wild Talk Shows
11. All The Ideas
12. Blue Chick

In my draft I decided not to include the song, Piledriver Waltz, that I am creating a music video with Sarah to, as I would like to gain feedback for these specific song titles, to see which work best. My final digipak however will include the song.

Digipak Draft

Images For Digipak

Unfortunately, the person who we are using for our artist wasn't available, and we couldn't schedule a photo shoot for the drafts of our digipaks. Because of this implication we decided to use each other, to give an impression of the types of images we will be taking with our artist for our digipaks and magazine advert.

Album Name

After deliberation I decided to call my album name Peaceful People. I like how the alliteration made the name more memorable and thought that it would be a good name to take relevent images for. It also fits in well with the genre of the music, as well as the song, which is quite slow and relaxing.

Digital Cover Mock Ups

These are two digital mock ups the cover ideas that have. They both follow the same style but have used different types of still image. I have used found images from the internet for both of these. The font I have used is Helvetica with a space between each letter, which makes it more impacting.

The first includes a still image of a vintage camera. This is the subject of the image I definitely want to use on my album cover, as it greatly contrast with the futuristic title. I have used a filter on the image to create a more vintage look and create a colour scheme of blue, black and gold. The website I used is one based on an app Pixlromatic; http://pixlr.com/o-matic/. This image is not as centred or straight as I want my image on the cover to be, as the original photograph was taken at an angle. 

This is the second image subject I considered which is a natural picture. Obviously I wouldn't be able to get my own picture of a nebula but they are considered extremely cool and they're pretty. I have changed the placing of the text to make the most of the space I have from the picture.  The image was already coloured like this but I presume that has already been edited by the owner of the photo to give it the softened, more contrasting dark look. 

Mock Ups For Digipak Cover

Magazine Advert Analysis - The Verve

The background for this magazine advert, for The Verve - Love is Noise, is an image of clouds, edited with a sepia filter. The image darkens as it reaches the bottom of the advert, allowing different coloured text to be used and create variety. The sepia effect makes the advert look vintage and coincides with the singles hard copy, which is a vinyl, again creating the vintage look. The layout of the advert is quite basic with the band name and track in the middle of the advert, drawing the most attention to it. The rest of the information is at the bottom of the advert, again allowing the most important details, such as the band name and single to be in full view and unhindered by any other inormation. The colour scheme is mainly sepia, with black and white. The colours are quite subtle, no loud and bright colours are used, giving a more sombre look. Because the colour scheme is simplistic it doesn't distract the attention from the information. The shot type that was used for the image is a long shot, which gives a better idea of the location, as more of it can be seen. The image has also been edited to make the contrast in the picture more predominant, and consequently make the image look more interesting. The font size of the band is bigger than the font of the song, because the band would be more recognisable than the song, if the song is new. Both of these elements are also in black coloured text, allowing it to be more easily seen on top of the image. The song name Love is Noise, obviously has no connection with the image used, so it allows people to make their own judgements on the use of the image. The information at the bottom of the advert is about the product and the bands website. The text is smaller and seems less important because of this, but it still gives all the information needed. Here the text is white so that it stands out against the darker part of the image.

Overall the design is quite simple, yet effective as it looks interesting. I like the idea of having the band name and song in the middle of the advert, because it draws the most attention to it, and is good advertising to fans of the band, as they would see it and be interested.

Digipak Mock Ups

Album Development

The Album Name
The name of an album, particularly a debut, is vital to it's success. It must be memorable and catchy. A common convention of a debut album name is for it to self-titled. I don't feel that 'Oliver Quad' would work as it's quite long and doesn't flow as a title.  Original name ideas I had were:
Life's a Different Story - a lyric from the Blur song Country House which when whole is often thought to be a reference to Oasis. As this is associated with two of the biggest indie bands ever it would have been perfect, however I feel it is far too long for the album cover style I am using as inspiration. I will still use this homage to Blur but as a song name.
King of Hearts - another title which I decided was too long. I liked this because it was different for a title, it focused on the artist and create an unusual representation. It was also quite unique and memorable.
After discarding these two ideas I decided I really wanted a one word title so I went through the dictionary to find an appropriate and interesting word. I ended up in the H section and decided I wanted to use the word Hologram. I like this word because it's nice to say and it sounds cool. The concept of a hologram is also cool, it's such a futuristic, exciting idea.

Album Images
For the front cover I have decided I definitely want a still image. I am currently thinking either a vintage camera, linking back to the idea of heritage being one of the bases of cool pop culture and indie, or some sort of nature scene, whether it be the sky or a landscape. Although now I have decided a title I feel that my image must link in some way, however small it is. This is why a camera would be a better choice because it connects with the definition of a hologram, a 3D image, and the idea of vintage and the past contrasts with the futuristic idea of holograms. I feel deciding not to focus the album on the artist too much allows a greater focus on the songs, however I do want to put photos of the artist in the Digipak, which will hopefully be more natural images.
On all the photos I will use in the Digipak I will use a filter to edit their colours to create a more vintage feel.

CD Cover Analysis - Franz Ferdinand

This is an album from Franz Ferdinand, You Could Of Had It So Much Better, released in 2005. The image on the cover is one of a woman who appears to be shouting. The image has been edited to black and white, and also to look like pop art. Changing the image into black and white makes the image appear older, as though it was taken in an older era than the music is from, but it also serves to diminish the image, in the way that it isn't as central to the cover, because the colours blend in with the background, making it all fit seamlessly together. The editing of the image helps to create a 'vintage' look, which is also created with the colour of the image also, as both edits are famous for older eras than the 21st century. The black background and the black and white image makes the band name stand out on the cover, as the colours stop the cover from looking bland. The red and yellow work well together, as they don't clash, but do stand out against the black. This helps to draw attention to the band name, consequently promoting the artists, because the colours stand out off the cover and draw the eye. The layout of the cover is interesting. The band name is diagonal across the cover, beginning at the woman's mouth and ending at the right corner. The name also covers part of the image, over the woman's hand, making it look like she is shouting the band name. This works well because it makes it seem as though the woman in the image has heard o the band and is possibly shouting about it, because she likes them so much, indirectly promoting the band as amazing artists and someone worth listening to. The font used for the band name also helps to create the illusion that that is what the  woman is shouting, because 'Franz' increases in letter size towards the end, a usual comic book style to put across that the character is shouting.

From this cover I like how the image of the woman has been edited. I would like to edit any image I use on my cover to create a similar vintage look to the cover, and the digipak, overall.

Digipak

digipak

CD Cover Analysis - Wire

This album, Pink Flag, was released in 1977 by Wire. The image is simple, with only one object to look at in the centre of the cover. The image also serves the purpose to tell the consumers the album name, rather than having more text covering the image. I think this is quite a clever way of advertising the album's name, because it makes the consumers think about the cover, rather than just giving them the information straight away. The colours of the cover are mainly blue, pink and black, though there is brown and white in the image. All the colours work well together as none of them are loud colours, so they don't clash. The black used for the band name means it stands out from the image and makes it easier to read. The colours also look 'washed out' giving the cover a vintage look. Alrhough the colours make the cover look more interesting, most of them come from the image, and only the black is added on. I quite like the idea that the colours from the image make up the main colour palette. Like Suck It and See, the band name is placed in the top left hand corner of the cover, allowing it to be visible whilst on show in stores. The font used for the band name is simple, but bold, which helps to draw some of the attention away from the image, as it's more obvious.

In conclusion, I like the use of the image as it makes the cover look more interesting than just a plain background, so this is something I would consider using in my cover designs. However, I would include the album name on my cover because I think that relying on the image to project the name isn't very reliable and could lead to confusion.

Skying - The Horrors

Skying (2011) is the third studio album of The Horrors and is quite an incredible album. The artwork is definitely my favourite of the summer and perhaps even the year.  It's simplicity makes it.

The background is simply a picture of the sky (relating to the album title) and the sea. The vintage look that I aspire to use has been created on this album through the use of lens burn filters. The orange burn distorts the photograph, creating an eye-catching blend of colours. Another feature this cover uses that I will use is the title spaced across the middle in Helvetica, because it cuts across the very centre the text is hard to avoid this means it instantly makes an impact on the audience.

I will use this album through out the design and production of my own, as I feel it is closest to what I want to achieve and is truly quite beautiful.  

Refining Cover Idea

After conducting research into the three main styles of album cover, I have decided I would like to use an almost random image as the background of my cover. This image will fill the whole cover and will therefore be the main focus. I aim to have the album or artist name across the middle of the image in the font Helvetica, create a bold impact much like Skying (The Horrors), Vampire Weekend (Vampire Weekend), Tourist History (Two Door Cinema Club) and Colour of the Trap (Miles Kane). I would also like my cover to have the vintage air that  all the existing covers I analysed did. I have found a small number of popular albums which display the ideas for my own:

Helvetica

All these albums have one popular feature in common, they all use the same font whether it is used for the band name, album name or both. Helvetica is is very popular, iconic font often appearing in popular culture and linked with very urban, cool. This bold font is very striking, and is easily read attracting the eye quickly. This is why I want to incorporate this font into my album cover.

The Pleasure Principle - Album Cover Analysis

This album displays the third general convention of album covers, which is to have an image of the artist on the cover. The Pleasure Principle (1979) is Gary Numan's third album, however the first made within his own name.  The album was an extreme change as it doesn't feature any guitars and is solely synth music. 

The album image, as I've said previously, is a photograph of Gary Numan. The photo however is uncharacteristic of this type of covers as it isn't a portrait styled picture, beautifully displaying the artist and adhering to a looks obsessed society. Numans image is extremely surreal as it shows his almost emotionless personality simply sat in front of a grey backdrop staring at a red pyramid. The colours on the album are extremely muted and really the only colour that stands out is the red, much like The Last Shadow Puppets album. Numan's attire is unstereotypical of the electronic music on the album and similar artist at the time, he looks much more business man than popular musician.

The text is small and it seems its placed in the available space, suggesting that the image is most import on the album. It is, however, very legible due to the bright white against the grey and the block capitals, as though the text is being exclaimed loudly. 

The Age of the Understatement - Album Cover Analysis

This is another album cover with a huge vintage influence tying in with the vintage influence on the songs. The Age of the Understatement (2008) is the first and only album from The Last Shadow Puppets, a collaboration band of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane and producer James Ford.

Another popular convention of albums is to use an already existing image. The image is the focus of the album, however it's a photograph unrelated to the band or the album. The photo is one taken in 1962 by Sam Haskins. The black and white photograph and the stereotypical style of the sixties model brings vintage elegance to the cover. A feature that I really love. The image is right aligned allowing ample space to display the name of the band and the title.

The text stands out against the white background, drawing the eye. The band name is written in a very solid, bold more modern font whereas the album title is extremely retro. The many of the consonants come to the same length at the capital letters, creating a disjointed look. The red injects the only bit of colour onto the cover, giving a huge constrast to the black and white and singling it out as the most important part featured on the cover.

Pretty Odd - Album Cover Analysis

Pretty Odd (2008) was Panic! At the Disco's 2nd album, and is considered very experimental due to the contrast of genre to their 1st. The music had a huge influence from The Beatles and The Beach Boys, which is clearly reflected in the cover. The cover is extremely illustrative and detailed. The floral design surrounds the 'Pretty Odd' banner, the focus of the cover. The title being the centre of the album is one of the common conventions of a cover. However the band name isn't featured on the cover, which isn't the norm as it means the buyer should already know what the album is. This would mean that album's target audience will mostly be those who are already fans of Panic! At the Disco. 

The 'painted' design creates a vintage look reflecting the psychedelic rock, almost folk genre. The colours of the album are incredibly bright colours but muted giving the impression of a vintage filter. Another vintage feature of the album is the purple/brown border, which recreates a convention generally seen on old vinyl sleeves. Because of the extremely busy design the album would be very eye catching on a shelf and would therefore attract more purchases. 

I really like this album cover because of the detail and bright look it has. However I feel this would not fit with the slow, indie genre of our artist. It does, though, have the vintage air I would like to incorporate into my album cover, which is closely linked to the indie genre.

CD Cover Analysis - Arctic Monkeys

This album cover, named Suck It and See, was released by the Arctic Monkeys. The cover has no image on the front, which is unusual, as most covers have an image of something to attract the eyes of potential consumers. However, this could work well in the fact that every other cover has an image, whereas this doesn't, making it stand out. The layout of the cover is extremely simple, as it only contains two things, the band name and the album name. I think having the album name in the middle of the album cover draws the eye when someone is looking at the front, because it stands out being surrounded by a pale colour and nothing else, leaving nothing else to look at. Also having the band name in the top left hand corner makes sure that some information of the album will be visible when it is placed on shelves in a music store, and not be hidden by other CD's in front of it, as the top third of the album will always be visible. The cover only has two colours to it, cream and black, again, it makes the cover very simple. The two colours contrast well as one is very dark and therefore stands out well on the pale cream background. I like the idea of only using two colours on the cover because it keeps the cover from looking over crowded, which isn't the style that I would want my cover to have. The cover also only uses two fonts, the band's 'logo' being quite chunky and wavy, l compared to the album name which is thin and perfectly aligned and sized. Having two different fonts just stops the cover from being too simple and consequently making it boring, as it creates a bit more interest in the way that everything isn't the same. I do like the use of two fonts on the cover here, but I personally probably wouldn't use two fonts so different if I used an image for the cover, as I think it would look too different and unprofessional.

Overall, I like this album cover and think it's quite different from album covers that are from the pop genre. From this cover I think I will take the idea of only using two contrasting colours throughout as it looks quite dramatic, and would not have a plain background, because I think having the artist on the front appeals to the male/female gaze, and makes target audiences more likely to buy the product.

Album Artwork Research

I like the intricate details of this album cover, as it makes the artwork look more interesting because there is more to look at. The muted/pastel colours contrasts with the black and makes the artists name stand out. Having the album name in a banner makes it stand out, consequently pushing the name to the front of the cover, and promoting its importance.

The use of only two prominant colours, the yellow and blue, makes the cover look lively and bright, as it can be associated with sunny days. I like the album and artist name design, as it looks like it has been cut out and stuck on the abum, making it less professional, but more original.

I like how the cover is laid out here, with the writing at the top and bottom of the image, rather than overlapping it. The image itself is also really striking, but also simplistic.

The main image of the artist in a city is blurred out, which I think creates an interesting effect because most covers that feature the artist on the front, try to make them the main focus to show the consumers who's music it is straight away.

The red lighting at the top of the cover links well with the song name Dancing With the Devil, and the shadow and model create a creepy effect, adding to the idea of devils.

I like the use of the black and white image, and the album name being in a similar colour adds to the effect. Having the artists name in colour, promotes the artist effectively as prospective consumers who like the artist will notice the name first and will be more likely be interested in the album.