2nd mock up of the CD digipak advert

I have made quite a lot of improvements to my magazine advert as I want the advert to really jump out of the page at the reader. The main feedback I received for the design was to space out the text so that it isn't clumped together at the top, so I took away the unnecessary information ('The number one UK album featuring Another Day and This Life) and left the vital information (artist name and album title). Therefore the text stands out more and grabs the reader's attention as it is the only text on the page, the photo of the artist also becomes clearer as the main focal point of the advert. The dismissal of the other text makes the finished design feature the rule of thirds with the artist stood in the middle of the two lines of text, thus drawing the reader's eyes towards the image of the artist, therefore making her recognisable to the target audience and making the overall design more aesthetically pleasing.

I changed the typography of the text as a few members of my target audience stated that the original font style wasn't reinforcing the Indie genre. So I took these opinions on board and changed the typography of the artist's name to a serif font, thus conveying a more feminine, decorative, handwritten vibe which also injects a sense of fluidity and formality within the design. This 'handwritten' style follows the typical conventions of the Indie genre as it evokes a creative feel. The typography of the album title was inspired by the typography that is featured on Noah And The Whale's album, The first days of Spring (an indie/folk band). I like this font as it's bold and plain which contrasts against the curvaceous, fluent style of the font used for the artist's name. 

I used similar colours for the typography of the magazine advert as I did for the CD digipak as I want my music video's  promotional package to contain design features which flow throughout, therefore if a member of our target audience has seen the magazine advert then they will recognise the CD digipak as it contains the same typography and the  image used for the magazine advert is the same one I used on the back panel of the CD digipak. I have added a white border around the edge of the typography to make it stand out and easier to read.

To further reinforce the Indie genre of the album, I found an image of a coffee stained piece of paper on the internet which I then placed in Photoshop and faded behind the image of the artist. This enhances the creative, handwritten style of the advert, while the sepia tones add a slightly rustic, authentic, vintage affect which follows the typical conventions of the Indie genre. I wanted the magazine advert design to emulate the style of Corinne Bailey Rae's album cover, The Sea.

2nd mock up of the CD digipak

This is the final version of my CD digipak with all of the improvements completed from my target audience feedback. It is inspired by the front cover of Corinne Bailey Rae's album, which captures the typical conventions of the Indie genre through the outside location, quirky typography, and folk style of the artist's costume. Many Indie CD digipaks features artwork which references the natural world, therefore the main focal point of my design is the location which features as a picturesque backdrop within the photographs. The sun's rays shining through the trees evoke an optimistic, hopeful, care-free atmosphere, thus reinforcing the archetypal conventions of the Indie genre, therefore attracting the target audience. I have enhanced the colour intensity of the images on photoshop by increasing the brightness/contrast, thus emphasising the warm tones of the sun and making the digipak much more vibrant and eye catching.

The improvements I have made from the target audience feedback, is I've removed the 'Verse 1' 'Verse 2' so that I can increase the size of the text, thus making it easier to read. I have also changed the typography of the artist's name, the track list and the title of the song 'Against The Wind', as I downloaded a serif font which conveys a fluid, feminine, handwritten style that follows the conventions of an Indie album title. I also changed the typography of the album title and the lyrics, as I thought the san serif font was too plain and boring, so I found another font which was more decorative but still bold - so it contrasts with the serif/embellished style of the typography for the artist's name. I have altered the actual dimensions of the digipak to make it more realistic, I did this by researching the typical measurements of CD digipaks and then applying them to an Adobe InDesign document. Therefore I had to change the position of a few images and rotate three images so that when the digipak is printed it works successfully when its folded.

Ancillary Products feedback

CD digipak feedback:

 I have learnt that a member of my target audience thinks the digipak would look more attractive if I took away the titles on the lyric panel ('Verse 1' 'Verse 2'). This would enable me to increase the font size of the text ( it is very small as I had to squeeze a lot on the page), thus making the text much easier to read, which would greatly improve the overall product. This is a very helpful piece of advice which I will act on by altering the text for my final product. The member of my target audience also stated that she liked the photography and typography on the CD digipak, which is encouraging and proves that the album would appeal to her if it was on the current market.

Magazine advert feedback:



This person isn't a member of my target audience (girls aged 14 - 19) however he does fit into the age group, and he is studying photography so I thought he could offer some professional advice on the design of my magazine advert. His advice was to space the text out on the advert, as there is a lot of information squeezed together at the top of the page. So he said I should keep the artist's name and the album name at the top, but position the secondary information ('The Number 1 UK Album, Featuring Another Day and This Life) at the bottom of the page. Therefore the text won't distract the reader's attention from the photograph of the artist, but it will still deliver vital information to the reader and the design won't be too crowded at the top of the page, thus making it more aesthetically pleasing for my target audience.

I will definitely follow his advice as it will dramatically improve the readability of the advert; making the design clearer for my target audience to read and understand. I am really glad I asked him as I never considered placing any text at the bottom of the advert as it isn't directly in the reader's eye line, however as long as the important information is at the top (name of artist and album) then the secondary information doesn't have to be as obvious, but still clear to read. He also commented that the font was nice and the use of the image was effective which indicates that the design is attractive and appealing. However I think the typography for both the digipak and advert needs to reflect the style of the music more e.g more feminine, quirky and creative. So I will experiment with a variety of typography such as a serif font which is more decorative and then decide which font will work successfully.

Mock up of magazine advert for CD

This design features the same photograph that was on the back of the CD digipak, I did this deliberately so that the artist could become recognisable to the target audience. The artist is portrayed as being quite shy and reserved in this image as she is almost hiding behind a tree, however she's got a coy/playful expression which conveys the light-heartedness of the album. I like the way the sunlight is shining through the trees, thus evoking a cheerful, optimistic atmosphere and also acts as a spotlight on the artist so she stands out.

I have used the rule of thirds within the design to make it more appealing and easy to read for the target audience. The composition of the advert is effective as the woodland takes up the majority of the image which signifies nature's importance within the songs on the album, which reinforces the theme of my music video. The artist's costume is evocative of a warm summer's afternoon; the maxi skirt conveys a stylish, laid-back, quirky individual which should appeal to members of our target audience and also reinforces the style I would like the music video to portray.

I placed the text at the top of the design so it grabs the reader's attention when they are reading the magazine, the text also stands out as it is positioned on the white area in front of the sun. The typography is in the same style as the text on the CD digipak, as I want the same style to flow across all of the ancillary products, therefore the album will be recognisable to the people that have come across the magazine advert. The text that features the name of the artist is larger than the rest of the text on the page, as I wanted it to be the focal point of the advert, so the target audience immediately know the name of the artist.

The typography of the artist's name is in a serif style which evokes a feminine, sophisticated edge. However the other text on the page are in a son serif style as I wanted the typography to be simple but bold, so they deliver the necessary information but doesn't distract the reader's attention from the main focus: the name and the artist. The blue colours of the typography convey tranquility and a sense of freedom, it also evokes imagery of the sea; all of which encapsulate the style and theme of the music video. The name of the artist is in a darker blue which signifies that it is the most important information on the advert, the lighter blue is used as I wanted to break up the text using colour, so it is easier to read and more attractive to the reader.

I have produced a second mock up of the magazine advert which is exactly the same but it only has the artist's name and album name, as I wasn't sure if I wanted the information about the 'Number 1 UK album, featuring Another Day and This Life' . This is because many magazine adverts of the same genre only have the name of the artist and the name of the album on the advert, which is simple and doesn't distract the reader from the image as it only features the vital information about the album. To choose my final design I will conduct a survey using members of the target audience; I'll ask them about the text and if they have any other improvements, thus ensuring my magazine advert appeals to the target audience.

Mock up of CD digipak

I made this CD digipak on Adobe InDesign which was my first time using the software, I found it easy to understand and simple to navigate. The design was inspired by the creative photography set in rural locations as seen on Corrine Bailey Rae's album, The Sea, and Noah and The Whales album, The First Days of Spring. I wanted to capture the beauty of nature to reinforce and evoke the subject matter of the majority of the artsit's songs. However I still wanted to include the artist in the imagery as I think it's important for the target audience to recognise the artist. Kate Nash's album, My Best Friend is You, doesn't feature an image of the artist which is different as it doesn't follow the typical pop conventions for a CD cover, but I don't think it is very successful as the audience can't feel connected with the artist or relate to the artist as they don't know what she looks like.

 

I chose the close up of the artist for the CD cover as I think it's more personal and I like the way the sunlight frames her head so she really stands out. Her face is looking upwards, which makes it appear as if she is looking towards the text on the cover, as I positioned the text in her eyeline, thus making it the focal point of the image. I have used the rule of thirds within the front cover to make it more asthetically pleasing and easy to understand for the target audience. The background of the branches evokes nature which makes the subject flow throughout the music video and the ancilary products. The rural setting also follows the typical Indie music conventions, as I have analysed many Indie CD digipaks which include references to nature e.g. Jack Johnson, Lissie, Florence and The Machine. The artist's costume of the leather jacket evokes toughness and a sense of adventure, which illustrates the mood I would like the music video to subtley convey.

 

 

The typography of the artist's name has a serif style which is flowing and conveys elegance, sophistication and femininity, thus appealing to the target audience of girls aged 14 - 19 years old. The typography of the album name, track titles and lyrics is in a son-serif  type writer style which is bold, simple and quite rustic, thus portraying the key features of Indie music. The blue colour of the text amplifies the name of the song, Against The Wind, whilst also has connotations of peacefullness and the sea (which again amplifies the imagery featured in my music video). The blue colour also makes me think of freedom, as I wanted the design of this digipak to convey the feeling of growing up and breaking free from the mould (which highlights the meaning behind the lyrics of Against The Wind).

 

The other photos featured within the digipak all link back to the main theme of nature, with the artist interacting with nature in a wooded area. The sun was just setting when I took the photos which was perfect as my music video is going to feature a sun rise so there will be a continous theme through my final products. I like the atmosphere the sunset evokes; it's quite a meloncholy feel as it has connotations of an ending, be it the ending of a day, the ending of a life, or it could be represented as the ending of childhood. This is why I chose the photo where the sun is almost fully set for the end panel of the digipak as it symbolically illustrates the end. I have edited all of the photos on photoshop to brighten them, thus evoking a happy, cheerful mood and conveying the sense of a summer's day (despite it being a chilly Autumn day!).

 

I wanted some of the photos to include the artist with her guitar to convey the authenticity of her music and to also enhance the acoustic/indie vibe of her music. The costume of a maxi skirt, vest and pendant portray a slightly hippie style which follows the typical conventions of indie pop music. It is also valued as a trendy outfit within our target market, thus making the album appeal to them. All of the photos convey quite an isolated feel as the artist is on her own, however this reflects the depth of her lyrics and also makes her the focal point of the audience's attention. I tried to get the artist's poses to be as natural as possible to portray a laid back, free spirit personality to reinforce the stye of the music video.

 

I will show this design to members of my target audience and get them to assess the appealing quality of the digipak; I will ask them if they would consider buying it if they saw it in a CD shop, and what I coud do to improve the overall design so that it appeals to other members of my target audience. I think I will need to improve the text on the digipak as I'm worried it isn't 100% easy to read; the light blue colour doesn't stand out very clearly and the size of the text for the lyrics is too small. So I will evaluate these aspects and alter them for my final design.

Ancillary products research

Here is a PowerPoint presentation displaying my research into album digipaks and advertisements from my chosen genre (Indie/Acoustic). I now know the common features included within Indie promotional packages, so I will try to emulate this style within my own ancillary products, to ensure that they appeal to my target audience. I have also included photos I've taken of my artist, which I will then conduct a target audience survey to choose a selection of the best photos which will appear in my promotional package.

Ancillary Products from Jessie Williams

Rough cut feedback from blog

This is a screen shot showing the rough cut of my music video which I uploaded on to my own personal blog with the message: I would appreciate any feedback you could offer, particularly the strengths and weaknesses of the video and what improvements I could make to make it more suited to the genre/more appealing to the target audience.
This proves that I have been creative with my use of digital technology to try to gather as much feedback as possible, particularly from people who don't know me, which is useful as they don't feel pressured to give positive feedback about my music video.

Here is a close up of the only feedback I recieved for my music video post, despite the absence of comments it was positive feedback; two fellow bloggers 'liked' my post so that is encouraging. This proves that the rough cut of my music video clearly appeals to members of my target audience, as I viewed their profiles and one of the bloggers fell into my target audience category.

Rough cut feedback 2

Improvements:

I held a viewing of my music video with members of my target audience and got them to write down what they liked about the video and what they thought needed improving. Everyone had a mixture of positive and negative comments, which is helpful as I can improve my video to suit what the target audience wants to see. I then collected up all of their notes and sorted through them. The main improvement which 90% of the audience commented on was that some shots were shaky and needed editing to cut out the shaky footage. I completely agree with this point as I actually filmed some shots (most of the bird shots) with a hand held still image camera, so the shots were not as high quality as the other shots which I filmed using a Panasonic film camera on a tripod. To improve this I will cut one bird shot which is completely out of focus and tidy up the editing of other shaky shots so that the majority of the shots are smooth with minimal wobble.

Another comment was that I needed smoother editing and shorter shot times to quicken the pace of the video. I agree with these points too as I thought watching my music video on a large screen seemed to magnify errors, such as shaky camera work and also increased the time of the shots so I noticed they did drag on for longer than necessary. Therefore I will quicken the pace of shots which will make the video much sleeker and more attention grabbing. I will also make transitions smoother so there is a greater sense of continuity within the video and make the shots flow more successfully.

I received a lot of positive feedback about the dramatic speedboat shot however many people said that I should remove the first shot of the speedboat and just have the long speedboat shot at the end of the video as it is noticeable that I've repeated the shot. I agree with this and will therefore remove the first wide shot of the speedboat and keep the second shot at the end. I will also cut the end of the second speedboat shot, as some people said that the second shot of the speedboat needed to be trimmed slightly as the camera loses track of the boat at the end of the shot, which is understandable as it doesn't flow very well.

A few people said that my second animation with the letters spelling out the lyrics is quite abrupt and needs to be integrated better within the video, either through smoother transitions or by adding in more letter animation at different intervals within the video. I can understand this point, so I will experiment with more letter animation within the video, or maybe just make the transitions into and out of the animation smoother. One person said they thought I could include more close up shots of details within the video, such as close ups of leaves, or blades of grass within the wood. I didn't think about this during the editing process, however I like this idea as it would increase the variety of my shot types as I don't have many close ups within my rough cut. Therefore I will search through my footage and see if I have any close ups of detail which would reinforce the rural location of the video.

The whole audience said that the last few shots of my music video was the best and most effective section, one member of my target audience wrote, 'The last 30 seconds are perfect'. This is encouraging as it leaves the viewer with something memorable - especially as the last shot features the name of the artist, thus adding a personal touch and making sure she becomes recognisable among her target audience. One pertinent comment was that the last shot needed to last longer as the fade to black was too fast, so I will increase the length of this shot and add a slower fade.

Positive feedback:

The common feedback featured statements such as, 'nice shot selection', 'last 30 seconds are perfect', 'good variety of shots', 'effective end shot/great ending'. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed the surfer shots, animation, and end shot. In summary I think I have managed to successfully capture a variety of shots in different locations which reinforce the Indie genre of the music video and I think the composition of my shots work well - particularly the beach shots. I also think my music video conveys a creative touch, especially within the animations, which emphasises the category of people I want to attract. Generally the majority of the class all had positive comments to make so I have hopefully made a music video which will appeal to the target audience and engage the viewer. Therefore when I make the necessary improvements my music video should strongly attract the target audience to become dedicated fans of the artist!

Rough cut feedback

These are two members of my target audience who watched my music video rough cut, and then answered some of my questions. The first question I asked them was what they thought the strengths of the music video were; Ellie said she liked the two different locations (the woodland and beach) as she thought they complimented each other. She also said she liked the shot of Alex sat singing on the bench in the wood as it connects the different shots together and makes them flow. Fliss said she thought the wide variety of camera shots and different angles was really effective. Fliss also said she liked the way the imagery matched the music, for example the shot of the boat hitting the waves when the music got louder, faster and more dramatic. Ellie said she also liked the way the visuals reflected the music and the lyrics, such as when Alex is singing about birds, there are wide shots of birds flying in the sky. One of the main conventions of Andrew Goodwin's theory is that the visuals in a music video either illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the lyrics, so the visuals in my music video amplifies the music as well as amplifies the meaning of the lyrics. This is good as I want the target audience to understand the message in the song and to be able to relate to how the artist is feeling.

They also had some improvements for me to make to my music video, Ellie said that some of the shot transitions were too sharp and could be softer/smoother so I could improve this by adding in more dissolves so it's more flowing.  Fliss said that some of the shots were too short so the viewer didn't really have enough time to fully register what they were being shown, so I can improve this by lengthening some shots. Their feedback has proved really useful and I agree with all of their comments, so I will make the improvements and hopefully my music video will be more appealing to the target audience.



Artist feedback

Alex (my artist) had a huge amount of input when we created the storyboard as we sat down together and discussed different shot types, shot compositions and locations, as she had a clear idea of how she wanted to be represented within the music video. However I also had a clear idea of the style I wanted the video to capture - luckily we both agreed and even developed each others initial ideas. Although this project is a collaboration, I am the one in charge of the technical side - I edited on my own during class time, so the finished rough cut was Alex's first viewing of the video. She was impressed and pleased with the outcome, however she did give valued feedback on how I could improve it; she said she really liked the animations within the music video as they illustrate the lyrics successfully, this is good as I think the animations add a creative, quirky edge to the imagery which makes my music video a bit more unique. She thought the shot content effectively amplifies the message of her song. For example the wide shots of birds flying through the sky not only illustrates the main lyrics of her chorus but amplifies the message of her song: they depict humanity's need to stick together but also the difficulty to be individual in such a judgemental society, whilst the bird shots also evoke freedom and a care-free atmosphere, which follows the typical conventions of the Indie genre. 

Alex suggested some improvements, including; varying shot transitions to add interest, she suggests more dissolves to make the shots flow better and to give greater continuity. I agree with this point as I do use a lot of simple cuts between shots, however I did this because the majority of Indie music videos I have researched have only had jump cuts and cross dissolves as transitions, so I want to make my music video follow the typical conventions of the Indie genre by using similar transitions. I have used a few additive cross dissolves which gives a dream-like, ethereal effect, thus enhancing the quirky mood of the video, so I could add in more of these in appropriate places. Alex also said that she likes the shots of her looking down at the camera, so I will definitely try to use more low angle shots of her in the tree, as I think they make Alex appear in control and authoritative which is how I want her character to be represented.

Against The Wind Rough Cut

This is the rough cut of my music video which I will show to members of my target audience and ask for their feedback - either written or verbal recoded on camera. I think the main issue with the rough cut is that there is some shakey camera work and most of the shots need to be cut down to quicken the pace of the video, however I have plenty of time to make the neccessary improvements to ensure it appeals to my target audience.

Editing the brightness/contrast filter

This is a screen shot of me editing the brightness/contrast of my music video in Final Cut Express, I did this by clicking on the 'Effects' tab at the top of the small window on the left, and then I clicked on 'Video Filters' and selected the 'Brightness/Contrast' option and dragged this option to the middle box which contained the clip I wanted to edit. After this I clicked on the 'Filter' tab at the top of the middle box which opened a window containing individual brightness and contrast scales, so I could then play around with increasing/decreasing the brightness/contrast, until I found the combination that worked successfully.
I increased the 'Brightness/Contrast' filter to create an Instagram style to this shot to make it look edgy and artistic. This also makes the setting appear sunnier as the colours are brighter and more vibrant, therefore evoking a happy, cheerful atmosphere, which is one of the key conventions of the Indie genre.

This screen shot depicts me having dramatically increased the contrast of the shot, which really improves the clarity and sharpness of the imagery. It also makes the colours incredibly attention grabbing, however I think the colours within this particular shot may be a bit too bright so I will have to tone the colours down a bit, so that there is a sense of continuity between all of the different shots. I haven't enhanced the colours in all of the shots, as some are already bright enough, I've only enhanced the brightness/contrast filter on particular shots where the weather was dull and therefore the lighting wasn't good, but I've also used the filter to create an artistic style, however I don't want to overdo this effect - I want it to be a unique feature on some shots.

Editing transitions

This is a 14 minute screen recording of myself editing my music video rough cut in Final Cut Express. During this recording of the post-production process, I played around with transitions - I particularly like the additive cross dissolve which I've used for a few transitions as it gives a dreamlike, ethereal, quirky quality to the shot which follows the typical conventions of the Indie genre. Most of the transitions in the music video are simple cuts as the music videos I've analysed in the same genre mostly use cuts not a range of transitions.
The recording also shows me altering the end of the music video as members of my target audience suggested that the end shot should last longer so there is a bigger impact, therefore I lengthened the end shot. I also experimented with various special effects like altering the colour saturation and applying a kaleidoscope effect to a shot, however the colour saturation didn't work as I would have to apply it to all of the shots to reinforce the continuity. The kaleidoscope effect also didn't work, as it was hard to distinguish what was actually occurring within the shot, however it did give a creative, arty feel which follows the typical conventions of the Indie/Pop genre. Overall I found the editing process an enjoyable and simple process as I have previous experience of utilising the software and I had a wide variety of shots.