Band Posters Mock Up Two

This is an example of a band poster. I like this because it is quite simple but i think it could have a few more things such as a website or ratings.

This is the updated version with the ratings and a website. I found the stars on google and chose the middle bottom one because it is clearer. I then put it on photoshop and coloured the black part in white so it would just be all white on the poster because it matches the text. I then went on myfonts.com and got the website in the font type I wanted.

Band Poster Mock Up One

This poster is based on one of the album covers we did. I quite like the way that the sun is a symbol that represents the "blinding" part of the album title. Something that would be needed to change is that the writing is hard to read. It might be fine if I just put a black outline around the edge of the writing though. Also it needs some more things on it, such as ratings and website addresses.



Digipack Mock Up Three

This is the third attempt at a mock for up the album cover. I much prefer this version, even though there is still work to do on it, because it just looks like a much tidier effort. I certainly think that the 3 shots used for the bottom 3 panels work perfectly, but its the top 3 panels where I'm struggling to fill.

Digi Pack Mock Up Two

I liked the top one at first but then afterwards I thought it looked a bit plain and boring. We want something simple but not too simple. So I decided to change the inside parts to the sun picture. I like this one better than the one above because it is simple but not too much. One problem is not knowing what to write on the inside parts.

Digipack Mock Up One

This is a very rough version mock up for the C.D Pack. The first thing I can pick up from doing it is that we need more photos to work with, because I found myself having to use the same photos over and over. So we need to get out with a camera and take some more photos. I like the background being used for this version, because it focuses on the light-heartedness of the brand image, but I don't like the fact that there isn't much image variety on it. I would still like it to be simple, but it needs more to it than this version.

Filming All Of The Shots That Needed Changing

On wednesday 24th, we managed to film all the shots that we needed except for the shots of Jack and Paul running out of their houses because we had problems of getting to their houses before it went dark. So, we decided to leave those shots out and just have the shot of Mark running out of his house.
After further consideration, we decided that we didn't need the extra leaving the house shots. Also due to time constraints and lack of light, it would have been a struggle to film them regardless.

Filming- Retakes

Today at lunchtime, the plan is to re-shoot all the shots that Jack and Paul are wearing the incorrect clothes in, and to do the flower sequence as well. Everyone has the clothes with them required, we have a camera booked out from the library, and we all (bar Alison) have a free the lesson before hand, so we may get an extra start before then.

This is our last chance to film before the deadline, so its vital we get it right. We have learnt from our previous mistakes though, and we should be fine. The deadline is on friday, so after this filming its just all about editing.

Filming Evaluation

 These are of Mark and I filming the performance shots.

When everyone got to my house Mark and I decided that we should do all the band members together shots. Then we did individual shots of each band member. As you can see in one of the above pictures the window is open so that I am able to get my head behind the camera to see what I am filming, to make sure everyone was in the shot.

When we were filming the performance shots we had the music 'Accidentally in Love' on in the background so the band members could make their performances look realistic. I used my phone for this, which was loud enough for the small room we were in and the sound quality was good enough for our purposes.

It was dark outside when we were filming so we had to use an artificial light. Then we decided to have extra lighting in the room to make the band members stand out more. We found two desk lights We put one behind Paul, (drummer), and one behind Jack and Mark (guitarist and vocalist). When we used different camera angles we had to move the lighting around to keep everybody lit consistently.

On the whole, we were very pleased with how successfully the filming went this evening. We got through all of the performance shots quite quickly, thanks to the idea of using two cameras at once, to get two shots in one go, which sped up the process. We had one camera on a tripod, and one camera without, so we had a mix of shots types, and we made sure there were plenty of angles, and focusing on different aspects of the performance. Also we thankfully didn't make any continuity mistakes like the last time.

One problem we did have was Jacks guitar strap came undone when we were filming which meant we filmed the shot several times.

Band Poster Research

These are two posters that are from similar artists, and as well as the Counting Crows. All of them are based on the art from the album covers themselves, and feature such generic conventions as title, artist name and extra information like the release date.

Band posters always have the name of the band and the album name, the date of when the album is coming out and the album picture.

I like both of these album posters but I think Mark and I will go for something simpler and one that doesn't have the band members on it seeing as our c.d cover doesn't.

Digipack Template

http://www.duplication.ca/printspecs/digipack.htm

This is the website we were told to get our C.D pack template from. It gives us the option of 4 panels, 6 panels, and where we put the actual C.D (on the inside, the side, etc). We will be using the 6 panel template, and we shall try a variety of C.D positions.

Band Posters Research

These are three posters that are from similar artists, and as well as the Counting Crows. All of them are based on the art from the album covers themselves, and feature such generic conventions as title, artist name and extra information like the release date.

Shots That Need Changing

This a list of all the shots that need changing:

• Jack running out of the house because he is wearing incorrect clothes.
• Paul running out of the house because he is wearing incorrect clothes.
• All of the band meet up because two of the band members were wearing the wrong clothes.
• All three looking at Alison as she walks by because two of the band members were wearing the wrong clothes.
• All of the flower shots actually need filming.
• Jacks waving scene becasue he is wearing incorrect clothes.
• Get rid of Jacks performance shot by the river because he is wearing incorrect clothes.
• Get rid of the one shot that Paul is playing the drums because he is wearing incorrect clothes.
• Change all of the phone shots because of incorrect clothing.
• All of second wave scene needs filming.
• All of end scenes film.

Filming Plan

The final deadline is on friday for our finished music video. At the moment, it looks rather tight for time, so we are going to have to resort to filming at lunchtimes, because by the time we get home after school its almost dark.

The weather looks alright for tomorrow and wednesday, but today isn't an option. Catherine is currently making a list of shots we need to redo (see later post), and we will book 2 cameras to make it so we can film from 2 angles at once, to speed up the process. 

Continuity Mistakes

On the 18th when we did the performance shots we made a big mistake. The last shot we filmed was of Mark doing the song on his own. When it had finished we realised Mark was wearing the wrong clothes and so we tried to refilm it with the right clothes but the battery died in the camera and Mark had forgotten the charger. We have arranged to refilm this scene on Tuesday 23rd after school. It shouldn't take long to do this as we know exactly what we have to do.

Performance Location

In the original plan there was going to be a shot of each band member doing their performance in different locations. This is the room that we started off with when we were just filming the drummer. But we decided to change the plan and put all the band members in together. We had to move all the furniture out of the room except for the bed which we moved further away from the window so then all the band members could fit in. This took quite a long time to do but the shots we got were worth it in the end except for the mistake! (see above post).

This is what the room looked like after we moved everything. We managed to squeeze everyone into the space created even when all bans members were in the same shot.

Plan For Today

From an earlier post I said I was busy all this week but things changed. So today at 4.20pm, Mark, Jack and Paul are coming round my house to refilm all the performance scenes for our music video. We have drums, guitar and lip syncing shots to film, and we need to do more than we did last time we filmed. We are having all of the members of the band in the same location as well, unlike our previous edit where everyone was in  different places.

Songs To Put On Our Album

These are all the songs we have decided to name for our album. All of them have been made up, so no copyright issues are applicable. The durations are indicated by [-.--].

1) Afternoon Breakfast [3.37]
2) Circumstances [4.03]
3) Somebody's Hero [2.55]
4) Rain On A Sunny Day [3.15]
5) Photoframe [3.28]
6) Happy Tuesday [3.45]
7) Don't Understand The Words [3.06]
8) Ready Set Stop [4.11]
9) Based On A Fake Story [3.41]
10) Tales Of Two Dreamers [3.23]
11) Why Not [3.52]
12) Accidentally In Love [3.08]

Whilst creating this list, I tried to keep in line with various album related conventions. Using the duration of Accidentally In Love, I tried to keep all the durations to a similar length, also considering that this genre rarely has songs over the length of 4.30 minutes. The amount of songs on average on an album like this is normally around the 12-13 mark.

In terms of the actual song titles themselves, the reoccuring theme is of doing things a bit differently. It's about finding your place in the world, and being happy with who you are as a person.

Album Names Considerations

These are the albums names used by the Counting Crows over the years. All of them have a rather abstract sound to them, and could also be described as alternative and thoughtful. The common themes seem to be of hardships and working through them.

-August and Everything After
-Recovering the Satellites
-This Desert Life
-Hard Candy
-Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

This is obviously a route that it would make sense for us to go down when naming the album our video is part of. Here are some ideas for the name that we thought of:

- The Fantastic Sunrise
- Going Up
- Tales Of Two Dreamers
- The Blinding Truth
- Carry Me Away

Overall, people we asked for their opinions seemed to prefer "Tales Of Two Dreamers" and "The Blinding Truth". The other titles, whilst fitting to the song itself, don't follow the conventions of the rest of the genre. "The Blinding Truth" eventually won out, due to the fact it has a relevance to our song, and follows the pattern set by the previous Counting Crows albums. Whilst we understand we aren't just copying the original band, it makes sense to follow a similar band image.

Album Cover Mock-Up Version

This is another idea of a front cover that we liked. I like the heart made of wood chipping on the bright background of sky because it makes it stand out. I also like the font type because it stands out.

Here is another variation of this album cover. This one includes the album title that we decided on (see other post).


I like both fonts which I picked out when browsing through MyFonts. com.

Both of these ideas are the simple styles that we are looking for. There are lots of examples of album covers with this style. For example, Tubularbells by Mike Oldfield and Folie à deux by Fall Out Boy.

Filming- Retakes

On Saturday I refilmed the waving scene and the ice cream scene because the last time Jack and Paul weren't wearing the appropriate clothes but this time they were wearing jumpers like Marks. We couldn't do any more filming because Mark was in London and most of the music video has him in it.
I am busy all this week so Mark is going to have to try to do the filming without me.

More Photoshop Experimenting

This is just an example of the kind of route we are going down for our digi pack pictures. We have pretty much decided on the style of picture we want (a bright picture, probably something silohetted against the sun). The font is just a style I happened across and liked as I was bringing myself up to date with Photoshop.

Ideas For Our C.D Cover

These are a variety of shot types that we thought would be good for our CD cover.

Here we decided to take a picture of Marks shadow because we thought it could be a good C.D front cover. We were messing about trying to find unusual images because the counting crows album covers have unusual images on them and so we were trying to use those images as inspiration for our C.D cover. When I took the picture I thought that it was a good idea but on reflection, having looked at it again, it doesn't quite fit the style that we wanted.

This is Mark making the heart shaped sculpture. We first made the sculpture out of dark wood chippings but when we took a picture it didn't really stand out. So then we put some lighter wood chippings round the outside as a border. This made the whole sculpture really stand out.

Here's one of the pictures that we took to see if it looked alright or not. We decided we really liked the picture. We chose the heart sign because it connotes love. I think this is ideal becasue it goes with the song title 'Accidentally in Love'. Our target audience will relate to the heart as a sign of love because it is a familiar connotation. 


We were experimenting with taking shots of the sky and the sun. We took a lot of pictures but these four were the ones that we thought looked the best. We thought that these could be the background on the album cover or the actual cover itself. Again we were trying to get unusual images as per the counting crows album covers.

  

The above image was spoilt by the climbing frame at the bottom. Just the sun, the trees and the sky would have made a better image.

This image is one that we might mess about with in photoshop. I like the effect that the camera has come up with.

I quite like the idea of using this as the background for our album cover.

I took this photo when I was on holiday and I thought it would be a good picture for our digi pack. I like the way the camera has made the sun look different and the way it has made the image look grey instead of the usual blue.

Feedback From First Draft

• There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills.
• Holding a shot steady, where appropriate (no use of tripod).
• Framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate (composition needs attention, more close ups required).
• Using a variety of shot distances as approriate (little attention to conventions of music videos, eg. close up on artist)
• Shooting material appropriate to the task set (far more performance required to hold video together. Narrative unclear).
• Selecting mise-en-scene including colour, figure, lighting, objects, and setting (very weak, level one in places, specifically the locations and costumes for the band members).
• Editing so that the meaning is apparent to the viewer (doesn't work, female not in the video early enough)
• Using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set (relied solely on straight cuts).
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set (very basic evidence). 

Ancillary Products

These are all generic conventions for each part of the ancillary products.

Creating a a marketing campaign:

• CD cover
• Magazine advert

Promo package for the release of an album.

CD cover:

• 6 panels 
• Consider the genre of music you have chosen.
• Images need to reflect that genre.

Conventions of a CD cover:

• How are the front and the back different to each other.

Front:

• Name of artist.
• Central Image.
• Stickers (parental advisement).
• Lettering/ font/ sizes.

Back:

• Track names.
• Number of tracks.
• Running order.
• Images.
• Colour.
• Logo of the band.
• Production details e.g. copyright, produces etc.

Spine:

• Name of album and artist.
• Key logo.

Front cover image:

• Design or produce your own?
• Photograph of the artist?
• Image or setting?
• How will you manipulate images?
• What about the mise en scene?
• Use original pictures, no copyright.

Representations of artist/ band:

• Projecting sex appeal/ glamour?
• Deeper social/ moral issues?
• Playing on stereotypes?

Audience Theory:

• Consider Maslow's hierarchy of needs pyramid.
• Apply uses and gratifications theory.

Music Magazine:

• Style model research.
• Analyse the generic conventions and apply.
• What images/ colours from your CD cover will you be using?

First Draft Evaluation

On friday last week, we handed in our first draft of our music video. We filled in the gaps in our filming with drawings of our planned shots, because we knew from earlier in the week we couldn't film. There was a major limitation in iMovie though, because when we uploaded the photos, we could only have them as one second, two seconds and three seconds (and so forth) in terms of duration, so it was hard to be accurate.

Also it became clear that we need to have a re-think on the ending sequence for our video, as we were a bit short on shots. We should be able to sort it out by just adding in more shots, rather than changing the actual narrative though.

Temporary Solution For The First Draft

This week we know that we can't get everyone together to film so we have decided to draw in the parts that we haven't filmed yet.
We are making bigger and better drawings to make the shots clearer than the ones on our storyboard though, because we just did stick men on that version.

Experimenting C.D Covers

These are some ideas for the front cover of our cd. We can't use pictures from the internet though so we have to take our own photos. These are the types of special effects we might use.  

Similar Bands To Counting Crows

For this bit of research, I went to http://www.last.fm/ to find out simillar bands to the Counting Crows for the digi pack research. Each of these links is just an example of each of the bands songs.

Hootie and the Blowfish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoW3bqnr7tw

Gin Blossoms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeMwu5a_QLY&feature=fvst

David Gray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP-f8TDb2n4&feature=related

Again, as it was with the Counting Crows album covers, it is clear to see that a simple cover design is favoured for artists of this genre. Again, its something we would like to replicate. I personally don't like the grey and gloomy colours. For the purposes of our image, we need to go for a more cheerful colour pallet, as our song is a very upbeat and happy song.

To Do List

During this week, we are doing-

• The last bits of filming for our video.
• The last bits of editing.
• Making sure this blog is up to date.
• Refreshing ourselves with photoshop, preparation for the digi pack.
• Researching bands of a similar genre digi packs.
• Deadline on friday for our video (first draft). Needs to be burned to a disc.

Photoshop Refreshment

Using this picture we did a lot of things using photoshop.

For example, we went on special effects and and saw what they all looked like on the picture.

We tried putting shapes on it with the picture inside.

 We thought it would be a good idea to refresh ourselves on how to use photoshop and all the different things it can do seeing as we have to use it for our digi pack. (The cd cover and poster).

Counting Crows Album Covers

These are various different album covers that the Counting Crows have used. For our digipak, we have to create an album cover ourselves, so it is a good place to start by looking at the common features of the original albums.

A fairly easy feature to pick out is the consistent use of the colour orange. It is a colour that goes well in with the indie genre, and relates to the light heartedness of the majoriyt of the songs the band does. Obviously there are a few exceptions where the band has gone for a slightly darker approach, but that isn't relevant to us.

Generally, the album covers are fairly simplistic. This is something we would like to try and emulate ourselves. Indie is a fairly simplistic genre in terms of the sounds and styles, so it is appropiate to do that again.