Monday, 10 December 2012

Final Edit

Final Texts

Bellow are my final Digipack designs and Magazine advert

This is my Magazine Advert


This is the outer to my digipak

This is the Internal


How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?


Research & Planning 

During the research stage I used technologies like Google maps to help scout out venues for our main shoot we were looking for an industrial location to give the video a rushed look , so the video would appear to have a group of people who have randomly broken into a building and started a party. We se3lected locations that were close to Stapleford to allow easy access for our friends to travel to them, from this information we travelled to the various venues to assess the area, we then contacted the venue managers to haggle on a price for a night’s hire. In the end we scouted out a church in the Sandiacre area which we managed to get for an affordable price.
To cast enough actors for the party scene we started a group on Facebook and invited groups to attend the shoot. This allowed us to roughly gauge how many would attend as the shoot was set as an event so invited people could reply “attending, maybe or not attending”. Unfortunately, we did not get the attendance we expected from the Facebook replies. I think this is down to the way Facebook is used, as mostly people accept events without reading what the event is.
In the research stage I used multimedia sites like YouTube to provide me with existing dance music videos, I search and selected a track which I was familiar with, from this I then followed the suggestions made by YouTube, which I could then analyze to find the common conventions of the genre and to establish the range of shot and editing techniques used during the production. I used this information to aid me in the planning and construction of my media project. I also used Google to find previous ancillary texts of artists by searching for artists I listen to and have a relevance to my genre, I narrowed the search by using key words like “digipak” to also allow me to gather ideas and common conventions to also aid in the construction of my own ancillary texts .
Construction – 

During the various film shoots we used a Canon 550d DSLR camera and a Sony XDCAM EXPMW-EX1 camera. We used the Sony for the longer shoots as we could produce a better shot in the low light levels that we encountered at East Midlands Airport. The Sony also allowed us to slow the frame rate down to capture the sun set in a shorter clip to allow the track to be sped up without distortion (which would occur with a normal frame rate).
We then used the Canon for recording on the Nottingham shoot as the camera is more lightweight but also produces high quality HD footage which would pair up well to the footage recorded on the Sony. Using the Canon on the Nottingham shoot allowed us to be more versatile with the shots as we did not need to worry about mass amounts of equipment, which is associated with the Sony camera.
During construction we needed to navigate to various locations, for this we used the maps app on the iPhone; we also used the iPhone to access the internet to allow us to view the East Midlands Airport website to allow us to be able to be setup and ready on time, as the weather was cold hence we did not want to leave the equipment out.  Phones played a major part in the construction allowing us to be in contact with each other via phone calls and email to arrange shoots and to allow us to make contact with the school’s technical team to arrange meeting places for shoots and schedules.  
During editing we used a program called Sony Vegas, as originally we worked on Adobe Premiere Pro but found the user interface complicated so referred to Sony Vegas as we have had previous experience with this program. This program was installed on Matt’s laptop, this allowed us to be flexible with the editing, allowing us to experiment with effects at home and put them in to practice when editing at school.
For the Digipak and Magazine Advert I used Adobe Photoshop, this program allowed me to add effects the images and edit the appearance which can be seen in the front and back images which are both identical, apart from the aeroplane being removed from the image (to achieve this effect I used the wand tool). I think by having the same image on the front and back it links the digipak and the video effectively, which creates a house style or brand image. The font used in the advert and digipak were both found on www.dafont.com, as the standard fonts on Photoshop I felt were not effective enough for an advert. Blow are the two videos showing how my ancillery texts were created in photoshop. 



































Evaluation 

For the evaluation I have used various forms of media, for question 1 we recorded a video to act like a director’s cut, which shows the video in the background with us making comments in the foreground to a camera. In other questions I used other forms of technology like the use of Prezis to give the audience a better experience when reading though my evaluative comments. This should keep the reader interested throughout. 



Sunday, 25 November 2012

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?


The digipak takes its album name from the main track on the album I felt that this was important as “What Ya Got 4 Me ?” would be the flagship song for the album, this is also the reason I used a few of the pictures from the footage, but I feel the image of the plane can be universal although it does feature in the track.
The Green image with the DJ silhouetted represents a classic DJ pose hence the reason I decided to incorporate it into my digipak and poster, I feel it is vital to have an image on both the digipak and poster that match to give the advertising campaign a direction and a style to stick with.
On the inside cover of the digipak I used one image as I felt this personified the image of  Dj as most people link the pioneer equipment to the club world.
The text used on the digipak is designed to be simple and not detract the audience’s attention away from the main image as this is what I wanted the audience to remember.
The Signum logo I designed has many different points to it, I designed the points to help signify how diverse his music could be with several directions in sub genres, the use of the yellow glow makes the logo less harsh when appearing on images.
I feel both the ancillary texts and video complement each-other well and both ancillary texts and video follow the main conventions of modern day music videos.?
So the main link between the video and the ancillary texts is the use of the lyrics and the images included in both  I felt this was vital to link the two to create a house feel to allow the audience to make their own connections without the need for making this obvious to the audience.
The images and use of text allows the audience to make their own connections subliminally I feel this achieved by my  ancillary texts and music video.
The music video is used to personify the DJ to the audience, this is also achieved in the ancillary texts as they use classic and iconic images like the use of pioneer equipment, this creates a link between the ancillary texts and the music video as both use this concept and similar images to  create a strong link between the two. 

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?




The Music Video 


·        The video captures the feeling generated with a club track by having a high cut rate and using a club atmosphere this links the track back to its club origins.
·         The section involving the dj making his way to the venue follows convention of dance music this tells a story of the dj
·         The video incorporates the use of dj equipment which is used in many club music videos; the use of the equipment reinforces the fact that he is a dj especially when using a well-known brand like pioneer.
·         Our video challenges the conventions in one way as the video does have more of a narrative than some dance tracks, ours tells the story of the dj from start to finish were as most tracks would finish the story at the party scene.
·         Location wise we have attempted to keep to the convention of dance music in holding a party in an unusual place, so our track was shot in an old church as we thought this was not the same as other tracks but not too different to make the track unusual.
·         In the camera work we kept as many shots as possible in close up or mid shot to give a feeling of intimacy with the dancers in the party section and to focus the audience attention on the main characters.
·         The party scene is very colorful, we did this to try and recreate a club like environment with the use of many different lighting fixtures and lasers, this allows us to keep the shots dark but not lose all features from the actors as the various colored lights lit the shots, this could sometimes create problems as the shot would not always be sufficiently lit if the actors were not positioned near the lights in question. 
·         In the venue we selected, it had a raised section at one end this crested the perfect location for the DJ to be positioned. The dj is traditionally placed higher in the room in club venues as to suggest the audiences are almost worshiping the dj and the music he produces, we managed to recreate this atmosphere and effect by placing the pioneer DJ equipment in this area.
·         In the editing stage we used various effects to create an almost kaleidoscope effect on the screen, we felt this was needed to fill the shot as the initial turnout to the shoot was not as good as anticipated, initially this left the shot bare. But with the use of this effect it enhanced the final image, we decided to use this effect as we had witnessed it on the Swedish house mafia track “don’t you worry child” were the audience is mirrored on screen, I believe it lends its self to the dance genre as it has been used in many tracks over the years.
·         We had dressed the DJ in black as this fits to the convention of DJ and what many people would expect  a DJ to wear, Other actors in the track are dress as if they were off on a night out, this includes shirt and jeans to fit with the modern expectations of club goers.
DigiPak
·         The digipak takes its album name from the main track on the album I felt that this was important as “What Ya Got 4 Me ?” would be the flagship song for the album, this is also the reason I used a few of the pictures from the footage, but I feel the image of the plane can be universal although it does feature in the track.
·         The Green image with the dj silhouetted to me represents a classic dj pose hence the reason I decided to incorporate it into my digipak and poster, I feel it is vital to have an image on both the digipak and poster that match to give the advertising campaign a direction and a style to stick with.
·         On the inside cover of the digipak I used one image as I felt this Personified the image of a dj as most people link the pioneer equipment to the club world.
·         The text used on the digipak is designed to be simple and not detract your attention away from the main image as this is what I wanted the audience to remember.
·         The Signum logo I designed has many different points to it, I designed the points to help signify how diverse his music could be with several directions in sub genres, the use of the yellow glow makes the logo less harsh when appearing on images.
·          








Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Monday, 29 October 2012

Text

Digipak

This is my Digipak both inside and outside, it currently has green and blue markings to allow visulisation of the finished product.
 
This is the inner section of the digipak

 
 
This is the outer section of the digipak



Mag AD
 

This is my Magazine advert promoting the new album from signum
 
 
  
 
 

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Shooting diary


 
Sunday 23rd September 2012 –
This was the first shoot date, we planned to film the plane landing and the sunrise, this meant we was on location at 1:30am ready for the 2am plane into east midlands, the weather turned out to be dry which was helpful for the sun rise as there was little cloud in the sky. The shoot was rather cold with temperatures dropping to 3 degrees so whilst waiting for planes we stayed seated in the car to remain warm with the equipment.

Wednesday 3rd October 2012 –
This was the main shoot date which took place in Nottingham’s lace market, we were on set for 12pm to start the shoot at 12:30. We had a majority of the shoot done for 3pm, just as the weather had started to turn, until this point the weather had been good meaning we did not have any need for external lighting.

Friday 7th October 2012 –
This was the date of the club section shoot in a church in sadiacre, myself and Matthew were both on set for 11:30 to start the construction of the set which comprised of dressing the room and applying lighting. The shoot time was set for 8pm with actors due to arrive at 7.
For this shoot we had a slightly poor turnout but will be able to sort this in editing, we had finished on location by 11:30 at this point we then left for Nottingham to shoot the night landscape.

Friday, 21 September 2012

Shot Types

Here are the main shot types i will be using in my music  video


Locations



Shoot Risk Assessment


Signum Music Video shoot

Filming Risk Assessment

Date - Sunday, 23rd September 2012.
Time – 2am till 7am 
Location – East Midlands Airport/ Nottingham Town Centre  


Crew - Ashley J Woodward, Matthew Hall and John Wilson

1.       Public/Crowds: The crowds/public will not be involved in this shoot all members of the public will be out of shot
2.      Buildings/Property: Main buildings filmed will have permission granted any without permission will be avoided to the best of the crew’s abilities
3.       Safety signage: Were necessary the crew will erect safety signage for tripping hazards
4.       Overhead Obstructions: No overhead obstructions need to be noted
5.      Darkness: The shoot will be taking place after dark in the early hours. All crew members carry battery-powered lighting and are experienced at working in low light levels.
6.     Electrical and Audio Cables: all cables will be secure to avoid trip hazards every precaution will be taken to try and avoid trip hazards, eg no cables left un manned
7.       First Aid:  john Wilson a member of the crew is trained in first aid administration any serious incidents will need ambulance assistance.
8.     Fire Safety: All crew members are trained in fire prevention and safety. The crew will have appropriate fire fighting equipment at all times within reach, note only co2 should be used on electrical equipment.
9.     Access to Site: There is easy vehicle access to the site, normal care and attention required when driving through and parking in this area. A speed of no more than 10mph will be used when in the area as this is a public area.
10.   General: crew members take safety as a priority and will make every effort to ensure a safe shoot

Production Plan

Bellow is the planned schedules for filming and editing before the first edit deadline on Friday 12th October 2012


Project Proposal

Bellow is a mind map showing my project proposal focusing on some of the main aspects starting the thought process



This is the track we are using
its is called "What ya got for me" and was produced by signum
Signum is the name for two European producers, Pascal Minnaard and Ronald Hagen hey are producers who create and remix mainly trance music.
Their first notable mainstream success was in 1997 with "What Ya Got 4 Me" (released on the Jinx record label), becoming a club anthem.

Target Audience 

The target audience for Signum are club goers and people who have a love and a passion for classic trance anthems, this audience can have a range of people in it ranging from 18 year olds to 30+ year olds as most trance/ dance music doesn’t age and can be played in clubs for decades as it all keeps to the same motif.
This song “ What ya got for me”  displays all the great needs of a true trance track, it constantly keeps the beat going and has the capacity to get the whole crowd going. The track dips and builds a few times giving excellent scope in the design of the video allowing the tension to build and the drama to add for the audience.





Digipak research - flemenco

Digipak research - flemenco



This digipak is an album called flemenco which is another club album, this digipak is a one fold design with the interior containing one side for the plastic disk tray and the other for a graphic. the back contains the albums track listing also information regarding copy right and the bar code. the cd in side retains a graphic translated from other artworks in the digipak, the whole digipak sticks with the red and white look keeping the design minimal unlike the cafe del mar digipak which uses a lot of images.

On the front the main title grabs your attention as it’s in a crisp white on a red strip also using a bold clear font, other text on the rear is well colour coordinated with artist of songs being labelled in orange keeping the same theme from the artwork

Monday, 17 September 2012

Story Board Reasearch

This was a task set by our teachers so we get an ideas on how detailed to make story boards.

In this task i made a story board of the muse track that i used in my research,  i analysised a 2 min section and story boarded it, his will help of the production of my own story board when i start planning for my music video.


Monday, 10 September 2012

Digipak Research - Cafe del Mar

Digipak Research - Cafe del Mar



This digipak is an cafe del mar album which is a club genre of music, it think this is why it incorporates the se of the bright blues and different tones, the inside covers show pictures of the inside of a traditional Spanish camp which links back to the dj’ s stage name. On the inside is a plastic tray for the cd and on the adjacent page is the track listings, the designers chose a clear plastic cd holder so the art work is still visible.

The images on the digipak are slightly distorted as if you are looking at them from a fly’s point of view with the image being bowed out in the centre. The design is very aesthetically pleasing due to the use of blues well mixed together.

This digipak is a3 fold design folding out to reveal the cd in the centre of the 3 panel's.

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What is a Digi Pack


What is a Digipak

Digipaks typically consist of a book style paperboard or card outer binding with one or more plastic trays inside for holding the cd.

Digipak style packaging was often used or CD singles or special edition albums as it is cheaper to produce, Digipaks also show signs of wearing more as they don’t have a hard exterior.
Manufactures of Digipaks have now made the design more environmentally friendly by using PET plastic trays which can be recycled, or in some cases removing the need for a try and just using a paper wallet making the whole digipak recyclable.

Cd Digipaks are now especially popular in the music industry for not only special editions but cd albums or multiple cd disc sets like the ministry of sound 2012 anthems album. Digipaks provide a low cost professional and expensive look and feel especially when designed with well-produced art work and specialist print finishes such as spot varnishing, matt lamination or embossing.

Digipaks were first created by Meadwestvaco and digipak became traded marked to them, however the format became more popular and began to be used by other manufactures and so the generic digipak is now used to describe all soft cd packaging.

Magazine Advert Research - Arctic Monkeys


Magazine Advert Research - Arctic Monkeys

This Magazine advert is for the Humbug album replaced in June 2011.
This advert has a strong influence from the main image in the centre of the advert which contains outlines of all four band members faces to create one rounded shape, in the centre of this image is the band name which is in the Arctic monkeys style font. He advert does not use a wide range of colours, the background colour is a brownish yellow which is two toned on the page from top to bottom.

The fonts on the page also do not use bright colours and have been created in a barker colour than the background to emphasise them from a distance grabbing the audience’s attention, the largest text on the page is the album title firstly grabbing the users attention under this is it states "the album" as the advert does not contain any other information to suggest it’s an album.

this advert is very minimalistic and could suggest the use of the Nagus theory "a naturalistic approach to artist"
this could suggest that the Arctic monkeys are what Nagus refers to as organic artist that don't emphasise on album sales and focus more on their music, this only implied due to the minimalistic advert which lacks information compared to the arcade fire advert.





Magazine Advert Research - Arcade Fire

Magazine Advert Research - Arcade Fire



    This Magazine advert is for the Scenes from the suburbs album released in June 2011.
    This advert has a strong influence from the main image in the centre of the advert which contains a mid-shot of a teenage character in a suburb location; the back ground has been pushed out of focus to change the audience’s point of focus to the teenager in the image.
    The advert contains and image of the album cover to show the audience what the cover looks like making purchasing the album easy for the consumer as they will subconsusly have an image of the album in their heads.
    This advert uses bright colours in the image backed on a plain grey/brown background with red and black text; this helps the bright coloured image attract the audience’s attention.

    The use of the large font on the replace date allows the audience to clearly see the replace date; this helps the date stay with the customer. As its one of the largest fonts on the advert other fonts are smaller as they contain other information which is not regarded as initially important information for the customer at first glance.

    At the top of the page is a q magazine review which is very obvious to the audience when first viewing the advert this gives the audience a good impression of the album before reading other details, as the magazine that quotes is a well-established and well know publisher.

Music Video Review - Foo fighters



This music video is in the alternative rock genre, and was directed by Sam Brown, it is presented in letterbox format and heavily uses pans, zooms and tracking shots.
From the start the music creates and intense feel with the use of orchestra also emphasised by the dark warehouse set. When the other 3 members join the lead singer the edit changes from being slow and long edits with long shots to becoming fast strait edits as soon as the drums kick in for the first time, the camera shot now have changed to being close ups of members or long sweeping shots with the camera getting closer to the members, none of the shot are no still all most every shot has a movement in it to build up the excitement along with the music till the climax of the chorus.
When the chorus kicks a dark dressed character appears form the darkness on the opposite side of the Waterhouse, there is then a series of close up shots from the dark character face to the lead singers face ad they are both facing each other, this uses the 180 rule as the camera is using 180 degrees to create the feel of the audience being placed in the centre of the two.

This section the first chorus links the song to the video as it implies the dark character is the pretender (the name of the track) this fact is reinforced when more dark figures appear which are identical to each other but not the same as the original character.

at 3:17 the track slows down before the chorus kicks again, at this point the dark characters now viable as riot police start to charge for the band this is played in slow motion as the track has slowed showing the calmness of the band before the riot police reach them, then at 3:25 the chorus hits and the red screen behind the band explodes in to a cloud of red water which is also in slow motion to emphasise the effect.
after this point all footage is blurred but you can make out the outline of band members as they stand strong as you can see all the police falling over in the rush were as the band stand strong, the track then ends with a close up of the lead as the water stops and he falls to the ground.

This video uses Steve archers 5th theory behind the technical aspect of a video, mainly the meat point "lots of close ups of the artists face. the video also uses his light theory "used to create drama" which is achieved in the video as one side is white light possibly representing good and the other is dark possibly representing bad.