Magazone Advert - 2nd design

2nd design for magazine advert

added a glow to the band and album name instead of the wind effect in the previous advert. Moved the position of the picture closer to the middle as it separates the text a little and makes it look a little more professional.

Digipak - Front cover design 02

Second design of the front cover of the digipak - done after receiving feedback from the previous front cover.

I added some more noise in the background of the cover and tried to distribute evenly across the background. The noise was taken from the original photograph. I also changed the size to a square since CD covers are square. 

Digipak - Back Cover design 02

After receiving the feedback for my previous back cover i decided to use a different picture, one which i thought would suit the front cover a bit more. Uses a similar colour scheme like that from the front cover but adds  a bit more grey and a darker red on the track names.

digipak - Feedback; front + back cover

Front cover

Pros;

- colour scheme works well

- font used suits cover and colours

Cons;

- not square

- background has black noise in only the top right corner. Makes cover look unpleasant with only one section   

being covered

- background too plain (only white)

- left band member disintegrating, other two are not

First of all i needed to make the size compatible with a CD case, so making it square was essential. I had thought that lone addition of just black background noise in the top right corner would give the cover a little more 'flavour' but it was said either add more to even it out or have none at all. Since it was said that the background was also too plain/ too white i decided it would be best to add more background noise or let more of the original picture show. Also one of the band members (left) was beginning to disintegrate from the legs whilst the other two were not, have to fix that.

Back cover

Pros;

- colour scheme works well

- integrates with front cover

Cons;

- simple and plain picture

- plain background

- didn't include websites 

Although the colour scheme worked well and suited the front cover the picture needed to be changed. Even with the hat being a main part of the actual video the picture of a lone hat in  a white background was too plain and too simple, i needed to add something to the picture, the background or change the picture altogether. I also needed to add the websites of the band as well as the recording company. 

Feedback for Music Video rough

Cons

• First thing to mention was that it was not fully finished. Only about 2 minutes of it had been done. 
• Although it had some original concepts some of the shots were too long, i need to add more cuts to make the shots shorter.
• The lighting in some shots is too harsh whilst too dim/dark in others - need to work on lighting
• More close-up shots of the artist need to be included - also a solution to how to add some cuts into the shots which are too long.
• There are still some gaps in the video which range from 3 frames to 20, especially in places where it goes from 1 verse to the next (no lyrics) - need to find shots which could fill those parts in

Music video - Rough

A sequence of what's been done so far

This is the first attempt of the music video, it is not fully done due to scheduling difficulties and some shots being unusable due to syncing problems and lighting.

All in all, i think for a first draft it isn't too bad - some shots seem a little long so I'm planning on cutting them after i get more shots.
I haven't got a shot of the artist doing the whole song - so no full sequence of the song so I'm planning on doing that and adding parts of that to make some quicker cuts in the video.

Transition from Final Cut to Adobe Premiere Pro

After filming about half of the song i decided to try the non-linear editing software adobe Premiere Pro CS4 as it was available on the Mac computer i was using. I wanted to see the difference between Premiere Pro and Final Cut and find out which of the two softwares were easier to use.

After a while experimenting with the software, I personally found Premiere Pro the easier software to use.

When first opened, Premiere Pro's format is very similar to Final Cut - you could call it Microsoft's Final Cut. The way all the effects, source panels and timelines are laid out are similar to Final Cut.

But i found the source panel much easier to use in Premiere Pro than in Final Cut. This is where you input the video file from the project tab and edit out any part of the video you do not want. This can also be done with audio. Once you cut down the video you can insert the video and audio or just the video or audio alone anywhere on the timeline. I found this process much simpler in Premiere Pro than in Final Cut and for a music video where i needed to work on many video cuts, the simpler the better. On another positive note, Premiere Pro was available for a 30 day free trial which i could get due to me having a Microsoft laptop and this allowed me to also work at home meaning i could be more efficient with my work.

Magazine Advertisement - Rough Copy

Magazine advert rough copy
Both are pretty much the same thing except i made the release date bigger on the right advert and fused the band and album name (after changing the album name). That also required the text to be bigger.

I'll come up with some new (or similar ideas) - do these seem ok? or do they seem rather bland?

Note: have to write band website at bottom

Digipak - Album Front + BackCover

First attempt at making a cover for the album using the pictures taken from the previous post.
This is the rough front cover for the digipak made in Adobe Photoshop.

I used a blend effect on the original photo to make the white parts of the background transparent. I then added a white layer for a background. The blending got rid of the white and left the silhouettes of the members. The addition of the white background is there to compliment the black silhouettes and was somewhere I could write the album and band name.

I'm still a novice at photoshop so couldn't really add any spectacular effects, although i did add a drop shadow on the text.

This is the rough copy of the back cover in a similar style to the front cover using the same blending method. The cover only has a hat since it was supposed to be an integral part of the music vid - however since it is only a picture of a hat the cover looks a little bland. My next step is then to try and get some better pictures of the hat; maybe with some other items, a better picture of only the hat or use a different idea for the back cover.

Can't title this

Just doing some shots with the camera whilst my lead singer is busy - wanted to add some effects to make it look cooler but found out post production that i needed more of some specific footage and that i couldn't do it with people in the background. Quality isn't great but that really isn't important for this.

Pictures for Magazine advert and Album cover

Here are a few of the many photographs taken in an attempt to get a decent photo to use for the front cover of my digipak and my magazine advert. I'll chose a photograph and use Adobe Photoshop to try and make it look like the front and back cover of a digipak as well as use the same or a similar picture for the magazine advert.

The main idea was to get a shadowy effect and thought that getting silhouettes of the members would look best and be easier to catch on camera. We did this by using a white wall as a backdrop (it was bricky but that just adds atmosphere to the scene) and placing lights behind the members. The shoot was done at night to get the silhouette effect. This was actually taken before 6pm (it was around 5:10)...it really is getting dark quicker these days.

 This is the infamous hat; the star of the show, our main character for the video. I was planning on using a picture of this hat for the back cover of the digipak and having the track list around the hat. Although, i think i'll need a better picture for that.

Magazine Advert - Sketch

A simple sketch with some basic annotations of the magazine advert for the album.

It includes a picture of the band members in a setting on the bottom of the advert with much of the text above the picture. The name of the band will be on top in bold black text on a white background. It will be followed by the album name with the release date underneath it in smaller font size and a different colour - maybe yellow.

I will also include singles/track names which will be available on the album; one of the tracks will be the lip sync of the music video chosen. The track names will also not be black font; most likely yellow to. Formats the album will be available in will also be on the advertisement.

At the bottom of the advertisement the band website and a website which distributes the album will be shown.

Album Magazine advertisement

Not too many colours used, mainly blacks and whites and blues which works well together and does not make the advert too complicated. The use of glow on some of the white text allow for easier reading and makes the name of the band and album stand out. The biggest text on the advertisement is the name of the band as well as the album name and the release date. The advert is trying to promote the album and band by letting the audience know their names in big, bold and glow text. They are also trying to make the release date as legible as possible so the audience knows when to get the album. The name of the band is on the top of the Ad so that it catches the attention of the audience first.

 Websites and a logo on the bottom corner of the advert say where the album can be bought as well as the site to the band's webpage if anyone wants to know more information about the band. Simple head shots of each band member are shown, helping viewers to recognise the band in other situations, such as if they appear on television. Use of shadows on the faces of the members and serious poses gives an ominous and powerful image which allows it to hit the viewers stronger and grab their attention quicker.

Below the release date it states the names of two singles from the album. It is another promotion technique to sell the album; the advert states the name of two well known singles from the album in an attempt to sell the album better.

A brighter counterpart of the above advertisement using greens and white. They integrate the album cover with the advertisement which will make it easier for the viewers to recognise the album cover.

-Includes release date (states that it is already out) - crucial for the audience so they know when they can buy the album. Also states how viewers can get the album; says it is available on CD and download.
-Includes singles that will be on the album - to promote the album more; if a track liked by viewers is on the album it will make it more likely for the audience members to buy the album.
-Fonts of text compliment the image and colours used in the advertisement to give the advert an underlying/signature theme or genre
-Bold and capital text on name of the band to make it more eye-catching and signifying its importance

Contents of digipak

I've decided to do a standard 4-panel CD case instead of a 6-panel digipak.
The CD case will include;

- Front cover
- Back cover
- Spine
- Inside cover (left)
- Inside cover (right; this is where the CD is)

The idea is to have the album name and band name on the front cover and inside cover (left).
The back cover will have all the standard conventions;
- Picture which relates to front cover in some way
- Track list; the songs available on the album
- Copyright
- Record label logo
- Barcode