CD cover Mock up

Below is our CD case made up so you can see exactly what it looks like.

FRONT VIEW:

BACK VIEW:

INSIDE VIEW:

Here is a copy of our 4 panels for the CD cover transferred onto a cut out net. From this you can see how we would put the CD case together and what it would look like after. We have chosen a simple layout as if we were to manufacture this album this would be a cheap but effective design.





















Below you can see some feedback from a viewer and what they thought of our CD cover design.

FEEDBACK:
"I think the design looks really professional. The text is really simple but effective and goes really well with the picture and the way it is all in black and white except for the dress looks amazing. If i saw this in a music shop i would definitely buy it. However i think the inside cover where it repeats the songs could be a bit more inventive."

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

Throughout all three of the texts we have used a similar style so that they all link in together. The Video was set over four different locations; for the performance side there was the rooftop, and for the story line part of the video there was the streets in Manchester, the set up indoors and the derelict building part of the video. For the CD cover and poster we decided to stick with the derelict building idea, so that they both linked back to the video. We also thought that the derelict shots were some of the best from the video. The CD cover and back were edited together by Vicki using screen shots and Photoshop CS3 the design is simple yet effective and links back to the video. We also used a nice font on the CD cover as you would normally in see in HMV. In the poster we wanted to keep the same theme going with the derelict shots, we used a black background and four various shots of the derelict buildings from the video. We set them out so that there was one shot at the top, another at the bottom and two small ones sandwiched in-between. We decided to do this because the shots that we used had a lot of space and allowed us space to put the titles and advertising features. This is how we made sure that the products had similar design features. One the poster I made the font bigger and bolder as you would see on a poster in order to ensure that it is eye catching and would sell. I also put a small picture of the front of the CD to make sure that the audience would recognise the band.

Screen shots.

The following are screen shots from Evanescence's video- everybody's fool.

The next shot is our roof shot. The photographs above are where we got our rooftop idea from.

We liked the idea of the roof shots as it created a good shot and it was a quiet place to film.

Below are images of each side of our final CD cover, the front cover, back cover, inside front and the inside back cover. For each of the covers we have used different programs to create them, such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign.

FRONT COVER:

For the front cover we decided it would be best to use a screenshot from our music video so the viewer could make a comparison between the two. The screen shot we used was of Liz in the abandoned location. We used a shot of just her feet up to the bottom of her dress and grass in the background, we though this shot worked well as it had a lot of space to the left of her which was perfect to add the covers text to. We changed the image black and white to make it look more like a professional CD cover, however we left Liz’s dress red to add a bit of life to the image and make it stand out against the dull background. This was done by using Adobe Photoshop. We then used a simple white font called ‘New garden’ this font wasn’t gaudy or fancy and worked well with the image, which made it look professional.

BACK COVER:

We kept the back cover similar to the front cover but made it more simplistic. We used a image of grass on the back using the same black and white effect. We then added the track list to the back in the same white font as the front. We placed the text in a vertical list central to the cover. At the bottom we added the typical items on a professional CD such as the barcode, company logo and the copyright information. This made the back cover look very effective and real.

INSIDE FRONT COVER:

For the inside front of the CD case we decided to keep it simple so that is does not make the front cover less effective. We used a plain black background and white text on it. The text was just a repeat of the songs and the albums name; we got this idea from previous CD cover research.

INSIDE BACK COVER:

This part of the CD case is where our actual CD would go. To make this cover more inventive we used the lyrics of the song in our video “fences”, and typed them up in the shape of a CD. We did this using the programme Adobe InDesign. This is where the CD would be placed in our album. The text was once again white and in a simple font so it is easy to read.

Original Costume Research Photographs

The following photographs are some of the orginal research photographs we looked at to find out the style of costume we should have in the video.

After looking at these photographs we decided to go with the casual costume that we see Vicky wearing in the performance parts.

Evaluation-Media Product use.

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

Our video was inspired by other music videos in the ‘pop rock’ genre. The specific artists that we concentrated on were; Paramore, Avril Lavigne and Evanescence. We researched the groups’ music videos and discovered that the mise en scene in general was casual.




Which aspects from the music videos you researched did you incorporate in your own video?

Jeans and t-shirts or gothic style dresses were the general themed costumes in the music videos we analysed. The Set in these videos were high streets, derelict abandoned places and rooftops. From these we got the ideas for our music video. We decided on costume being casual but with a dramatic effect of having bright red doc martins and a ‘rock star’ hair colour. We originally had Vicky with an electric blue hair colour but we discovered difficulties with this as her hair faded and looked green on camera.
We decided to also incorporate an essence of glamour into our video by dressing Liz in more glamorous dresses than usually seen in ‘pop rock’ videos. This made Liz more noticeable and more like a celebrity.

Evanescence : Everybody's fool - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u55fpsbzAfk

Paramore: Emergency - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntids8N5rps

Avril lavigne: My Happy Ending - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwf2qt6BJAQ


How did you bring originality and a different approach to your music video? I know that quite a lot of videos seem to be the same these days.

Yes I agree. We wanted to make sure that our video stood out but also didn’t go against the ‘rules’ of ‘rock pop’ videos. We used split screens, fading, duel narrative, change of speed and green screening. We used green screen to set up a photo studio to add a bit of creativity and a different type of location as the previous locations were outdoors.

Magazine Advert

As one of the themes in our video was dereliction and decay, we decided to make the advert and CD cover using some of the derelict shots as we thought that they worked better and looked more professional. We have used various shots in the poster to inject more life in to it rather than just one shot. In research of magazine posters, we saw that the main element was bold writing, which is why we chose the bold writing that we did. Here is the finished piece.

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Firstly we got people to watch our music video, and then we asked them to fill in a questionnaire afterwards, with questions such as if they liked our video, and if they could suggest any improvements. The majority of the need back which we got from our audience was that they enjoyed it. Some said it was a good video to watch but it wasn’t really the type of music that they usually listen to. Other commented on our use of location, saying we used a good variety of locations and was creative in creating a photo shoot to make the video look a bit different. Some people commented on the lip syncing of our video, saying that parts of it didn’t look as realistic as others, this was a problem we realised while editing, as when we were originally filming the singing parts to our music video, we used a song that was shorter that the song we used while editing which we got from a CD. This is a problem that we may have been able to deal with if we had more time in the editing process. Other people commented on our use of split screen, how It was a good type of shot to use, but in parts didn’t look as effective as others, as some people would disappear of screen, and the two different shots didn’t always match together.

Audience survey

We gave the audience for our video the following survey to see what they thought of our video. We wanted to see what they liked and what they didn't like to see what we could use and how we could improve in the future.

The general comments we got were that people liked the video. People said they prefered different types of music but they thought this was a good song choice for a video. The general comments put in the comment box of things we could do better was the lip syncing which we understood wasn't as perfect as it could have been.

Alex is going to upload a more detailed audience response.

CD Cover and magazine research

Our chosen genre for our music video is ‘Pop Rock’. As we are doing a Paramore song, we decided to do some research into the previously CD covers and magazine adverts they had previously done. We also looked at other artists of the Pop Rock genre such as Avril Lavigne and Evanescence.
Firstly we looked at the Paramore ‘Riot’ album cover, as this was the album which we took our chosen song from ‘Fences’.

This album cover, mainly uses black and white with a contrasting brighter colour, in this case its orange. The use of orange is bold and eye catching so straight away you know that the name of the album is ‘Riot.’ From looking at this album cover, we decided to use a similar theme of using black and white contrasting with a deep red, to make our cover more appealing and noticeable. From this album cover we liked the font that was used, as it looked like it has been hand written and trying to be bold and make a statement as being different, which suits the Rock Pop theme.

We also looked at Paramore’s most recent album ‘Brand New Eyes’. This cover isn’t as bold as riot; this could be done to show a different side to the bands music. We liked the use of the bold colouring in the butterfly, by using black and yellow on a light background. Using a bright and bold colour seems to be a theme throughout Paramore’s album covers. We used this theme of colour in our music video, as we used Red Doc Martins throughout the video, as they appropriate for our chosen genre.


Another album cover we looked at was Avril Lavigne’s ‘The Best Damn Thing’. This cover is a photograph of Avril Lavigne, with her album cover logo in the left hand corner; this is a simple idea which works well, as she has pink in her hair, matches the pink in the logo. This particular cover Is a pop rock cover.














This advert is advertising one of Paramores most recent singles ‘Ignorance’. From this we saw that the magazine advert was pretty simple but also effective. The black and white effect gives it a more sentimental and innocence (the two pot dolls), although after listening to the song we know the song is about being ignored by people and society. From this magazine advert, we liked the use of black and white and the script like font, and wanted to use the aspect of black and white with some colour to make It eye catching and attractive.















Although this poster is adverting a t-shirt competition, we still researched it as; it uses the colour pink to contrast against the black and white. The use of pattern behind Avril lavigne draws you attention towards her, so from a first glance, you can see that the advert is advertising something to do with Avril Lavigne. We liked the font that was used in this advert as it is in capitals and in white; we liked the idea of using a light coloured text on a dark background, as this would be more eye catching.

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

We have used various amounts of technology during the production process of our video. During the filming process we used video cameras and a tri-pod, whilst filming outside. The tri-pod was a very important part to filming outside in order to ensure a steady flow of footage. They also made it easier to do steady pans and zooms. When we filmed the footage indoors we used the Green screen and lots of lighting, in order to get rid of all of the shadows that were created. We decided to leave the green screen as a backdrop instead of editing it to white, as we realised that this would work better in showing the audience that she is somewhat if a celebrity. The longest process was the editing. For the editing we used Final Cut Pro. None of the group members had used the software previously so we all had to familiar ourselves with it quite quickly. Whilst editing here are some of the problems we were able to solve and also learn new things on the way. When we were out filming Liz and Vicki sat on opposite sides of a statue, we moved the camera to different angles whilst filming and when we came to edit the statue wouldn't line up properly. We solved this problem by adding a white line through the centre of both shots which made it into a splitcreen shot which looked right. During our video we have not used many special effects and have tried to keep our video as simple as possible. The only effects we used was the speed change, in this we changed the speed of out performers to add effect. In the point where Vicki is in Silhouette, is a pint where we think this worked really well. Finally, the marker tool in Final Cut Pro, allowed us to mark a point in the song so that were were able to keep the cuts in the video to the beat. In the making of the CD Cover and Poster we used Photoshop CS3 to create these, all of our group already knew how to use this software which saved us some time. This is how we used thechnology in the planning, Evaluation, and construction of out media product.

Costumes for Music Video

For our music video, we decided to choose costumes which represented the genre of our music video. For vicky our main performer we choose the following costume -

For vickys costume, we choose something that was practical as well as to suit the style of music. We used the Red Doc Martins througout the video, making them a key prop in our video. As we filmed the majority of vickys scenes on a room top, due to the weather and time of year, it was often cold, so we teamed a long vest top with a jumper.

For the actress in our video we used three different costumes, to add to the stereotype of her being a celebrity, who have endless costume changes.

The first of Liz's costumes, was a casual look, as we used this costume to film liz in the city on the high street, we choose clothes which tied in with the british weather, and were approrpiate in trying to make Liz fit in with society, although people still stop and stare.

For Liz's second outfit, we used this in the photoshoot part of our video, as we wanted her to look like a 'celebrity'. We used a floral printed top with tights and boots.

Liz's final costume, was a red dress, with black sequenced detailing. We used this particular costume while filming the
derelict building scenes of our music video. We used this particular dress and style, as it
contrasted well with the deserted building as it was run down, and neglected. Also relating to Liz's character as she felt lost and lonely.

Shot List of the finished piece.

Here is our new shot list of the actual video, we have decided to put this on the Blog to show the contrast between them, and how our plans have changed from when we started.
- 7 second establishing shots.
- Medium shot of Vicki sat on the wall.
- CU shot of Feet
- Medium Pan as Vicki walks. – FADE
- Long shot of 2 girls sat on wall – CUT TO
- Med shot of girls at on wall.
- 3 CU shots – Storyline.
- 2 Med shots Storyline.
- Long shot – Fast – Storyline.
- Med shot – Fast – Storyline.
- Med/Long – Vicki Pan.
- 5 Shots – Storyline – Zoom.
- Split screen – Vicki & Storyline
- High angle – Vicki
- Split screen – Storyline and Vicki
- High angle Vicki
- Long shot – Statue
- High angle – Vicki
- Slow – Med shot – Vick Puddle
- 4 Bricks shot
- Slow – Kicking Bricks – CU
- Long shot – Fast – Storyline
- Med Pan – Vicki
- 3 Fast cut – Storyline
- Med/Long shot – Vicki
- Low angle – Vicki
- Long shot – Ball – Storyline
- Side CU shot – Vicki – FADE
- Other side CU – Vicki
- Med shot – Storyline
- Med shot – Vicki
- Zoom shot – Storyline
- Slow – Vicki Silhouette
- Zoom shot – Storyline
- Slow – Vicki Silhouette
- Zoom shot - Storyline
- Slow – Vicki Silhouette
- Zoom shot – Storyline
- Slow – Vicki silhouette
- Zoom shot – Storyline
- Med side shot – Vicki
- Med storyline shot
- 4 Fast cuts – Storyline
- 5 Fast cuts Storyline – Abandoned
- Med shot – Vicki
- Feet shot – Storyline
- Long shot – Storyline – FADE TO BLACK

This is the actual shot list of the video.

Screen Shots.

The Screen Shot above is of our finished piece on the time line and the editing software we used to piece the clips together.

I am now going to upload photographs of shots that we have in our film.

The shot above is a split screen shot that we have used in our piece. This is so that our performer Vicky is on the same screen as our actress Liz. Vicky sings the lyrics while Liz sits and looks depressed.

This shot is of our actress Liz stood in the middle of market street. We filmed her stood still for 5 minutes and then sped up the footage so that she was still and everyone else was moving quickly around her.

The above shots are shots we have put on for less than a second to create the effect of the blocks growing upwards and then the final shot is a shot of Vicky kicking them down.

We set up our own studio with a camera on a tripod, a stool, lighting and green screen. These shots are to show the actress to be a model/celebrity.

The above image is a location shot of a derelict building that we have used for some shots in our music video.

This shot is a shadow, silhouette of our performer Vicky on a roof top.




Finally this shot is of our performer Vicky on a roof top which is where the majority of the performance shots were filmed.

Final Update of our Music Video

We have made the finishing touches to our music video, and it is now complete. There were a few problems which we were facing in the last few stages of editing, such as lip syncing. This was a problem, as the song that we originally used so that it was easier for vicky our performer to sing along to was shorter, than the CD version we used for our official video. So while editing we had to slow down/ speed up some of our footage so that it was in sync with the song. We also found that we had small spaces in our timeline, which we filled with some footage that we had left over. This was useful, as the fast cuts tied in well with the song. We also added a photo shoot aspect to our video, as we were going with the theme of Liz, our other actress being a celebrity. so we created our own photoshoot, with green screening and Stand-alone lighting. This added a variation of shot styles as we used a mix of close-ups, mid shots and slow zooms.

Original Shot List

This is the original shot list that we made to guide us with filming. We are going to upload a finished shot list as well.



Fences – Shot List

Introduction is 8 Seconds long.

1-6 seconds of the 8 is Location shots from the selected roof. Approximately 1 second each.

7-8 seconds is the performer sat on the railings and then jumping off.

9 seconds is when the performance will start. I’m sitting in a room made up of only big white walls… At this lyric she will slowly be walking forward. By the line and in the halls, the performer should be at the edge of the roof.

13 seconds – Shots of the eyes. There are people looking through. There will be five shots of eyes on the beat.

15 seconds - The window in the door 15-18 seconds medium long shot focused on people when Liz crosses the shot and the people look at her. Know exactly what we’re here for.

18- 22/23 seconds – don’t look up just let them think there’s no place else you’d rather be… Liz walking around aimlessly, looking lonely.

22/23 seconds – You’re always on display. Some how show that Liz is on display.

23-26 seconds – Vicki singing For everyone to watch and learn from.

26-29 seconds – Don’t you know by now, Close ups of barcodes and tags.

29-37 seconds - You can’t turn back, because this road is all you’ll ever have. Liz wandering around roads in town, reminiscing the past.

38-57 seconds – different performance shots of Vicki, Close ups, medium shots, high and low angle shots.

57-1.04 – Shots of Liz wandering around streets

1.05 If you’d let me I could, I’d show you how to build your fences. Shot of the building blocks building up.

1.05-1.09 – Quick shot of performance. Separate from the world the constant battle that you hate to fight.

1.09 – 1.14 – Just blame the limelight. Feet knock down the building blocks.

1.15 – 1.29 – Don’t look up just let them know there’s no place else you’d rather be, and now, you can’t turn back, because this road is all you’ll ever have. Performance and story interlinked together by dual screen. Swap shots between Liz and Vicki.
1.30 – 1.35 - It’s obvious that you’re dying, dying. Shots of Liz in the abandoned building.

1.35- 1.48 – Just living proof that the camera’s lying. More shots in abandoned building.

1.48- 1.55 – Performance shots. Yeah, yeah you’re asking for it, with every breath that you’re breathing. Intercut with Liz in the abandoned building.

1.55- 2.00 – Just breathe in…yeah yeah, well you’re just a mess. Re-applying make-up etc…

2.00- 2.06 – You do all this big talking, now let’s see you walk in. Performance.

2.06- 2.10- Let’s see you walk in. Liz walking in red dress.

2.10 – 2.22- Interlude- Vicki moshing in performance. Taken from many different angles.

2.22- 2.30 – Throwing glass at wall, angry smash.

2.30- 2.32- Smash of the glass.

2.32- 2.34- Dual screen, Vicki singing and Liz realising something.

2.34- 2.42- Performance. You do all this big talking now let’s see you walk in, I said let’s see you walk in.

Update on Editing

We have now fully finished all of the filming and are now completing the editing process. We expect to have all of the editing done by Friday 27th. Getting to this point has been difficult due to delays in filming, more specifically the weather and time to film. On Thursday 19th November, we decided to use the green screen to create a final scene to add into the video at last minute. I have captured this footage and think that it works very well with the concept of the video. Over these next few days the video will become completed and Images of outfits and locations will be displayed on the Blog.

Update on editing/filming

In the past few weeks the group have been busy filming and editing the footage to make sure we have a good finished piece. In this process we have realised that music videos need a lot more footage and variation than normal short films do and that getting the timing correct on the right beat can be quite a challenge.
We have encountered a few problems whilst filming such as the weather; wind, rain, fog etc... and also our performers hair colour caused a problem. Vicky had blue hair to begin with but as the weeks past her hair faded and turned to a green/blue. She couldn't get hold of the hair dye that she had used therefore we had to go out and film all the blue hair shots again with vickys new hair colour - purple.
We are now in the process of constant editing and making sure the miming fits with the song. We encountered problems whilst trying to do a split screen but we are hoping that putting a thick line through the clip will make this effect achievable.
I am going to post the shot list soon when we have edited it efficiently.

Costume Research

The Costume in which we have chosen for the performance aspect of the video fit in very well with the generic conventions of the genre of female rock/pop/punk. Our performer and also group member, Victoria, is to wear a long, white T-Shirt, a black cardigan and black leggins, red doc martins and a necklace. Her hair is styled quite naturally besides the blue colour.

For the story side of the video we have decided to have group member Liz act the story part, The costume will consist of slightly casual, but dressesd up style for the high street filming. This will be to reflect her celebrity-esque image. We have also decided to have her in a different outfit for the derelict building scenes. In this part of the film we have decided to film with Liz in a red dress, as the scenery would make this look more dramatic.

Update on Progress on Filming

We decided that it would be a good time to update out blog with information on the progress we were making on filming our music video.

At the moment we are starting to put the raw footage we have collected on our story board and trying to start piecing the music video together in a sequence. So far we have shot the performance parts of the roof, by using a mixture of shots, including tracking shots and a variety of mid and close ups. Within this we have made sure that the shots have continuity by ensuring costume is the same throughout, and trying to film on days when the weather is similar. We have found have found the weather has been one of the problems which we have faced, due to it being autumn the weather is unpredictable and we are vast approaching winter.When we were out filming, during a lesson, we found that the weather was too grim and foggy to film on a rooftop where we were filming, as we couldn’t see any of the buildings or scenery in the distance. The weather was also windy, making it difficult to film. We are going to ensure that we go and capture as much footage as we can, and we will soon start working on our storyline aspect of our video.

Location Research

For our music video we had three types of locations for the different parts of the video. 1st of we had the idea of an urban rooftop for the performance scenes of the video. We decided on this as the type of music is very modern so would require a more modern feel to its locations. Also a rooftop would give an excellent variation of shots as it would be looking over a city/town. We started to research and look for some good locations for the performance in town centre. Town centre has a range of different buildings and lots of rooftops which were accessible. In the end we decided on the rooftop of shude-hill bus station. The picture below is off the rooftop we decided on.

This rooftop was also a car park which consisted of a lot of raps that we could use in different ways in our video. There is a large ramp with a railing along it. This we used as an advantage ion our video for the performer to jump of to add some excitement. The car park also has a lot of painted lines and markings which added colour and an urban feel to it. Looking out of the building there was an excellent view of the city which works extremely well with the mise-en-scene which was great for location shots.

For the storyline of the music video we had three different locations. The 1st was a busy local area, Town center. This location helped with the urban feel to the video and more of an upbeat area to match the music style. We were able to get a lot of experimental shots from this area, such as speeded up shots to give the busy feel to the video. The second location was an abandoned building in Ancotes. This location was great for a comparison to the busy street shots. The abandoned location was covered in green moss and graffiti which worked well with Liz’s red dress the way the two things contrasted looked great in the video. Below you can see and image of the location.

Finally as a third locating we filmed Liz inside instead of outside to add range to our shots. We filmed her against a green screen with a camera taking images of her to show that she was in a photo shoot; this helped the storyline of the video so the viewer could tell she was a famous character.

Music Video Research

We looked at a selection of music videos to look at the types of locations which a music video is shot at. To get some information and an idea of what locations make a good music video.

Firstly I looked at a video by Paramore, the artist we have chosen to create a music video of one of their songs. I looked at the video ‘Emergency’ which is located in a derelict building, and the video is mainly performance based, as are a lot of rock genre videos. The video has a variety of shots located inside and outside of the derelict building. This type of location seems to suite this type of music and fits to the videos story line. We have decided to include this aspect of location to our music video, as it seems to fit well with our chosen song and the style of music which paramore create.

I also analysed the music video by Avril Lavigne ‘ My happy ending’ which has some tracking shots of Avril on abandoned streets, and it cuts to footage of what the song is about, which we wanted too include into our video, so that it isn’t just a performance based video. Some of the video is also shot in an empty movie theatre, which goes well with the song. We liked the idea of using locations that were empty and abandoned to suit the theme of our chosen song.

I also looked at a video by Evanescence ‘Everybody’s Fool’. I looked at this video as some of the performance based part of the video is filmed on a rooftop looking out on the rest of the city. We thought this would be an interesting aspect to add to our video. We plan to film some of our video on a rooftop in Manchester to get a bird’s eye view of Manchester and set the atmosphere of our video, and also be a good location to film at.