Magazine Advert

Digipak Insert

Digipak

Music Video

Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 2

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

From the feedback I got on the third edit of my music video and print products I am sure that there is a clear link between all my products through colour, text, effects and imagery. For my album advert, digipak cover, insert cover and the first shot in my music video I have used the ‘Halsey, Badlands’ logo that I created with the same font, size, colour and positioning to create continuity and link the three products together, making the audience aware that they are all promoting the same album. I think this is also effective in creating a brand style for the artist. One of the comments on my promotional package as a whole said that 'I think that they link really well especially with the recurring colours throughout and the style of the video and the print products. I also really like the fact that the same colours, style and image are used on both of the print products'. This shows that someone who is seeing the products for the first time will easily identify them as a package.

For the album advert and digipak I used an image that I edited of the artist. In the photo that I used the artist is wearing the same clothing to that of my music video and her makeup and hair is done the same way which creates a link between the products through mise-en-scene. I then used the posturize effect on the image to reference the few scenes in which I used the effect in my music. I also changed the colour of her hair to appear blue which refers to the scene in the video where blue paint is poured over her head. This is further emphasised by the black background in both the products and the scene in the video. I think this is effective as an active audience will most likely draw the connection between the two and therefore gain satisfaction through recognition.

In both my digipak and advert I have used a light pink border which matches the colour of the 'Halsey, Badlands' logo, linking all three products together. In my focus group I asked the group if they thought that there was a link between my music video and ancillary texts. From the response I am sure that it is clear to my target audience that the three products are promoting the same album and artist. On the inside panel I've used an image that is similar to the sunset/clouds scene in my music video. This links the print product to my music video through themes of colour, imagery and setting. I also think this is effective alongside the blue in the image of the artist as well as matching the border that surrounds it.

In the insert I created for my digipak, two of the images I included are photos I took during the filming of my music video and so are of the same subject matter and composition only of higher quality and use slightly different colours. I think this is effective in combining the products together. I've also used the same font 'Georgia' throughout all of the text.




Another one of the comments from my feedback said ‘I think that they link really well especially with the recurring colours throughout and the style of the video and the print products’; this sums up the aims I had in mind.

Overall, I think the combination of my music video and print products works well to promote the release of the new album as well as the artist and constructs a brand style which the audience can recognise and identify with. From my feedback and personal opinion I think that anyone would easily be able to identify that the three go together.

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 1

Evaluation Question 1 from mxsephan

Focus Group

Feedback on Third Edit & Print Products

Feedback on Third Edit

This was the feedback I got on the third edit of my music video.

Does the jittery text effect work well?

I think it works well, it helps to break up the visuals.

I think it works really well with the mood and the style of the video. It also stops the footage from seeming repetitive by breaking it up.

It works well but you could maybe try and make each word come up in time with it being sung in the song.

It works well and breaks up the visuals. It’s different and I really like it.

Yeah I like it.

Yeah, I liked it and thought that it worked well with the theme and the style of music.

I chose to ask this question as it was a new effect that I had added into the video that I was unsure of. From the response I think that it works well to add more movement to the text and break up the visuals which was my aim with the effect. One comment suggested that I make each word come up individually but I'm going to choose not to do this as I've already used that technique in another part of the video and I don't want it to be too repetitive.

Do you think there is a link between all three products?

I think the link between the digipak and advert is really good and the link to the video is strong too.

The link between the digipak and the advert is very strong. The music video has more bright colours in it so the link between the video and the print products is a bit weak in that sense, however it’s strong enough to know they link because of the colour blue.

All three link together well, especially with the font and layout of the “Halsey Colors/Badlands” thing. You could change the colour of the “Halsey Colors” thing at the beginning of the video to pink to match the digipak and poster. (it might be pink already I can’t tell).

They all link really well especially the colours in all three products.

The digipak and advert look very similar with the posturize effect but they both look good and professional. It might be worth using a slightly different image on one of them, with the same colours and effects, just so they’re not identical.

Yeah, I think that they link really well especially with the recurring colours throughout and the style of the video and the print products. I also really like the fact that you've used the same colours, style and image on both of the print products.

I wanted to ask this question because I think it's important that there is a correlation between all my media products. One of the comments said that the title at the beginning of my music video should match that of the print products which was something I was considering before and will now do to create a stronger link and more recognisable logo. From the feedback I am sure that there is a link between all the products through colour, text and effects. Someone mentioned that there should be more colour on the print products, however I have not yet added one of the images to the design which will make up for the lack of colour.

Do you think there’s enough information on the advert?

You could have information about a hit single that’s featured on the album or a quote from a critique reviewing it highly.

The amount of information on it at the moment is great, but I think including a good review from a well-known music critique would be a good idea and make it a stronger product. Also maybe information about songs included on the album would be good too.

I think there’s enough information because the layout works really well and you don’t want to make it too crowded.

Yes, the layout works really well as you don’t want to over crowd it.

I think the simplistic design works well.

Yeah, I like the fact that it is quite minimal in its use of text but still manages to get across all the information you need and looks very stylish.

I was also worried about the fact that my album advert is quite simplistic and minimal however from the feedback I think that it works well with the design and gets enough information across to the audience. I have considered adding information about a single or a review but don't think it's completely necessary and would only ruin the composition.

Designing Digipak

For the three inside panels of my digipak I wanted to have an image of clouds that I took to run along all three with the CD in the middle. The first two designs are using similar images with slightly different colours. Out of the two I think the second if most effective as there is more detail in the image and the brightness of the first washes out some of the detail. For the third design I used a completely different image and edited the colours to be shades of pink and blue. I think this image references my music video more greatly than the other two and is a more interesting photo to look at as parts of the sky are still visible. To get a second opinion I asked someone which design they preferred and they said 'I think the last links in better with your music video and the colour on your digipak as well as your album advert'. Because of this I have decided to use the last design for my final digipak.

Third Edit

Skills Development

Text Animation from mxsephan

Feedback on Second Edit

To get some feedback on my music video so far i got the class to watch it through. The questions that i asked where:

1. Are there too many lip-syncing scenes?

2. Does the typography work well?

This was the feedback i got:

"You should use kinetic typography to make the text more significant and interesting instead of it being static."

"The lip-syncing is okay but you could benefit from removing one or two of the scenes so that it's not too repetitive."

"One of the lip-syncing scenes was out of sync."

"You could try putting the words in different colours and make it move on the screen."

The feedback that i got confirmed what i thought i could improve about my video, so i'm going to make these changes for my next edit as they clearly stand out to an audience as well as myself. I'm going to use After Effects to make the typography move in some way so that it fits in with the moving images. I'm also going to refine my edit so that no scenes are out of sync for my final version.

Second Edit

Planning Digipak Insert

Planning Digipak Insert from mxsephan

Changing Digipak Layout

I decided to print out the images that I plan to use for my digipak and create a paper mock-up so that I could visualise what the product would look like in real life. By doing this I realised that an audience that doesn't know the artist won't recognise the image on the front cover so I've decided to switch the image on the second panel to be the front cover as it has the artist and album name.

Track Listing

Choosing a Font

For my Digipak and Magazine Album Advert I had to choose a font that I wanted to use for the album and artist name. These were the options that I liked the most. The bottom two I think are two curly which doesn't fit in with my blocky, simple design so I've decided to use the first one which is the font 'Georgia' as it stands out and would be easy to read from a distance. When I come to making both the products I will most likely adjust the letter spacing so that it is further away.

Skills Development

Photo Shoot

The first photo shoot i did was of the artist in the TV Studio. From these images I've decided that I'm going to use the first one. I think the composition of the image works best as well as the colour, clothing, makeup and hair. For my digipak and magazine advert I plan on using an image of the artist which a plain background, which the first image has.

The second photo shoot i did was at the beach where i took photos of the sunset and clouds.

Ideas for Print

Here is a sketch i did for an idea of what i want to have on my digipak and magazine advert. I want to have an image of the artist wearing the same clothing as in the music video with her hair in pig-tails. After the photo shoot i'm going to use Photoshop to edit the image and colourise her hair to make it bright blue and make the image look similar to that of a painting. I think the child-like hairstyle and clothing will give the impression that the album is fun and upbeat to listen to. 

Magazine Advert Flatplan

Digipak Flatplan

Ideas for Digipak

Initial Ideas

My initial idea for my digipak is to use Photoshop to graphically produce a number of the images. I want the inside panels to be highly edited images of a sunset/clouds as this related to my music video which features shots of these subjects. I also want it to be colourful as this relates to the titles of the tracks on the album e.g. colors and is a convention of digipak's of the pop genre.  I want the typography to be simplistic and white or a pale colour so that it doesn't overpower the colour elsewhere on the design but stands out and is easy to read when on the shelf.

As well as graphical images i want to have at least one shot of the artist so that people are aware of who the digipak is promoting as well as encouraging fans to buy the product. The back cover will feature the track list for the album and two of the inside panels will be for the CD's.

Magazine Adverts

The main purpose of a magazine advert for an album is to promote the album to their target audience. Audiences will benefit from them as they're informed of upcoming music that they may like or be anticipating. Albums of the rock genre will most likely be seen in magazines such as Kerrang and Rocksound. 

Magazine Advert Analysis

Digipak Analysis

Digipak Analysis

Digipaks are made out of cardboard and contain the CD/CD'S of an artist. They became largely popular in the early 2000's. Digipaks are for fans of the artist or band as they feel like they're getting more for their money. They often buy them for the extra information that they contain e.g. more artwork, booklets that contain the lyrics to each track on the album or posters.

This is the digipak for Rihanna's album 'Loud'. I've chosen to analyse this design as the album is of the same genre as the song I've chosen for my music video. The colour scheme of blue and red is carried through each of the images. During the time the album was made a part of Rihanna's brand identity was her long brightly coloured red hair which is clearly shown and emphasised by the red lipstick and roses. The colour red connotes love and romance which is a theme that is evident through the imagery of roses and the sensual expression on her face on the front cover. The use of bold colours is a convention of pop music and culture which this album is promoting. She's also wearing a white dress which has symbolism of purity and goodness and is associated with femininity. 

All of the images are of the artist themselves, therefore making the album more noticeable for fans and promoting the artist. This may also appeal to a male audience through sex appeal. The image on the inside follows through all three panels with the artist's face situated in the middle of the frame so that it's not covered up by the CD's. On the CD's themselves there are pink roses which will appeal to a female audience and follows the theme of love.
The artist name 'Rihanna' and album title 'Loud' are placed on the front panel and the CD's on the inside. This is one of the conventions of digipak's as it makes it easier for people to identify the artist when it's on the shelf. The typography is very small and white so that it doesn't overpower or cover the image. It also contradicts the word 'loud' as it's very minimal and doesn't necessarily stand out on the front cover. 

In the images above the back cover isn't visible, however it features the copyright details and logo for the artist's label as well as a track listing and bar-code. These are key conventions of digipak's. It's placed on the back panel so that it's easy to access but doesn't ruin the imagery and theme of the other panels.

This is the digipak for Muse's 'Black Holes and Revelations' album. The colour scheme of black and orange follows through each panel including the CD's itself. The colour black is stereotypically associated with the rock genre which this digipak is promoting. The colour orange has connotations of happiness and enthusiasm which suggests that the album will be pleasant and enjoyable to listen to; it also contrasts against the black background making it stand out. On the panel's with the black background there is a dusty and scratched effect which creates a rock/grunge like look.

The band logo which is part of their brand identity is positioned on the second panel. The typography is usually black but it has been changed to better match the imagery and colour scheme which is space and orange tones. It also contrasts against the background creating a larger impact. Again, the back cover has the track listing and copyright details as well as a bar-code and the band's website. On the spine the artist and album name are repeated so that it can be easily recognised when staked on a shelf. 

This digipak was inspired by one of their previous albums 'Origin of Symmetry'. Rather than an image of the band on the front cover there are the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation which challenges the conventions of digipak's as the front cover usually features the name of the artist and an image of them to promote the band. However, there is an image of them on one of the inside panels. In the image they are directly addressing the camera and in turn the audience. The low camera angle and high-key lighting suggest importance and that they're a band of great influence; this is emphasised by the fact that they're wearing suits. This will also appeal to fans who will enjoy seeing photos of the band.

Skills Development

For a few scenes in my music video I wanted to create an overlay and have the artist lip-syncing over a background that I had filmed separately. To do this I layered the background above the clip and decreased the opacity from 100% to 77% and changed the blend mode from Normal to Multiply to get this effect. I also had to increase the brightness and contrast of the artist clip so that is would stand out better in from of the clip of the dark clouds.

Changing Music Video

In my music video production treatment i said what i would include shots of cotton candy melting and close-ups of a smoke machine but i have chosen to no longer include these in my final product. The reason for this is for this is i don't think it will be possible to film and may be slightly dangerous. 

I've also decided to change the opening to my music video. I originally decided to use a shot of a white sheet blowing in the wind but have decided to use a simple black screen with the artist and band name on it. The colour and font will be the same as what I will use for the digipak and magazine advert. This will create a stronger link between the products.

Re-shooting

After looking through the footage that i filmed and my previous feedback i decided that it would be beneficial to re-shoot some of the lip-syncing scenes. I had the actor wear more colourful clothing and makeup to enforce the theme of colour in my music video. I think this will make it more fun and exciting for the audience to watch.

Re-booking TV Studio

For my music video i wanted to re-shoot some of the lip-syncing footage to get shots from different angles so i had to re-book the TV Studio.