VIDEO STILLS FOR DIGIPAK

Looking at the shots I filmed, I thought some of them may be good video stills for the digipak/magazine cover.

I think this shot may be good to use as part of the digipak where the CD disk goes as the trees are filled around the sides so the CD could fit in the blue gap.

I like these two photos as they could be cropped and manipulated for the front cover on Photshop. They are both medium close ups and look very natural. I also like how the sunlight is reflecting on her face creating the look of a summers day.

I think this photo would go well on the back of my digipak where the names of the songs go.

ROTOSCOPING

To rotoscope my video I used ADOBE FLASH PROFESSIONAL. First, I needed to export the section of the video I wanted to rotoscope, to do this I went to File > Export > Media and clicked 'match sequence settings' so everything was at the right settings.
I then needed to use ADOBE MEDIA ENCODER to change the format of the video to a FLV Flash file.
I selected the video I wanted to encode and looked for the FLV Flash video setting making sure it had 'match source attributes' selected. I then pressed the encode button and it was done!

Next I needed to start rotoscoping my test video. So I created a new file in Flash also known as the 'Stage' I made sure the stage was also set to 1080 x 1920 so none of the video would be cropped out.

Flash made it so much more easier than hand rendering drawings - this is because it imports the video frame by frame so you can adjust each one as you go along.
I started off by creating a new layer and naming it rotoscope. I did this so I wouldn't be drawing over the actual video footage, but a new layer so I could easily rub out or make any changes without rubbing the video out. I made sure I was always clicked on the video layer when drawing.

I then right clicked on the frame which I wanted to start drawing on, and clicked 'INSERT BLANK KEYFRAME'. Adding a key frame meant the drawing would only be applied to that certain frame, and not be floating in the same place when the video was played through.

 I then pressed F6 to copy the blank key frames to the rest of the frames which I wanted to draw on. Now I was ready to start!

To draw with I used a graphics tablet with the pen it came with. I hadn't used it much before so was worried if it would be easy to use, and it definitely was. Once I got the hang of it I could draw easily on my key frames.

I used the brush tool and set it to a medium thickness. I wanted the rotoscope to appear like it was gradually building up in to a cartoon effect, so I started off by drawing a small line, moving to the next key frame and doing the same thing.

At the start of the process I was worried as I'd not used Flash before, but felt like it was a challenging task and would develop my skills and prove to be a good idea at the end. The whole process was quite tedious and seems never ending. However, once playing the video back and seeing how well it looks all played together is what kept my motivation up.
I also hid the video layer to see what the rotoscope would look like without it and played it back, which I also liked aswell.

Final outcome test!


I have also started rotoscoping the chorus where my artist touches the wall and it turns into a rotoscoped alternate reality. (Unfinished)

PHOTOSHOOT 1 FOR DIGIPAK & MAGAZINE ADVERT

MAGAZINE HAND DRAWN AND DIGITAL MOCKUP

HAND DRAWN & DIGITAL MOCKUP!

 

MAGAZINE ADVERT CONVENTIONS

Magazine adverts are usually functioned to;
-Promote the artist
-Sell the song/album
-Be eye catching to the audience

Magazine conventions:
-The release date
-Album song/title
-Image of album cover
-Artists name
-Information about product
-Where it's avaliable to purchase
-Record label logo

FLORENCE & THE MACHINE

MARINA & THE DIAMONDS

Looking at Florence's products, I can immediately notice the resemblance between both of them, this also occurs on Marina's products. The same house style is carried out through both magazine advert and digipack also, both these features create continuity between both products. This allows the audience to easily recognise the product when it's in the magazine and also when it's on the shelf in the style of a digipak. Both the image and text on these magazine adverts are very dominant, showing the importance of the album. I've noticed on some magazine adverts the text is usually placed at the top or bottom, leaving space for the main image and then extra text to sell and advertise the product. Each magazine advert is eye catching in it's own way. Florence's product has an alternate indie feel to it, by using a long shot we are able to see the full length of Florence and notice the costume she is wearing. It looks very elegant and the composition and floral imagery reminds me of an Art Nouveau style painting by the artist Mucha.

Example;

However, the composition and style on Marina's cover is very different, yet still is eye catching. The camera shot is a close up which makes Marina very dominating in the photo. She's also laid down which is an unconventional code in magazines and digipaks so this could create the ideology that she is trying to be represented as being rebellious and individual. The magazine advert as a whole is quite dark and dominance, creating power and sophistication. However, the white typography breaks this down a little as it stands out clearly against the dark colours, I think this is a good effect to use in a magazine advert because it immediately attracts the readers attention, especially in a magazine as the image scale will be larger.

The other typography on both magazines is usually placed at the bottom of the photo, the text usually includes the date the album is released, information about product, where it's available to purchase and the record label logo somewhere underneath or to the side of the text.

DIGIPAK HAND DRAWN AND DIGITAL MOCKUP

HAND DRAWN & DIGITAL MOCK UPS!

FRONT COVER

BACK COVER

CD'S (1+2)

BOOKLET

IMAGE WITH TEXT

DIGIPAK RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS OF MEDIA PRODUCTS

Whilst creating my music video, I decided I should start researching into digi-paks so I am prepared when in the process of creating it.

Digipaks usually are made of either card or plastic. They usually consist of 4-10 panels, which includes a CD(s) and sometimes a booklet. Plastic digipak's usually hold 4 panels. Cardboard digi-paks are usually made for special editions of CD's which is why it has more panels and information.

KEY ASPECTS OF A DIGIPAK.

• Photography:

BAND/ARTIST, LOGO, BARCODE, ADDITIONAL IMAGERY. 

• Typography:

NAME OF BAND ARTIST, NAME OF THE ALBUM, PRICE, TRACK LISTING, WEBSITE, CREDITS, RECORDING INFORMATION, WHO WROTE THE SONG, OTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (NOT ALWAYS NESSISARY) TOUR DATES, LIMITED EDITION NOTES TO FANS.

• Design:

COLOUR SCHEME TO FIT GENRE, BOOKLET, CD, SOMETIMES FOLDS.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF A DIGIPAK.

• The front panel holds an image (usually of the artist). The type of shot depends on the genre or music. The name of the artist and album is also somewhere on the front cover (also depending on the genre) The colour scheme of the front cover usually runs throughout the rest of the digipak to allow it to all fit together.
• The spine is very basic and just has the artist's name, name of the album and the institution.  
• The three compartments inside the digipak don't have a specific order. One of these panels includes a CD (or 2 depending on how big the digi-pak is), a booklet, another image/track listing.
• The back of the digipak contains the track listing by itself or beside another image. It also contains credits, barcode and age restrictions.

I think active audiences and fans will purchase special editions and digi-paks more frequently as they think special edition will feel more personal and they will feel upto date. Digi-paks also usually include an extra booklet and sometimes free merchanise such as small stickers.

Often the artist will try to build a relationship with the audience through the use of imagery so they get used to the look of the artist and their CD's/Digi-paks/albums will become easily recognisable.

Digi-pak template!

I chose to use the template of a 6 panel digi-pak as this will alow me to include 2 CD's, an added booklet (enabling active audiences to feel more envolved), and enough information on the inside without it being too overcrowded.

SHORT LIIAR ANALYSIS OF PRODUCTS (LANGUAGE, INSTITUTION, IDEOLOGY, REPRESENTATION)

INDIE/POP ARTIST FRONT COVER RESEARCH

Lisa Mitchell

The image on this photo uses an establishing shot, this helps us recognize the location of the artist, she is placed in the left third of the photo showing she's not the main importance, this is an unconventional code as usually the artist dominates the page. I can see she is dressed in black white connotes dominance, which is also enhanced more as she's leaning out the window almost as if she's looking down on us. The colours on the cover are very nature based, suggesting the audience for her music are indie/hippies. The text is placed at the right third of the photo which is very dominating showing the album and musics importance. The institution of this album is Scorpio Music. I think the ideology that is trying to be conveyed is the fact her songs are quite peaceful and are inspired by nature as there is a lot of nature dominating the cover. I think she is also trying to play up to the indie stereotype as indie is seen as being very individual and wear dark vintage clothing - which she is doing. I think once again the cover is trying to represent the audience as being young female teenagers who are going out into the wild world experiencing life. I think this because she's leaning out the window and is surrounded by nature. I also think she's trying to convey the audience as being a niche, individual audience as the cover doesn't use codes such as medium close ups with the artist dominating the cover.

Ellie Goulding

The cover uses a long shot, however is quite close so we can see her full body. The camera is on a very slight low angle, showing she's powerful and trying to undermine the audience. Ellie is also breaking the 4th wall by making eye contact with the audience, however this helps the audience feel more involved with the media text. The background is very nature based showing individuality. Ellie is positioned in a very posed way as she's almost leaning towards us with her legs apart showing a seductive language. Ellie seems to be dressed quite casual but has a twist to her outfit as she's wearing heals once again showing individuality. Her clothes are very girly as she's wearing a white blouse with brown high waisted shorts, this can be seen as controversial as white signifies pureness and innocence, however as I mentioned she is sat in a seductive pose, showing the audience could be quite rebellious. I think she's trying to target a male and female audience aged between 16-24, this is because the pose she is using could target the male audience, but the style of fashion could draw in the female audience. Her audience could be seen as rebellious due to the controversial ideology which is being portrayed, and fashionable because of the up to date clothes she is wearing. I think she is trying to target a mainstream and niche audience as her music is heavily pop based with the occasional indie twist, therefore the mainstream audience will be interested in her music. However, I think the language of this cover could be trying to target a niche audience as the props and scenery used isn't very popular to a lot of artists.

Rilo Kiley

The photo uses a medium close up which allows the audience to clearly see the artists facial expression and emotion they are conveying. In this example the artist looks quite calm and neutral. The drawing is clearly unconventional as it's not a usual code to include drawing in album covers. The pastel colours make the album look quite angelic and individual compared to some albums which are too bright and in your face. I think the typography works well with the photo as the photo is drawing based, and the typography looked hand rendered which shows continuity in the album.The artist is looking away from the camera showing he's distracted, this is an unconventional code as usually artists are focused on something or looking direct into the camera to show power. I think the album cover is trying to convey individuality which it's doing well as the style of photo isn't often used on album covers. I think they are trying to represent the audience as being part of a niche audience which makes them individual. The audience may also be an active audience which keeps up to date with new technologies (such as animation). The audience could also be the younger audience ages 16-24 as they may be more attracted to the cover as it's a lot more individual than others. The album doesn't give much more representation of the audience as it's such a simple cover, this may be because the artist wants a broad approach to their music and let the audience decide what they want to be represented as. I think the album is also trying to draw you in to listening to the music as if the album is so individual, what could the music also have to give to the audience? I personally hadn't listened to Rilo Kiley before coming across this album and was quite suprised when I listened and saw the video Silver Lining. I thought the singer was going to be male, but Rilo Kiley is actually a band with a female singer. I think this could be a good technique to use in the music industry as it makes the audience wonder what sort of music could be on the album and could be suprised in a good way.

Another Rilo Kiley example...

Rilo Kiley - Silver Lining.