Final magazine draft

Tally chart results on Magazine advert

During this week I was busy asking 25 people which magazine advert they liked best and created a tally chart containing the two images of the magazine covers by the end of this week. I managed to print off the magazine adverts (NOTE: The second magazine advert I did on the Wednesday and started from there) and showed them to my audience simply asking which one they preferred. I would then mark on either side one point so I can now see which one would be more appealing to my target audience and make my products more marketable.

Results:

It is clear that from my results that my audience prefer the first magazine option compared to the second option. I personally like the first option too, and many agreed with me that the key image was a lot better as it was different from the front cover of the digipak image alike in the second magazine advert. Most agreed it looked more direct as if she was smiling at the audience and that they liked the positioning of the text 'Ready to Question', as it didn't obstruct the key image that is the main focus.

Magazine advert 2 - Completed on Wednesday 26th

This is the second magazine advert I created over the week and showed to my target audience and actual audience so I could create a tally chart over which one they like best. 
Alike with the first magazine advert I created, I have used a similar font and style in order to correspond to the digipak and make it look continuous without major changes. The only big change, is the dominant key image shown on the advert. I decided to use the front cover of my digipak as the main image for the advert too, highlighting the connection between them. 
For the name of the artist and album, I have used the same font style but only changed their positions by placing them in the middle, and the same block of colour without a black outline. Again the digipak cover advertised is in the same place as is the information however, I changed the colour of black to white since it wouldn't show up on the image. I pleased with how both adverts have turned out and look very professional as well as reflect the digipak its selling.

Magazine advert session 1

For today's lesson, I have started making my magazine advert for the digipak. Although I have completed the digipak, I will go back to it if I need to change or make improvements on it before it is fully finished. Taking audience opinion into consideration I have used the image that the majority picked as the best for the magazine advert. The advert will help compliment the digipak as it is similar to the photos I have taken for the digipak with same clothes, background, make-up and so forth.  I noticed this is a key feature when I researched other magazine adverts as they either showed the same front cover (alike with Florence and the Machine) or had the same style/look (alike with Adele). I will do at least two magazine adverts and gain audience feedback about which one they like best. This will help show me which magazine advert the audience are attracted to and which one grabs their attention in order to buy the digipak.

This is my first magazine advert that I have created. I like the different picture shown as the key image as she is looking directly at the audience and smiling at them. This draws the audience to further look at the advert when she is showing a friendly look to invite the audience in. 

At the top, I have placed the artists name in a box to make it stand out in the advert and highlight which artist the magazine is selling. The name of the album is placed directly above the digipak, which will draw peoples eyes to the digipak front cover shown. At the right side next to the digipak cover, I have placed some information about the CD including: Date of release, what main songs are included in the CD and the website of the artist for further details. There isn't much text shown as the key image is mainly important for attracting the audience in. I will create a second magazine advert and once this is done, gain audience feedback on which they like best.

Digipak session 3

For today's lesson, I mainly placed most of the pictures I wanted on the digipak template and be able to edit them with the 20% contrast so it all looks consistent throughout. As shown in the first image I had to place the left inside, right inside and inside centre upside down. This is because when it comes to folding it together the images will be in the right position. Plus, when finally completing the digipak I will show it in it's simplest form and possibly show it in the digipak form as a 3D concept.

As shown in the above picture of my digipak so far I have placed all the images required on all six panels. I really like the reoccurring theme of nature with the scenic background of her garden and of course Georgina's poses, sets the digipak's professional look and makes her stand out with the text included. It is important to have a dominant key image for all the panels so it can attract the audience to buying the digipak with feminine images and picturesque scenes. Plus with the pictures taken at the Dunham park location, it helps allow the audience to relate back to the music video I have produced, in showing the deer in front of the old house, which is used in my music video. 

With the centre insert, I have placed where the CD would be over the image. As an experiment I would like to try and produce a CD cover that would go over the background image where the CD would be. If I do not have the time for this I will leave it as it is. Next time, I will try to create a CD and make it so that the transparent parts see the image behind but if this cannot be done, then I will leave it. Also possibly move on to starting my magazine advert for the digipak, but I will go back to the digipak to tweak it later if I need to.

Digipak session 2

For today's lesson, I continued with placing the pictures in the right way for my digipak and added extra information on the back cover of the digipak. The extra information is usually very small and mainly contains: The institution/s who published and licensed the music, rights to the music whether it be the artist and institution, date of album release and websites such as the artists website or institution website and social link eg: twitter. Within my information, I have included the twitter and website links of the actual artist, so it helps the audience to engage with the artist and their music. This can allow the artist to be more sociable with their audience in posting updates, new music and upcoming performances.

This is a picture of my back cover highlighting the logo's of the institutions that are involved with the release of the music. NOTE: I have put the extra information at the bottom of the track list but it hasn't shown up when converting it into a picture for me to post.

Next lesson I will continue placing the images in the right order and edit them

Digipak session 1

Today, I was finally able to begin my digipak and make progress with the ancillary tasks. 
I managed to find a template from http://www.discmakers.com in order to highlight the outline of the digipak I have chosen and make a start by placing the images. The images I have chosen are from my results of the digipak and magazine survey in using them as the dominant images to design my digipak.

This is an image of the digipak I have chosen to use a s a template. I realise there are six panels within this template for me to use and that I have four chosen digipak images from the audience survey. Plus, my drafts are based on a four panel digipak. But I also stated I wanted to include the deer by the old house photo in order to correspond the digipak to the music video. I believe the best option is to have the disc insert background and then have an extra image of the flower on the inside right and the deer image on the inside left. This will help me use all the panels within the digipak and relate back to some of my drafts images too. Luckily, this digipak comes with guidelines so if I ever decide to make it to show it works I can follow what each of the different lines mean and how I can place my images.

This is the progress I have made so far. The image contrast has darkened 20% and I have started to place text on the front and back cover. The text I have used is called Blippo Light SF which gives a modern yet effective look and helps make my images stand out. The song list is from the actual CD album English Rain by Gabrielle Aplin in order to show an awareness of the artist. 

Editing session 11

These are screen shots of what I have done and how I have edited my music video towards finally completing it. As shown I have had to use a lot of cuts, blades and layers so that each scene is timed perfectly to the music in transitioning from one scene to the other. As shown, the Artifact effect appears at the side and makes the video look ertheral and highlights my performer and the scenery as I have stated previously. The Hardlight effect also makes the images more focused and gives a softer glow to the footage. 

After showing my teacher my video fully since checking it throughly, she approved of my music video and its overall look, allowing me to start my digipak.

  

Editing session 10

In yesterday's lesson, I mainly had a final run through of my music video for myself, checking the entire thing to see if I could make any last minuet improvements or enhancements.
At first the mid shot pan of the deer walking in verse 1 seemed a little shaky so I stabilised it to 2.5 giving it a smoother look to the video. NOTE: Throughout the editing sessions I have had, I stabilised much of my footage in order to give it a professional look. On some scenes I have had to leave the footage as it is (with a slight camera filming effect from when I did my filming). This is because when I stabilised them scenes such as the second chorus it looked weird when following the Georgina's movements. Or to leave the scenes as they are when I wasn't using the tripod, for instance, when the camera is backing as Georgina is moving forward at the camera, and when it is a point of view shot from walking with the necklace in her hand.
For most of the lesson, I continuously looked and checked my video from beginning to end to change or improve any minor details that will make my video better. The only concerns I have was with the stabiliser as I put it on the last verse scenes with her walking towards the ducks and her singing scenes not only in this part but in the second chorus too was a bit of a struggle. Since on filming day, I didn't use the tripod to take those particular scenes due to the tripods unsteadiness on the uneven ground. Plus with the duck scene being momentary. I had to take it by hand but tried to keep it as steady as possible. The stabiliser could only help up to a certain point in making the shots stable, but otherwise it would make the shot look strange. Hence, I had to leave certain scenes as they were. I will need to consolidate with my teacher next lesson showing the final run through and see if it is acceptable to them. I believe that my music video has turned out very well and demonstrates the Indie Folk/ Pop genre containing: A nature setting (linking to audiences everyday surroundings and reflect the natural tone of the song). An original song of which developed my own creativity in how to present the lyrics sung. Feminine costume with earthly colours, denim jeans and wearing a casual jacket. Close up's of the heart necklace, establishing emotion which is particularly key in the genre, as well as establishing shots of the surrounding scenery. Effects wise, it has the Artifact effect with the sunlight dots which not only enhance the appearance of the video and reflect the sun's rays from the scenery. But, also help include an element of Pop making the video brighter and stand out. Similar to my research on Ellie Goulding's digipak and magazine advert, with her being an Indie Pop artist the bright look is conventional of the Pop genre. Plus, the Hardlight effect creates more dimension making the colours on screen pop - another element of Pop.
Next lesson, I will have a final run through with my teachers and if it is all ok, I will begin my digipak.

Editing session 9

In today's lesson, I mainly checked the Artifact effect on all of my shots to be sure that the verses opacity was turned down to 3 and that the choruses were a little brighter to match the up beat tempo to 4. I also again looked for any glitches or improvements I could make to make the video more effective and flow naturally. For the second to last chorus and last chorus I stabilised them a little so that the shot didn't look too unbalanced and shaky. It helps to keep most of the shots stabile as it gives a professional look and makes the footage more visually appealing to the audience watching. 
Next, I noticed during the scenes where she finds the necklace and picks it up, the transition was very quick and made the scene abrupt when watching it. To improve it, I placed the close up singing of the third verse after the mid shot of her crouching down to pick it up. Then, I cut it to her holding the heart which made it flow much better and didn't make the scene abrupt. I also cut back to her singing and then cut to her walking with the necklace. This made it look a lot better from the previous placements of the footage and helped forward the symbol of the heart for the audience to watch.
I would like to believe that I am officially done now after having a look through my video and as of now cannot see that improvements need to be made. Next lesson possibly begin my ancillary tasks. Thankfully, I have the photo's taken from a while back and my audience survey to help me with the kind of look I can create. But, if I cannot do this next lesson due to improving my video I will hopefully start the ancillary tasks during next week. 

Editing session 8

For today's lesson, I had a run through of my entire music video to again check for any mishaps or improvements that I could make. It is important to check for these, to see if in any way I could make my music video more precise in it's presentation and make it look as good as possible. 
As said from my previous editing session, I took my teachers thoughts about the Artifact effect into consideration. At first, I decided which shots I could use to keep the Artifact effect on and which ones I should remove. At the start of the video, I removed the effect from the over the shoulder shot of her looking at the phone, mid shot of her reaction after looking at the phone's message, close up of her face, her throwing the phone, a shot of the deer walking and near to the end of the first chorus the extra scene where she finds the necklace. As I did a run through from this editing, I noticed that the scenes mixed (showing the effect and not) made the video look peculiar and unbalanced. I want the presentation of the video to look professional as much as possible and this editing would make the video flow strangely. So, I decided to place the Artifact effect back on the scenes I took them off, in order for it to flow well. Also, I changed the opacity on the verses throughout the song to a 3/2, which would make the sunlight dots appearance more natural to the scenes allocated. But, to fit in with the upbeat tempo of the choruses I made the Artifact effect (sunlight dots) opacity a 4 to make them brighter. 
Near to the end of the lesson, I looked at other effects to experiment with as my other teacher suggested I do so, in order to broaden my options before my final decision. I would like to keep the Artifact effect and hardlight effect on my video, but it is worth trying out other effects to see how they appear. I managed to find one effect which heightened the scenery especially, called Romantic. It provided a soft glow-like look that surrounded the main image. I placed this effect on scenes around the beginning of the deer by the house, the deer walking shot and the pan of the lake scenery. It looked good as a nature effect and heightened the images, but next lesson I will see if this effect is good on any other scenes ( and whether or not it does affect the flow of the video's appearance). 

Editing session 7

For today's lesson, I managed to have a run through of my music video and check for any improvements that I could make or any enhancements that could help with the video's flow. One slight glitch I saw was during the second verse. Near to the end of the second verse I have a scene where it transitions from her singing to a mid shot of her walking with the camera tracking back in front of her. The end of the singing clip had a slight part where the screen got bigger and made my performer closer. It didn't flow right and an improvement needed to be made. I managed to extend the scene of her walking over the top of this part, so it smoothly transitioned to this scene. 
As another enhancement or change, I deduced to replace a the second to last extra scene on the last chorus. The previous scene of a pan of her walking with the necklace in hand seemed to contrast the mood/tone of the song at this point. I replaced it with the same scene of the point of view shot where she looks at the heart in her hand. But, I used the ending part of this scene when she closes it in her grasp. It signals a final decision she has made and links back to when she had it from near the start. It also hints the time of her thinking about her relationship by showing her just simply holding it at the start to grasping it at the end of the song. 
At the end of the lesson, my teacher advised me when showing her the full video that the Artifact effect when used for all the shots, looses it's impact within the video. She suggested that I used it for more scenery shots and not always for the singing. I will take this into account next lesson and decide which shots I should place the effect on. Or, change the opacity of the dots.
On the whole, I am pleased with my music video and will do this improvement next time so I can fully finish and move on to my ancillary tasks.

Editing session 6

For today's lesson, I only had a little amount to do as I had to complete the end of the song and I managed to finish my music video. 
At the start of the lesson, I continued finalising the last two choruses by starting on the third chorus, placing a mid shot of my performer looking out towards the scenery whilst sitting with her knees up. This is an extra scene I added within the singing of the third chorus. And as a match on action shot I placed an establishing shot of the scenery she was looking out at from the previous extra scene. This is to help show some continuity, however, as most existing music videos and including my own, highlight that different scenes are placed within the video and don't match from the previous one at times. Again, this is not a heavily driven narrative but more a symbolic and thematic music video based on the characters emotions of confusion, love, heart break and sadness as suggested within the lyrics.  
Next, as the singing footage continues to the last fourth chorus and end of the song, I placed an extra scene of a mid shot of her walking with the necklace and panning to her walking near a tree. This is a scene from a previous shot I used earlier however, this part is from the end of that footage taken. I have tried to make every extra scene placed within the singing parts and video different in order to make it more appealing for the audience watching. The many types of scenes shown make the video more enjoyable as the audience don't know what will come next. 
Finally the last shot where I placed a mid shot of her reaching up to place the necklace on a branch. This is to help the audience to relate back to the very beginning of the video, solving the enigma of how the heart was placed there. It then transitions to fading into darkness once the music has finished. 
I have managed to successfully complete my music video in this lesson, but next lesson I will need to check the video for any glitches or enhancements that I may have missed. Once this is done and I have finalised everything, I will begin making the ancillary tasks to go along side my music video.

Editing session 5

For toady's lesson, I managed to get most of the last verse and most of the third chorus finished.
I firstly, edited a part of the second chorus by placing a long shot tracking my performer walking with the necklace in her hand towards the camera, which would then cut back to her close up shot of her singing the chorus. This was so I could break up the singing parts with added scenes as I have done previously and help forward the image of her with the necklace after finding it.
Next, at the end of the second chorus it shows her walking away from the tree after her singing. Since the song goes quiet again, I placed a fade to black transition on the end of this clip, and then the next clip of a mid shot of her wearing the necklace singing verse four, would appear from the darkness. At this point I don't know whether to edit this when looking back at it, to see if it works out well. Possibly next lesson, I will place the same transition effect onto the mid shot singing clip at the start so it has a smooth flow. 
As the fourth verse enters, (mid shot of her with necklace on singing) I place a mid shot track of my performer walking towards the lake near a few ducks which lay on the ground. This is one shot I particularly like, as it was a momentary shot and timed perfectly when capturing the ducks at the end flying away. Then of course I cut back to my singing clip where she sings 'someone telling me, this time wrong feels right'. After that, when music is just playing, it cuts back to show the ducks flying away. I believe the ducks are quite symbolic as the expression 'free as a bird' is notified since my character is questioning to either be free from the relationship or not. 
At the end of the lesson, I only just started the third chorus and will continue with placing extra scenes within the singing next time.

Journal 9 Digipak and magazine audience survey update

These are a few pages of the digipak and magazine audience survey, that I gave to people within my target audience and my actual audience too. I have done this survey mainly so that I can get a general idea of which photo's my audience liked and what appeals to them. Also to influence my final digipak and magazine advert idea. NOTE: To link to my music video, I am going to include the picture of the deer sat by the old house in one of the panels for my digipak alongside which other photo's I choose from my target audiences opinions. However, depending on how many panels are appropriate I will have to decide if I can use the deer picture or not.

Results

Front cover :

After asking 15 people from my target and actual audience, the majority (9/15) found that the first option was the best image for the front cover. Some comments made were that this image looked professional or showed off the scenery behind more, and that it looked as if she was holding a light, which I agree with and makes it look more ethereal in style. Plus, with the lights I used as decorations it defiantly makes them stand out as well as making Georgina stand out being surrounded by them. Also, taking into account post production, when it comes to editing I can place the text below without having to obstruct my performers image and make a few enhancements to the scenery, possibly adding more glow effects. It was a close call between the third option too, as the other six people voted for it. Those who did, said it looked professional again and highlighted her face with a close up shot. However, one thing I did notice was that in editing later on, there wouldn't be much room to place the text in the middle or the top that would obstruct her face. As I have noticed in existing products, such as Ellie Goulding's digipak and ones I have seen on most digipaks, the main text saying the artist's name and album name is either positioned at the top or bottom. This is so the picture in the middle is more dynamic and visually dominant as the key image.

Back cover:

From the 15 people asked the majority (11/15) chose the third option as the best image for the back cover. I deliberately left room at the side for post production when placing the track list at the side of the image. I agree with most that this image is best as some commented saying the leaves look good as a backdrop and she looks like she is contemplating or lost in thought which helps link to my song within my music video: 'Ready to Question'. It also shows her in a casual position, with emotion making her stand out despite it being just for the back cover. 

Extra image:
For the extra image, most decided that the first option was best (8/15). My audience commented that it looked simple but effective in the way she holds the flower as if she is thinking about a love (again helping it to link to themes within my song in her contemplating her relationship), plus continuing to link to the theme of nature. Linking to my analysis of the Marina and the diamonds in order for an artist to be seen and make an impression, having multiple panels of the artist can make them known, so having a good amount of pictures of her is key. Overall, I agree with what my target and actual audience have chosen so far as I personally like the images to use for my digipak. NOTE: This extra image may be within a CD booklet if I decide to make one, as I said to link to the music video, I am going to place the picture with the deer sat by the old house as an extra image too. 

CD insert cover:For in the CD insert cover (where the CD would be placed), my audience (12/15) chose the first option again as the best image to use. Although most don't focus on this image as much as one of the extra images, front cover and back cover, it is still important to include it within the digipak. Some commented saying, that she looked as if she was looking in the distance, it had a dynamic pose almost wistful and looked visually appealing. I would have to agree with this, as I like her expression which again makes as if she is thinking/questioning.

Magazine advert:

Finally, for the magazine advert that will advertise the digipak, (13/15) chose the first option as the best image to advertise the digipak. I personally really like this image as so does my audience which helps me understand their likes as well as helping my products relate to my audience visually and persuade my audience to buy  the digipak and watch my music video.

Many commented on saying that her facial expression looking happy would attract people into buying it as it almost looks as if she is smiling a the audience.  I strongly agree with this and helps show to myself what the audience know to help persuade them into buying products they like. Plus, the room at the side of the image has plenty for me to place an image of the digipak's front cover, the name of the artist and album, with the extra details about the date it's released, institutional information and so forth. 

Editing session 4

At the beginning of this lesson, I managed to find a stabiliser tool which would enable me to adjust the clips that were a little shaken or didn't look as fixed as I wanted them to be. It relates back to when I was filming and at times whenever the camera was a little unstable at times on the tripod due to the wind. After this, I also decided to make the Artifact effect with the sunlight dots appear a little more natural during the verses of the song. But during the chorus parts of the song, in order to emphasise the main lyrics and parts of the video, where they are more upbeat in sound compared to the verses, I made the dots look brighter to reflect that. 

As a continuation, I kept placing the footage in the order I wanted. I managed to match the whole of the first chorus to the artist singing in the song, and the points where its says '(Oh, Ohh)' in the chorus I placed extra scenes. This is so it did not wholly focus on the artists singing as it wouldn't be interesting to see it without having a few different scenes mixed together.  The first extra clip I placed was an establishing shot of the surrounding scenery (including a lake) and then one mid shot of her walking down a forest path towards the camera. At this point, I was pleased with how the first two verses and  first chorus had turned out, especially with the lip syncing and how the music video was flowing having different scenes cut back and forth from her singing, to scenes of her in the surrounding environment.

For the remainder of the lesson, to fit in with my main idea, I began to place the scenes where she finds the heart necklace and walks away with it for the next verse (3) before the second chorus begins. I placed a low angle shot of her walking past the camera, then followed by a long shot of her finding the necklace on the floor and crouching down to pick it up. Again, to make it more interesting I cut to her singing parts of the third verse. The singing footage I took, was a close up of her against a tree, so my video had a variety of singing shots and not always located in one place. As said in my 8th Journal, the variety of shots help correspond to her uncertainty of her relationship and having no set answer. As a match on action scene, it showed a close up of her holding the necklace (linking to her crouching to pick it up scene) and then a point of view shot where she is walking with the necklace in her hand and looking down at it.

Finally, I got to the second chorus and placed her close up singing footage with extra scenes of a mid shot of her looking around, wearing the necklace.

Next lesson, I will get on to ordering the final few scenes for the song and continue matching the lip syncing to the artist's voice. 

Editing session 3

In today's lesson, as I said previously, I mainly adjusted a few scenes within the intro and managed to start matching my performers lip syncing scenes to the song's artist singing. Firstly, I ordered the scenes where she looks at her phone and throws it on the floor, adding in a  mid shot scene of a deer and cutting to  a long shot of her walking away then close up tracking of her feet on the ground. Once this was complete, I began to place the singing parts I filmed and trying to match the lyrics in unison by the artist and my performer. It is very important I try to make it look authentic and believable that my performer is singing the lyrics to the song. Luckily, my performers lip syncing was very good and I could match the footage with the song perfectly. 
As I have noticed throughout watching existing video's, the audience doesn't tend to wholly watch the artist singing the verses/chorus as it cuts back and forth with extra scenes. I managed to place the mid shot of a stag walking and Georgina (performer) walking along the stretch of grass as examples of what extra scenes I could cut back and forth to from her singing scene. It worked out very well and I am pleased with the progress so far. At the end of the lesson, I found an effect that I could use called Hardlight. This made the environment look sharper and more earthly colourful in heightening the footage's colours. It also gave a retro, down-to-earth look to the video of which I like. Plus there was another effect that I placed on the clips too called Artifact. It made sunlight dot's appear on the screen (almost like a Bokeh effect), which again emphasied the nature and scenery of the background and my performers look too. This makes the video look feminine which will attract my targeted female audience. It will also attract my actual audience (including men) by the footage and effects shown. Next time, I will continue placing my clips in the order which looks best, especially when adding in the extra scenes for the next verse within the song. 

Editing session 2

For my next editing lesson, I managed to decided to change the start a little with the reading of the text. Instead of her needing to read the text out loud, it made more sense to just show her looking at the phone and with the shot of her throwing the phone on the floor. This will indicate to the audience she is clearly angry through her expressions and since the guitar solo from the start plays the audience wouldn't be able to focus on what she is saying. For the rest of the lesson, I mainly tweaked and adjusted placing the different scenes together within the intro from my previous lesson. I wanted to make it look a little continuous especially with the scenes of my performer looking at her phone and then throwing it on the ground. I also experimented in placing a couple of scenes where I took footage of the surrounding scenery within the intro of the song before she sings. I have noticed that the majority of music video's tend to cut to different images or scenes that are either connected or different to the main plot/idea. I will continue to experiment with this next lesson, to see if it works or not, continue adjusting the intro and hopefully move on to placing her singing parts and other scenes for the rest of the song.

Editing session 1

In my first editing session, I used Final Cut Pro X and presented the footage to my teacher showing what I had filmed over the half term week, and explaining some of the narrative so my teacher could understand it a little better. Overall, she was pleased with what I had filmed meaning I could finally start editing. Next, I placed the first few scenes of a close up of the heart and the different shots of my performer looking at her phone. I am sticking to what I said in my 8th journal about how the intro is changed to fit the song; using the sound from the clip where my performer speaks aloud the text on her phone over an over the shoulder shot of her looking at her phone. During the session I also experimented with the text animations and fonts that I could place over the heart scene right at the beginning. This is to help me see what would work best over the clip and help make a good first impression of the video. I will do this later once I have all of my footage together in the editing sessions to come.