When designing my product I took in to concideration the conventions many designers follow when creating these promotional packages. However I emphasised the editing prosses, with use of Photoshop and Indesign, using lighting, solarising and embedding techniques as a feature aspect when designing my advert and digipack and when filming, used speed techniques and multiple presision effects. Most artist use themselves just as the singer to the sond, featuring only to recite the versus, however in my video I tried to use the "singer" as a storyteller and to present the video in sequence with the music. In this aspect I think my video altered from the genral expectations of many other music videos.Throughout my video I have tried to create a proggressive theme of anger, violence and protest. I have tried to achieve this with use of a visual semantic field, expressing these key aspects of the song with the use of colour, lighting, costume and props. The media product I have created developed greatly, the already established intrests of the target demographic 'Bloc Party' obtain. I looked into the common appearance and interests of this social group, using my findings as a beneficial aid in the production of my video. The song me and my group chose to do was a different style to that of many other 'Bloc Party' songs, however within this, I was able to challenge the pre contructed identity the band and feature many techniques and ideas, I personally would associate with this style of music. Like the promopack I researched earlier in my blog, mine follows the conventions, containing continuous aspects of a similar theme of 'fear' throughout, in my digipack I featured the image of the masked figure on the two inlay sections of my pack, on my advert, I used the burning crosses and in the video although this particular image was not included, the fear was focal. I think I structured my project well around an overall shared pattern that many artists use when creating a combination package. Many of the people whom have seen my designs, storyboards and finished products feel that the essence of my designs summerise the song and represent its meaning adequately. I also feel I presented the themes visually appropriately expressing the ideals in a continuous fashion.
Audience Feedback:
My main source of technolagies used throughout the making of my promotional pack were:
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
Evaluating Camera Work
Our objective in the making of our music video, was to represent the aggressive untertones of the song with the theme of paranoia. We desided to set our video in a remote forest so we would not have any disturbances whilst filming from other areas, as we wanted the character within the video to appear lost and thus, helpless and vulnerable. We desided to encouperate a dual aspect to our filming with use of an 'alter ego' represented by the use of colour, the character in white and the alterior persona in black and with a mask. Throughout the video it appears that the individual is trying to escape from this hidden creature, which is evidently everywhere he turns, however ironically, he cannot as he can not break free from himself. The first segment of the video from 00.00 seconds to 00.00.13 seconds was where we set the scene, we chose to use a more ambient approach, using a high aperture to allow the exposure to be lighter;
We also altered the white balence as we knew we would be consistently filming outdoors , we wanted to have a consistency of colour and tone throughout our vidieo shoot.We altered the shutter speed to create a darker effect we also used long shutter speeds to intentionally blur a moving subject to create our desired effect. To enable the best possible conditions for light exposure we filmed early morning in some flooded swamp land, we captured the images that contained areas of light and water, to enhance the mystic atmosphere to the area. With use of reflective natural lighting we were able to use establishing shots to create our desired ambiance. Our intention was to adapt this subdued effect in to a more sinister and frightning portrayal in which we could progress to create the feeling of paranoia. Between 00.00.13 seconds and 00.00.40 seconds we used footage that was taken from walking around the woodland for about 30 minuites, we also at this stage, lowered the aperture to make the whole video darker from this point onward. We then increased the speed of each clip up by about 300 times it's own speed, this created a fast paced continuous point of view shot as if the individuals own mind was capturing the surroundings at this speed in fear of what was around. We started this speeded up process at the same time as the bass and drums in the song came in to create a combination of both sound and visual collision, this made the video appear to be suffering a moment of chaos, a moment we wanted the character also to appear to be having. The combination and timing of the two emphasised the destruction of the song but also presented the music and the video in sync. Between 00.00.40 and 00.00.43 we used a technique to present movement without moving the camera. We did this to keep the motion in sync with the music, as the lyrics, "War, War, War, War" are shouted, the character rotates once alongside each shout;
w
e did this by taking one shot at one angle and then pausing the film, as we did so we held the camera in exactly the same position as previously held, whilst the actor altered his own position we then filmed from each perspective and adjusted the speed to suit the timing of the music. Between 00.00.43 seconds and 00.00.49 seconds we edited in another point of view shot, as if the character was looking around curiously, with a sence he is being followed in the 00.00.48 second the 'alter ego' figure we wanted to use is presented we used a low angle shot and zoomed in on the character to show how he was unreachable and how he was
e did this by taking one shot at one angle and then pausing the film, as we did so we held the camera in exactly the same position as previously held, whilst the actor altered his own position we then filmed from each perspective and adjusted the speed to suit the timing of the music. Between 00.00.43 seconds and 00.00.49 seconds we edited in another point of view shot, as if the character was looking around curiously, with a sence he is being followed in the 00.00.48 second the 'alter ego' figure we wanted to use is presented we used a low angle shot and zoomed in on the character to show how he was unreachable and how he was ooking down on the man below. Throughout the shot the 'follower' is wearing a mask, looking emotionless and still, unfased by the fact he has been seen, the camera was then zoomed out, as if the gaze of the character is being withdrawn and an image is created where he appears to be hovering in the air as the camera comes further and further away. Then in 00.00.53 to 00.00.55 we recreated the motionless proggression with the 'alter ego' transferring him from one position to another by using still shots of him gradually moving closer.We then reinacted the rotation clip between 00.00.55 and 00.00.58 but with the 'alter ego' in exchange showing how they are actually the same being. The next camera angle we used was a spead up by 150 times point of view shot (00.00.58 to 00.01.03) of the individual hesitating about which way to turn in the forest, this is then followed at 00.01.03 by a perspective glance at what appears to be a face, after the charcter takes a second look he realises it is the mask of the 'alter ego' hidden amoungst the trees when we took this shot we used a fast pased pan shot, we did this as the character himself is intensly looking side to side, so the camera replicates his actions. At 00.01.04 we zoomed in on the mast and instantly at 00.01.05 withdrew our zoom, as if the character was frightend and begging to run away. At 00.01.06 another spead up point of view shot is used portraying his anxiety and at 00.01.07 a lowerd mid angle shot is used to show the charcter running. The shot was taken from just below the characters chin, as to show all the fear the man is portraying in his eyes.
We managed to speed up the actors facial expressions and head movements, making him seem extreamly apprehensive and restablishing his paranoia, this shot ends at 00.01.09. From this untill 00.01.21 we used another spead up point of view shot, we tried repeating this angle as many times as possible to show the characters desperation to escape thus creating a prolonged sence of abnormality and escapism. At 00.01.22, we presented the 'alter ego' figure once again in the rotation sequence we performed previously and then at 00.01.24 we took a low angle shot of him in another area to show the way he has been moving over the forest, reiterating the 'no escape' feel about the video. At 00.01.28 we zoomed back in on the mask, hanging from a tree followed by a series of other shots of the 'alter ego' showing he is 'everywhere'. At 00.01.28.05 we used a long low angle shot to show him walking calmly, without reaction to his surroundings, along an embankment on high ground, we also tried to use the manual focus to gain a narrow depth of feild in this particular shot, to show the consistent focus on the character.Between 00.01.35 and 00.01.36 we used a mid shot of him hiding amoungst the trees. From this point untill 00.01.47 we used a long shot to show the man being 'chased' running down the slope, we edited this in in slow motion to create the effect of what he is thinking, his despiration to escape. Although subtle we used a slight tilting shot to follow the character downward, from the top of the hill to the bottom. From 00.01.49 to 00.01.50 we used a mid shot to show the 'alter ego' we then zoomed out into a short long shot, where we retracted back to a fast paced point of view shot, this lasts untill 00.02.03 with two intersecting spead up zooms onto the masked figure. At 00.02.03 we filmed another extreame close up shot of the charcters face from a low angle to emphasise his expression at this time, this is kept in time, with his head movements beggining and ending along to the rhythem of the music, this sequence ends at 00.02.15, where the man runs and falls, starting at a mid shot and resulting in a long shot image of him in the near distance. Following this is a long shot of the masked figure, 00.02.19 , between this time and 00.02.26 the camera is still mounted on a tripod for the first time in the entire video, we used another intersecting cross cut of the image getting closer without moving to speed the process up and to also restablish our running theme of entrapment. Between the times of 00.02.27 and 00.02.35 we used a mid shot as the figure became closer, from 00.02.36 an extreame close up was used although not focusing on any particular object. The sence however, is that the masked man, is above the character and at 00.02.37 the camera is tilted from a low angle to face the masked man himself, this shot is also a point of view shot. From this moment untill 00.02.39 the camera follows the masked man upward to a still close up untill 00.02.45. We then repeated the point of view image in an extream spead up motion, this then ends at 00.03.26 with a mid shot of the masked man followed by a complete black out resolving that the man has been taken over by his 'alter ego.'
Story Board of Video
This is where the main forms of subtle violence comes through with the desperation of the 'runner' and the blood and weapons of the pursuer.Between 1:23-1:49 seconds we will switch back and forth between the characters two show the opposing sides in our video.1:49-2:04 seconds the instrumentals in the song change and we will use this to our benefit to adapt a chase scene in to our video the music is at a high tempo and the chase scene concludes with the 'runner' knocking the pursuer over in a point of view shot that will see the camera end up on its side.In the times 2:04-2:18 seconds the instrumentals have lyrics over the top, we want to put an alterior dimention aspect here as it matches the shouting and loud sounds of the instrumental it will consist of the 'chaser' approaching the camera with the camera jumping to show the 'chaser' getting closer, we hope to recreate something like what occurs at the end of this clip from the film The Ring where the actress is coming out of the television set; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03668oTEoIQ In the following 2:18-2:43 seconds the beat of the song slows down, we want to use this part to show the 'runner' lying on the floor. This gradual zoom in is used as a reflection as to the effects of war and its consequences.2:43-3:10 seconds will show the 'chaser' running away, however seeing the 'runner' where ever he goes.In the final 3:10-3:31 seconds we will end the shot, with the 'chaser' facing the camera and taking off his mask, which will reveal the 'runner' himself. We want to show how, like the song represents, the world is at war with it's self, and that much of the destruction encounted by countries is inflicted by the behaviours of themselves. The revelation of the boy behind the mask, shows the essence of this and adequatly presents the message we are tring to create.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Advert
Analysis of other Bloc Party promotional adverts:
This is an advert for one of Bloc Party's previous concert's, the use of colour and style of text emphasise their individuality and their 'indie' style. It also features two support bands which share the same style of music, both unique and eccentric.
Colour
The colours used in this advert are quite netural for both sexes. The yellow however, typically a more feminim colour is used behind the electric blue creating an eye catching and appealing image. The blue used for the stencil outline of the band also makes them stand out, showing they are the focus of the advert.
Typography
The font used for the bands title is a bubble writing style font, that is quirky and different to many of the genral fonts used on other adverts. This is typical of the bands genre and also of the target audience they are trying to appeal to. Their 'indie' style is presented with this, showing their idividuality and difference to mainstream styles.the text is slanted as if projected onto the poster drawing the eye to the wording.
Image
The photo used on this particular advert represents what the band is about, their focus on music and their individual talent rather then stage presence. The construction of the image is also appealing to their target audience, where stereotypical posses, hands in pockets, cross armed and leaning to one side are used. Their haircuts, emphasised by the block colouring of the image, are also typical of the 'indie' fashions with side partings and 'scruffy', grown hair frequent amoungst all of them.
The following advert from trhe Killers 'greatest hits CD, varys in style from this Bloc Party one however they are of the same 'indie' genre;
Colour
In this advert the prodominant range of colours are purples and whites, similar to the Bloc Party advert they are neutral and accessable colours for both males and females, the title is, also similar to the other advert, made striking and bold with the use of white typography on a deep purple background. The mosaic style print on the poster helps depict the range of colours that are used on the background and create the unusual aspect of imagery that the collective 'indie' group desire.
Typography
The band name is designed in their trademark style as if it is dispersed amoungst itself and broken down, unlike Bloc Party, whose trademark title varys, The Killers remain with the same throughout all their adverts and C.D's. As the title is so different ot the remaining text on the advert, it makes the band name the feature of the advert and the central aspect to the design.
Image
The photo used on the advert is of 'The Royal Albert Hall' a recognisable landmark. This emphasises the scale of the concert that they are advertising, but also enhances their status within the music industry .The advert encouperates the image with its colour scheme, presenting a range of colours onto the image that are used throughout.
My advert flat plans
These are some of my initial ideas for my advert layout. My first image contains a sectioned off box which would contain an image of flames, symbolic of the anger, aggression and darkness of the song. The typography would be in Ariel as Bloc Party genrally keep their lettering simple on many of their adverts and posters. There would be a distinct difference between the band name and the song name, with 'Ares' is a deep red, representing the anger and 'Bloc Party' in black assisting it to stand out.
My second drawing is of 'The Burning Crosses' this is relevant to the theme of protesting that appears in my chosen song. Equally in this image the colour scheme of the lettering, red and black, would distinctly differenciate the two.
The third image is of a head shot, possibly of the actor featuring in my video. This would be embeded amoungst the title of the song 'Ares', with two letters surrounding each side.
The final image is of a figues standing and directly infrount of them a lighting effect, I could edit this in post production and emphasise the effect this would have. Above would stand the wording which I would exaddurate with use of a 'lighting' glow tool, found on Photoshop.
Colour
The colours used in this advert are quite netural for both sexes. The yellow however, typically a more feminim colour is used behind the electric blue creating an eye catching and appealing image. The blue used for the stencil outline of the band also makes them stand out, showing they are the focus of the advert.
Typography
The font used for the bands title is a bubble writing style font, that is quirky and different to many of the genral fonts used on other adverts. This is typical of the bands genre and also of the target audience they are trying to appeal to. Their 'indie' style is presented with this, showing their idividuality and difference to mainstream styles.the text is slanted as if projected onto the poster drawing the eye to the wording.
Image
The photo used on this particular advert represents what the band is about, their focus on music and their individual talent rather then stage presence. The construction of the image is also appealing to their target audience, where stereotypical posses, hands in pockets, cross armed and leaning to one side are used. Their haircuts, emphasised by the block colouring of the image, are also typical of the 'indie' fashions with side partings and 'scruffy', grown hair frequent amoungst all of them.
The following advert from trhe Killers 'greatest hits CD, varys in style from this Bloc Party one however they are of the same 'indie' genre;
In this advert the prodominant range of colours are purples and whites, similar to the Bloc Party advert they are neutral and accessable colours for both males and females, the title is, also similar to the other advert, made striking and bold with the use of white typography on a deep purple background. The mosaic style print on the poster helps depict the range of colours that are used on the background and create the unusual aspect of imagery that the collective 'indie' group desire.
Typography
The band name is designed in their trademark style as if it is dispersed amoungst itself and broken down, unlike Bloc Party, whose trademark title varys, The Killers remain with the same throughout all their adverts and C.D's. As the title is so different ot the remaining text on the advert, it makes the band name the feature of the advert and the central aspect to the design.
Image
The photo used on the advert is of 'The Royal Albert Hall' a recognisable landmark. This emphasises the scale of the concert that they are advertising, but also enhances their status within the music industry .The advert encouperates the image with its colour scheme, presenting a range of colours onto the image that are used throughout.
My advert flat plans
These are some of my initial ideas for my advert layout. My first image contains a sectioned off box which would contain an image of flames, symbolic of the anger, aggression and darkness of the song. The typography would be in Ariel as Bloc Party genrally keep their lettering simple on many of their adverts and posters. There would be a distinct difference between the band name and the song name, with 'Ares' is a deep red, representing the anger and 'Bloc Party' in black assisting it to stand out.
My second drawing is of 'The Burning Crosses' this is relevant to the theme of protesting that appears in my chosen song. Equally in this image the colour scheme of the lettering, red and black, would distinctly differenciate the two.
The third image is of a head shot, possibly of the actor featuring in my video. This would be embeded amoungst the title of the song 'Ares', with two letters surrounding each side.
The final image is of a figues standing and directly infrount of them a lighting effect, I could edit this in post production and emphasise the effect this would have. Above would stand the wording which I would exaddurate with use of a 'lighting' glow tool, found on Photoshop.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Digipack
What is a promopack?
What is a digipack?
What is a Digipack
Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Because such packaging is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, it tends to show signs of wear relatively quickly. Licensed digipak manufacturers such as domestic U.S. printer and disc replicator Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity. - http://www.wikipedia.com/
Promo Pack
A promo pack is a running theme or collection of ideas that the video and digig pack share witch can then be transferred in to all aspects of the artists identity at this time to enhance the theme that is trying to be created. For example:
Britney Spears used the theme of the circus for her come back album in 2009.
This final image is a still from her video for the song 'circus'. The theme has also flowed through in to this with the props symbolic of the circus atmosphere.
Colour
The colours used on this digipack cover are made more visually appealing through the use of one another. The black encourages the pink to stand out and gives it increased deffinition and the pink text assists the black background in defining the image below, whilst also creating a more subdued and interesting effect.
Typography
The text is written in 'The Killers' trademark font whilst the album title 'Greatest Hits' is written in a more simple font to attract the attention to the bands name. The text is also used to divide the page in three, a suitable and attractive layout for the eye, with the album title dividing the image and the band name.
Image
Typical of 'indie' style the band are the main focus of the cover dressed and positioned in typical 'indie' ways. The fashion is eccentric, fur coats, braces and waist coats are worn exaduarrating the authenticity and individuality of the band. their close allignment and subdued looks create the stereotypical expectations of this subculture.
The cover for my digipack recreates the initial ideas I had to incorporate light effects into my video. I have taken a photo in a high definition on a SLR camera. I did this as I wanted to create images with an intense feel to them and I feel I have achieved this with a high level of detail in each picture. In my cover image I have increased the depiction of the sparks flying of the sparkler. I decided to use take the photo of someone playing with a sparkler, as when captured on camera at a low shutter speed the light from each movement is retained and this recreates the effect of travelling light which initially, we wanted to carry out in the video. The second image was assembled in a procession I saw. I took various shots of this and then cropped this particular segment of the picture to capture the burning crosses, which I thought appropriate as I thought of this image whilst listening to the song. The underlying protest theme of war throughout the song is particularly evident and I worked with this to depict an image of anger or violence in a subtle way. The third image of the burning flames was composed for the segment of the digipack behind the compact disk holder I wanted to keep this image simple but retain the dark, light contrast being constructed throughout the rest of the pack. I also think the inside of the inlay will look good together with both images of burning present. The final image is also similar to the cover shot as it involves the same aspects of travelling light, yet again created with use of a sparkler. This segment however I have heightened in brightness as it is to hold the track list in a centre position on the page.
Typography
I Carried on the simple typography usually used on Bloc Party’s Flyers, adverts and CD Covers and have used a mix of text sizes to create some sort of interest to the eye. On all the photos where I have used text I have kept the same font style as not to make the digipack look messy. I used a standard Calibri body font as previously said because it was the same as the font used in other Bloc Party items of advertisement. On the track list I used a variation of sized texts as I thought this was a more interesting approach to designing it. On the second image I have used an orange coloured text as I could not black as I had done previously which would clash with the dark background. However it sit comfortably amongst the fiery composition of the picture. I decided to write the name of the band on all viable dimensions of the digipack as I felt images alone would have seemed bland and although the text is repetitive it is true to form of the band themselves to feature this style of replication. As seen in the image below:
I also recreated a true to form style digipack by listing the bands existing song tiles of the back to create some form of authenticity to the CD pack.
Further editing of Digipack
I used photoshop to try out a variation of editing effects and found one that I think would appeal to the target audience. I have used the effect of 'solarisng' to create a neon, appearance.
What is a digipack?
What is a Digipack
Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot" rather than a full plastic tray.
Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Because such packaging is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, it tends to show signs of wear relatively quickly. Licensed digipak manufacturers such as domestic U.S. printer and disc replicator Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity. - http://www.wikipedia.com/
Promo Pack
A promo pack is a running theme or collection of ideas that the video and digig pack share witch can then be transferred in to all aspects of the artists identity at this time to enhance the theme that is trying to be created. For example:
Britney Spears used the theme of the circus for her come back album in 2009.
This first image is from Britney's online ticket booking website www.virginmobile/britneyspears.com the theme she initially obtained with the extravagant circus and production elabouration is carried through on to the website. The font and the image of the stage enhance this feel and create an ongoing premise.
This next image is the cover of Britney's album entitled 'circus' She retains her glamorous side taht is known to the public, but also encouperates elements of the circus design, includig the stars around the edges and the red curvy lettering pronouncing her name.
This picture is a set from her tour, 'The Circus' - The choices of set style and mise en scene is evident in this also with use of the cage, once again to emphasise her promiscuity but use of something that is also commonly found in the circus - ( the cage for lion taming)
This final image is a still from her video for the song 'circus'. The theme has also flowed through in to this with the props symbolic of the circus atmosphere. Analysis of digipacks
The Killers - Greatest hits
The colours used on this digipack cover are made more visually appealing through the use of one another. The black encourages the pink to stand out and gives it increased deffinition and the pink text assists the black background in defining the image below, whilst also creating a more subdued and interesting effect.
Typography
The text is written in 'The Killers' trademark font whilst the album title 'Greatest Hits' is written in a more simple font to attract the attention to the bands name. The text is also used to divide the page in three, a suitable and attractive layout for the eye, with the album title dividing the image and the band name.
Image
Typical of 'indie' style the band are the main focus of the cover dressed and positioned in typical 'indie' ways. The fashion is eccentric, fur coats, braces and waist coats are worn exaduarrating the authenticity and individuality of the band. their close allignment and subdued looks create the stereotypical expectations of this subculture.
Analysis of digipack
Jamie T - Kings and Queens 
Colour
Jamie T, another 'indie' artist also uses an 'abstract ' approach to his digipack cover using multi colours ina repettitive fashion. The image is also enhanced with a form of sepia editing and solarisation. This heightens the colouring and makes the block colours of the image look bolder and more prodominant.
Typography
The text of both teh artists name and the album title are written in a circular reppetative fashion revolving round the central image of a camera shot. This circular patterning creates multiple aspects of the cover and represents the variations of dimentions the genre posses and the different aspects of music the artist presents.
Image
The image is a projection of a visual through a 'fish eye' lens. It presents a distorted image of two people in a suberban area, directly in relation to the circular pattering of the text the image creates an overt dome shaped perpective as if intended to seem as if you were looking from the ppint of view of somebody elce.
Flat Plans
Initial Designs for Digipack
Photo evaluation
The cover for my digipack recreates the initial ideas I had to incorporate light effects into my video. I have taken a photo in a high definition on a SLR camera. I did this as I wanted to create images with an intense feel to them and I feel I have achieved this with a high level of detail in each picture. In my cover image I have increased the depiction of the sparks flying of the sparkler. I decided to use take the photo of someone playing with a sparkler, as when captured on camera at a low shutter speed the light from each movement is retained and this recreates the effect of travelling light which initially, we wanted to carry out in the video. The second image was assembled in a procession I saw. I took various shots of this and then cropped this particular segment of the picture to capture the burning crosses, which I thought appropriate as I thought of this image whilst listening to the song. The underlying protest theme of war throughout the song is particularly evident and I worked with this to depict an image of anger or violence in a subtle way. The third image of the burning flames was composed for the segment of the digipack behind the compact disk holder I wanted to keep this image simple but retain the dark, light contrast being constructed throughout the rest of the pack. I also think the inside of the inlay will look good together with both images of burning present. The final image is also similar to the cover shot as it involves the same aspects of travelling light, yet again created with use of a sparkler. This segment however I have heightened in brightness as it is to hold the track list in a centre position on the page.
Typography
I Carried on the simple typography usually used on Bloc Party’s Flyers, adverts and CD Covers and have used a mix of text sizes to create some sort of interest to the eye. On all the photos where I have used text I have kept the same font style as not to make the digipack look messy. I used a standard Calibri body font as previously said because it was the same as the font used in other Bloc Party items of advertisement. On the track list I used a variation of sized texts as I thought this was a more interesting approach to designing it. On the second image I have used an orange coloured text as I could not black as I had done previously which would clash with the dark background. However it sit comfortably amongst the fiery composition of the picture. I decided to write the name of the band on all viable dimensions of the digipack as I felt images alone would have seemed bland and although the text is repetitive it is true to form of the band themselves to feature this style of replication. As seen in the image below:
I also recreated a true to form style digipack by listing the bands existing song tiles of the back to create some form of authenticity to the CD pack.
Further editing of Digipack
I used photoshop to try out a variation of editing effects and found one that I think would appeal to the target audience. I have used the effect of 'solarisng' to create a neon, appearance.
However I do not think that the typography is visualy appealing so I will experiment with lighting effects in photoshop to create a more accessable and readable title.
Completetd Digipack
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Development of Ideas - lighting/set/costume
Lighting:
We want to use a neon light effect to keep a dance feel to our song. Although it is quite an aggressive song the rest of Bloc Party’s music is very much within the dance scene and we have to take aspects of this and incorporate it within our video. We want to make projections on to a black screen and use lighting to make the dancers featured within our video look unreal.
Lighting influence's from videos:
Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jq42-HY8-g
Projections:
Here are some photos we have taken for inspiration. We think this will intensify the spooky but aggressive image the song portrays.
Below are also images of Hellingly Hospital where, initially we were going to film, however it has now been closed and we are unable to do so. The pictures will however, give us an idea of the style and structure of the ones we will need to take for the projections we will be using.The collaboration of images all share the spooky effect we are trying to achieve, using various techniques including lighting and positioning effects.
We went to the industrial estate in Lewes to try and create some photos to use as back up projections if we couldn’t get to Hellingly. Although the images were not exactly what we wanted for our video, we can now transfer them over to acetate and project them in the shoots with our dancers. We have recently recieved permission from the owners of the warehouses to use the premises as a filming set. We had to go there to speak to the security gaurds before we were granted this and go through certain health, saftey and hazard risks. If we do deside to film here, we will have to contemplate all the potential risks involved and make sure that we have thaught thoroughly through ways to evade any complications and problems that might occour.The following images are ones we took personally that may feature in our video:
If we do deside to use theese images we can use programmes such as Photoshop and Indesign to add effects to them to create our desired appearence, for example highlighting the red tint to them, emphasising the symbolic references to death, blood and danger, or putting them in to a sepia tone, thus creating a more distorted and unusual effect to them. These images provide us with a basic vision in to what we need to do.
Location: Ideally, we want to film in a big, abandoned area. Somewhere with a lot of space that creates the spooky image that we are looking for to match the theme of the song. We will also be filming some scenes in a studio where the dance routine will occur in front of a black backdrop.
Summary Of Key Idea's Sofar
Costumes: The dancers will be wearing black jumpsuits with neon lights attached to them. When they perform their routine in the studio, the neon lights will blur to create an abstract look. When filming in the abandoned area/ building, the man will be wearing trousers but will be topless to enforce the actor’s masculinity, however our choices of trousers will be specific as we have now defined the target audience.
Mise en scene: Within the dance routine, we do not want any other props as we want the main focus to be on the dancers and the abstract look they will create with the lights on their costumes. Within the chase scene in the building, we want to use as many spooky props as possible. Anything that is already within that building we’d like to leave in as it would intensify the spooky image we are trying to create as most of the things left will be decaying.
Narrative: The dance routine within the video is something we wanted to add in as wanted the video to have an abstract element. The actual narrative of the video is about a man being trapped in an abandoned building, sending himself crazy. We will enforce this by projecting weird and distorted images on to the set and using a variety of camera angles
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Bloc Party's Image
Bloc Party’s image also follows this ‘Indie’ look and much of their fashions are focused around this. This will help us design costumes that are appropriate for the band. Below are some images of Bloc Party which we will use as inspiration for our own costume designs.
In this photo there are logos and brands on the members clothing which are also included within the ‘indie’ stereotype – including the ‘All Stars’ Converse T-Shirt and the preppy college ‘Wildcats’ T-shirt
Why we chose the song and it's demographic
Why we chose the song 'Ares'
We decided to chose this song as initially as it had no current or official music video to it. After we looked in to a selection of various songs we decided to go with this one. As a group we thought that this song in particular was one that had a strong underlying protestant theme of war which we could use a central point in which to develop ideas from
.BLOC PARTY'S DEMOGRAPHIC
After doing research in to Bloc Party’s public persona it was apparent that there is a specific image associated with the band that was a necessity to maintain. The following articles, clips and images summarise Bloc Party ‘s image and will be reflected in the video we will be making.
To understand the portrayal they already obtain we looked at different media appearances that band made and how they were presented in each, this includes interviews, magazine features and public appearances. The chart below is a representation of data produced through research ,found whilst trying to distinguish Bloc Party’s demographic.
DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH (THROUGH MAGAZINE APPEARANCES)
NME
Based on an analysis of 12 months according to the data 296,000 men read NME on a weekly basis which is 1.2% of men reading magazines in total alongside 19,000 or 0.4 % of woman readers every week. 1.4 % of these readers are aged between 15 – 44 leaving the 0.2 % of 45 years + reading the rest. 137,000 of the downmarket audience read NME which is 0.6 % of C2DE readers compared to 250,000 or 0.9 % of ABC1 readers.
GAURDIAN
They also featured in 'The Gaurdian' newpaper however I could not include the image, but have placed the www.nrs.com analysis of their demographic below:
The music clip is from www.gaurdian.co.uk and is the remix of Bloc Party’s ‘Ares’: we looked into the breakdown of readership in to the Guardian newspaper – making similar assumptions of the online newspaper version. 503,000 women or 2.0 of all newspaper readers, read The guardian on a regular basis, overtaken by 703,000 male readers or 2.9% everyday.615,000/ 2.5% of these people are aged between 15 and 44 and 590,00 / 2.4 % are over 45 years old. There are only 125,000 / 0.6 % of C2DE readers alongside a huge 1080,000 / 3.9 % of ABC1 readers.
This informaion lets me know that my target audience is young ABC1 'youths' who come from middle to upper class backgrounds and are prodominantly males.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BLOC PARTY'S MAIN AUDIENCE.
Bloc party’s genre is typically focused on an Indie/ Rock or Alternative Dance / Rock. Since there breakthrough in 2003 they have appealed to a wide variety of people, however it would seem that their target audience is that of the ‘Indie’ sector producing music that elaborates on the structure of a song, building up different instrumental abilities and collaborating as one to create a piece of music. We looked into the ‘Indie’ stereotype to insure that the target audience for the group was the same as the audience we were trying to present to. This is vital as if we did not it would result in a lack of interest from existing fans, limiting our audience.
THE ‘INDIE’ STEREOTYPE
It originally stood for independent music labels but nowadays it is defined by a type of music somewhere between rock and pop. Indie singers and bands have certain ethics like sticking to their roots and not embracing the celebrity money-grabbing culture. An Indie band is said to 'sell out' if they let their music be used corporately e.g. on an advert or to be motivated by money rather than making music. Indie bands always write their own songs. – http://www.ask.com/
DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE 'INDIE STEREOTYPE
We looked at an typically ‘indie’ magazine and using www.nrs.co.uk we established who the majority of the ‘indie’ group are.By analysing the magazine ‘Mojo’ we have established that the majority ‘indie’ culture is made up of – predominantly ABC1 people who are of a younger generation and who are according to the readers of Mojo, male (although this is not certain as Mojo is not the only ‘indie’ style magazine.)
However the following graph of Bloc Party’s chart positions for each of their albums suggest the audience is, although primarily an ‘indie’ one, also very mainstream with top 10 album entrees on numerous times and two albums with Gold and Platinum status.
PHYCOGRAPHICS
We looked onto the Bloc Party Facebook to see how it was presented and what sort of people were followers by analysing their interests, values , attitudes and lifestyles. Below is a print screen of the fan page, consisting of 219,108 fans in total. This is alongside over 500 dedicated fan based WebPages about them.
Analysis of fans;
Although we could not get access to many profiles most of the images were similar to each other with people either playing instruments or wearing band logo T – Shirts,, from this we can gather that the people who support bloc party like the instrumental aspects of the performance rather then just the appearance and attitudes of the band. This is also true of the stereotype of the ‘Indie’ culture which we previously made reference too.
We decided to chose this song as initially as it had no current or official music video to it. After we looked in to a selection of various songs we decided to go with this one. As a group we thought that this song in particular was one that had a strong underlying protestant theme of war which we could use a central point in which to develop ideas from
.BLOC PARTY'S DEMOGRAPHIC
After doing research in to Bloc Party’s public persona it was apparent that there is a specific image associated with the band that was a necessity to maintain. The following articles, clips and images summarise Bloc Party ‘s image and will be reflected in the video we will be making.
To understand the portrayal they already obtain we looked at different media appearances that band made and how they were presented in each, this includes interviews, magazine features and public appearances. The chart below is a representation of data produced through research ,found whilst trying to distinguish Bloc Party’s demographic.
DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH (THROUGH MAGAZINE APPEARANCES)
Looking at these examples of publicity features we can analyse the demographic for Bloc Party. We have made reference to www.nrs.com to analyse the target audience and demographic of each magazine;
NME
Based on an analysis of 12 months according to the data 296,000 men read NME on a weekly basis which is 1.2% of men reading magazines in total alongside 19,000 or 0.4 % of woman readers every week. 1.4 % of these readers are aged between 15 – 44 leaving the 0.2 % of 45 years + reading the rest. 137,000 of the downmarket audience read NME which is 0.6 % of C2DE readers compared to 250,000 or 0.9 % of ABC1 readers.
GAURDIAN
They also featured in 'The Gaurdian' newpaper however I could not include the image, but have placed the www.nrs.com analysis of their demographic below:
The music clip is from www.gaurdian.co.uk and is the remix of Bloc Party’s ‘Ares’: we looked into the breakdown of readership in to the Guardian newspaper – making similar assumptions of the online newspaper version. 503,000 women or 2.0 of all newspaper readers, read The guardian on a regular basis, overtaken by 703,000 male readers or 2.9% everyday.615,000/ 2.5% of these people are aged between 15 and 44 and 590,00 / 2.4 % are over 45 years old. There are only 125,000 / 0.6 % of C2DE readers alongside a huge 1080,000 / 3.9 % of ABC1 readers.
This informaion lets me know that my target audience is young ABC1 'youths' who come from middle to upper class backgrounds and are prodominantly males.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BLOC PARTY'S MAIN AUDIENCE.
Bloc party’s genre is typically focused on an Indie/ Rock or Alternative Dance / Rock. Since there breakthrough in 2003 they have appealed to a wide variety of people, however it would seem that their target audience is that of the ‘Indie’ sector producing music that elaborates on the structure of a song, building up different instrumental abilities and collaborating as one to create a piece of music. We looked into the ‘Indie’ stereotype to insure that the target audience for the group was the same as the audience we were trying to present to. This is vital as if we did not it would result in a lack of interest from existing fans, limiting our audience.
THE ‘INDIE’ STEREOTYPE
It originally stood for independent music labels but nowadays it is defined by a type of music somewhere between rock and pop. Indie singers and bands have certain ethics like sticking to their roots and not embracing the celebrity money-grabbing culture. An Indie band is said to 'sell out' if they let their music be used corporately e.g. on an advert or to be motivated by money rather than making music. Indie bands always write their own songs. – http://www.ask.com/
DEMOGRAPHIC OF THE 'INDIE STEREOTYPE
We looked at an typically ‘indie’ magazine and using www.nrs.co.uk we established who the majority of the ‘indie’ group are.By analysing the magazine ‘Mojo’ we have established that the majority ‘indie’ culture is made up of – predominantly ABC1 people who are of a younger generation and who are according to the readers of Mojo, male (although this is not certain as Mojo is not the only ‘indie’ style magazine.)
However the following graph of Bloc Party’s chart positions for each of their albums suggest the audience is, although primarily an ‘indie’ one, also very mainstream with top 10 album entrees on numerous times and two albums with Gold and Platinum status.
PHYCOGRAPHICS
We looked onto the Bloc Party Facebook to see how it was presented and what sort of people were followers by analysing their interests, values , attitudes and lifestyles. Below is a print screen of the fan page, consisting of 219,108 fans in total. This is alongside over 500 dedicated fan based WebPages about them.
Analysis of fans;
Although we could not get access to many profiles most of the images were similar to each other with people either playing instruments or wearing band logo T – Shirts,, from this we can gather that the people who support bloc party like the instrumental aspects of the performance rather then just the appearance and attitudes of the band. This is also true of the stereotype of the ‘Indie’ culture which we previously made reference too.
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Costume Ideas.
When looking into costume ideas, I came across this selection of images of people dressed in reflective light outfits which have created a shimmery and interesting effect of them they have then used an online tool which although I don't know it's name, I know it is available on the 'talk talk' bright dancing website. This technique of creating images and reflective costumes out of light strands could be extremely beneficial to our video and later in the process of doing research I will look into the technical side of this technique.
Neon Attachments
Another way of making the dancers in our video stand out with light is to attach neon glow sticks to individual out fits thus creating a impact which when dancing, makes the dancers look as if they are not there but that the results of the light are creating a dancing effect. In the image below on the right, an example of this particular costume design is shown on children. 
Post filming / editing effects
Another alternative is to dress the dancers in black alongside the set and to wait to add in lighting effects until after filming. there would be practical issues however that may prevent us doing this, such as the concern that if we do not complete the filming on schedule we may not have enough time to edit the way we would of initially liked too. However using a combination of all three processes, set effects/ dressing, costume design and editing(through heightening and enhancement of neon colouring) we could create the effect we intended.
Another alternative is to dress the dancers in black alongside the set and to wait to add in lighting effects until after filming. there would be practical issues however that may prevent us doing this, such as the concern that if we do not complete the filming on schedule we may not have enough time to edit the way we would of initially liked too. However using a combination of all three processes, set effects/ dressing, costume design and editing(through heightening and enhancement of neon colouring) we could create the effect we intended.
Video Presentation
This is the presentation we made for our video, I added in some of the demographic work I research for my own blog;
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6s132hCeanGMzE2YmE5N2YtOGIxYy00Mjk3LWEyYzctYjcxYjY5NTk3Mjg5&hl=en
https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B6s132hCeanGMzE2YmE5N2YtOGIxYy00Mjk3LWEyYzctYjcxYjY5NTk3Mjg5&hl=en
'White Night' Projection Videos.
The following video attachments are from the event 'White Night' and are of projected animations that may be of interest to my group when we come to organising the slideshow of images.
Videos:
Videos:
Projections.
I have been looking into the idea of projections as an ulterior option to filming on the set of an old building due to practical issues and the trouble that has arouse from trying to find an appropriate location. I thought that because of the demographic of our band 'Bloc Party' and the aggressive/ scary tone to the song 'Ares' we should create a spooky mood to our video. I came up with the idea of projections and have made progress on this. Originally I thought of taking photos of various destinations, such as Hellingly Hospital and the abandoned warehouses in Lewes (Places we were initially hoping to film)and making acetate prints of the images, then, using the copies we could project them onto a white sheet during the filming of our video as to incorporate the same effects we wanted to have to start with.
White Night
On Saturday the 25Th of October I went to the 'White Night' celebrations where I saw some examples of projections on to buildings which I think looked particularly effective, in the following post I have put some short clips I took on my phone of the event which may be useful to our video. I asked the person who made the video how they designed it and they told me that they combined all the images on to a disk then edited them together so they processed at fast speeds and that this way of creating the slide show was a more reliable and time effective process then the filming of the exchanges of the acetates.
White Night
On Saturday the 25Th of October I went to the 'White Night' celebrations where I saw some examples of projections on to buildings which I think looked particularly effective, in the following post I have put some short clips I took on my phone of the event which may be useful to our video. I asked the person who made the video how they designed it and they told me that they combined all the images on to a disk then edited them together so they processed at fast speeds and that this way of creating the slide show was a more reliable and time effective process then the filming of the exchanges of the acetates.
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Kylie Minouge- I believe in you.
Kylie Minogue "I believe in you" Video URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZSIM3W7Tc
In the video for Kylie Minogue's single 'I believe in you' (URL above). I think the prop design and mise en scene of the piece would be interesting to encouperate in to my video. I like the way the light effects have been used to create interesting shape, such as the jellyfish image created out of coils of light strobes. Using a storyboard of kylie's video it is clear to see the effectiveness of the neon coloured lights:
Also feautered in this video is my origional idea of manequin style people dressed in lights dancing this also looks particularly effective and creates a techno/ dance feel to the video and a querky edge to the song. In contrast to my groups song which is angry and violent this song is light and airy this is shown through the use of colour (blues and purples) so we would have to consider colour changes and mise en scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZSIM3W7Tc
In the video for Kylie Minogue's single 'I believe in you' (URL above). I think the prop design and mise en scene of the piece would be interesting to encouperate in to my video. I like the way the light effects have been used to create interesting shape, such as the jellyfish image created out of coils of light strobes. Using a storyboard of kylie's video it is clear to see the effectiveness of the neon coloured lights:
Also feautered in this video is my origional idea of manequin style people dressed in lights dancing this also looks particularly effective and creates a techno/ dance feel to the video and a querky edge to the song. In contrast to my groups song which is angry and violent this song is light and airy this is shown through the use of colour (blues and purples) so we would have to consider colour changes and mise en scene.Thursday, 1 October 2009
Initial brainstorming of ideas for the video
Mise-en-scene:
Looking at the image to the left sourced from the website , 'www.cpluv.com' it is obvious that this location would be ideal for the style of video we are trying to achieve, however there would be some issues with using it as some parts are restricted and the extreme dilapidation of the building could be a safety risk. I have found an alternative which is in Lewes near the college which would be more assessable and possibly more of an appropriate location. Although they will not be as eery with the use of lighting effects, the same outcome could be achieved. I have an idea however as a back up to take advantage of the location if we have to use the warehouse, which is to take images like the ones below(images sourced from http://www.tailcoat.com/ )and copy them to assatate and project them throughout the building. The images could be intensified following the beat of the music this would create an effect as if the images were chasing the runner rather then an actual person.
Costume and make-up:
The costume we have discussed including in our video is quite simplistic visually although technically it will have some complex aspects to it. There are two main sections to our video the first being a narrative style sequence where a man is running through a desolate building searching or running from something and the other is of a group of dancers performing a routine. In the first section of video the man who is running will be topless as to heighten the intensity of the performance so the costume is limited to just a simple choice of trousers. However I think the routine would benefit from some facial make up design as to create a more forbidding atmosphere to the video.
In the second sequence with the dancers we have planned to use UV Glow stix sewn on to dark clothing so when the dancers to their routine against a dark background it will create an interesting light effect similar to the one created in the image to the left of the text:
In the second sequence with the dancers we have planned to use UV Glow stix sewn on to dark clothing so when the dancers to their routine against a dark background it will create an interesting light effect similar to the one created in the image to the left of the text:I think this idea is particularly effective and also in keeping with Bloc Party's dance / club scene.
Set and Location:
For the video two different locations will be needed also and our original ideas for these are as follows: Initially we had planned to film the running section in Hellingly, a closed down phychiatric ward as we thought this would create a well suited spooky feel to the video.
Looking at the image to the left sourced from the website , 'www.cpluv.com' it is obvious that this location would be ideal for the style of video we are trying to achieve, however there would be some issues with using it as some parts are restricted and the extreme dilapidation of the building could be a safety risk. I have found an alternative which is in Lewes near the college which would be more assessable and possibly more of an appropriate location. Although they will not be as eery with the use of lighting effects, the same outcome could be achieved. I have an idea however as a back up to take advantage of the location if we have to use the warehouse, which is to take images like the ones below(images sourced from http://www.tailcoat.com/ )and copy them to assatate and project them throughout the building. The images could be intensified following the beat of the music this would create an effect as if the images were chasing the runner rather then an actual person.
Props:
The props will be limited as most of the focas will be on set, location and costume, however If we have to use the warehouse as our filming set we will probably have to find some old wood and broken materials to increase the run-down look on the video.
Ares - Bloc Party
Ares Lyrics
War war war war I want to declare a war
My fist breaks your porcelain nose
There are other things that hands can do
To create or to destroy, mini gods and goddesses
First person singular
Set it set it set it off
War war war war
Keep the past the future is ours
Man made natural disaster
Blocking out all of the sun
Supermen and mitsi turbo
Speed agility
super strength
Wipe the blood of those knuckles
Spark it give me two’s on that
War war war war
I want to declare a war
True say blud that when we ride
We don’t stop for nobody
The Africans and the Bengalis
He knows all the rude boys
Reebok Nike Adidas Puma
“Rer rer rer, this shit is long”
It’s all getting, quite highly charged
Get out the way, or get fucked up
We dance to the sound of sirens
We dance to the sound
And to think, that these hands
Could work wonders, with their touch
Listening, to dead singers, in your room
In 98
We dance to the sound of sirens
We dance to the sound
Why I have chosen this song
These are the lyrics to Bloc Party's 'Ares'. This song has no current music video, however provides strong themes that could be translated in to an accessable format. A prodominant sence of rebellion and an ongoing protest dipicts the anger and violence that accompanies the song. Bloc Party also already have a defined audience, which makes it easier to target the video appropriatly.
War war war war I want to declare a war
My fist breaks your porcelain nose
There are other things that hands can do
To create or to destroy, mini gods and goddesses
First person singular
Set it set it set it off
War war war war
Keep the past the future is ours
Man made natural disaster
Blocking out all of the sun
Supermen and mitsi turbo
Speed agility
super strength
Wipe the blood of those knuckles
Spark it give me two’s on that
War war war war
I want to declare a war
True say blud that when we ride
We don’t stop for nobody
The Africans and the Bengalis
He knows all the rude boys
Reebok Nike Adidas Puma
“Rer rer rer, this shit is long”
It’s all getting, quite highly charged
Get out the way, or get fucked up
We dance to the sound of sirens
We dance to the sound
And to think, that these hands
Could work wonders, with their touch
Listening, to dead singers, in your room
In 98
We dance to the sound of sirens
We dance to the sound
Why I have chosen this song
These are the lyrics to Bloc Party's 'Ares'. This song has no current music video, however provides strong themes that could be translated in to an accessable format. A prodominant sence of rebellion and an ongoing protest dipicts the anger and violence that accompanies the song. Bloc Party also already have a defined audience, which makes it easier to target the video appropriatly.
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