Weekly Update #8 (26/10/15 - 30/10/15)

I think that this week was very successful in terms of content which we uploaded to the blog and also in terms of productivity. This is because we have all posted out drafts of our digipak and magazine advert. 

This also meant that the research and planning which we have conducted over the previous week was finalised so that we could create our 1st draft versions by the end of this week ready for the teacher to mark. We all got this done on time which is great, and because this was an individual task we have all made different digipaks and magazine adverts which you can tell as we all have different styles when it comes to things like this. 

Draft Magazine Advert - Michael

Draft digipak, album cover and magazine advert // Sachin Mistry

Draft Digipak - Michael

Draft digipack and poster - Milo O'mahoney

Digipak inspiration // Sachin Mistry

For my digipak I took some inspiration from ‘Years and Years’, this is a band which I like to listen to but also their style of music videos and also photography in terms of photoshoots and interviews suits our band well. So for example the middle picture is of the band ‘Years and Years’, this is a picture of a photoshoot they did for ‘COUPdeMAIN’ is a New Zealand based music/lifestyle magazine, and they present the bands members/artists through a polaroid which I think look good and goes well with our theme. Also the bottom two images are of the ‘Ghajini’ Digipak which is a digipak of the songs from the Indian movie. It had a similar theme where on the left hand side it had a cut out of the border which is produced when you take pictures on an instant camera. I liked this effect an implemented it into my digipak design. I did this by creating an envelope which you can access on the left hand side of the digipak which just like the one in the ‘Ghajini’ digipak. But unlike the other digipak where it had a booklet I printed out individual photos of the band members doing different poses. This is just like ‘Years and Years’ photos for the magazine as they are also pulling random faces. I was going to writing on the bottom of the photos like the ‘Years and Years’ photos but then when I slotted then into the sleeve, the simplicity of then and the clean looks of the printed photos looked better in my opinion.

With the actual photos I wanted a similar theme which ‘Years and Years’ did, where they were against a neutral coloured background, and their expressions and body language would be emphasised by the flash when taking pictures. I achieved this look by setting the focus on my camera to automatic, this is because I switched the lights of in the room so it was completely dark. Then when the flash is triggered it would auto focus on the subject which are the band members pulling faces. Before I turned the light off I made sure that I had them in frame posing in the correct manner which I directing to do. Although we had professional lighting in the room, by switching the lights off and taking the picture I was able to create the shadow effect which is seen in the ‘Years and Years’ photos as this gave a simple yet effect look as the flash light would be solely on them and not bouncing off the walls. With the professional box lights the aim is to eliminate shadows and to ensure correcting for photoshoots, but I wanted to intentionally have shadows which kind of acts as its owns filter on the photos which I really liked the look of. 

Weekly Update #7 (19/10/15 - 23/10/15)

This week we we decided what types of digipaks we were going to make. Me (Sachin) and Michael planned on making our digipak using a template which we found online from disk wizards. We both are making 6 panel digipaks as we fell that it will suit our genre well. 

The reason that I (Sachin) have chosen to create a 6 panel digipak is because it will entice the audience an draw them in as the digipak will be an experience in itself due to all the elements I want to include in this digipak. It will be the main source of information when it comes to song titles, and exclusive content which they will refer to and look at quite a lot and this is why I feel as though this will be sufficient. 

Potential digipak album cover design // Sachin Mistry

This is a variety of edits which I made with Max's face, What I did was I sued the magic selection tool and selected his face. I then deleted the face outline which left me with a faceless body with a transparent part where the hair face and neck used to be. This is where I started to experiment.

I placed different images where the face used to be and then I placed the layer behind the original image which allowed the picture behind to be shown up to the cut outlines. I really like this affect because it gives character to what was a boring portrait. I fell that this could have been an album cover as it foreshadows the mysteriousness of the band and therefore it would lead the audience into researching them to find out about them and what they look like. 

6 Panel Digipak Decision - Michael

When planning for my digipak, I had to choose on the style and design of my media product, but as well as this I also needed to make a decision on the practical element of my digipak. I used the site 'DiscWizards' to research and locate different types of digipak and the wide variety of shapes and sizes that were available. This site would also give me a template as a basis for the creation of my digipak.  In the end I decided to make a 6 panel digipak, meaning there would be six panels all together in both the inside and outside of the album casing. I decided to pick six panels, as opposed to four, so that I could fully make sure I was able to both follow and defy conventions whilst maintaining the same theme throughout. I researched and looked at many albums to help me aid me in my decision.

Draft / Final photos from my photo shoot // Sachin Mistry

Digipak and Magazine Analysis - Michael

Digipak and Magazine Advert Analysis from michaelwilsonasmedia

Weekly Update #6 - (12/10/15 - 16/10/15)

This past week has been busy, as we have all created our draft digipaks and adverts which we will hand in to get marked and receive feedback on. It was quite a challenging process because we used Photo Shop to create the digipaks and adverts which made the process slightly easier because we are all familiar with the software. 

One thing that I (Sachin) found challenging, was the fact that we had to come up with an idea from all the research which we had done. This is because I found lots of amazing albums covers and wanted to implement little bits of then into one which came out slightly wrong. But I think that I have found a universal design which I am happy with. 

I (Sachin) also conducted at the start of the week a font analysis, where I chose potential fonts which i could use in my digipak and advert to provide a universal theme across all of my products. 

Draft Inslip - Max

Draft Advert - Max

Draft Digipak - Max

Step by step Draft Magazine Advert // Sachin Mistry

Digipak Design Idea // Sachin Mistry

This is a design idea which I thought would be suitable for my digipak as well as the music genre which we have chosen. I saw picture of a man with a bag on his head and I cam up with this idea. The material on his head could be some sort of rag or cloth which will be old fashioned and could have a flowery/ancient design on it which I though would look good and contrast against the plain white shirt and the dull grey background.

Magazine Album Advert Analysis - Michael

Digipak Analysis - Digipaks I Own - Michael

King Krule - 6 Feet Beneath the Moon (2013)

When researching digipaks and the common conventions that they follow, I found King Krule's 2013 album, 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, very interesting. This album goes against many conventions as neither the front cover or the middle two panels contain any text. The only text is down the spine of the package and on the back cover, where the track listings are placed. The middle panels are filled with one long connected image of doodle appearing drawings, graphics and photos of random objects, such as plants and broken speakers all placed next to one larger image, in the corner, of Archy Marshall, otherwise known as King Krule, the artist of this album.  He appears to b drawing in a book which makes it appear as that he has drawn the images on the middle two panels. 

I am intrigued by the graphic design on this cover and would be very interested in doing something very similar when creating my own digipak. I am also very fond of the colour scheme used on this album, as it is very simple and minimal.the majority of the 4 panel pack is black and white except the background faded blue on the middle panels. 

Cage the Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday (2011)

This digipak is one of my favorites that I own. The cover and inside panels are all graphic design and interest me greatly due to the abstract nature of the artwork included. The appearance of the font used and the drawings make the album seem as if they've been drawn on and annotated freehand. In contrast to the cover and the artwork the CD from the package is completely blank and stands out against the rest of the casing. I like the idea of the simplicity of this in comparison to the rest of the digipak.

I would like to incorporate certain features of this when creating my own digipak, such as the minimal CD in comparison to the rest of the chaotic cover and inlays. I would also like to incorporate certain types of graphic design in my own case as I feel that without it it may be lacking, I could use the drawings present on this album as inspiration.  Although there is not a huge amount of text or  variety in background colours, this digipak is not minimal due to the vivid and unusual drawings situated all over it.

Arctic Monkeys - Humbug (2009)

Another digipak I am very fond of is Humbug, by the Arctic Monkeys. Many of the covers and packs that I have looked at and took inspiration from have not included an image of the artist or band, however this cover appeals to me due to the nature of the photos used throughout the digipak. The initial cover photo appears not to be staged, but instead to natural. I like the idea of this as it goes against conventions and cliches of normal album covers. A photo that includes band members is also used on the inside covers and panels. An image of two band members climbing a hill is stretch across both of the inside panels. I really like this effect of a larger image being used to fill inside panels and will defiantly look at trying to use this when building my own digipak. Very little text is used throughout this digipak which inspires me to create a similarly minimal scheme as i find that minimal albums have a good effect on drawing in an audience. 

Although the main layout for this digipak appears minimal, the colour scheme is not. On both the back and the front covers the colours are dull, faded and give of a 'retro' feel. The inside panels, however, do not sick to this scheme and use way more vivid colours that make the audience question the location of the image. This sense of mystery and questioning is inspiring and makes me want to incorporate questions into the imagery I use.  

Drenge - Drenge (2013)

I have always been fond of Drenge album covers due to the fact that they rarely use text on the front covers of their albums or singles and because they use interesting photography or graphic design to style their albums. Their first debut album is my favorite. On the front and back covfers the same image of a graveyard is included. This image is interesting as it makes the audience think what thew image is representing. the colour scheme on the back and front is black and white, which seems grim and matches the "grungey" music that the band makes. This colour scheme doesn't continue to the inlays of the digipak. Unlike the outside of the package, the inside is bright and vivid and stands out due to three bright colours. this contrast is intriguing but I don't think I'll use this idea when creating my own digipak as I would prefer to keep a consistent layout.  

 Drenge are a English indie rock duo that are made up of two brothers. The graphic and image on the CD itself shows a photo of the brothers when they were younger. I find this idea equally as interesting and  would certainly consider using older photos of the band members in my fictitious band. 

Font analysis // Sachin Mistry

Weekly Update #5 - (05/10/15 - 09/10/15)

This week we mainly focused on the research side of our coursework. This meant that we had to use the internet, books and other means to find out interesting ideas for our music video, digipaks and adverts.

I (Sachin) uploaded a blog post about why I chose to create a 6 panel digipak over other styles. I think that this was important because it is part of the research process. I feel as though a 6 panel digipak provides a better experience for the audience as there is more to look at and is more relatable to the band and the music video.

Another part of the research process was we all conducted a CD cover analysis, which meant that we had to pick three CD covers which we would take about for example the colour scheme, logos and how this is relatable to the band in some way. also how effective the album cover is at grabbing peoples attention.

I think that this was a successful week because we got quite a lot done in terms of the researching process. 

CD cover analysis #1 // Sachin Mistry

CD cover analysis #2 // Sachin Mistry

Design & Drawn Album Covers - Michael

Why I chose a 6 panel digipak layout // Sachin Mistry

Wavves Album Covers - Michael

Wavves are an American surf rock band from San Diego in California. They are notorious for their slightly eccentric and out of the ordinary album covers. Throughout the years they have used many different styles of covers to compliment their music, whether for an EP, album or single. They have used both photographs and graphic designs to cover their music, which interests me greatly. The three covers that incorporate images inspire me a lot, as all three images used are interesting to me and encourage me to take a similar photo for my cover.

CD cover analysis #3 // Sachin Mistry

Weekly Update #4 - (28/09/15 - 02/10/15)

During this last week, we have started to plan where we will be film and taking photos for our digipak covers as well. We need to make sure that everyone can do the photo shoot together and because most of us want photos outside of school, we have had to make sure that everyone is free.  we have also narrowed it down to some key filming spots which a good portion of our music video will be filmed. 

Michael this week made a post on the audience biography which gives a brief summary of who they are and where they come from. We are treating this blog as if it is the official website for our band, and therefore we feel that posts like these are necessary. Max uploaded a post about risk assessment when film a music video and there can be some hazards. 

As well as posting relevant research and weekly updates for our blog, we have use our official Alcazar Twitter page for our band, and on there we have tweeted sneak peaks of photo shoots, potential video and little things to keep our fans interested and up to date. We feel that it is necessary to keep people up to date with our band because they can always get the latest exclusively and do not have to find out from other sources first. 

I made 3 posts this week about magazine adverts which I analysed, as part of my research. This was important because we could strip the adverts down and find out what works and what doesn't. This would also help us when making our own adverts for out digipaks. 

Milo made a post this week also, about the equipment we will be using for the music video; for example type of cameras, software for post production, and small things like a skateboard which we will we will use along with a handle grip for the camera to achieve some smooth low and panning shots. 

Magazine advert analysis #3 // Sachin Mistry

Evaluation of album magazine adverts - Milo O'mahoney

Drenge & Superfood Digipaks - Michael

Both the ‘Undertow’ and the ‘Superfood’ digipaks, shown above, are available in both vinyl and CD versions. This has inspired me to include vinyl covers and packages into my research when creating a digipak for my own album. Other than the medium of the storage of music, these albums have also inspired me due to their designs. 

I am a big fan of all Drenge's artwork and this cover is no exception. All images that the alternate rock duo use on their covers follow a similar style. None of their covers contain writing and all are either a stand alone image or a graphic and are used to make the audience think or to draw them in to buying the album. I will take inspiration from these covers when creating my own, as I like the 'gritty' and interesting vibes they have. Even though the genre of our band does not match that of Drenge's, I believe I can still use this style of cover to inspire my own.   

Although I'm not a big fan of the Superfood album cover, or style of the design. I like how the front cover connects to the back on the CD digipak. One image is stretched across, so when unfolded a whole complete image is revealed. I'd like to incorporate this type of design when creating my own. I have the idea of possibly use an image of the band members on the inside panels. The Superfood album has inspired me to stretch this image across the two inside panels, as I believe this would be an effective look.

Magazine advert analysis #2 // Sachin Mistry

Photoshoot moodboard/collage.