Final Digipak - Milo

Magazine Advert - Milo

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 digipack and poster - Milo O'mahoney

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. 

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. 

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. 

Design & Drawn Album Covers - Michael

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.

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. 

Evaluation of album magazine adverts - Milo O'mahoney

Photoshoot moodboard/collage.

Digipack panel ideas - Milo O'mahoney

I like these three album covers due to their photographic merit. They have all employed techniques that create a professional style that matches what we are trying to achieve with our music video. I believe that if I adopt an album cover similar to one of these, it will match the video and style of music well.

Instead of a blank background or something bright i believe that a forest or some dark, natural landscape will go well with the proposed setting of the video. This will then be a good cross platform theme that remains similar throughout the album. I am planning on imposing three images (portraits) of the two band members (two of them individually and then one of them both together) with the forest or other natural setting in the background.

This is a similar style image to what i wish to recreate on the panels of my digipack. To get this style of portrait i will use a dark background and a single source of light to the side of the subject. This will create a smooth yet highly noticeable contrast between the two sides of the subject's face, which plays in line with our idea looking at the two sides of passion in our video.

Camera Shots

Camera Shots

In our music video we plan to use a wide variety of different camera shots to express many different emotions, feelings and scenes throughout the video. 

We looked at the original video for the song when choosing camera shots for inspiration. 

Close up shots are used to connect the audience to the actors, characters or band members in the video. Theses shots help to connect the audience through creating an interaction between them. The audience is able to clearly see the face of a character in the video, and because of this are able to see the emotions they are feeling. In the original video, for 'Spark' by Amber Run, the chil in the video expresses many emotions. These are presented to the audience very clearly through many close up shots.

Long shots are used in a different way to close up shots, as the camera is positioned much further back and the shot shows the whole body of a character, not only just a face. These shots are important when setting the scene. Long shots set the scene as the audience is able to see where the character is situated. These shots can also show the emotion of the camera through the use of body positioning. Foe example, if a character is slouched, or has their head down as they walk, this could represent that they may be feeling down, or could be deep in thought. In the original video, for 'Spark' by Amber Run, long shots are used to  differentiate the size between the two characters in the video, the child and the cardboard robot. In this particular shot, the long shot also sets the scene as it shows the audience that they are located in an empty house. 

Other than long and close up shots, there are lots of alternate shots that we may use, such as mid shots, which are a mix o the two, as it connects with the audience and can still set the scene. 

We will also vary the shots we take through the use of angles. High angled shots look down on the character, whilst low angled shots look up at them. When combined with different types of shot both of these angles can be useful for many different reasons, 

Video Inspirations

Circa Waves - Stuck in my Teeth  

   

Milky Chance - Flashed Junk Mind

Splsahh - All I Wanna Do

Swim Deep - She Changed the Weather

The Vaccines - I Always Knew

20 Possible Song Choices

This post contains 20 song choices that as a collective we made to help aid our final song decision. The majority of the songs we picked fit into an indie/alternative category. We hope to make a video that uses both concept and performance elements, so wanted to pick a song that would fit this idea. When deciding on songs for this list, we looked at certain videos for the songs and decided whether they worked well as both storyboard and performance videos. The majority of these songs encounter these elements in their videos and we decided to fit in with the convention of this genre by following a similar style.  

1. Kongos – Escape
2. Newton Faulkner – Dreams Catch Me
3. Sunset Sons – Remember
4. Years and Years – Shine
5. Hozier – From Eden
6. Circa Waves – Stuck in my Teeth
7. Asgeir – King and Cross
8. Amber Run – Spark
9. Peace – Blue
10. Imagine Dragons – Nothing Left to Say
11. The Vaccines – I Always Knew
12. Milky Chance – Down By the River
13. Tigers Jaw – I Envy your Apathy
14. King Krule – Easy Easy
15. Skaters – Sympomatic
16. Drowners – A Button on Your Blouse
17. Half Moon Run – Full Circle
18. Daughter – Youth
19. The Smiths – Half a Person
20. The Wombats – Back Fire at the Disco

UK Tribes research // Sachin Mistry

Our target audience, as listed on uk tribes, is under the category of 'alternative.' This does, however, cover a vary large spectrum and arguably, a majority of the youth population.

This also applies to music as the 'indie' or 'alternative' genres are extremely broad and reflect the vast opinions of those who do not follow the 'mainstream'.
Thirdly however, fashion is another branch of an 'alternative lifestyle' that seems a bit less broad. It is comprised of some of the less represented brands such as "banned" "converse" and "amplified clothing" that although may be (in some cases) extremely popular are still not worn by the 'mainstream.'

So our audience will most likely not listen to 'pop' music or wear brands such as; "super dry" "fred perry" or "Adidas."
Bands as mentioned in our 'possible song lists' will more likely be listened to frequently compared with the majority of the pop 'idols' that frequent radio stations such as 'BBC radio 1' and 'capital'.