2nd Draft Digipack

 Here is the revisited version of my Digipack front cover. I decided to change the front cover image as many grime artists use the same image for the front cover as they do for their publicity advert which is what I have decided to do. I have also changed the text for 'Jay' and used Urban Jungle text like we had originally planned to do. This would add to our brand identity as I have also used this font for my publicity advert and in the future it would become instantly recognisable by the target market as Jay became more and more famous. I also copied Jamals body warmer as a separate layer so that when I changed the saturation of the image it didn't effect Jamal as the audience feedback I gathered said that the image of Jamal had changed noticeably and that it wasn't effective. I also edited th background and added a gradient so that it was more aesthecticall pleasing to our audience as they said that the background was plain in the feedback.

 Here are 2 images of the back cover. I was unsure which was more effective as I had used the gradient on this image a well but personally I thought that when I applied it over the bar code it wasn't very effective and didn't look realistic. This inspired me to look at albums I have at home and each one of them has the bar code like the image below no matter if it fitted with the images so I decided that the second version of the back cover was more apt.

 I also changed the tack list by adding several tracks and changing a few of their names to keep with the grime genre.

 Here is the revisited version of the image I plan to put behind the CD. I had checked the measurements for the 4 panel digipack and I had realised that the London eye was too small on the previouse version so I had to resize the background image. I also corrected the spacing of the text so that it was even making the overall image look more professional although I am starting to think that th text is too large so I will reproduce another and use smaller text and then get audience feedback to see which is more effective for them. 

Here are the new versons for the last panel of the digipack. They are both very similar although on the bottom one I have used the Urban Jungle text for all the text on the image and for the other I have mixed the text with Myriad Pro. Also, on the bottom image I have reduced the saturation of the background fully so that it is in keeping with the other image on the inside of the digipack as the image behind the CD has no colour other than red to go with the brand identity whereas the other image still has the other colours. As they are both very similar images, apart from several minor aspecets, I have decided to ask the target market which they prefer.

To gather my audience feedback for my second draft I am going to use survey monkey so I can analyse the results quickly in order to adapt the photos for a final draft.

Artist Website

Here is a link to the website I created for the artist 'Jay'. I also created a mobile link to the website so that when people scan the QR code on the advert they are taken to a format of the website that works on all smart phones.

http://www.wix.com/05sullivant/jaydebut

Try scanning the QR code and it will take you to the mobile version of the site:



1st Draft Digipack and Advert Feedback

The feed back that I recieved for the first digipack draft was that the convention of the layout was effective although varying the font would be more effective. Also the framing of the photo was effective although when I altered the saturation of the images so that the red was more prevelant it made the picture of Jamal look unusual so I would have to only change the saturation of his body warmer. From the feedback I recieved the audience seemed to like the mise-en-scene of the images as they felt that it suited the genre conventions although they though the album cover was more like a single cover as it had featuring Charlie Drew which is normaly only on singles. The audience also thought that the use of IT was effective as there was a lot of different techniques used although the feedback did show that the audience wanted something else other then the plain black and white bricks in the background of the images so for my second draft I am going to try a gradient overlay. Several of the people I asked for feedback also suggested that I use a more punchy release date on the publicity advert as that is more like what artists from my genre would do.

1st draft Publicity Advert

Here is the first draft of my publicity advert. To create this final image I first used an Image which I had taken when the group went up to London to film. I chose this image as it is similar to other images I had already  used on the digipack and the same image as I used on the panel inside the album. I used the same techniques as I did to create the other similar images. First, I layered Jamal over the top so that I could alter the saturation of the image making the red stand out to go with our brand identity. I also used red text layers to show the key information and then changed the size of the text to show what is important. I also added twitter to the image as many artists these days use social media sites and I also decided to add a website which will show what the artist is up to and any other information that would be interesting to the target market. I also made my own QR code which will direct people to a website which I am going to make for the artist. This would promote the artist even further and it shows he is up to date with all new technologies. The producers (All Around The World) are also on the advert as they are producing the artist. I decide to make the layer of text white as it stands out against the black background and it also goes with our brand identity. This also applies for the black text which tells the audience to scan the QR code.

1st Draft 4 Panel Digipack

Here is my album cover I created for our artist. To make sure that it marries with the music video correctly I used an photo of Jamal that I had taken when we went filming in London making sure that he was wearing the red body warmer as the colour red is part of our brand identity. I then enhanced the contrast of the image on photoshop so that the red was more prevalent within the image. I then used the spray tool with the poppet to select the colour of the sign so that I could get rid of the original text which was on the road sign. I then used the text tool on photoshop to apply my own text and then used the free transform so that the text looked as if it was originally on the sign. For the red text, I used the poppet tool to select the colour of the red from Jamals body warmer so that it linked together. I also decided to use red text because on the original sign the post code was in red. This goes with our genre as Grime is all about the street and by using a road sign it shows that that is where Jay originated from and that he is proud of his roots.

 Here is the back of the CD cover which I created. I used a photo that I took when I visited London to film for our music video. Firstly I layered the image of Jamal over the top and then adapted the saturation so that the red was brighter on his body warmer to go along with our brand identity. I then revisited the background and used a filter, the stamp filter, which created the black and white effect you can see in the background. I then created a layer of text using the Myriad Pro font which I then free transformed to make it look as though it was written on the wall. I decided to add the All Around The World text as they are the company that 'produced' the album. I then added a barcode to make the album look more official.

For this layer, which I plan to put behind the CD, I decided to reduce the saturation fully so that the image was black and white. I then created a red text layer to go with our brand identity which stretched the whole way across the image and then duplicated it so that the text covered the whole image. I then decided to erase all the text over the London eye so that it was visible as I thought that it would look effective behind the CD so I hid the background image layer and then merged all the text layers so that it was one single layer and then erased the text covering the London eye. One issue that I have with this image is that the text is not evenly spaced and I would prefer that the text alternated so that it was more aesthetically pleasing.

For his image I used the same technique as I used for the back cover but with a different image I had taken in London. I also created the text layer and I decided to have a thank you as it is what Dizzee Rascal had done on one of his first albums as he thanked one of his music teachers and I though it would be fitting to have a thank you on a debut album.

I decided to create my own 4 panel digipack and this is the first draft of the digipack.

1st Draft Music Video

Here is the first draft of our music video. So far we have started to produce a very great introduction which goes against the conventions of our genre which we are happy about, but at the same time there are elements of grime music videos within the introduction such as the greeting the characters do which is informal.
From this you can also see that our concept has started to some together but with a bit more editing you will be able to see a clearer definition of the story we are conveying. We will also try to interlink the components of his and her story so that you can tell they are occuring at the same time.
From this draft we have noticed that there are several key areas of the film we are missing or need to refilm which is why there are larg gaps within the video itself.

Peer Evaluation of Digi-pak

Shooting Schedule

Date	Location	Who?
21/01/2012	Big Ben& Houses of Parliament	Jamal (Jay)
21/01/2012	Lloyds building	Jamal (Jay)
21/01/2012	Millennium eye
21/01/2012	Gherkin
21/01/2012	Piccadilly Circus
21/01/2012	Buckingham Palace	Jamal (Jay)
21/01/2012	Bond street	Jamal (Jay)

Draft 1: Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Media Technology Grid

Draft 1: Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Show video to group and film responses. Use a questionnaire from survey monkey and interview people.

We can make the changes to the video or put tags on the video showing what we would change if we did it again.

Use media students to get technical language.

Green-screen over the top of our video showing we have taken on board audience feedback

Draft 1: 'Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?'

Theme of London, black and white as well as red.

Iconic London images such as the bus, big ben and London skyline.

Digipack cover and album cover the same image.

Urban jungle font used on both the advert and the CD cover.

Draft 1: Question 1:In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

1 post each on where we are similar to other products. Challenge conventions as not all in tracksuits like every other grime video, use London as feature like Devlin - charity song, Compare Advert and front cover to chase and status 'bulldog'. Myloxyloto – stop motion effect Devlin – sitting at the desk writing Media theories – shown the deeper meaning of the lyrics through the film. Phantasmagorical body – Paige Black and white effect on film like others in genre. Montage editing so it is not all a story.

Brand Identity

We have chosen to create a brand identity so that we can create a package for our artist. This package will include a colour scheme of blacks, greys, whites and reds which we will incorporate into our video through locations, background objects like buses or through the editing effects we use on photoshop. We have also decided to make London feature within our film and adverts as we are able to go and film there and many grime artists are located within London as it is the capital of England. We want the London city feel to show through our film as we want to incorporate the certain images like the big red busses and locations such as Big Ben as we have in our publicity photo.

The text we have chosen, Urban Jungle, complies with the conventions of grime but we have chosen to make it a more formal package by naming the artist title 'Jay' which is a very formal title. This goes against the conventions of grime as grime is about street life and being formal is not necessarily associated with grime music as it has an informal style such as alpha-numerical like DI2233 R45C4L meaning DIZZEE RASCAL and artists are not known by their name, but by an alternative nave such as Tempa T and Devlin.

Assessment / check of Evaluation draft posts SJS 16/01/12

Tom, I know you spoke to me about the pressure you are under this week with deadlines. Thank you for at least being up front and telling me on Friday.


Can I ask that you please try to forward me your ideas for your evaluation posts (even some bullet points via an email so I can feel that you are actually thinking about it) by the end of this week. 


Ms Ingram and I have been really pleased with you this year, and we really want you to do well. it's crucial now that you stay on top of deadlines and start developing your evaluation ideas into actual posts that we can check, feedback on and help you to develop.

Peer Evaluation Of Work So Far

A2 Media Studies Assessment - Music Video

Name of Student – Tom Sullivan              Class – 13 Ams
Assessment carried out by – Brittany Devine                   Date – 12/12/2011
Peer Assesment

Marking Criteria

Level 1 - There is evidence of minimal ability in the creative use of any of the following technical skills:
Level 2 – There is evidence of a basic level of ability in the creative use of some of the following technical skills:
Level 3 – The candidate is expected to demonstrate proficiency in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
Level 4 – The candidate is expected to demonstrate excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:

Criteria - Level
holding a shot steady, where appropriate; 4
framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate; 4
using a variety of shot distances as appropriate; 3
shooting material appropriate to the task set; 2
selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting; 2
editing so that meaning is apparent to the viewer; 2
using varied shot transitions, captions and other effects selectively and appropriately for the task set; 3
using sound with images and editing appropriately for the task set; 2
contribution to the group 3

WWW:
Very good use of framing
Good quality of shots and composition
Good use of low key lighting
Good lens flare.

EBI:
Lip syncing could have been better, as Tom didn’t look very confident and enthusiastic when playing his role.
Selected more of a variety of mise-en-scene including colour and setting.