Digipak

After doing rough samples of my digipak here is one I have developed. I took on board some of the comments which I gained from my samples.

Comments:

This comment indicated some changes which could be made which I did such as putting a image in the inside right as I assumed it could be plain. However I did not change the bold writing as I felt it suited best and is quite conventional to the artist. 

Rough Samples - Digipak

Here is three samples of me testing out ideas for my digipak. 
I felt this was a great way to explore different images and see which particular images work and what does not work. 

Sample 1)

Sample 2)

Sample 3)

After gaining feedback from my rough samples it brought to my attention that I in fact need to put a image on the inside right, as I assumed it could stay plain. This is why I am glad I did rough samples, as I already had many errors which then helped me when I actually was creating my actual digipak.

Ideas for Digipak Front Cover

This image of Lana Del Rey creates such an impact

as for it being a close up, the contradiction of having 

a smile, with smudged mascara, almost creates a 

mystery, which makes the smile more sinister 

than happy. Also the lighting contributes

to the mysteriousness of this image. which i 

want to portray as the song title 'Serial Killer'

would suit such image. 

Looking into indie artist I came across James Blake, I
was intrigued by this image as it looks very abstract
in the way of the distortion of the face, it also
creates a vintage outlook of the use of blues,
this goes in favour of my chosen artist Lana Del Rey
as her videos are vintage and she is also
an indie artist. 

Another photo CD cover i looked at of my artist

is again creating a mystery thrill to it

with the flower cover the mouth makes this

image seem as a surrealism piece of art, which

has some characteristics of the famous painting ''The Son of Man''

by Rene Magritte.

It also makes it seem she is hiding something and by

having a red rose symbolises blood, love etc, which

creates suspense in which I've portrayed in my music video and also

want this same effect for my digipak front cover.

I was drawn to the use of red font, I feel it will really depict  

the song title 'Serial Killer' with the use of red and potentially 

having my actress with red lipstick will collectively work

together and come across effectively. 

Research - Analysing CD Album Covers

What is the purpose for album covers?


An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially-released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers, or the front-facing panel of a CD package, and, increasingly, the primary image accompanying a digital download of the album, or of its individual tracks.

The cover serves three main purposes:

1. To advertise and identify the contents of the music product.
2. To convey the artistic aspirations of the original artists
3. In reproductions of the artwork, to serve as a primary image in the promotional efforts surrounding the product, as an identifiable image associated with it’  

EXAMPLES:

From looking at these particular examples of album covers it highlighted the different essence of how the artist is selling the actual CD. For example by looking at the artist Jay-z' Blueprint 3 captured a different approach, as the actual images sells the artist in a different way - the image itself is very capturing and artistic, which breaks the conventions of the genre of rap. This indicated by Jay-z being such a successful artist he did not need to have a image of his actual face for it to sell, as he is well established and has a high range of target audience which would regardless purchase the album.

This differs from the actual image which is on the cover of Kelly Rowland Here I AM  as this picture is a close up of the artist. I believe this was due not having a high volume of success which is why they need to sell the artist. This is what I took on board as my artist although very successful, she is still a fairly new artist which is why I have to sell the artist meaning use an image my actual actress in order to sell the artist.

Updated Final Cut of Music Video

Updated Final Cut of Music Video 'Serial Killer' by Lana Del Rey from SMC on Vimeo.


Here is my updated final music video, I have made the changes which my media teacher felt were necessary such as adding more lip-syncing and taking out the clips of the ducks (which he felt looked out of place).

I believe this is now a more successful video, yet still screams out LANA DEL REY and is up for the audience discussion of how they interoperate the video which I aimed to do. I am very pleased with my video, as it has been both enjoyable and stressful to say the least, but I feel all that stress made me work even harder this year and that is why my video editing skills have developed and just the overall concept is extremely strong.

I am glad that my target audience are also happy with the end result of my music video, as they are the people which I find have the most important say as it is them that I am selling the product to, this is why I felt it was essential to take on board any comments they felt I should do in order to create an effective video.

I gained many positive feedback which indicated my aims and intentions were shown through my music video. 

Comments from Target audience:

Final Cut of Music Video 'Serial Killer'

Untitled from SMC on Vimeo.

Here is my Final Cut of my music video, which has received high volumes of positive feedback which I am currently still gaining.

I chose to upload it on Vimeo due to the quality of how it shows my video was shot with a high quality camera which in full screen it plays it in HD.

I am very happy with the outcome of my final cut as I took all the comments on board from my rough cut, which then created an effective end result which I find is extremely good, and I am proud of my progress which has been developed upon my AS to A2 as I find I've used much more technical aspects within the programme premiere pro and capturing different shots which is illustrated through my music video. 

Rough Cut of Music Video with Feedback

This is my Rough Cut of my music video 'Serial Killer'

Music Video Serial Killer from SMC on Vimeo.

Here below is some feedback I have received:

Twitter

Vimeo

Changes made after feedback

After posting my Rough Cut for my Music Video, I received a lot of positive feedback, for example comments such as "This is a really excellent vintage style of the video epitomise the style of Lana Del Rey". illustrated that I achieve one of my initial aims of making the video vintage, which will keep it conventional to the artist.

Also another member said "I like that fact that the video is shot in the same but you still made it interesting by using various camera shots and filters". This to me indicates how I effectively achieved another aim of mine, as using the same location was a risk for the audience potentially not being captivated by the video, this highlights that I was still able to draw in a audience.

Overall doing my music video allowed me to enhance my technical skills such as using different video effects e.g three-wheel colour corrector, and video transitions e.g cross dissolve. I also believe whilst shooting the video, I made sure I used a range of shoots such as mid-shots, panning shots, long shots and mainly close up shots which is a great way to sell the artist.

By putting up a Rough Cut was very beneficial although I gained positive feedback I also gained constructive feedback which i find very useful. For example a member said "My only concern is that the lip-syncing is not accurate in most scenes" "I noticed you edited most of your footage....some are left out., especially at 3:11-3:14. Comments such as these allowed me to then go back and make further changes, such as to make the lip-syncing more accurate I changed the speed duration which then allowed it to match up accordingly. I also made sure all the clips had filters on it which I changed on video effects.

As those were the only comments regarding to make changes I watched my rough cut for a long period of time and analysed it in depth. This then allowed me to make some critical changes which I felt was needed, for example from 0:26-0:30 where there is a panning shot which captures the mise en scene, I wanted it to flow better and look more daunting. This was done by speeding up the speed durations and changing the filter of the red. I also wanted another panning shots of the trees, as I felt I had too much shots of my actress walking, this was changed at 0:59-1:02 where it was a mid shot of my actress walking, I then chose another shot of the trees with a reddish filter. I noticed from the dancing clip at 1:51-1:59 the framing of the arms and head come out of the actual frame, due to my actress putting her arms up and the close up shot. I then used another clip of the dancing scene which was in the correct framing which came out effectively.