Digipak - Photo Editing

Below I decided to show how I created some of my most creative edits for my digipak. 

Drummer:

To begin with I had to duplicate the layer in order to create two that overlapped. I then clicked on the background copy and decreased the hue and saturation as far as they would go.

I then clicked on the eraser and adjusted the brush size accordingly to erase the black and white from the drummer, leaving him in colour.

To finish my edit I clicked on the colour balance and played around with the three offsets to create a variety of different colours, of which I thought the reddy-pink was most in keeping with my video.

Singer:

After uploading my photo I clicked on "Filters" to find "Water Swirl".

I then adjusted the "Amount" to maximum and the "Size" to minimum to create the above effect which I feel looks very creative and intriguing to the eye.

Back Cover:

  To begin with I did the simple task of completely reducing the hue and saturation.

I then went on "Filters" and scrolled down to "Polar Coordinates".

I played around with all three of the options before deciding on "Invert in circle" as I feel it was the most interesting effect out of the three and would look effective on the back cover of my digipak.

Digipak - Edited Photos

Below are all of my edited photos for my digipak, split into chosen and rejected with explanations of why. I'm really pleased with the photos I have chosen, and although I really liked some of my edits I felt they were too over the top for my digipak.

My Chosen Edits:

The only edit I did on this photo was to sharpen it slightly in order to make the contrast more prominent as I feel the photo does a lot of talking by itself. Therefore, I didn't want to play around from it too much and take away from that.

I felt that seeing as my the other chosen photos for my digipak are black silhouettes on a coloured background I should revert this and have a coloured figure on a black background. I feel that my photo looks effective having done this as it contrasts to my other digipak photos, therefore preventing it from becoming boring. I chose to go for a reddy-pink as it is a colour that appears in my video, stopping it from appearing as random.

Similarly to my photo of the guitarist I chose not to edit this too much. Once again I sharpened it, as I did with all of my photos, and then increased the hue and saturation to make the blue slightly brighter than it was in the original to emphasis the contrast of the background and the silhouette.

For this photo I increased the hue and saturation in order to make it brighter and this has completely altered the colour in the bottom right image. However, I feel that the brighter colours look much more effective and eye-catching which are key when you are creating a product you are trying to get consumers to buy.

Here I chose to go for something completely different. I felt that my photos were becoming too "samey" and as I've said on my drummer's edit I don't want my digipak to become boring. Therefore, here I chose to add "Water Lines" but edited it so that they were very close together, thus creating the above effect. I feel this effect works well as it is a contrast to the rest of my photos and interesting to the eye.

This photo is the one I have chosen to be placed on the back of my digipak where the song names will be. Originally I was just planning on having a plain black background but following further consideration I decided that would be too boring and I needed to do something more creative. Therefore I decided to take my photo of the drummer, put it all in black and white and then invert it around a central point. I feel this looks so much better than a plain black background, although, in order to place it on my digipak I will have to crop it so I will have to consider which part to do so.

My Rejected Edits:

As soon as I edited this photo I automatically knew it would be rejected as instead of looking bright and eye-catching the drummer looks like Shrek which makes it incredibly unappealing! 

Although this is the effect I use on my chosen bassist edit, I felt that as the singer was already mirrored it was too much having this effect on it as it may hurt people's eyes as they look at it too long. Also, in my opinion, it looks confusing and messy which isn't what I'm hoping for in my digipak.

Although I really liked this effect at the beginning, at the end of the day it doesn't fit in with the rest of my digipak photos and the style of my digipak at all. I don't want to include a "random" photo just as I like it and although it does fit in with my house style of split screens I feel that having already included one that will be enough for a smaller product.

This was 100% my favourite edit. However, as with the previous photo it just doesn't fit in with the style of my digipak at all and it would look ridiculous on my product. 

Music Video Second Draft

Here is my second draft of my music video and in it I have focussed on making the amendments I mentioned after my first draft. 


Although I attempted to sort my drummer's jolt it is still quite obvious and so I am going to focus on it again in my next draft to try and get it perfect! I changed the timing of my very beginning split so that it fits in time with the line "I'm a puppet on a string" and I feel it looks so so much better because of it! It definitely fits in with the fast pace timing I was after. After watching it back it is clear my split screen positioning still isn't exactly central so that is something for me to amend in my next draft. I had a problem with the song on my Mac and ended up having to completely reapply it. This caused a bit of an issue as I had in fact cut the original song in my first draft to make it fit my footage instead of the other way round. Therefore, I have quite a few timing things to sort this time round, just after I'd fixed them from the last draft! The main two timing issues I've noticed are one of the fills my drummer has as him hitting the cymbal doesn't fit the music, and also when two members are in the car and one of them starts drumming the steering wheel that is also out of time. So they two of the things that I need to sort urgently.  I've also noticed that I have a lot of black curtain on the edges of my clips and so this is something I need to sort as it makes my video look untidy. I've noticed it especially on my "Photo Recall" clip as the gaps are huge and it just looks so cringe-worthy! So that is my first priority when it comes to editing for my next draft.

Music Video Draft One

Here is the first draft of my music video to R U Mine by the Arctic Monkeys. So far I am really pleased with my video and how the process has gone. Although it's been long and challenging at times I feel it has been really beneficial in the product I have currently created. 

After showing this to members of my target audience they all mentioned that my images are too grainy which is off-putting, and therefore I need to sharpen them. The jolt of the drummer after my slow motion section was also mentioned and therefore these are things I need to focus on straight away in my second draft. Watching it myself I picked up on a few things I want to improve on as well. I don't know how I'd managed to miss it when I was editing the video but when my video changes from the two band members in the car to the split of them in the car either side of the singer, the transition comes in too early. It should come in at the beginning of the line "I'm a puppet on a string" but instead it comes in a few beats early which takes away from the fast pace timing I was hoping to create. I also need to fix the alignment in my two four-way split screens at the end of the video as they are not completely in line and central which may distract the viewer as they may notice that something is quite right about that section but not be able to work out what; therefore taking their attention off what is happening in the video.

However, of course, it wasn't all negative feedback that I received. One member said the effects I used were really creative and made it more interesting and appealing to watch as well adding a new dimension to the video, particularly the mirror on three band members and moving blocks on the drummer. Others liked the "pixelation" effect I used on the guitarist as it "contrasted with the black silhouettes" I had in other parts of my video. My use of coloured lights were a huge hit as well, like I had hoped. I personally am really pleased with how the lights turned out as I feel they look really effective with the style of video and the bright colours fit well with the upbeat tempo of the song as well as making my video more pleasing to the eye. I also feel my split screens are a strength within my video as it contrasts the close-ups and mid-shots of band members by showing them all at once in their own section, instead of simply in a band clip. My favourite split screen is at the beginning on the line "Coulda shaped heart aches", where I added a new member in on each beat, focusing on the fast pace of my video. Finally, I've been very fortunate with the timings of my video. I completely forgot I had to place the song over the top of the video and so edited using the audio in each of the clips. When I eventually remembered I had to put the song on I panicked, as I thought my timing would be all over the place! However, I was incredibly lucky to know the song well enough to have got my timings nearly all exact! There are a few that need a millisecond adjusting but overall it's all spot on.

Overall, I am really pleased with my video so far. Although there are a few adjustments before it is perfect I feel that I have created a product that I should be proud of. I feel it showcases my talent well and is done in a way that follows and refutes conventions typical of the indie rock genre and performance videos.

Digipak House Style

At the minute I am still undecided as to whether or not I will put Arctic Monkeys' or New Priorities' name on the front of my digipak. Regardless of which I decide to go with I need to stick with their house style, ideally by using their font. House style is important as it allows a buyer to automatically know who the artist is, normally just by seeing the layout of the font rather than what the font is actually saying. Therefore, I feel it is important that I try and stay in keeping with the house style of either band.

Arctic Monkeys have tested out different fonts over the years but this one is the one they use most frequently and appears on their merchandise. The font and background colours change for different merchandise and special events, for example black writing on a white background or a sunset image within the font on a black background. Therefore, I could change the colours depending on what fits best with my digipak.

New Priorities have taken inspiration from Arctic Monkeys, using black writing on a white background for their house style, and all of their gig posters follow the colour scheme and font. As with the Arctic Monkeys font I could change the colours of the font and background depending on what goes best with my digipak.

Digipak Chosen Photos

Here are the 5 chosen photos for my digipak. Instead of choosing two band photos I only decided on one in the end to allow me to have a blank photo in which I can put the song titles of the album. 

I chose this photo of the bassist as I like the vibrant colours in the background. I feel it shows off the effect of my use of coloured lights and silhouetted figure well, especially as it's at the beginning of a changeover in lights, which you can see in the top left hand corner. The pink represents upbeat music whereas the small section of blue reveals deeper undertones, suggesting the album contains a variety of different types of songs. The photo also looks natural and not too posed as he is in the middle of playing, and it fits the iconic image of a bassist.

For the drummer's photo I decided on using a flood lit photo against a black background as a contrast to some of the others being silhouetted.  I also chose this because as the member who keeps the whole band together he needs to be the focus in this image and therefore you should be able to see his facial features and not just his silhouette.I like the fact the photo is a side angle as it portrays a much more realistic photo of him in action than it would from the front. The blur of the drumstick also shows that he's definitely playing and not just posing which makes it a more appealing photo to the viewer.

I decided against going for a stereotypical photo of the singer standing with a microphone in his hand, instead opting for him singing into the microphone from a slight side angle. Thankfully, the singer also plays the guitar in the band so I don't have the cliché hand on the microphone pose! This is a still from my video that I chose to use as I really like the mirror effect as I believe it makes the photo more interesting to look at. Once again I've gone for a photo that shows off my coloured lights and black silhouette. I chose to go for a blue background in this one as I feel it represents "moody blues", which once again implies a diverse album.

For the guitarist's photo I chose to go for one where he is holding his instrument as it fits in with the rest of the photos. I also like this photo due to the fact the guitarist has a very good side profile and the red really shows off the silhouette as it makes it more of a contrast. The photo is very natural and the guitarist looks relaxed which emphasises that it is not posed and cliché. The red itself is a colour typically associated with rock and therefore fits in perfectly with my chosen genre. 

Finally, for my band photo I decided to go for my four way split screen as I feel it is a much more effective way of showcasing all four members of the band. I like the fact that none of the four colours are the same in the sections as it makes it more appealing to the eye. I chose not to go for a close-up of the singer as it didn't fit in well with this particular shot, whereas the wide-shot did. Although there are two other members of the band in the photo the singer is still the main focus and it contrasts to the other close-ups of the guitarist and bassist. The drummer's picture is flood lit again but this time against a white curtain instead of the black one which makes it very clear and bright. It also contrasts the other three silhouetted photos which prevents the overall image from becoming boring. All four images show the band members in action and I feel it showcases them all very well. 

The photos I rejected:
Of course, choosing my final five photos consequently meant I had to reject four for various different reasons, and it was actually a lot harder choosing than I thought it would be! I'm really happy with the five I have settled on, and here's the reasons behind why the other four didn't make the final cut.

 Much as I love this photo as the singer pointing draws the audience in, it cannot be classed as a band photo as the drummer is hidden! It would be unfair for me to use this as my band photo with only three members and therefore that is one of the reasons I rejected it. The other reason is that it's at a part in the song where neither the guitarist or bassist play and so they are just stood there, mid walk, not playing. I feel that this makes the photo look staged, and as I'm aiming for realistic photos this doesn't work.

I absolutely adore this photo but once again it was one that I decided not to use. One of the main reasons I like it is as you can really see the effect of the water on the cymbal going up in the air. However, after thinking about it in more depth the water doesn't look as effective in the photo as it does in the video, and, to an extent, just makes the photo look blurry. Also, as I'd already chosen the band photo by this point I thought it would be a boring to use the same setting for the drummer in both. 

Although this photo was in my original nine I was questioning it right from the beginning. The more I looked at it the more I was decided not to use it in my final digipak. Although it shows all four members of the band the side angle, though effective in my video, makes it difficult in the photo. It's also quite blurry and I feel the band photo needs to be sharp and colourful, which again this one isn't. 

The main reason I chose to reject this photo is the fact that there is no instrument involved, which I feel goes against the idea of a music advertisement slightly too much for my liking. Although the photo shows off the "cool" aura commonly associated with the guitarist of a band, I felt that without the guitar itself it didn't fit in keeping with my other chosen photos.

Overall, I am really pleased with the five photos I have decided on, as I feel they are all effective in showing the members and a diverse album. The mixture of colours and contrasts will be eye-catching on my digipak, therefore attracting the attention of potential buyers.

Digipak Original Photos

Now that my video is well under way I have had time to to start looking into creating my digipak. Although I took several photos whilst filming my video to use for my digipak, there were a few stills I found during the editing process of my video that I particularly liked and therefore decided could be effective on my digipak. Below are my 9 favourites out of the 30 photos I have, and I am going to have a think about which 5 or 6 I will have in my final piece.

As my video focuses on a band, I decided that I should have at least photo of the whole band on my digipak, and then one of each band member. This way all of the band will get the attention they deserve.

Editing - Split Screens

As I've said previously, an editing technique I really want to include in my piece is split screens. I successfully tried out splitting the screen into two and three, and therefore decided I wanted to try a four way split. 

I chose to include a overall image of the band, and then close-ups of the guitarist, bassist and drummer. In order to do this I started by choosing the line I wanted. I chose "Coulda shaped heartaches" which is a line I mentioned when talking about the song lyrics. I chose this line as due to its four pauses it will work ideally. 

I started off by layering the four clips underneath the one of the band. I then used the blade to cut each clip on the pauses, so "Coulda... shaped... heart... aches". Once all the clips were split into four I used the transform button to change the size of them and move them around.

Instead of going straight in with all four clips at once I want to introduce them gradually. My first split was the whole band and guitarist on the word "shaped", I then introduced the guitarist in my third split for "heart", before finishing on "aches" with all four clips. 

I found it difficult to begin with due to the four layers and having to cover whichever clip/s weren't needed at that particular point. I also struggled getting the four sections all to the same size so that they fitted equally in the space. However, once I'd gone the hang of it I managed to get it finished quickly and to the standard that I wanted it.

Ancillary Task Two - Digipak Magazine Advertisement

The second of my chosen ancillary tasks is to create a magazine advertisement for my digipak.
In order to give me some inspiration I looked at magazine advertisements for albums that are already on the market.

This advertisement is for Arctic Monkeys new album, Suck It And See, and their concert at the Hollywood Bowl on 25th September, and was published inside NME. 
The design is very simple with a plain black background, which allows for the more exciting font. They've stayed their house style and used their logo, but instead of having black font on a white background, they've chosen to have a sunset and palm trees, which contrasts vastly against the black background. This implies that their new album is laid-back and relaxing, similar to the feeling of being on a beach.
The first thing that you notice when you look at the advertisement is "ARCTIC MONKEYS", which intrigues the audience to find out more as it is bold and eye-catching and stands out against the background. Underneath this it says "SUCK IT AND SEE", also in capitals but in a smaller font and in a colour which fits in with the colours in the band name. The fact the album name is less obvious than the band name suggests that the band name will gain enough interest, regardless of what the advertisement is actually about.
The advertisement isn't overcrowded with information, which connotes a laid-back band with similar fans, who will find out more if they want to. It's simple design conveys the band's style, and possibly the band members themselves. The colours and fonts are very well chosen and positioned and I feel it would be a successful advertisement for Arctic Monkeys.

Ancillary Task One - Digipak

One of my two chosen ancillary tasks is to create a digipak for the album's release. I've never heard of a digipak before so my first thing to do is research what they are.

A digipak is a patent style of CD or DVD packaging. 

They typically consist of gatefold binding with one or more plastic trays inside to hold the disc. Digipak-style packaging is typically used for CD singles or special editions of CDs. The packaging is less abrasive than jewel cases and so it tends to wear relatively quickly. Licensed digipak manufacturers recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating in order to prevent this. 

Manufacturers have sought to reduce environmental impact by introducing recycled components into the trays. One manufacturer announced a 100% post-consumer PET tray made from recycled bottles and another removed the plastic tray completely, replacing it with a paper tray made from sugarcane and egg carton.

 In order to create my digipak I need 6 photos, one of which will have the song names on. Therefore, I need to chose my best 6 photos I took during filming and then upload and edit them. I want to make my digipak stand out against others on the market and so I will be creative with my editing.

The first thing I notice when I look at the digipak for Rihanna's album Loud is the colour. The main colour is red, which could be due to the fact she had recently dyed her hair and was trying to create a new image for herself. The use of red roses to contrast against her skin tone makes it bold and eye catching, allowing it to stand out to potential buyers which is key when trying to sell and album. The colour red connotes love and passion, both strong emotions, and could give an indication of what to expect from the album itself. The fact that the artist is looking down and not straight at the camera implies she is deep in thought, highlighting that this could be a very meaningful album.

The title itself, "Loud", implies that the album may be very upbeat. There is no clear indication of the genre of the album. "Loud" connotes R'n'B, but the use of thin white font, instead of something bolder, refutes this and could present something more emotional and meaningful.

The spacing of the title gives the digipak a unique look, and therefore suggests that the artist is different and unique in her style. Her name is at the top of the digipak, in a very small font, conveying that artist is already popular enough for people to recognise her without having to see her name.

Song Lyrics

R U Mine was released for digital download on 27th February 2012. On 21st April 2012 it was released again on a limited edition double A-side purple 7" vinyl along with new song "Electricity". There were only 1750 vinyls available for purchase.

When questioned about their inspiration for "R U Mine" Alex Turner said that the band drew it from Drake and Lil Wayne, "There's a few references for people to pick up on in  there - 'Some Velvet Morning', Tracy Island. Those references are just me being a smartarse... That particular bit is like the thing Lil Wayne and Drake do. We've been listening to a lot of their stuff recently. I like that thing they do where they talk about something backwards, so they talk about it but then say what it actually is on the next line. It's hard to explain but I guess it's just a little nod to that idea. So I say 'I'm a puppet on a string', just before mentioning Tracy Island. That's what it's about - uncertainty."

I'm a puppet on a string
Tracy Island, time-traveling diamond
Coulda shaped heartaches
Come to find ya fall in some velvet morning
Years too late
She's a silver lining lone ranger riding
Through an open space
In my mind when she's not there right beside me

I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be 
And satisfaction feels like a distant memory 
And I can't help myself
All I wanna hear her say is "Are you mine?"

Are you mine?
Are you mine?
Are you mine?

I guess what I'm trying to say is I need the deep end 
Keep imaging meeting, wished away entire lifetimes
Unfair we're not somewhere misbehaving for days
Great escape lost track of time and space
She's a silver lining climbing on my desire

And I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be
And satisfaction feels like a distant memory
And I can't help myself
All I wanna hear her say is "Are you mine?"

Well, are you mine? Are you mine tomorrow?
Are you mine? Or just mine tonight?
Are you mine? Are you mine? Mine?

And the thrill of the chase moves in mysterious ways
So in case I'm mistaken,
I just wanna hear you say you got me baby
Are you mine?

She's a silver lining lone ranger riding
Through an open space
In my mind when she's not there right beside me

I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be
And satisfaction feels like a distant memory
And I can't help myself
All I wanna hear her say is "Are you mine?"

Well, are you mine? Are you mine tomorrow?
Are you mine? Or just mine tonight?
Are you mine? Are you mine tomorrow, or just mine tonight?

Due to the fast tempo of the song I am planning on using fast cut edits, despite the fact the song is about uncertainty. For example, on the line "Coulda shaped heartaches" instead of having just one piece of footage for that line, I want to break it up using the four pauses and two drum beats, and include four pieces of footage, which all come in very quickly. I'm not planning on using any of my footage for particularly long in my video, as I want as many cuts as I can that will work effectively. The exceptions will be if the footage is very effective, or if it gets to the break, "And the thrill of the chase", as I will slow that whole section down slightly as a contrast. I need to be careful when it comes to including cuts as if I use too many it will make my video look tacky and hurriedly put together. I want people to enjoy watching my video and tell other people about it, and I want it to look effective and fitting for the genre and my target audience. I feel that faster cuts will appeal to my target audience better than long pieces of footage will, as they will find it more interesting to watch if it's not continually the same footage.

Editing So Far

Now that all my footage has been uploaded it's really important that I get on with my editing in order to ensure that my video is completed on time. 

As I've said a few times I really want to use split screens, either in two, three of four, as I feel it will look really effective given the genre and tempo of my song choice. I chose to use coloured lights when I filmed my video as I liked the edgy interesting effect it had in the Apple advert and so wanted to recreate it. In order to create my split screens effectively I have to cut my footage into smaller sections. Therefore I had to go through my 3 and a half minute footage on Final Cut Pro and use the blade tool to cut it every time the colour changed. I didn't realise how many times I changed the colour! I had to watch each section about 5 times to make sure I cut it at the precise point and it took me an hour! Thankfully I will now be able to create effective split screens once I have continued to cut the other 9 pieces of footage that involve the colour changing. Below is a picture showing how it looks now it has been cut. The footage at the top also shows some of the different colours I used and how the lights and silhouettes worked together to create an effect I'm rather proud of.

Editing Inspiration

Now that all my footage is uploaded I need to focus on my editing in order to get my video complete for the deadline. As my song has a fast tempo I need fast pace editing to make my video interesting and effective. As I have already posted before I want split screens, not necessarily into two but into three or four as well. Another idea I have is one that I used in my A Day In The Life Of in which I reversed one the dance sequence so it played backwards.




I really like the effect it has as it was only noticeable that it was reversed at certain points, such as when she flipped her hair to the side.
I researched into it in more detail which led me to Red Hot Chilli Peppers Give It Away as in the solo in the middle the clip is reversed. 



It is very subtle and only noticeable at certain points. It is definitely something that I would like to use in my final piece and so I am going to find a big movement section to reverse as I feel it would add a new dimension to my video and make it more appealing and intriguing to my target audience. 

Guitarist Swap

2 hours before I was due to film yesterday there was a bit of a dilemma. The guitarist in the band I'm using had something else come up and was so unable to make it. 

Originally I considered cancelling my booking and waiting for another day when I could have all four, but I reminded myself how hard it was booking the theatre in the first place, and there's no guarantee that I could get it anytime soon. 

Thankfully, the band's technician can play the guitar and knew the song really well! So he was willing to step in and help me out. Amazingly the band looked a lot more comfortable on stage performing with their technician, and so I'm actually quite lucky and grateful that the original guitarist couldn't make it!

Health and Safety Two

Once again I need to take health and safety into consideration before I film at my second location.
This time I am filming inside a car on a driveway. 
As it is a driveway I need to keep an eye out for other cars that may drive onto the same drive or drive past and create noise. 
I'm filming at night so I need to ensure that my talent is careful when making their way to and from the car so they don't get hurt.
I also need to be careful as my camera won't be positioned on a tripod, it will be placed on the car's dashboard. Therefore I need to make sure it is secure so that it doesn't fall off the dashboard and break or hurt one of my talent.

The Technology I Plan On Using

In order to make my video the best that I can I need to use the best technology that I can. Filming my video will need a lot of technology as I am using four people to create a performance video and therefore I have a lot of different aspects to cover. 

For the filming side I am planning on using three different cameras to get it all done from as many different angles as quickly as possible. I am planning on using an Olympus SP-620UZ, Canon 550D and a Lumix G10. Each of these cameras gives very sharp and clear shots and so will be ideal for my filming. 

I will use a Velbon CX 686 tripod to station each camera and ensure that my filming is as stable as possible.

For my lighting I am planning to use a Zero 88 Leap Frog 48 lighting desk, along with two Equinox RGB LED bars to create the colour wash that I want and 6 Harmony 1kw Profiles to create my white wash to enable colour edits.