Social Media Feed

Below is the twitter feed for my production. It has updates for the development of the project. Avid audiences can follow this feed to see progress on the productions. Updates for planning, music video production, ancillary text , photo shoots, video shoots and more are all posted on this twitter feed.

Tweets by PrimeeStudios

Magazine Advert Analysis

After looking at alot of magazine layouts, they mainly follow this same sort of layout with the title of the artist and sometimes album, followed by a central image either of the band members, lead singer or a concept image that relates to the band. There is then some text about the album usually release dates, websites and social media links. The record label logos are sometimes shown in the corners of the advert too.

After researching how we read print and layouts in magazines, I came across two different layouts. The 'Z' layout is one of the most commonly used designs for magazines due to their simplicity. The 'F' layout is also used in magazines adverts but typically used in articles, as they contain more information. Due to most adverts containing the important information and little of it, the 'Z' layout is used more often.

On first sight, the magazine advert is quite simplistic. This helps to make sure the viewer of the advert isn't distracted and takes away the important information. This would be the title of the album the artist name and the central image. Therefore to sell the album, the essential information would need to be addressed in order to get sales from the viewers of the advert.

The Z layout can be applied to this design due to the title and the information at the bottom following the layout design. By following this layout means that the design helps people to follow this Z pattern. By assisting the viewer in how they read the text means that they feel more comfortable with reading the text and it is more likely to stay in their minds.

The design of the magazine help to signify the genre of music, that is going to be played on the album. This is due to the central image, the fonts and colours. The main image shows the band members sat at a table. This is a typical convention of rock music, the band members shown in music videos, on the cover of adverts, and on album covers. Due to them all being dressed in dark clothing, suggests the style of music that they play. This helps to encode meaning into the image, so the viewer realises what type of music they play, so they attract the correct audience.

The central image is merged into the background of a stormy sea. As the image is unusual, this helps to keep the image in the viewers mind, so they remember the advert, therefore it being successful. The waves and the sea connotes the genre of music as it is unpredictable, potentially dangerous which can symbolize the music that is played by them. As the band is floating on the waves, it shows that they are a bit unpredictable in terms of their music. The colours of the waves and the sky are very grey. This connotes emotionless, moody, dullness, etc. Therefore the image can signify these connotations and ideologies, stating the genre and style of music that they play.

The fonts of the advert helps to fit with the whole style of the advert. By using these fonts, it helps to connote the genre of music. The fonts are clear to fit with the theme and keep the simplicity of the advert. Black and white are used to contrast the text from the background so it stands out. By using contrasting colours helps to make the important information stand out. Due to the text being in all capitals helps it to stand out. The text is on an angle, this connotes that something is wrong and suggests the style of music. This helps to fit with the alternative rock genre. Also due to the main image being in waves, this helps to fit with the idea of the stormy sea.

The next advert is also simplistic, even more than the one before. The title of the artist and album is clear but also has the appropriate fonts. The red title helps to contrast to the blue background therefore making it stand out, so it is clear to the viewer.

The main image consists of a guitar 'skeleton'. This symbolizes the style of music that they play. As a guitar is used it shows the type of instruments that they use but also the style of music. By using a skeleton, helps to signify the mood of the music, which can be assumed to be deathly due to the connotations of a skeleton. A heart is place inside the skeleton with veins and arteries wrapped around the 'bones' of the skeleton. This can signify life within the guitar, telling the viewer that the music that is played has meaning and is un-ordinary. The viewer can assume that the music is on its last legs, but still has life left in it, due to the heart. The heart has connotations of love, therefore the music can be associated with the aspect of love due to this image. Some people love the music even though it is on its last legs as shown in the image.

The skeleton image is shaped like a guitar, therefore symbolizing the style of music. I think that it is really effective not only just because of the meaning behind it, but how realistic the 'sculpture' is. The heart and veins wrapped around the 'bones' look realistic, which helps to symbolize the meanings behind the image. Due to the power of the main image, there can be minimal text, which makes the advert look alot better. As the important information is left with the viewer. The viewer can then think about the main image after viewing it, due to it being so unusual it stick in their mind.

The background of the image helps to complement the main central image. There is and idea of depth, therefore it is shown being stood on something, instead of it floating. The texture of the background also helps to complement the main image due to the 'skeletons' cleanliness and it being polished. The colours help to contrast them main image helping it to stand out.

On first sight, the fonts and main central image matches the genre of music. The colouring of the image and titles are monotone therefore connoting the style of music. The central images is border by the text so it keeps it in place and makes the text and image stand out from each other. The white contrasts the black background behind the artist title text. This then also makes the title stand out from the background, causing it to be clear. The text below the image, also stands out as the pale yellow and red help to contrast the colours of the backgrounds and the central image. The fonts of the titles can be related to the genre of the music therefore viewers can decode the fonts to realize what type of music they play.

The main image is divided into four sections, this splits the image to help the effect of the merge of the different faces. As an eagle looking bird and three other people are merged together (all from the same angle) the divide helps to define the merge effect so it looks good.

Music Video Feedback Questionnaire

To get feedback from the final cut of my music video, I designed a questionnaire to get feedback from the viewers. This will then help with the audience feedback evaluation question as I can quote results from this questionnaire.

Magazine - The Making

Whilst planning the magazine advert, I decided to use the same main image and text a the digipak, so the graphic productions are linked with each other and with the music video. To make the image fit the dimensions of the shoot. I placed the image from the digipak onto the page and selected the positioning of the image. So the same sort of fade is used on the magazine advert like the digipak front cover, I had to select certain parts of the background and copy them so they could be placed around the image. I then blended the two images using the clone tool, so the background would fade with the main image.

I then used the same titles of the artist and album names from the digipak and added it to the page. The same RGB split and lines effect was used to create the text. By using the same font, colours and style of text means that it keeps the two graphic productions together. I then used the same font to place the album release date and the website for the band on the magazine advert. To keep the same theme as the digipak, I added the same filters to the magazine ad so the colouring would be the same. I then used a mask to remove some of the filters over the text so it was more visible. I then added social media logos and links to the official sites so the advert would apply to conventions. To create the logos, I took the logos from online and replaced the colour with a white. I then placed the layers under the filters to the colours match the text.

I then took the cult records logo from online and filled the colours in with white so the same theme is used throughout. I then placed the logo in the corner so the design looked good.

Digipak - The Making

For my digipak, I had the idea of combining the lead singer with the ventriloquist doll. Using some of the photos from the music video shoot, I could select images that would fit together. I wanted to relate to the video and the music that is in the album. Therefore combining the ventriloquist doll (which plays a big part in the video) and the lead singer together, meant that the two icons would be linked together which supports the narrative of the music video. Using the similar RGB split and TV glitch effect on the images helps to link to the distorted style and genre of music and the music video.

When I went about creating the first image for the front cover, I removed any imperfections or errors with the image using the dust spot tools and the clone tool. This means any dust spots, or things that didn't work in the image would have been removed. To create the RGB split style effect, I duplicated the layer containing the main image so I could isolate the red and green and blues in separate layers. To cause the outline of the red ans blues I changed the transform of the images by stretching them by one percent. I selected an anchor point to be the central right for the red layer and stretched it by one percent. This is so the red outline is visible due to it not being over layed by the green and blue layer. I then did the same for the combined green and blue layer but anchored the transform the opposite way and stretched it by one percent. This created the RGB split style effect.

I then did the same for the ventriloquist image. Sorting out the errors in the image, duplicating the layers, isolating the RGB colours and then stretching the image each way to cause a split in colours.

I then went about combining the two images but realized that by adding another image of the lead singer to the composition would make the design look alot better.

I then brought in another image of the lead singer to add the same effects to. I corrected the errors in the image and split the RGB colours of the image using the same techniques.

I then combined the three images together to create a good looking composition. By applying a mask to the layer I could remove certain parts of the layer using the brush tool. I could then select certain opacity's to make the brush less or more strong at removing parts of the layer. I added a mask to all of the layers so I could remove certain parts of all the layers, to they can link together. The layers fade out into each other so they combine together, making it look good.

I then created the text for the artists and album name using a rock style font. I then added the same RGB split effect to the text to make apply with the same theme as the other images. I then applied some motion blur to red, blue and green layers so the split did not look as sharp. The white on top helps to keep the proportion and visibility of the text, but also keep the same effect.

I then started to add effects and filters to the images to make the VHS old TV style effect. By duplicating the layer, using the filter gallery and adding the lines effect to the image, I could then bring down the opacity and set the blending option to screen. This is so the lines would show on top of the image, but the colour of the image would remain the same instead of grey-scale. I then added the text on top of the main image so the layout of the front cover would look good.

Using the colour look up and channel mixers, I could use presets to create old style effects. I mixed some of the presets together so I could get a look that I wanted. Using the channel mixers, I could alter the colours and other properties of the overall image, like a custom filter. This means I could get the right look for the final image. I then created masks for the filter layers, so I could remove certain parts of the filter from certain parts of the image, such as the text. I altered the opacity so the change in filter was not that noticeable, and to take out some of the orange from the text, as it makes it harder to read.

For the back cover I wanted a texture for the background image, so I took an image of a cloudy texture from one of my hoodies. I then adapted the image so it was black and white to keep with the same theme and style of the digipak. I then merged the two images together using a mask. I then used a gradient to make the merge smoother, this is so the background of the front image stretches over to the other background. This means there is not a sudden change in colour or background that would look weird. I could then select the correct dimensions using the marquee tool for the back image, so it can be used as a background for the back page.

I then pasted the background onto the back page file so it could be used for that. Using the same effect and technique at the artist name, I created the album name using the same font, and colours. This is so they would match with the title on the front. Using the same font I then added the titles of the songs from the album. I then added a bar code, record label and copyright information, so all the necessary things are included in the design, so it looks good.

I then added filters to the text so they would match the other titles on the other covers, to keep the same style. I then took the Photoshop file and placed it on top of the background as they already had the filters on them, and it would alter the background image so it would look different.

I then added text using the same fonts to the spine of the digipak. The artist name and album title was put on the spine. I placed the text appropriately on the spine, and the positioning is symmetrical so the text looks good and inline.

The left inside cover is the ventriloquist doll with the VHS old TV effects. This image relates to a scene in the video where there is a close up of the ventriloquist with the VHS tape effect and play icon. To create this image, I took a picture of the ventriloquist, removed the errors in the image (dust spots) and then duplicated the layers to isolate the colours, so I could create the RGB split effect. I also duplicated the layer to add the lines effect to the layer, I took down the opacity and set the blending option to screen. This means that the lines effect can be blended into the RGB split image, so the old TV effect can still be shown through and seen. I then added the play text to the top right corner like in the video. This helps to relate to the music video, but also to link to the type of music that would be played on the CD inside. The play icon and text is split like the other text in the same method as the titles. A different font is used that matches with the VHS effect so people know what it means. I then added a grain layer to the image and took down the opacity of the layer. This then gives the image an older feel, but also to relate to the music video. I then added the filters to the image using the channel mixers and colour lookup tools.

For the right inside image, I decided to relate to the old propaganda footage. I merged some of the frames from the old footage together so I could create a new composition. I then added planes to the image so the impact of the image is much stronger, making the meaning behind the image relate to the video. I used the masks to remove certain parts of each image and to fade it into the background. I used the same background as the outside back cover, as it looked good. I created a circular 'hole' for the image to punch through, so it fits with the shape of the CD. I also added colour lookup and channel mixers to the image to keep with the same theme and keep the feel of the image in relation to the others on the digipak.

To keep with the same style of the VHS old TV effects, I added the same effect to this image. Using the same techniques, I split the RGB, added the lines to the image and added grain to the image. I then added some more filters using the colour lookup and channel mixers. This means I could keep the same theme throughout  the images and to keep it linked to the video and the other graphic production.

I then assembled all of the images together in the correct sizes and format using illustrator. I could then crop the images easily to the sizes of each panel, and could then place the right parts of the image inline with the sizes of the panels. This means I could easily move the image around to select the correct composition for the panel and the surrounding images.

Final Magazine Poster

For my final magazine design, I decided to keep the theme the same throughout the productions. Therefore the  digipak, magazine and video are all linked together. The main image used on the magazine advert is the same image as the one used on the digipak front cover. This helps to link the two print productions. The same theme and style is used to relate to each of the productions, but also to relate to the genre and style of music. Due to the video containing grainy and old style TV effects, adding these same effects to the print productions helps to link them together. Audiences can then decode the meaning from the images and style of music to have an idea of what type of music the artists are going to be playing. The advert contains all of the required content so its function is successful. The artists, album name, album release data, record label and social media links. This means that all of the conventional aspects of the advert are fulfilled.

Foo Fighters Analysis

Final Digipak Design

I think that the final design of my digipak fits with the theme and style of the video. This helps to relate the two things together. The combination of the lead singer and the ventriloquist helps to show the link between the two. The grainy line style effect makes the link to the glitchy style video. This helps to link to the type of music that is played on the album. The font relates to the style of music so audiences are not fooled by the design of the digipak. The inside images relate the frames in the music video. The left image of the ventriloquist uses the RGB split and glitch style effect, from the video. This helps to link with the video. The play in the top corner, helps to relate to the VHS style effect, which is also in the video.

All of the essential parts of a digipak are on my design. The artist name, the album name, song names, record label information and bar code.This means that the design implements all the essential features and could be used to sell the album. The design of the elements fit with the conventions of the genre and the music video. This means that the design relates to the other media productions.

Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy Analysis

Digipak Planning

Below is my drawings for the plan of the digipak. I had several ideas that i combined together to makeup the four panels. By planning the images and proportions, I could decide the font, text sizes, images and layout of the digipak. The layout was the main part of the plan, as I could see what look best.

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief Digipak