At this stage of the shoot we had decided to give the performers some freedom and asked them to an improvised performance, obviously this was unlikely to go perfect first and so we had to reject some of the footage.
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Rejected footage
Below i have featured some screenshots of footage we have decided not to use in the final version of our video.
We decided not to use this particular because of the shadow that covers one of the performes face and all because both performers have broken character.
Although this particular shot is nearly useable there were some small factors that forced us to reject it, these include the shadows in the background and because the particular pose the performers are adopting isnt exactly what we were looking for.
We rejected this shot because you can see the wall of the studio in the background.
At this stage of the shoot we had decided to give the performers some freedom and asked them to an improvised performance, obviously this was unlikely to go perfect first and so we had to reject some of the footage.
At this stage of the shoot we had decided to give the performers some freedom and asked them to an improvised performance, obviously this was unlikely to go perfect first and so we had to reject some of the footage.
Finished video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-n6bjNpgts&feature=channel_video_title - link to the finished version of our music video.
Evaluation and feedback of final video.
From the beginning myself and my group set out to create a music video that was both visually impressive and had the ability to challenge certain media stereotypes, having completed the video i think we have achieved our goals. We hoped that we could make our video more meaningful by confronting the stereotypes associated with the genre, by making females the focal point of our video we were actively challenging the sexist stereotypes within Hip-hop. Traditionally in Hip-hop women our used in videos as 'objects of desire' and status symbols for the male artists they cling too, our video however features females as the dominant figures which creates both irony and interest.
My group has benefited from keeping some aspects of the video true to traditional Hip-hop music videos whilst at the same time challenging a major stereotype, this means that the video not only appeals to the original target audience but also has the ability to appeal to a wider range of people. I think this is one of the videos biggest accomplishments as it clearly challenges these sexist stereotypes, with the use of body language and certain mannerisms associated with Hip-hop we were able to present the females performers in a way that suggested power. Cinematography also help us convey this message in our video, by using low angle camera shots which are use traditionally to create the illusion of dominance we were able to present are actors as powerful, this is an aspect usually associated with the male artists of the genre. We also thought it was important for our female subjects to act in a masculine fashion whilst at the same time retaining some feminine qualities this meant that females were not just filling the traditional roles of men in the Hip-hop, but instead creating a new one for themselves. We kept some aspects of our video such as clothing, this very typical of the genre, we thought it was important to keep at least one element of the music video stereotypical so it would appeal to an existing audience. From research we had conducted earlier in the project we identified the types of clothing worn by Hip-hop artist in there music video, we went to great lengths to ensure that we included as many of these as possible.
As you can see in the images above our video includes a number of shots that are typical of music videos in the same genre, like many Hip-hop music videos our video includes a direct performance to camera, in an effort to recreate the performances of other Hip-hop artists, we encouraged the actors to be passionate verging on aggressive when performing to the camera, this helped reinforce the idea that our actors needed to be presented in a way that suggested their power and dominance whilst at the same time helping us challenge the stereotype we had initially set out to confront. The images show that our video shares similar aspects such as cinematography and lighting, shooting our video in a studio meant we were better able to duplicate the environments that areoften seen in other Hip-hop music videos, during the research stage of the project we found that many videos from the genre featured a performance in a studio with little or no background detail or props, this is one of the reasons we decided to shoot our footage in the studio. Another reason we made this decision is so we would have better control over factors such as lighting and composition, although there are not strict rules on lighting in hip-hop music videos we did find some recurring trends and attempted to reproduce these in our own video. We also tried to include similar shots to those feature in other music videos shot in a studio, these consist mainly of mid-shots and close ups. As you can see in the examples above the clothing worn by the performers are the same style and similar colours, the body language and posture adopted by those in the videos are also very similar.
I think that all the products i have produced work well together as a package because there is a clear theme present in all of my work. I am pleased with the outcome of both my digipak and advert, i went go to great effort to make my advert and digipak look as convincing and as realistic as possible. However despite my efforts i feel i have produce a product that is not exactly as i hoped for. Although my digipak and advert feature many aspects that are typical of other Hip-hop products, i think i have failed to capture the simplistic style that seems to be a trend in both the digipaks and adverts i have analysed. However i do think that the final outcome of my media package is a solid effort and not too bad for a first attempt. When i compare my own promotional pack to those i have studied in the project i realise that i may have put in more effort than is actually needed, the digipaks and adverts i have studied tend to have all necessary information presented clearly in a minimalistic fashion. Using relatively plain fonts and a simplistic layout allows the audience to focus their attention on the photograph of the artist. My digipak and advert however has a little too much going on, they also both lack a real focal put and the attention of the audience is scattered across the page. Although the fonts and other aspects i have included are genre specific and will appeal to my target audience, i think i might have benefited from taking a more minimalistic approach.
The group decided that Facebook would be a suitable place to attain feedback on our video, this was due to a number of reasons. Firstly because we were able to upload the video with ease and create a group asking for feedback, secondly because of how accessible Facebook is( using another method such as a questionnaire may have limited the response we received) i also thought it was appropriate because many of my friends on Facebook share an interest in the genre and as teenagers make up a large majority of our target audience any feedback we receive is likely to be both valuable and relevant. The general trend in the feedback seems to be that the overall look of our video is good, and the cinematography is also impressive. I am pleased that our idea of challenging stereotypes has been so well received and by those that have viewed the video, from the feedback i am able to conclude that we presented our message very clearly, all those that responded to our video have commented on how they like the idea of the roles of males and females being switched in the video. This means that all our efforts at trying to convey our female performers in this manner has been a success. However not all of the feedback was so positive, a recurring criticism seems to be the poor light conditions in the video, evident in parts of the video where the faces of the performers are barely visible. This is unfortunate because the light conditions where perfect when filming it was only in the editing process that we were forced to change them. Because we had filmed the video over the period of two days we struggled to make the lighting conditions exactly the same as before, this is why during the editing process we were forced to darken some of the footage, unfortunately as the feedback suggests we made it too dark. This is something i would have like to go back and alter if i had the chance, either by making the lighting more consistent over the two days of filming or by editing the footage on Final Cut Pro.
In the research stage of the project i quickly learnt that 'Google' was the most useful tool i had at my disposal, it was by far the most effective way of viewing media products of other artists in the genre, because of its simplicity i was quickly able to find both images and information about a particular artist or media product.
Facebook and Myspace also became very useful at a later stage in the project when trying to identify Wu-tang clans target audience. By viewing the profiles of those who had become fans of the group i was quickly able to establish some basic characteristics of my target audience, including age, gender and ethnicity. I found this to be the most effective way of identifying my audience, but viewing the online demographics of different magazines associated with the genre i.e 'The Source' was also useful.
When taking the photographs to be used for my digipak and advert i used a digital SLR(CanonD500) so i would be able to upload the photos and begin the editing process with little time or effort wasted. Having already had some experience with the Photoshop software i was quickly able to perfect the images. I learnt that by making adjustments to the gamma and contrast and other factors such as these was a fast and effective way of making my images look more professional. I also used the 'Desaturate' and 'Posterise' tool to create the stencil style effect you can see in my finished images, it was these tools and others that enabled me to turn my relatively simple photos into the more genre specific images on both my digipak and advert.
I also used Photoshop for the layout and text featured in both my media products, I think The Photoshop software was the most effective photo editing software i could have used partly due to many features designed to enhance your photographs, but also because it allowed me to see what worked well and what didn't and edit accordingly, all with relative ease.
When filming the footage for our video we used three Xm2 cameras, during our first filming session i discovered the some of the advantage of using these cameras, such as the ability to alter the exposure level and change the white balance so the footage that you capture has the best light conditions possible. The final version of our video was created using Final cut pro, this software is very useful and probably the most effective for what we wanted to achieve. It was at this stage that we added cuts to our video, we learnt it was important to make cuts in time with rhythm of the song, we also learnt that if the pace of the music changed the pace of editing must also change to avoid it looking as if it was out of time with the song. when using final cut pro we were also able to add effects such as fades, however not all of these adjustments were entirely successful as we found out from our feedback. Because we didn't want to use the entire track we were forced to cut the song at the start of a verse, at first this did not work because it stopped so abruptly, but Final cut pro allowed us to loop an instrumental version of the same song at the end of the original track resulting in a seamless edit which we were then able to fade out.
Overall i am happy with the outcome of all aspects of my media project, despite my digipak and advert not being entirely perfect i am still very pleased with them as they fulfilled there intended roles and work well together with the video as a media package. I think our biggest success in this project is our music video, not only have we managed challenge conventions but we have also created music video of great quality. I think we were very ambitious to begin with and chose a relatively hard genre to based our ideas on. However i believe we have made a very good effort in trying to achieve our original goals and i am certain that all the media products i have produced are very relevant to the genre would appeal to my intened audience.
My group has benefited from keeping some aspects of the video true to traditional Hip-hop music videos whilst at the same time challenging a major stereotype, this means that the video not only appeals to the original target audience but also has the ability to appeal to a wider range of people. I think this is one of the videos biggest accomplishments as it clearly challenges these sexist stereotypes, with the use of body language and certain mannerisms associated with Hip-hop we were able to present the females performers in a way that suggested power. Cinematography also help us convey this message in our video, by using low angle camera shots which are use traditionally to create the illusion of dominance we were able to present are actors as powerful, this is an aspect usually associated with the male artists of the genre. We also thought it was important for our female subjects to act in a masculine fashion whilst at the same time retaining some feminine qualities this meant that females were not just filling the traditional roles of men in the Hip-hop, but instead creating a new one for themselves. We kept some aspects of our video such as clothing, this very typical of the genre, we thought it was important to keep at least one element of the music video stereotypical so it would appeal to an existing audience. From research we had conducted earlier in the project we identified the types of clothing worn by Hip-hop artist in there music video, we went to great lengths to ensure that we included as many of these as possible.
As you can see in the images above our video includes a number of shots that are typical of music videos in the same genre, like many Hip-hop music videos our video includes a direct performance to camera, in an effort to recreate the performances of other Hip-hop artists, we encouraged the actors to be passionate verging on aggressive when performing to the camera, this helped reinforce the idea that our actors needed to be presented in a way that suggested their power and dominance whilst at the same time helping us challenge the stereotype we had initially set out to confront. The images show that our video shares similar aspects such as cinematography and lighting, shooting our video in a studio meant we were better able to duplicate the environments that areoften seen in other Hip-hop music videos, during the research stage of the project we found that many videos from the genre featured a performance in a studio with little or no background detail or props, this is one of the reasons we decided to shoot our footage in the studio. Another reason we made this decision is so we would have better control over factors such as lighting and composition, although there are not strict rules on lighting in hip-hop music videos we did find some recurring trends and attempted to reproduce these in our own video. We also tried to include similar shots to those feature in other music videos shot in a studio, these consist mainly of mid-shots and close ups. As you can see in the examples above the clothing worn by the performers are the same style and similar colours, the body language and posture adopted by those in the videos are also very similar.
I think that all the products i have produced work well together as a package because there is a clear theme present in all of my work. I am pleased with the outcome of both my digipak and advert, i went go to great effort to make my advert and digipak look as convincing and as realistic as possible. However despite my efforts i feel i have produce a product that is not exactly as i hoped for. Although my digipak and advert feature many aspects that are typical of other Hip-hop products, i think i have failed to capture the simplistic style that seems to be a trend in both the digipaks and adverts i have analysed. However i do think that the final outcome of my media package is a solid effort and not too bad for a first attempt. When i compare my own promotional pack to those i have studied in the project i realise that i may have put in more effort than is actually needed, the digipaks and adverts i have studied tend to have all necessary information presented clearly in a minimalistic fashion. Using relatively plain fonts and a simplistic layout allows the audience to focus their attention on the photograph of the artist. My digipak and advert however has a little too much going on, they also both lack a real focal put and the attention of the audience is scattered across the page. Although the fonts and other aspects i have included are genre specific and will appeal to my target audience, i think i might have benefited from taking a more minimalistic approach.
In the research stage of the project i quickly learnt that 'Google' was the most useful tool i had at my disposal, it was by far the most effective way of viewing media products of other artists in the genre, because of its simplicity i was quickly able to find both images and information about a particular artist or media product.
Facebook and Myspace also became very useful at a later stage in the project when trying to identify Wu-tang clans target audience. By viewing the profiles of those who had become fans of the group i was quickly able to establish some basic characteristics of my target audience, including age, gender and ethnicity. I found this to be the most effective way of identifying my audience, but viewing the online demographics of different magazines associated with the genre i.e 'The Source' was also useful.
When taking the photographs to be used for my digipak and advert i used a digital SLR(CanonD500) so i would be able to upload the photos and begin the editing process with little time or effort wasted. Having already had some experience with the Photoshop software i was quickly able to perfect the images. I learnt that by making adjustments to the gamma and contrast and other factors such as these was a fast and effective way of making my images look more professional. I also used the 'Desaturate' and 'Posterise' tool to create the stencil style effect you can see in my finished images, it was these tools and others that enabled me to turn my relatively simple photos into the more genre specific images on both my digipak and advert.
I also used Photoshop for the layout and text featured in both my media products, I think The Photoshop software was the most effective photo editing software i could have used partly due to many features designed to enhance your photographs, but also because it allowed me to see what worked well and what didn't and edit accordingly, all with relative ease.
When filming the footage for our video we used three Xm2 cameras, during our first filming session i discovered the some of the advantage of using these cameras, such as the ability to alter the exposure level and change the white balance so the footage that you capture has the best light conditions possible. The final version of our video was created using Final cut pro, this software is very useful and probably the most effective for what we wanted to achieve. It was at this stage that we added cuts to our video, we learnt it was important to make cuts in time with rhythm of the song, we also learnt that if the pace of the music changed the pace of editing must also change to avoid it looking as if it was out of time with the song. when using final cut pro we were also able to add effects such as fades, however not all of these adjustments were entirely successful as we found out from our feedback. Because we didn't want to use the entire track we were forced to cut the song at the start of a verse, at first this did not work because it stopped so abruptly, but Final cut pro allowed us to loop an instrumental version of the same song at the end of the original track resulting in a seamless edit which we were then able to fade out.
Overall i am happy with the outcome of all aspects of my media project, despite my digipak and advert not being entirely perfect i am still very pleased with them as they fulfilled there intended roles and work well together with the video as a media package. I think our biggest success in this project is our music video, not only have we managed challenge conventions but we have also created music video of great quality. I think we were very ambitious to begin with and chose a relatively hard genre to based our ideas on. However i believe we have made a very good effort in trying to achieve our original goals and i am certain that all the media products i have produced are very relevant to the genre would appeal to my intened audience.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
copying an existing video.
Storyboard.
Below is an example of the storyboard we used when recreating the Wheatus video, it allowed us to record relevant information that would be important in the editing process It also gives you the ability to review whether factors in the shot such as the location and costumes are all correct for that particular take.
Shot number: Is used so that the director can quickly identify which scene is being shot.
Shot type: Indicates whether the shot will be a close up, medium shot, long shot etc.
Description of action: Describes what will happen in the shot that is being filmed.
Camera movement/Direction: Dictates the cameras movement throughout the shot and can include a variety of different motions both static and dynamic.
Sound or audio: Indicates if any sound or audio will be use in the shot.
Below is an example of the storyboard we used when recreating the Wheatus video, it allowed us to record relevant information that would be important in the editing process It also gives you the ability to review whether factors in the shot such as the location and costumes are all correct for that particular take.
Shot number: Is used so that the director can quickly identify which scene is being shot.
Shot type: Indicates whether the shot will be a close up, medium shot, long shot etc.
Description of action: Describes what will happen in the shot that is being filmed.
Camera movement/Direction: Dictates the cameras movement throughout the shot and can include a variety of different motions both static and dynamic.
Sound or audio: Indicates if any sound or audio will be use in the shot.
Shooting script and clapperboard.
When filming our video we used both a shooting script and clapperboard to simplify the process, the clapperboard is an essential part in the editing process as it allows you to see which shot or take you are currently editing without the clapperboard this can become very confusing and waste a lot of time. The shooting script is another tool which can be used to save time and simplify the whole filming process, the shooting script allows you to make notes on your progress whilst filming meaning that the quality footage shot is likely to be better. Using a shooting script helps you to keep your ideas closer to the original plans in your storyboard meaning that the footage you take is more likely to be usable.
Communication on set.
It is important when filming that one member of the group takes charge and directs the actors and other members of the crew, without an individual taking charge there can be a lot of confusing when it comes to positioning of both actors and extras. the director also calls out 'Action' at the beginning of the shop so the cast and crew know when to start and 'Cut' at the end so they know when to stop, this can also be useful when it comes to editing the footage as the beginning and end of a shot can be easily identified.
Setting up the camera.
A tripod is a is a very useful item when it comes to filming as it allows you to eliminate the shaking and blurring that can occur when using a handgeld camera, the tripods we used have a spirit level inside meaning that we could make our camera exactly horizontal. When filming it is also important to check factors such the white balance and exposure, failing to do so might result in your footage being too dark or too light. The canon XM2 cameras we used at to film our video allow you alter the shutter speed, aperture and gain all of which will change the exposure level. The white balance also needs to be altered depending on wether you are filming inside or not.
Camera techniques.
During filming my group and i quickly learnt the benefits of using different camera techniques and the importance of perfecting elements such as the composition. We knew from studying other music videos that a good compostion was essential to making the video look as profeesional as possible, we also use the the rule of thirds technique when composing our shot in an attempt to make it more visually pleasing. We also tried to incorparate some shots with depth of field but the technique was hard to include in our footage due to the small environment we were filming in.
Below isa link to some of footage from the video we recreated in class.
I have also decided to include a shooting script from my own video.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Advert
Advert analysis.
I thought this would be a relevant advert to analysis because it comes from the same genre as the group I am studying. As with many products in the hip-hop world i.e the digipaks i looked at earlier on in the project i discovered that most are relatively simple. The adverts genre can be quickly established due to the clothing and accessories worn by the artist, this not only means that the album will be recognised faster by the target audience but also means that they can associate themselves with the artist due to their shared taste in fashion. This advert is no different as it doesn't feature any unnecessary artwork or information, the colours and layout are also fairly simplistic. This means that the viewers attention is not drawn away from the key information such as the release date and the tracks that the album includes. The Posture and mannerisms of the artist on the front cover is also typical of the genre, as he doesn't appear to portray any weakness or vulnerability. Instead the advert is used to show the artists physical strength and has connotations of power, this seems to be an important factor in the world of Hip-hop because it a very masculine industry. The clothing combined with the sunglasses and tattoo are reminiscent of criminality, this may be a factor the artist is purposefully trying to convey in an attempt to improve his reputation amongst his peers. Presenting the artist in this way is more likely to appeal to a wider audience because it provides the male members of the audience with a figure to aspire and the females members a figure to admire.
My advert.
Evaluation of my advert.
I decided to create a questionnaire so i could get some feedback about my both my advert and digipak. The the response from those who answered the questionnaire was generally positive although there were some criticisms. All of those questioned thought that my digipak could be easily associated with the Hip-hop genre, they also agreed that it would appeal to my target audience. The improvements that were suggested were relatively small and tended revolve around colour and font size. I personally am very pleased with the outcome of my Advert for many reasons, i think it is very easily recognisable as a Hip-hop advert this is primarily due to costumes and mannerisms featured in the photo. Earlier on in the project i learnt that Hip-hop artists like to present themselves in certain ways in any photo, this includes how they are dressed and the persona they portray to the camera. I think i have duplicated this very well with my advert as the actors featured in it show no emotion or vulnerability they only present there 'tough' persona through facial expressions and body language. I also think the costumes worn by the actors are very appropriate for my genre. Large pieces of jewelry, baggy hoodies and flat caps are fashion favourites in the Hip-hop world and all feature in my advert. I discovered earlier in the project that Hip-hop music has a very broad fan base this made it hard to incorporate elements that would please all my target audience. Despite this i think my advert would appeal to my target audience as a whole but not necessarily individual subgroups with in that audience.
I am please with the general layout and appearence of my advert, although there are some elements i would like to improve. For example i used Photoshop when editing my photos and applied the 'Posterize' tool which creates the effect you can see in the advert above, i also desaturated the original photograph turning it black and white and as a result improving the contrast. At this point in the editing process i think i had partially lost sight of my initial intentions because although i like how the photo looks i think there were other factors i could have altered instead to make the image more appropriate for my genre. I think the fonts used for advert are also appropriate for my genre this is because of there graffiti style which is often closely linked to Hip-hop world, i am also pleased with how the colours of the font contrast well with the rest of the advert. Although the two existing Hip-hop adverts i have analysed feature smaller more subtle fonts i still feel that the fonts featured in my advert would be quickly associated with the genre. When comparing my own advert to existing ones i think that the fonts and colours could be less bold as they do distract some attention away from the image however despite the fact that my advert is not as simplistic as others i still think it looks professional and most importantly the genre it represents can be established almost instantly.
Flat plans for advert.
Flat plans for advert.
I wanted to keep the certain aspects of my advert such as the style, font and colour the same as my digipak, i did this in a effort to keep a flow of continuity and to make my products more recognisable to the general public. I wanted to keep my advert as simple as possible not only to make it easier for me to produce but also to ensure that all the information is clearly presented and easy to read. I have also discovered from looking at the work of other hip-hop artists that very few album covers, adverts etc. have particularly complicated designs.
I have featured some of my initial ideas for my advert in the form of sketches in this blog, much of my inspiration has come from other hip hop products that i have looked at previously in this project. I thought it was very important to include all of the performers from my video in my advert, i also thought it was very important to have them dressed in a similar if not identical way to how they would be dressed in the video so that anyone viewing the advert would get a better sense of what genre the music video is and what it consists of. I wanted to appeal to my target audience by including fonts and clothing typical of the hip-hop genre not only would make it easier for the audience to associate the advert with the genre, it also is likely to have more appeal to those who are interested in Hip-hop.
I wanted to keep the certain aspects of my advert such as the style, font and colour the same as my digipak, i did this in a effort to keep a flow of continuity and to make my products more recognisable to the general public. I wanted to keep my advert as simple as possible not only to make it easier for me to produce but also to ensure that all the information is clearly presented and easy to read. I have also discovered from looking at the work of other hip-hop artists that very few album covers, adverts etc. have particularly complicated designs.Another important factor i have picked up from studying the genre is that it is extremely rare for a Hip-hop artist to adopt a vulnerable pose for a photo which will feature on there album cover etc.
Instead in nearly all cases the artist will adopt a pose which emphasises their physique and toughness, in many cases low angle shots are use to create the impression of power. It is also very important for Hip-hop artist to portray their affluence on there album cover that is why i have tried to dress the performers in clothing that suggests wealth.
I have featured some of my initial ideas for my advert in the form of sketches in this blog, much of my inspiration has come from other hip hop products that i have looked at previously in this project. I thought it was very important to include all of the performers from my video in my advert, i also thought it was very important to have them dressed in a similar if not identical way to how they would be dressed in the video so that anyone viewing the advert would get a better sense of what genre the music video is and what it consists of. I wanted to appeal to my target audience by including fonts and clothing typical of the hip-hop genre not only would make it easier for the audience to associate the advert with the genre, it also is likely to have more appeal to those who are interested in Hip-hop.Monday, 27 December 2010
Flatplans for Digipak.
Below are i have featured some initial ideas for the layout, colour and general look of my digipak.
Flat plans #1
On the left is my first set of flat plans(front and back cover) and most probably the ones i will based the final design of my digipak on. I wanted to make the groups logo one of the most noticeable features on the front so it would be instantly recognisable to the audience, the groups logo varies in colour for different pieces of their work. I have decided to use a bright colour such as yellow or red to give it the best chance of standing out from the background which i am planning to be much darker in comparison. I want to include a photo at the bottom of the front cover featuring three of the actors that i plan to use in my music video, i want to photograph the subjects in typical rap poses which i have explained in previous blogs.Their costumes will also include bold colours which are similar to those featured in the logo, i think having a colour scheme throughout the digipak is good idea so in doesn't end up looking too random and unplanned. Their costumes will also include jewelery and other accessories such as flat caps which are typical of the genre.I don't plan to include much else on the front cover other than the name of the song, this is to avoid having to much going on at once and taking attention away from the photo and logo which in my opinion are the most important features. As for the back cover i plan to keep the colour scheme the same and again use a dark background so the groups logo and the photo are the centre of attention. The photo on the back cover will also feature similar costumes and subject matter to the one on the front cover but this time will include more actors from the video, they will adopt similar poses to that of photos on other Hip- hop digipaks i have studied. The font used for the track listings will have to have some relevance to other work by the group. In my research i have found that Asian culture has a lot of influence on the groups artwork so i think finding a font that incorporates this would be good one to use.
On the inside cover of my digipak i want to include the lyrics of the song i am making my music video for these will bin in the same font that i plan to use for the track listings on the back cover to keep continuity. I also want to include another photo behind where the Dvd is placed, this photo will be similar to others i have used in terms of posture and costume.
Flat plans #2
With this flat plan i have decided not to feature any photos on the front cover, instead i want to have one large image of the groups logo dominating the whole page. This i so that even from a far the digipak can be easily recognised and associated with the group, again i think it is important to keep the background as dark and as plain as possible so it doesn't steal any attention from the focal point of the front cover ie. the logo. The back cover will be similar to the last in both content and layout but will not feature the logo and instead will just feature the name of the group.
Flat plans #3
For flat plan number three i plan to go for a slightly different approach and incorporate a photo which takes up the whole of the front cover and then layer text over the top of it. The subject in the photo will be a character from the music video, the text layered over the top will be in a colour that contrasts with the tones in the photograph so it doesn't blend into the background. It is important that i make the text as bold and as clear as possible because of the fact that the logo doesnt feature on the front cover so it will be harder for the audience to recognise that this is the work of Wu-tang.The back cover also has a different layout from the previous two as the photo is now portrait instead of landscape, the track listings are also in a different layout to the previous two flat plans.
Because i decided not to feature the groups logo on the front cover i have decided to incorporate it on the inside cover instead because i feel it is important to feature it somewhere in the digipak as it is present in nearly all of the groups media products.
Possible Wu-tang logos.
Below are some variations of the Wu-tang clan logo that i could use in my digipak as you can see they range from very simple designs to designs which has a lot more going on.
Flat plans #1
On the left is my first set of flat plans(front and back cover) and most probably the ones i will based the final design of my digipak on. I wanted to make the groups logo one of the most noticeable features on the front so it would be instantly recognisable to the audience, the groups logo varies in colour for different pieces of their work. I have decided to use a bright colour such as yellow or red to give it the best chance of standing out from the background which i am planning to be much darker in comparison. I want to include a photo at the bottom of the front cover featuring three of the actors that i plan to use in my music video, i want to photograph the subjects in typical rap poses which i have explained in previous blogs.Their costumes will also include bold colours which are similar to those featured in the logo, i think having a colour scheme throughout the digipak is good idea so in doesn't end up looking too random and unplanned. Their costumes will also include jewelery and other accessories such as flat caps which are typical of the genre.I don't plan to include much else on the front cover other than the name of the song, this is to avoid having to much going on at once and taking attention away from the photo and logo which in my opinion are the most important features. As for the back cover i plan to keep the colour scheme the same and again use a dark background so the groups logo and the photo are the centre of attention. The photo on the back cover will also feature similar costumes and subject matter to the one on the front cover but this time will include more actors from the video, they will adopt similar poses to that of photos on other Hip- hop digipaks i have studied. The font used for the track listings will have to have some relevance to other work by the group. In my research i have found that Asian culture has a lot of influence on the groups artwork so i think finding a font that incorporates this would be good one to use.
On the inside cover of my digipak i want to include the lyrics of the song i am making my music video for these will bin in the same font that i plan to use for the track listings on the back cover to keep continuity. I also want to include another photo behind where the Dvd is placed, this photo will be similar to others i have used in terms of posture and costume.
Flat plans #2
Flat plans #3
Because i decided not to feature the groups logo on the front cover i have decided to incorporate it on the inside cover instead because i feel it is important to feature it somewhere in the digipak as it is present in nearly all of the groups media products.Possible Wu-tang logos.
Below are some variations of the Wu-tang clan logo that i could use in my digipak as you can see they range from very simple designs to designs which has a lot more going on.
It was only after producing this blog that i discovered due to copyright laws that i am unable to use Wu-tang Clans logo in my digipak, this means that the digipak i produce will look very different from the my original flatplans and ideas. Although using similar aspects in my final design many of my ideas changed when i started working on my actually digipak, when trying to produce a digipak similar to those in my flatplans i discovered that what might have been a good idea did not work so well in practise. The photos we took were also different from how we planned meaning that my ideas developed around these rather than my original ideas.
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