Digipak Images

Sadly, I have not been able to arrange a photo shoot with my model and artist, Jordan. This was unable to take place because of the busy schedule that we both have as students. Therefore, I have used images that I took in a previous photo shoot that took place when Jordan was the model. I have still changed the bottom left image on the front cover and magazine advert, however, because this needed to be changed as an improvement because of its similarity to another image in the first draft. This photo was also taken in the previous photo shoot, however I have edited it and used the same '1977' filter that I used to edit the other images.
Although these photographs were taken on another occasion, I still feel that they represent the artist in the correct way and communicate her personality and image with the audience clearly. The photo's look professional and are of a high quality - as I used the same camera that was used to record the footage for my music video.
I have learnt that I need to be more time conscious and manage my time more precisely with a clear plan in order to prevent anything like this happening again in the future.

Overall, I am satisfied with my final digipak and magazine advert design. Although I designed numerous drafts of my digipak, I made the decision to use the definition of 'Matutine' on the inside left panel. By using a definition in a simple, clear font, the digipak looked simple and minimalistic. Although it breaks the conventions of the typical, expected digipak - it reflects the genre of the music that the artist is creating as it is new wave and experimental, breaking the conventions.
I felt that the the other two designs looked 'out of place' and either contrasted with the overall digipak design or clashed due to appearing too similar. Therefore, I made the decision that this final digipak design was the most aesthetically pleasing, as well as having an interesting, unique element, and therefore chose this design.

Final Digipak and Magazine Advert

Digipak and Magazine Advert Progress

 

Digipak Ideas - Inside Left Panel

As stated in my previous post, concerning my second draft of my digipak and magazine advert, I am still debating on what to include in this inside left panel to the digipak. I have researched some artists that I consider are related to 'Matutine' and I plan to trial these ideas that they have incorporated into their digipak. 

Firstly, I could consider using a posed photograph shot as a close up of the artist - seen by Rihanna here. This would conform to the traditional digipak layout and the expectations of a conventional 'pop' CD. However, this is not the image that I am ultimately aiming to achieve.

The XX have repeatedly used their logo 'X' within this digipak, creating consistency, whilst also achieving minimalism and simplicity. To incorporate this design, I would use the letter 'M', representing the artist's name Matutine and the experimental collective that she is part of 'MMM'. I could use a different design within this letter and experiment with the colour palette.

Another option is to use a less conventional photograph and use a filter that creates a film grain effect, such as the image above used on Cassie's mixtape. The filter could also include the colour palette that I have originally used in my previous photograph's. This would highlight the unconventional, experimental, and neo-psychedelic genre that the artist produces. 

Second Draft Digipak

After receiving feedback from my first draft, I have made the improvements and readjusted my digipak and advert accordingly. The only improvement that I have not been able to make is using a new range of photo's from a new shoot - as this photos hoot has not yet been able to take place. I am currently arranging this shoot to take place this week but it yet to be confirmed by my artist. The colour scheme will remain the same in the photo's with the same filter so that it still matches the colour used on the inside right.

I am still unsure as to what to include on the inside left, and I have currently put a definition of the artist's name here. However, although this looks aesthetically minimalistic and pleasing, the interesting concept of not knowing what the artist's name means is taken away by this. I am going to look at similar artist's covers and digipak design, e.g. Cassie, The Internet, and Jessie Ware, to aid my decision when considering what to put in this inside left panel.

However, other than this, I am happy with this design and I feel that this will be very similar to my final product. I have changed the inside right panel to a more simplistic design instead of an image/graphic and this has had a positive impact on the overall aesthetics as exaggerates the minimalistic style. The colour scheme of light pink/lilac, black, and white also works well as the lighter colours are contrasted by the black, making every element stand out and enhancing the important information and features.

The advert is the final product, except for the images that are used here. The images used on the advert will still remain consistent with those on the front cover of the digipak once I have taken new photographs of the artist, so that the consistency remains.

First Draft - Initial Thoughts (Music Video)

After finalising my first draft, I have already began to consider the improvements that can be made in preparation for my second draft.
Overall I feel that the video concept is strong and the representations within it are clear. The camera I used enabled me to film in a high quality and therefore each shot looks professional. Visually, the overall video is aesthetically pleasing and the majority of the lip syncing is in sync with the track that is overlaying the film itself - with the occasional need for tweaking at some parts.

However, improvements need to be considered within the projection shots as there is too much shadow, which has a negative impact on the effect that the projections have on the audience. This can be seen on numerous occasions (including the photo below) and is something that I feel needs to be prevented. Therefore, I plan to re-shoot some of these projection shots.

I also plan to re-shoot some of the lightning projection shots, specifically. This is because I feel that these were the most poorly performed and filmed. I was not specific enough with my filming when using this projection and did not film it in co-ordination with the shots that I needed and therefore, some shots were not filmed to their potential. This effected how many lighting shots appeared in my first draft as some had to be replaced with other projections that looked better.

Finally, the other improvement that I feel could be made to the music video is some of the out-of-focus shots. I only noticed that some of the outdoor shots are not in focus in the editing process and, by this time, it was too late to adjust these shots. However, I can easily re-shoot these moments that the subject was out of focus as it doesn't occur often. This is only a small improvement, however I feel that this attention to detail will contribute to making the video appear as professional and of high quality as possible. 

I plan to conduct audience feedback to gather more reliable, accurate, and realistic comments before beginning to edit my second draft. 

First Draft - Music Video