Back cover flat plan

Rationale questionsWe have taken inspiration from the back covers we looked at and took our theme and target audience into consideration and came up with a design that will look like this. The colour scheme will be vibrant. The background will have bright colour paint splattered all over it giving it a youthful  urban feel and the cigerettes will be vibrant and stand out against the background.
The background image will be wooden effect, this is consistent with the front cover as the pictures have been taken against a wooden fence and the inside sleeve as the image is of a wooden desk. The paint splatters on a wooden background is relevant to the target audience as it creates quite an urban feel as if the fence has been grafittied. We will also be using cigerettes to place the song titles onto, this again reinforces the theme and appeal to the target audience whilst making the cover slighty more controversial, sticking to conventions of our genre.
We will be placing the song titles on the cigerettes, although we feel this is a good idea and will work well with the theme we will have to ensure that the font and colour of the text is readable against the background of the cigerette. We will also be putting website url's and a copyright disclaimer on the cover, this is a common convention and including website url's allows us to relate to the target audience through technology as they will then go to the website.
The layout of the back cover will be neat enough so that text can easily read but the cigerettes will be placed in a scattered fashion to give the impression they've all fell there. This inkeeps with the theme, generic conventions and appeals to our target audience.

Inside sleeve flat plan

Rationale questionsWe have taken inspiration from the inside sleeves we researched and came up with a design that will look like this.The colour scheme will be overall quite dingy, this is because the image is meant to represent the wooden bedside table or desk of a tennager. This means it will consist of earthy colours coming from the wood, money, ashtrays, cigerettes etc.There will be the occasional bright colour from gig tickets wristbands etc.
The image on our inside sleeve will be made up of smaller images. We wish to create an image that looks like a photo of a teenagers bedside table or desktop taken from above and will include things like money, cigerettes, lighters and gig tickets. We will also be placing original images of the band members in poloroids and scattering them across the page to look like photos taken at a party.
There wont be much text on the inside sleeve as it's made up mainly of imagery. The only original text that will be used on the inside sleeve will be the names of the band members underneath the images on the poloroids. The reasoning behind putting the band members names under the images is to relate to the audience on a more personal level. This reinforces the fact that the band members are average teenagers that fans can relate to.
The layout of the inside sleeve will be quite busy without looking overcluttered. As the image is meant to represent a teenagers desktop things will be scattered and placed randomly. To create this messy effect we will place the images together in photoshop but arrange them neatly enough for the image not to become to fussy. Using this idea and layout will again make it easy for the audience to relate to the band and the record and will appeal to them.

CD Cover flatplan

Rationale questions
We have taken inspiration from the CD covers we looked at and have came up with a final design that will look like this. The cover will contain a lot of bright colours from the main image so the backdrop will be outdoors against a fence. This will contrast with the bright colours and ensure the overall isn't to garey.
The main image on my CD cover, will feature the band members standing against a fence backdrop. This is to ensure the backdrop is simple in comparision with the main image and props used. The props used in this image will feature bottles of alcohol, party poppers, balloons etc to give the image a party theme. This will ensure consistency throughout the package as the cover will relate to the video. The costume will be fitting to the genre of music and will be based on the indie/hipster fashion. This will appeal to the target audience as it is relevant to their music and fashion intrests. The image will be taken at an eye level shot. This will ensure the band members are the centrepoint and main focus of the CD cover. After the main image and text have been positioned there will be a vintage overlay effect added. This will discolour the edges and lower the saturation of the image, this will add to the partied out effect the image has and is also inkeeping with the indie trend.
The font used on the CD cover will be Nova Solid and will be in white. This will ensure the text is readable but does not distract focus away from the image. It also inkeeps with the basic colour scheme of the background and surroundings of the main image. The text will be positioned above and below the image to keep focus on the image at the centre.

Copyright permission

As we have decided to use an existing peice of music that has been produced by a signed artist for our media project, it is important that we gain permission as to not infringe any copyright laws.

After some research on the internet we found the label that Does It Offend You, Yeah? are signed to and that own the rights to the record we wish to use and contacted them for permission.

We went to the contact page on Cooking Vinyl's website, this means the email we send will go straight to their server and the chances of it not being recieved are smaller. In the email we told them that we are required to produce a music video as part of our media coursework and we would like permission to use that particular song. This ensures we wont be breaking any copyright or infringement laws if we were to let the publc view our video or we put it on sites such a YouTube or Facebook.

Music promo video soundtrack

We felt creating our own peice of music would have been to time consuming and difficult considering the limited time we have to produce the coursework. We chose to use an existing song from our chosen genre. After discussing it as a group we decided to use We Are Rockstars by Does It Offend You, Yeah?.

We chose this song as represents our chosen genre and theme and will work well as audio to our video and will be popular amongst our target audience.

Music promo video, initial ideas synopsis

After the research we have carried out and the initial ideas we have already came up with we talked about and wrote down our ideas for the music video.

The plot of our music video revolves around a group of teengers partying in a derelict building or an empty house. The music video will begin showing the aftermath of the party and will play in reverse going right back to the beginning of the party. The idea of doing the video in reverse appealed to us as showing the messy aftermath will provoke curiosity in the audience and they will want to watch the video all the way through to see the events leading up to it. Also putting the video in reverse will allow us to use visual effects such as bottles bouncing back up into hands and smoke being inhaled back in rather than blown out. We will also be using a variety of shot types and editing such as zoom and blur. This will emphasize the intoxicated state of the teenagers. We also want to spray paint the words "we are rockstars" on walls to reinforce the relevance of the video with the music.

Peer feedback

This is a scanned image of the anonymous feedback I was given from my peers about my blog. Overall the feedback I was given for my ideas and development was positive and I am happy with how my research and ideas are coming along.

Characters

The music video will feature members of the band and other teenagers partying. As the video has no actual storyline, there are no individual characters. However every person in the video will give the impression of being a wild, off the rails teenager. The characters portrayed in the music video will have characteristics similar to those of the characters in the tv show skins, as can be seen below in a trailer for the programme.

Photoshoot ideas

For both the front cover and inside sleeve of out CD digipack the design ideas we have require us to have original images of ourselves. To ensure consistency throughout our products and to make it relateable to the target audience we want the original images controversial.

For the front cover we would like to use a group image of the band, this will allow audiences to recognise band members and know who the album belongs to and is also a common convention for album artwork.

These are a few images we like as inspiration for the front cover. As our music promo package has a party and out of control youth theme we feel the images should represent this and be consistent with the theme. The images will include aspects of a house party such as alcohol, smoking and controversial behaviour.

For the inside sleeve we would like to use individual images of each member of the band as if they had been taken at a house party.

These are a few images we gathered that we feel represent the ideas we have for the inside sleeve and we could take inspiration from. We feel the behaviour being displayed in these images would be relevant and we would like to recreate similar images. We also like the effects used on the photographs and feel it would look good if we used a similar effect on our images and placed them in poloroid frames.

Costume/makeup

I have collected and put together some images that represent the type of costume I want in my music video. The look I am going for with my costume is inspired by the indie/hipster/hardcore fashion. This is popular with todays teenagers and those who enjoy the chosen genre, who are the target audience for my video and will inkeep and reinforce the theme of the video whilst keeping it relevant to the audience.

As makeup is also a key part of fashion and a significant way in which people express individuality I also collected together some images of makeup styles and colour popular amongst this particular scene which I feel would be fitting with the genre and theme.

Target audience and Research

This is a research questionnaire I created using Google Docs to research into my target audience. I received 10 responses back. Below is a screenshot of the responses I recieved.

From the responses I received I can conclude that the group of people I am aiming my product at are mixed gender, their ages range from about 14-25, their style is heavily influenced by the type of music they listen to and music and the bands they like are a very important part of their lives.
This research will be helpful to me as when I am creating my products I know the type of people I am aiming my products towards and will be able to use conventions in a way that will appeal to them.
We have also gained an insight to what we could feature in the video and on the digipack prints that would appeal to the target audience.

Genre and generic conventions

The chosen genre for our music promo video and digipack is Electro Indie Rock/Grimecore. This particular subgenre of alternative music has become increasingly popular, especially with a particular audience. People who enjoy this type of music are usually aged between 15-25 and enjoy underground gigs and parties.

Examples of existing music promo videos from bands associated within this particular genre would be Sorry Your Not, a Winner by Enter Shikari and Liquid Lives by Hadouken!.

As can be seen from the videos above it is very typical for music promo videos of this genre to be centered around parties, alcohol consumption and the music itself. It is also quite common for the band to be in amongst the party in a dingy underground setting. This would appeal to the target audience as teenagers enjoy parties and gigs and the bands promote themselves as young and down to earth simply wanting to make music young people will enjoy making them likeable.

Above are some examples of album artwork from bands associated with our chosen genre. Some obvious reocurring themes are the useage of bright neon colours, uniqueness and destruction. The use of bright colours could be in order to attract the eye of the target audience when on shelves in store. The idea of being unique, destruction and rebellion are common themes which are reproduced by bands of this genre through lyrics, use of soundboards, song titles and imagery. These themes are relevant to the personalities of those who enjoy this genre as they tend to be young people who have a unique look, dont follow or believe in consumerism and trends and often rebel against social norms and propaganda.



Above are two examples of promo posters from Hadouken! and Enter Shikari. The themes of destruction and rebellion are still present within the images and text as are the strong messages through lyrics with Enter Shikari quoting one of their songs on their posters. However the colour schemes are a lot darker and more urbanised. Enter Shikaris has been made to look like graffiti on a brick wall and Hadouken appear to be on a building roof with a world being smashed up merged with their image. Perhaps the reason for the colour scheme change is the purpose of the promo posters is to send out a message and give you a taste of what you can expect from the band and their music.

Inspirations for magazine advertisement

This is a magazine advertisement for The Stone Roses album. The thing I like the most about this advertisement is the paint splatter effect in the background. I think it looks really effective and this idea could work well on my advertisement. However I dont like this particular colour scheme, in a neon colour scheme I think this splatter effect could inkeep with the party theme of my product.

This is a magazine advertisement for an Black Panther by Crystal Castles. What first caught my eye about this advertisement was the handdrawn collage look the advertisement has. I like the way the images are placed randomly around the poster and would like to use this idea. Also the urban theme this advertisement has is inkeeping with my theme.

This is a magazine advertisement for the single Lights Out by Santogold. I like the layout of this advertisement and the way it looks like it's been torn out of paper and stuck together creating a collage type image. I also like the faded vintage effect on the paper, and think this could work well on my magazine advertisement to contrast with all the neon colours.

Inspirations for back cover

This is the back cover from Paramore's, Riot! album. I like the unique look this particular atrwork has. Rather than the song titles being placed neatly on a plainish background the background handwriting image has been brought round to the back and the song titles have been incorporated in a contrasting colour. This would appeal to a younger audience and has the grungey look of graffiti. I like the idea of incorporating the text in with an image.


This is an image of the back cover of Hadouken!'s, Music For An Accelerated Culture album. Again I like the unique look of this insert. The background has a newspaper print like pattern and the song titles are scattered around and are stylised to look like newspaper clippings that have been stuck there. This creates quite an urban grungey feel and would appeal to the target audience.

Inspirations for inside sleeve

This is the inside sleeve from Paramore's, Riot! album. I like the way the text is in a messy handwriting style font, and the arrangement of the text as if it has literally just been scribbled onto the page by the artist. It creates quite a grungy feel. I also like the simplicity of the colour scheme and use of images, it is effective and the genre of music is made obvious by the design.

This is an image of the inside sleeve from A Day to Remember's, For Those Who Have a Heart album. I like the way the image on the sleeve is made up of Poloroids of the members of the band playing live. This particular genre of music revolves heavily around live shows and gigs so the images are relevant and will appeal to the target audience, whilst the layout creates a vinatge feel and is aesthetically pleasing. I would like to use the poloroid idea on my inside sleeve.

This is the artwork from the front cover of Your Demise's, The Kids We Used To Be album. Although it is not an example of an inside sleeve I like the collage like layout and the way the artwork is created by combining images of things like band related poloroids, stickers and ticket stubs.

I particuarly like this design idea. This image is made up of a montage of different everday objects people would have lying on a bedside table etc. The theme of this image appears to be travel as it features postcards, airline tickets and a hotel key card. I would like to base the design of my inside sleeve on this idea but change the theme to make it relevant to the genre and audience. The image would contains things like gig tickets and cigerettes and I will overlay poloroids of party theme pictures.

Influences for CD cover

This is the artwork for Ribena by Pegasus Bridge. The things I like about this are the simplistic layout. The artwork uses a band photo and a nice font big enough to be noticeable but not so big it spoils the overall look of the cover. I also like the vintage effect on the image as a whole.

This is the album artwork for Dirty work by All Time Low. Again I like the simple yet effective layout. I also like the main image, the poses and props used give the impression of the song being fun, which relates back to the party theme idea. 

This is an image of You Me At Six from a photoshoot done for a magazine. I like this image as it fits with the party theme idea I have for my music video, and I feel an image similar to this one could work well on CD artwork or in a magazine advert.

Influences for music video

This video is for Gossip by You Me At Six. I like the teenage house party theme, it makes the video fun. I also like the camera work in the video where the band members are using a handheld camera to film themselves and the party from their point of view.

This video is for We'll be alright by Travis McCoy. Again I like the house party theme that the video has, I also like the beginning of the video and editing where the car pulls up and they enter the party.

This video is for Liquid Lives by Hadouken. I like the undergroud party theme and grimey feel the video has. The location and lighting in this video work really well to add to the theme, I also particuarly like the camera work. The way the camera is placed onto the end of instruments or handheld creates a great effect and aids to the upbeat bouncy feel the video should create.

This is an advert for T4. I like the undergroud club look the location of the video has and I like the reverse effect on the video.

This video is the trailer for Skins US. The theme once again is a wild teenage houseparty, this is created realistically through use of costume, settings and props. The main thing I like about this video is the reverse effect, so you see the messy aftermath of the party first then see the party take place in reverse. After seeing how effective it looks in the advert and this trailer I would like to use this idea in my video.

Moodboard

A2 Brief

The brief I have chosen for my A2 media coursework is:
A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options: A website homepage for the band, a cover for its release as part of a digipak or a magazine advertisement for the digipak.

Reflection of AS media work

I was rather happy with the outcome of my media product overall last year however I think have could have improved it in a few areas, especially with my research and planning and the use of digital technology.
Research and planning
Although my final product was strong and looked proffesional I receieved feedback that my research and planning let me down slightly. I didn't spend a lot of time on my research and planning as I wanted to get it done and move straight onto creating my magazine. I had a strong vision of what I wanted my magazine to look like right from the beginning and rushed off my research and planning so I could start creating the ideas I was envisioning.
Digital technology 
With regards to digital technology there are two main factors which I think affected the outcome of my Product. The first one would be photoshop, although I had used photoshop briefly in the past and had some basic skills I didn't know the software well enough and relied on other people telling me about tools I didn't know where there a lot of the time, had I had a better knowledge of photoshop I feel my product could have been created quicker to a higher standard. Also the images, the camera I used was my personal ordinary digital image which meant the images weren't to a high quality and some came out quite blurry or out of focus, however I did manage to select a few good quality images for my product.