Finished Digipak

Finished Advert

Deadline Time Planning

Our deadline for our digipak and planning tasks is tomorrow so I will be working purely on photoshop over the next few days to try and accomplish a finished product before 4:10 on friday I still have 2 tiles to do as well as adding the copyright details to my finished advert and tiles.

I have downloaded a 30 day free photoshop trial so can take the remaining work home to do if I need some more time.

Edits

Screen Grabs

Here are some shots of the editing I have done this lesson.

Above is the edit of a close up of the mime, and below is a draft version of a possible album cover and the edit. I am not happy with the text and will play around with the layout over the coming days.

Some Feedback

I have already received some feedback from posting the first draft to facebook, including these comments:

Milly Morris- "This is great. The font looks amazing, it must of taken you absolutely ages. I really like the layout and the positioning of the model. I think that the white text could be a little bolder :) It reflects an indie/alternative style of music which could also be related to Folk. Really like it. "

Fran Collingham- "Brill. Cap down the O and N in Out Now for better readability."

Nancy Knesevic- "Since you are focusing on the single, it might be better to focus on "new single" this is the life, sometimes, with a young band, people remember the single better than the name of the band (especially when it's long..) Ie: I bet you look good on the dance floor is the single that made Arctic monkeys famous... So your ad answers the question "who sings that new single" as opposed to "look here's another new unknown band"."

From these few comments I have already got some points to work on, in my next lesson. I have taken into account these suggestions and am going to try and work on tightening up the clarity of the font, take down the capitals from 'Out Now' for better readability, and to try and keep the advert cohesive and concise, I am going to change the focus of the advert from 'Tourist History', the album name, to 'This Is The Life', the EP title. Hopefully this will result in a complete image and draft. I will post again if any more feedback is commented.

First Draft- Magazine Advert

Here is the first draft of my magazine advert, this time with final edit and text. I have posted it onto facebook and tagged members from my target audience into the picture so it appears on their home feed. I have added these questions as the caption, and am now waiting for some responses to gauge feedback.



Do you like the design? Is it readable?
Does it give you enough information on the release?
Are there any things you would change/don't like?
Do you think it should include a star rating/quote from another source?

Audience Feedback

From the draft version of my print task, and suggested location shots that I posted to facebook I received comments, all from people aged within the target audience (bar two, who were slightly older) here is a transcript of the comments-

Beth Walsh-

"A big yes to Reindeer court -

I like the ambiance - it's moody, like your mime image. I also love the clown against the plain red as the simple colours make a strong impact."

Al Pagan- "Agree with Beth, and I like the hands making a heart shape - could be used as running theme."

Sophie Milne-

"I LOVE

the way you've done the text,that looks really good"

Helen Campbell- "I think it's really interesting and it stands out :D and it's suited to your song genreness."

Cat Jones- "Just centre the pic looks like she too far the the left (well i think its left)"

Joanna Loucas- "Oh thats well gd! I love the writing, it's amazing and i love the make up on milly."

The feedback I received was pretty much positive, which is a good thing, although at this stage they are all draft versions, so the lack of critique means that I have little points to work on and improve specifically for my target audience. I am going to post the finished versions onto facebook, and see if opinion differs.

Audience Research

Target Audience Profile

14 - 25 years old

Unisex

Hobbies: Going to gigs, playing instruments such as guitar and drums, going to the cinema, drinking, smoking, driving, drawing, writing.

Media Consumption: The target audience would buy music magazines such as NME, Vice, and Pitchfork and watch music channels like NME and Q They would also listen to radio stations such as 'BBC Radio 6' and 'BBC Introducing'. Websites such as ‘Last.Fm’ and ‘Spotify’ would also be useful for the audience as they allow them to find new and interesting artists.

Consumption Patterns: Would typically avoid most chain stores, and aim to shop at independent boutiques and vintage fairs, although migh frequent Top Man or online shops such as ASOS and Urban Outfitters. Would download or buy cinema tickets to independent films such as ‘Juno’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. Would like to own and drive a Vespa moped and would usually buy records at a record store or download mp3's, would use the internet to find out about new bands.

Musical Interest: Two Door Cinema Club, The Maccabees, Los Campesinos, Bombay Bicycle Club, Hot Chip, Vampire Weekend, Good Shoes, etc. Would typically go for 'underground' artists produced by indie record labels, as opposed to 'polished' mainstream artists. These people are more likely to illegally download music in bulk, and pay for merchandise, gigs/festivals and music magazines instead. For this reason, the digipak and advert would have to be as eye-catching as possible to encourage them to purchase it, and must appeal to their demographic as much as possible.

Advert Research- Text

The text on the advert gives a quote from a review, the release date, the formats that it is being released on to, as well as a website to get a free download from. These are all ideas that I will be including on my magazine advert.

Advert Location

My research has revealed that independent bands, who subsequently have a smaller budget for advertising if they don't come from a mass conglomerate, would more likely feature their adverts in half a page of a music magazine as it is cheaper.

As Two Door Cinema Club are managed by Kitsune, an independent label I am going to design my advert landscape, so it can fit a smaller space therefore costing less money for the band. Much like the image of 'The Drums' who are a similarly managed and produced band, with much the same target audience.

The advert would most likely be printed in magazines, like NME, Vice, Q and The Big Issue, as these feature bands from the same style with relevant audiences.

Screen Grab

Here is the progress of my magazine advert so far, from the original image to the half finished edit.

As the new computer system installed on the college computers doesn't allow fonts to be installed into Photoshop, I came up with a solution to the problem. I didn't think any of the pre installed fonts stood out enough, and if they did, they did not suit my edits on the picture. So I took a photo of some scrabble letters and cut each letter out using the marquee tool, and then pasted them into a new layer above the background edit. This meant I could choose my own base line, and haphazard layout for the text, as well as give an over all 'hand made' and 'vintage' feel to the piece. Although not very time effective, and painstaking, I think the overall effect is positive and next lesson am going to see if I can find a font that will fit visually with this main focal point.

Digital Technologies

At the start of the week I set myself some targets to improve my confi

dence with the use of the digital technologies I will need to complete the tasks.

I have worked on becoming more confident with photoshop, using online tutorials like this site- http://veerle-

v2.duoh.com/blog/comments/photoshop_vintage_effect/ which has helped me learn techniques such as adding adjustment layers using colourized curves.

I also watched this youtube video, that gave me some tips on how to create smooth edits and movement within a stop motion film.

This lesson I am going to begin my Animatic Story Board, which should help me get to grip with the Editing Suite and the insertion of multiple frames, and I will blog about my progress later.

I have yet to find out how to print onto gloss paper and scan in images using the college printers, as I took a change of course and began with my Magazine Advert as opposed to my Digipak and therefore don't need to use scanners as of yet.

Possible Location Shots

I have tried to seek out locations within Worcester that will give the effect of old fashioned/vintage films as well as a slight mise en scene of French life. Although none of these locations are perfect (my budget wouldn't stretch to a weekend in Paris)I think some of them might work in certain shots of our video. Especially 'Cafe Rouge' where tables and chairs are put out in the street during the day, with the french menu printed on the glass, that would be a very useful shot for the scenes between the two main characters and their initial argument.