Task 22: Ancillary Tasks - Digipak Design 3

Final Product:

(missed out in the video):
Designing the CD:

Step 1:

First I started with a blank CD base - something I could use as a guide as I planned the rest of my digipak. Once I decided the theme of my digipak, I started to design my CD.

Step 2: 

I placed an overlay over the CD base (reducing opacity of the overlay so I could see the base). This made it easier when erasing away the edges of the overlay. 

Step 3:

As much as I liked this disk design, I still believed that it needed a bit more before I added text. I decided to add a slight colour distortion over the black, in order to make it stand out and to give the CD a little extra detail. I cut small blocks of white out, distorted the pixels using the wave tool and then using "Advance blurring - channels", I was able to change the colours of the distorted white blocks to green and red, by removing the blue channel, in order to create a glitched look. 

Task 22: Ancillary Tasks - Digipak Poster Design 2

Final Digipak Poster

Evaluation Q4: What Media technologies were used during construction and Research?

Research and Planning:



Construction:

Photography Course Mind Map by Charlotte Bancroft

Evaluation Q3: Audience Feedback

Evaluation: Q2 - How effective is the combination of the main product and ancillary tasks?

Final Cut: Feel It Still Music Video

Our Final Product

Final Product: Second Cut

Camera Angle/Movement Highlights

Zoom:

Right at the start of our video, we zoom into the prison. This acts as our establishing shot as we can see the interior of the prison. The zoom also leads the audience into the narrative. The zoom is what takes the viewer deeper into the prison and shows them to the prisoner. The zoom works nicely with the theme of a prison as it makes the hall seem longer than it actually is, this combined with the emptiness of the hall creates a sense of isolation.

High Angle Shot:

This high angle portrays the character as weak and powerless - something that is important as this is his weakest moment if the whole video. The positioning of the camera also gives the impression of a camera, perched high and watching the bear. 

Movement around the singer:

On a few occasions, the camera moves around Sam/with Sam. This is more immersive as it is more interesting to watch than a still tripod shot. By using these shots, it clearly shows sam is the main singer as there are a range of close ups and the camera "orbits" around him. 

Canted Movement:

This type of camera movement is well suited to the Indie Alternative genre. This is because the camera is tilting, as if it is unstable. This somewhat represents the alternative indie genre as it is an unusual shot. It gives the impression that the world is twisting at turning, and can't be steadied. 

Fast Pan:

This pan is very immersive as it can be perceived as someone looking/ turning to watch the fight. This will draw in the audience as it will make them feel as if they are watching the fight happen first hand, and they are turning to see the bear's reaction. 

Shift Focus:

This shot if very interesting, it shifts focus from the bear onto the lion. This gives the impression that the focus is on her, she has been found out and all attention is on her, she is the one in the wrong. The creeping of the camera also gives the impression of someone peering over at the lion, as if they have just seen what is on the phone as is looking over to her to see her reaction. This again immerses the audience as the movement follows a realistic reaction of an overseer if they were watching the argument. 

P.O.V Camera Shake:

This shot is interesting as it puts the viewer in the lions position. This is effective as it enhances the intensity of the scene. The audience would be able to experience the fear the lion is feeling, and would sympathise for her and perhaps change their previous views. 

Falling Camera/Out of focus:
This shot, like the previous picture, puts the audience in the lions position as she fall for the ground. This is effective as it shows the pain she has endured as she is about to hit the ground. This further enhances how the audience feels for her. This should also turn the audience against the bear, viewing him as an abuser.

Editing Our Video:

Editing Examples: A few Of Our Top Editing Picks

Before we even added footage, we had a small lay out (our skeleton) which showed us which shot went where and for how long. This make it extremely easy when editing as we had everything in place and just had to make small tweaks to fit the beat/timing of the video.

This skeleton increased our accuracy when editing on beat. It mean when we filmed each scene, we roughly knew how long we had to film before we had footage that was to long to fit into the selected slot.


Slow Mo:

Right at the start of our video, there are examples of speed manipulation, as well as non-diegetic music that has been added on over the top of the music soundtrack. We had to add slow-mo over these bits of footage because our actor turned too quickly, meaning the timing didn't match the other shots. So, we ended up manipulating the footage by slowing it down and stretching out out slightly. We also added non-diegetic camera sounds in order to bring the prison sequence to life, making it more realistic. As well as the camera sounds, we added the "fade to white" transition with the camera sound. When speeding the "fade to white" effect up, it looks like a flash. This just added to the effect of a camera/ mug shot sequence. 

Reversing Footage:

There are a few examples of our footage being reversed. We decided to do this because it fits our indie/alternative genre. Reverse footage is seen as "alternative" because people expect things to progress forward. However, by reversing footage it implies everything is backwards/alternative. We also added a few speed effects on top of our sped up footage (shown by the rabbit facing the left.) The mise en scene of this whole shot conveys alternative/indie genre. There are bright colours, backwards + speed up footage. This is something that isn't as conventional in other types of genre/isn't expected. 

Overlays/JumpCuts:

Emma and I wanted to create a small montage/jumpcuts of the main character in his cell doing different things - this creates the impression that time is passing, which creates the feeling that the character is going to be in prison for a very long time. We also wanted to prison footage to be more interesting. Since we had a wide shot of the room, we decided to add a overlay of CCTV footage. This is because it creates a sense of being watched and makes the audience feel as if they are watching the prisoner live. With the two of these effects combined, it gives a more realistic and drawn out prison experience. 

The footage I used was found online, where it is available to use or free. By using Adobe After Effects, I was able to personalise the camera slightly. I was able to edit the time, and the camera name. 

Evaluation: Q1 - How have I used, challenged and developed conventions?

Click Image below to go to website:

Filming: Day 6 - Emma's House

We decided to film the ending scene of our video at Emma's house. This is because the lighting is really good, and we were able to create domestic life scenes which also show the deteriorating relationship.

We had no problems with filming as we had the whole day to film, and since we were in a private setting/Emma's house, there were no limits to what we could film. 

Continuity was very easy to control. This is because there were no people/weather/anyother factors that effected positioning.

Filming: Day 5 - Severn Bridge

Servern Bridge Filming: 

We decided we needed a few scenes which showed the breakdown of the relationship between the two characters. So, we decided to have a new change of scenery, and a change of time (night time) so it shows that this is a clear flashback and a new scene. 

Considering we filmed at night, the quality of these shots of not too good. We had a light source (A giant torch) but i created a spot light effect. Some may argue that his is effective as it give importance to the characters, but I believe it creates the effect of isolating them from the environment as it looks like they are surrounded by darkness. I like this idea as the characters don't quite fit in with the everyday life. The stick out and are very different to their surroundings.

It was pretty windy and cold when we went so we rushed filming so we could get home as soon as possible. Luckily my friend, Michael knew the area pretty well so he was able to direct us and get us around the area pretty quickly - this made filming quick and easy, especially since moral was decreasing in the awful weather.

Filming: Day Four - Back in the studio

We once more returned back to the studio to get a few more shots of lip syncing. This is because we didn't get any varied shots the first time we filmed.

In order to get more varied shots, without the hastle of having to do millions of re-takes from different angles, I stood a certain distance away from Sam and filmed him while completely moving the camera. I would move around him, pan down, zoom in/out and other various movements. By doing this, It creates lots of variation and multiple camera angles, shots of different  manoeuvres  and other techniques all in one, which meant Emma and I have more time to film as we didn't have to continually stop, set the camera up and a different angle/ distance and so on.

Final Product: First Cut

This is the first cut of our video. Emma and I are going to get feedback on our first cut to see if there are any changes we can make.

Task 22: Ancillary Tasks - Digipak Design 2

*From the feedback in my previous digipak, I have made changes based on my audience's preferences. 

Full Layout:

Front:

This is the front cover of my digipak. My overall inspiration was to have some sort of 80's vibe, hence the bright but dimmed colours, and my the costume my actor is wearing. I also wanted to implement the idea of an old glitchy VHS as there were a common product of the 80's. I also believe that distorted, coloured images reflect the alternative genre. I added scratches to the front cover so it looked more damaged and distorted instead of clean. This is because to me, the scratches convey the dark side of the indie/alternative genre. Most indie songs are usually dark and have sad themes. 

Back:

I wanted the back cover to show similar features which were also on the front cover. I used the same colour scheme, text font and scratches. I used this so the whole cover would follow a similar theme and make the digipak seem "whole". I added a few distortion effects to the back too so it wasn't just a plain background. Most back covers have institutional information - so, i wrote my own information and made is small enough to read. I also added the record label and the conventional bar code. 

What my institutional info says. 

Disc Design:

I wanted my disc design to stand out against the rest of the digipak. I wanted it to be a contrast from the washed out colours i used on the front and back cover. This is because I wanted to appeal slightly more to the alternative side of my genre by adding bright colours. I also used bright colour with the hopes of it conveying a slightly brighter side to the alternative/indie genre. I yet again used the same font for the title of the digipak. This is because I want to have a convention running the whole way through - the font can be identified with my artist. I missed out the O is distorted and instead used the small cut out circle in the disc as an O. I did this because it's slightly different and reflects the word. The text is distorted as it is missing a letter. 

 Inside Covers:

I used these images to reflect both the indie and the alternative genre. I used costume to reflect the indie nature, and used slightly washed out colours. To implement the alternative, I used faded overlays of shapes to make the images stand out more and seem different. I put a small quote on one of them because It gives insight into the artist. My artist may not have said the quote, but it gives insight into how he thinks and feels as he choose the quote. I mentioned earlier I wanted a VHS theme. I reflected this again in my second image by creating a small recording screen - implying it's being filmed with a old video camera, but its been paused. This idea was suggested to me during audience feedback and i believe it is effective. It creates a pause in time and looks like the picture was taken from filming. 

Task 22: Ancillary Tasks - First Digipak Design + Feedback

My Digipac design: 

This is one of the final edits of my digipak

FeedBack:

A friend offered to review my digipak for me so I decided to record his feedback:
DigiPak Feedback from Charlotte Bancroft on Vimeo.

Task 22: Ancillary Tasks - Poster

Digipak Poster: 

Final Product:

Over all, my poster is quite basic but is also creative and there are obvious similarities carried across from my digipak. Despite being slightly on the "plain" side, I think this works best for my genre. It is bright and colourful, my artist is wearing clothing that promotes the indie side of the genre, and the scratches give the poster a "dirty/damaged" kind of look.

The Wave Effect: 

One of my favourite ways of distorting an image is by using the wave effect. 

The effect can be found in the filter tab, in the distort tab. 

When clicking wave, It will load this small window. From here you can edit how you "wave" the image. I usually only change the number of generators and the wave length in order to get the perfect distortion. I never go above 15 for number of generators - this is because it distorts the image beyond recognition or scatters the image, and this did not look good. 

Text: 

Name of the album: I wanted the name of the digipak to match the font used on the poster. This is because it makes it easier for my audience to make a link between the digipak and the poster as they share the same font. The font I used is called Hacked. I chose this font because it is similar to my poster/digipak as it features distortion of the text. Other fonts I looked at looked too glitchy (as in technology glitch) and often had numbers or symbols. This is not the effect I am trying to portray. I want my poster to look vintage, like a distorted VHS. 

For the website links/twitter handle I used a simple bold font. This is so it will be easy to see and read. The basic font stick out as it is very simple compared to the poster itself. By making the text stick out, I'm hoping it would draw more attention to the website and twitter hashtag.

Feedback: 

I got some feedback from a friend, however he did not have much criticism to give my poster. This made if harder for me to make changes, however it gave me confidence that it appeals to my audience.
Poster Feedback from Charlotte Bancroft on Vimeo.

I decided to the edit a few things and add extra text to make it seem more like it was advertising a future release:

Filming: Day Three - The Prison

Here is a mini vlog Emma made throughout the day of filming:

Some Additional Pictures:

In order to get access to the prison we had to pay for entry. This was very pricey, especially when the cost of the train tickets were added into the over all cost. However, the prison was an excellent setting and I believe it was worth the cost. We were able to get many good shots, as well as learning a little bit about prison life!

Filming in the cells were a slight problem. The lighting was a bit dull as the only source of light came from a small and dirty window. At one point we tried using the flashlights on our phones to boost the lighting, however, it made the scene look unnatural.

The prison, despite being decommissioned, abandoned and creepy, was actually very aesthetic! There were warnings pained everywhere, a wall were prisoners carved their names and huge walls that were covered in razor wire, ouch!

This has to be one of my favourite shots. I love the way that Sam contrasts the plain white background, and how the writing is placed next to him in the shot. This would be an amazing digipak cover, however, it does not fit with the work I have already done.

Filming: Day Two - Bristol

Filming In Bristol:

Today we headed into Bristol to film the romantic scene between our two characters. Unfortunately the weather was bleak, pretty dull and rainy. This had a few consequences which I will explain later.

Locations:
Firstly we started off by filming in Cabot Circus. Our aim was to get shots of shopping, light hearted fun and some scenic shots. However, within minutes we had to stop filming and leave the premises. This was because the shopping centre has to be careful and be suspicious of photographers as there is belief that anyone could be assessing the shopping centre, picking out weaknesses and planning to attack. The security explained the whole situation and it was completely understandable and perfectly reasonable since we didn't make them aware of our presence beforehand. They checked my camera and assessed the footage just to make sure I wasn't trying to exploit weaknesses in the infrastructure. Luckily they continued to let us film - just as long as it was out of the borders of the shopping centre.



Around Bristol: 

We went to a few places in Bristol - The bridge over the river, the water fountains near @Bristol, and a few of the streets in the area. The weather was awful and this effected both the lighting of the shots, and the moral of the actors + Emma and I. By the end of the day we were desperate to get back home - this caused us to rush filming (as well as having a time limit to get our actor home in time for work) so the footage is not as good as I would have liked.