Author Archives: paigezabiela

Digipak photoshoot

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We did a photo shoot to take the photos for our digipak. We used the help of our mock draw up and our production meeting agenda to guide us.

Overall we are really happy with our shoot. We were able to get all of the shots we planned and aimed to get. Our photos are clear and in focus and we were able to get lots of good angles. The lighting worked well; in some of the photos we could have lit them more however we will be able to add more light when photo shopping them after. We were extremely happy with the collage of media. It worked really well and presents the message of how media impacts people. The red top worked really well too and will also help to add meaning.

Photoshoot / Design Production Meeting and Risk Assessment

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In preparation for our photo shoot for our digipak, it is important to have made a plan of what we want to happen and the aims for the shoot. Below we have created a Production meeting agenda and have also done a risk assessment for the shoot.

We hope that from our shoot we gain clear shots that present the message of power media has on our society and the overarching theme of self image. We need to make sure that our photos are well lit and in focus. We will use a tripod to help with this to avoid any movement when taking the photos. We will take a variety of shots including aerial, mid shots and close ups. We need to remember to think about the mise en scene and all of the small details to make sure that the message and star image is being presented correctly and how we want it to be decoded by our audience.

Hand drawn mockup

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Before creating our digipak, it is important that we make a plan of what we want it to look like. Using our ideas and those from the mood board, we have constructed a sketch of the four sides plus the spine.

We have decided to run with the theme of true identity and the impact which the media has on everyone, especially celebrities.

On the front, we will have our star with a background of media (newspaper articles and social media logos) to show the impact that media has on an individual. Our star will be unhappy and in full make up and hair showing the distress and lack of happiness from having to portray yourself in a certain way.

On the back, we will have our star holding her hand up to the camera, showing her dislike of being in constant paparazzi spotlight. The song titles will then be on her hand which will all be titles of power words, showing the strength which she has,

The inside left will be a close up of a runned make up eye. The make up which will have been run will also contain words, presenting the message being shown.

The inside right will be where the magazine will be. We have decided to use a photo from the back ground of the front; all of the media. This will contain our artists name and pictures to show how the media suffocates celebrities lives.

Branding Moodboard

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We created a padlet moodboard which collates lots of ideas for our digipak. We have looked at other digipak examples to see the conventions used and ideas that we like. Because we want to express the powerful message of self identity, we looked at a lot of ideas of messages on the body to help inspire us. We really like the idea of having powerful words on the face to present the important meaning. As well as looking at the type of images we will use, it was also important to look at other aspects such as type faces and colour palettes. We have decided to use a black and white theme to present the emotion of sadness, showing the effect that the media has on us and especially celebrities.

Overall this was really useful in getting inspiration and ideas about how we want our digipak to use. It will be important to keep looking back at this moodboard.

Made with Padlet

Digipak Conventions Analysis

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Before making our own digipak, it is important that we evaluate examples to gain an understanding of the conventions used not only in a generic digipak but one with a similar genre to ours. I chose Lizzo as she is also an indie pop artist who portrays powerful messages. I thought that this album of hers really emphasizes the message of body confidence which is similar to what we are trying to portray. I have looked at all of the different features used on her album cover (even though the front is not the most conventional).

Overall I think that this was really useful in gaining an understanding of what is typically included in a digipak and it has helped show that everything is chosen for a reason; to help reinforce the star image and present the specific genre and message being shown. This will be important to remember when making our digipak as everything will need to be chosen for a reason to make sure that our star is being presented in the correct way to our audience.

 

Music Video Draft 5

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By acting on our piece of constructive feedback, we have created the final draft. Overall we are extremely happy with how our music video has turned out. It clearly shows the overarching theme of “true identity brings the most happiness” and helps to educate our audience on this modern world matter.

After receiving further feedback on our music video, we have added a slight change to the wipe transition. It was a solid wipe that seemed quite harsh so to improve this, we have used the feather tool to make it blend the two clips more. This allows the audience to see a gradual change from one clip to the other which creates a much nicer watch. The feedback we got also mentioned possibly feathering the split screen however we decided against this as it creates a more harsh contrast from the music artist to the girls.

W used this tutorial to learn how to create this feathering effect:

 

 

Music Video Draft 4

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Below is our draft 4 of our music video. Overall Zoe and I are very happy with how it has turned out. The use of mise en scene along with the camera techniques and editing has all helped construct the powerful message that “true identity brings the most happiness”. The idea of taking your make up off and letting your hair down is presented throughout and hopefully is emphasized to our audience.

What have we changed from draft 3?

  • We have added adjustment layers to both the performance and narrative pieces of film. For the performance side (our artist), the adjustment layer of the Instagram styled look builds up as the song progresses. This shows how as a famous individual, you are pressured into covering yourself up to present something perfect. The filter we created to do this has lots of blue tones and we have increased the contrast and saturation to create the Instagram styled look. This helps to create a fake and heavily edited look. On the narrative side, the opposite happens. As the song progresses, the adjustment layer’s opacity is decreased so that by the end, the girls are shown in a very natural light. This is where they are most happy which helps to emphasize the message that your natural self is where the most happiness comes from.
  • We also added a few more transitions such as cross dissolve to help move from one clip to the other more smoothly. This helps to make our music video run smoother and be more pleasant to watch..

Things to improve:

  • We could possibly feather the split screen and wipe transition to make them less harsh.

 

We also showed our draft 4 to an audience to see what they thought and to receive more feedback from a fresh set of eyes. Below is a recording of them watching it and I have also done an overview of what they said. Overall it was all very positive with no negatives.

  • They really liked the make up and hair.
  • They found that the message was really clear especially when we did a before and after shot.
  • The split screen was also very interesting and showed a strong contrast between the two sides.
  • There is a wide variety of shots that work really well.

 

 

 

 

Critical Reflection 01

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Our music video is based on the song Try and the overarching message which we are trying to present is that “true identity brings the most happiness”.

Our music video follows the common convention that it is illustrative and contains both narrative and performance. Although our music video is cross cutting throughout, both parts are expressing the same message.

Our performance part of the shoot is our artist. At the beginning she is shown to be outside, with no make up and is relaxed and quite happy in herself. However as the video progresses, she becomes trapped in a dark room and becomes dulled up with makeup. The emotion she expresses becomes less happy and the paparazzi shots we used really helps to show this dislike of life at this time. We used a dip to white transition and a fast cutting speed to create the look of paparazzi. The use of the jacket covering herself up and the actions of hiding her face expresses how unhappy and trapped she is by this life. We decided on showing this narrative through our star as it helps to show the huge issue that in the modern world, famous individuals are surrounded by the media and are pressured into presenting themselves in a certain way all of the time. They are quite often very unhappy just to present their star image in a certain way.

The other half of our music video is using two girls. We decided that it was important to use the “average normal person” so that our audience could relate to the message we are expressing. At the beginning, the girls are shown to be very unhappy and are dulled up in makeup and hair however as the video progresses, they become their natural self and are shown to be much happier. The use of the extreme make up and hair at the beginning emphasises the fact that people dress a certain way to show themselves however in actual fact does this really make you happy? No. We used a white studio setting for this narrative as it adds to the feeling of happiness as white is a bright colour and links to the positive feeling. Again this message we are expressing is very real in modern society. So many people wear thick faces of make up due to the pressure of having to look a ‘perfect’ way but being yourself is what really matters and is important.

In conclusion, we really hope that we have been able to express the message of “true identity brings the most happiness” as it is a very powerful message that shows our audience that you really don’t need to hide behind something false. Being yourself is the most important thing and will bring the most happiness in the long run.

Music Video Draft 3

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Using the feedback we had received from both Specsavers, Mr Gregson and our personal improvements we thought needed to be made, we have constructed a draft 3.

Overall I am really happy with how this draft has gone. I think the constructive feedback we received has helped benefit it massively.

Things we have improved:

  • One of the biggest changes we have made was that we have transferred the clips of them taking off their make up and hair to later on in the video. Before hand, it was about one third through the music video however now it is just after the half way mark. This has improved our video massively in that we are now seeing the girls in full faces of make up and hair for longer. This helps to impact our audience and show them how unhappy they were. Having the transformation happen later also reduces the amount of clips of them bare faced and hair down. Initially there were quite a few of these clips and it was starting to become quite repetitive however now we have changed this it is much more engaging for the audience.
  • At the beginning of the video, it initially started with A long shot of our star however we have now swapped the first two clips so that it starts with a close up of her face. This has improved our music video as it is a much more powerful shot and helps to engage with the audience and draw in their attention.
  • We have taken the lense flare away as it was a bit random and was causing too much light on her face. Now it has been taken away, it fits in with the rest of our clips to show continuity.
  • The end clip of the blinking eye has been extended to last longer. This enables the impact of how unhappy the star is to last, creating much more emotion.
  • We have added cross dissolve transitions on the overview clips of Tegan becoming dulled up in makeup. This cross dissolve helps to show the transition from one clip to the other and emphasizes the message of how stars have to change the way they present themselves.
  • We have added a wipe transition between the clips of Anya and Chloe from them being dulled up to their natural self. This wipe transition acts like a make up wipe taking off their makeup and helps to express the change from one clip to the other.
  • We have also added the cross dissolve transitions on the outdoor clips of our star. This helps to create a flowing and calm atmosphere showing the happiness and relaxed ambiance she is feeling in those scenes.

As well as giving ourselves feedback to work on, it was important that we received feedback from peers. This is so we were able to get a fresh set of eyes and ideas. Everyone has different opinions so it is important we get impartial comments from an audience:

Things we need to improve from feedback from peers and our own input:

  • We are going to add some filters to the music video to show an Instagram styled look and help express the narrative of having to express yourself in a certain way; just like people do on social media. For Tegan, this filter will build up as the video progresses in sync with her putting the makeup on and for the “normal girls” the filter will decrease as the video progresses to match them taking off their make up and letting their hair down. Because the filter is the opposite way around for the narrative and performance side of the music video, it will create a lot of juxtaposition and really help emphasis the change from being in full make up to being completely natural.
  • We could possibly look at adding more transitions in places that may need them. This will help to keep our audience engaged in the video.
  • We may need to alter the exposure and whites in certain areas to really pop some of the colours and make the background a bit brighter. This will again benefit the music video and possibly add to the Instagram styled look.
  • Feather the wipe transition so it is less harsh.