Above is the final draft of our final music video in standard definition. We are very happy with our final draft and feel that it represents our band's sound and image well. We took our feedback into consideration and attempted to alter a few elements of our video in order to create the best final music video that we could possibly make. We also tried to fix our drumming issues by shooting some extra footage of Zahra performing on an actual drum kit.
Alleyways
Alleyways - 'Fast In My Car' First Draft + Feedback
Above is the first draft of our final music video. In the final draft, the shots that take place during the chorus will be in full colour to contrast the verses. We will also need to re-shoot one sequence but despite this, we are very pleased with how our first draft turned out.
We received positive feedback on our music video first draft. We were praised for our energetic performances, mise en scene and editing. However, the fact that Zahra is playing a box during our drama studio performance shots struck up some concern amongst our peers. Ideally we would replace the boxes with a professional drum kit however the school rules indicate that we cannot move the music department's drum kit to the drama studio. Some viewers are telling us to keep the black and white filter whereas others are persuading us to lose it. We will need to think about what we are going to do with the colour of the video before our final draft is due. We are aiming to go with our original idea and keep everything in black and white expect for the chorus segments.
We received positive feedback on our music video first draft. We were praised for our energetic performances, mise en scene and editing. However, the fact that Zahra is playing a box during our drama studio performance shots struck up some concern amongst our peers. Ideally we would replace the boxes with a professional drum kit however the school rules indicate that we cannot move the music department's drum kit to the drama studio. Some viewers are telling us to keep the black and white filter whereas others are persuading us to lose it. We will need to think about what we are going to do with the colour of the video before our final draft is due. We are aiming to go with our original idea and keep everything in black and white expect for the chorus segments.
Editing Of First Draft + Car Shoot Reflection
Above is a screenshot of the Premiere Pro timeline as it stands whilst Ellie edits our first draft. She has included lots of our best footage in order to tell us how many gaps we need to fill and which specific areas of the music video. There are lots of little sequences that we need to film as well as a few re-shoots. We believe that we will have all of these completed by the Final Draft deadline. We are all happy with how our first draft is turning out.
Shooting in Dom's car proved to be difficult at first as we needed to acting carefully with our props in order not to distract Dom whilst he drove down the road at a pretty fast pace. Despite all the complications that we faced, we managed to acquire some really good footage during the shoot.
Shooting in Dom's car proved to be difficult at first as we needed to acting carefully with our props in order not to distract Dom whilst he drove down the road at a pretty fast pace. Despite all the complications that we faced, we managed to acquire some really good footage during the shoot.
Digipak Feedback
We were told to give feedback on our peers' digipaks.
COSMO:
This digipak relates to the artists's genre and style. I like the front cover with the hand. However, the purple is a little overwhelming and the 'Happy' page isn't synchronous with the rest of the package. I prefer George's rendition of the digipak as it is toned down more and the front cover is amazing.
Alex Echo:
I really like the simple black background and the white text looks really effective against it. The photos are appropriate and the whole digipak fits the genre.
Hybrid Beauty:
I really like the back cover and the 'special thanks' page looks cool. I like the CD and the photo pages fit the artists' genre. Maybe choose a stronger front cover?
Encoded:
I really like the monochromatic look however the physical CD needs some work but the style fits the genre of the duo.
Grace Starr:
I really like this digipak and it is one of my favourites. The fonts all fit the style of the artist. I feel that this digipak will be amazing when finished.
James Couleur:
I like the idea of the back cover however it is poorly executed. The panels aren't synchronous with each other i.e black and white versus colourful.
Nicholas Alexander:
I really like this digipak and the blue theme suits the genre well. I'd get rid of the white shape behind the text on the back cover if I were you and replace the text with a darker colour to contrast the photograph.
We received mostly positive feedback on our digipak. We were told that it is one of the best digipaks in our year and we were commended for our use of text. All feedback is listed below:
This digipak relates to the artists's genre and style. I like the front cover with the hand. However, the purple is a little overwhelming and the 'Happy' page isn't synchronous with the rest of the package. I prefer George's rendition of the digipak as it is toned down more and the front cover is amazing.
I really like the simple black background and the white text looks really effective against it. The photos are appropriate and the whole digipak fits the genre.
I really like the back cover and the 'special thanks' page looks cool. I like the CD and the photo pages fit the artists' genre. Maybe choose a stronger front cover?
I really like the monochromatic look however the physical CD needs some work but the style fits the genre of the duo.
I really like this digipak and it is one of my favourites. The fonts all fit the style of the artist. I feel that this digipak will be amazing when finished.
I like the idea of the back cover however it is poorly executed. The panels aren't synchronous with each other i.e black and white versus colourful.
Jaya:
I really like this digipak. The front cover is brilliant and the collage of photographs is really cool! The back cover is good in thought however it could be edited darker to fit the rest of the digipak.I really like this digipak and the blue theme suits the genre well. I'd get rid of the white shape behind the text on the back cover if I were you and replace the text with a darker colour to contrast the photograph.
We received mostly positive feedback on our digipak. We were told that it is one of the best digipaks in our year and we were commended for our use of text. All feedback is listed below:
The bottom left square is the best picture out of any on the digipaks. I think the entire thing is very professional and the theme is clear and obvious.
Alleyways digipak is my favourite by far. It looks so professional from the lyrics page to the professional layout of the front covered image. There isn’t much to improve and i am struggling for things to suggest.
I really like Alleyways digipak, introduces the band and the genre at the same time, could include more writing on the CD.
WWW: Like the picture of the Group together a lot it is high quality.
EBI: Not a fan of the bin on fire or CD. The bin picture quality isn't the best, if retaken it might look better. The CD is extremely basic so unless you’re going for minimalism I suggest soothing more interesting. I also hope that the microphone image isn't the front cover because it’s more suited to the inside of the CD holder. I personally do not like the silhouette shots maybe keep one and have another band photo in an interesting location.
Alleyways is also one of the top digipaks and needs no words.
The alleyways digipak have quite a few images on theirs that make it look over loaded. a lot of the pictures look professional. You can see that the text works well with the black coloured background. The overall layout is really good some of it is really over loaded but still looks amazing.
Good, strong imagery here; the font matches, everything looks great - apart from the images don't totally flow. Maybe rearrange a few, swap them out to get a better balance! I'd make the font bigger on the front cover as well, apart from that, it's brilliant!
Great pictures and really like the text. All looks very slick and professional and links to the genre. Nothing bad to say really!
I think this is possibly the best as it has colour and sticks with the bands themes and has synergy with the other products. It has a lot of good pictures which have been nicely edited to fit the style of the band and the genre.
I really can’t think of anything to improve on for this I really like the outcome of the digipak.
A more interesting front cover just a picture of a microphone would not make me want to pick up the album if I saw it in a shop.
I like the theme and text. It is hard to tell which is the front and back covers.
Theme is good Text is easy to read Hard to distinguish between front and back covers etc.
Great photographs, professional editing and layout.
I love it all and I would improve nothing. Perfect.
Everything about this digipak is amazing - the colours, the text, the images, the genre AND the overall layout. Improvements: there aren't any - where can I buy it?
In response to our feedback I have altered our CD Design and included the track list and a better representation of the band name and EP title.
The slight change in the above digipak therefore renders the rendition as the final CD package.
Production Diary
#1 - 19/09/14
During our first meeting, we presented all of our music video ideas and chose three of them to put forward for our final A2 music video. We decided that we would like to produce a music video for either: Paramore's 'Fast In My Car', Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' or Paramore's 'Born For This'. We all uploaded the three tracks to our blogs and spoke about our opinions on them.
#2 - 22/09/14
In today's lesson we decided to produce a music video for Paramore' 'Fast In My Car'. We conversed about our ideas for what we can include in the video such as balloons, the inclusion of Dom's car and silly string. We also began to put together a narrative that would run throughout the video where we are all picked up by Dom in his car and Ellie, the vocalist of the band, will sing passionately in the passenger seat whilst the rest of the band play their instruments in the backseats.
For our music video, we are hoping to all be dressed in colourful colours and be surrounded by a fun atmosphere. To create this vibe, we will invest in as many bright props as possible.
#3 - 23/09/14
Today we talked about what roles we are all going to play in the production of the 'Fast In My Car' music video. We all decided that our band will be called 'Alleyways'. I will be doing the daily production diaries, Ellie will be putting together the website, Zahra will be comprising a poster for the Alleyways' EP and Dom will be researching similar artists. Ellie will also take part in a lip syncing task to prepare her for performing during the video.
#4 - 24/09/14
During today's lesson we began working on our selected tasks. Ellie started putting Alleyways' website together using Wix, Dom researched a few similar bands and their digipaks. Zahra helped Dom and considered styles that can influence the poster that she is creating for the EP's marketing campaign. I also created a song lyric timeline to help us during production.
#5 - 25/09/14
During today's lesson, me and Dom researched some famous music video directors such as Spike Jonze. Ellie continued creating Alleyways' official website and Zahra began designing a poster for the EP release. We have decided to do our lip sync task tomorrow and to take some professional photos of the band to be used in our digipak, on the website and posters.
#6 - 26/09/14
In today's lesson time, we went to the music department's recording studio to film our lip sync task. We all felt that we were particularly successful in producing a good lip sync video and Ellie performed exceptionally well.
#7 - 29/09/14
During today's lesson, I researched similar artists' magazine interviews. Ellie, Dom and Zahra researched similar artists and influences. We all prepared ourselves for conducting a photoshoot tomorrow for our website, digipak and social media platforms.
#8 - 30/09/14
In today's session, we all took part in a casual photoshoot for Alleyways' magazine articles, website and social media accounts. We had to take the photos by filming the different scenes and then saving good freeze frames. However, after the shoot we decided that we didn't like the outcomes that we produced and so we agreed that we would re-do the photoshoot with the assistance of someone outside of the group to take pictures.
#9 - 01/10/14
Today we got George Brewer to help take pictures of us for our press and social media presence. We found it a lot easier to take pictures with someone else's help. We all made sure to dress up for the occasion too in colourful colours to positively benefit the photographs and our image in relation to the sound of our band.
#10 - 02/10/14
In today's lesson, we started our storyboard and began to put together a risk assessment. We also all assessed each other and learnt our merits and weaknesses.
#11 - 03/10/14
We continued our storyboard and finished our risk assessment in today's lesson. We also finished our sheet which features all of the possible obstacles that we may encounter during the production of our music video.
#12 - 06/10/14
We finished the 'Fast In My Car' storyboard and Ellie began putting together the presentation.
#13 - 07/10/14
Today we presented our band and what we have done so far in preparation for the music video.
#14 - 08/10/14
We all began to catch up with our blog work.
#15 - 09/10/14
Today we all completed a Cross-Media Image Consistency presentation each to adapt the way we wish to present our own band.
#16 - 14/10/14
During today's lesson, we ventured out to shoot the beginning of our music video. It didn't go too well as the setting was a little drab for our band's aesthetic. We will require a re-shoot.
#17 - 15/10/14
We all continued to catch up on blog work and filmed the cramped studio performance scene of our music video during our free time after school.
#18 - 16/10/14
Ellie and Dom edited the footage that we got from the night before whilst me and Zahra left to go to Barcelona on an Art trip.
#19 - 20/10/14
Me and Zahra came back to find that Ellie and Dom had completed a lot of work whilst we were away. They had begun to put together a rough draft of our music video. We then filmed for two hours after school in the Drama studio and the shoot went very well.
#20 - 22/10/14
Today we added footage from the shoot the night before to put into our rough draft.
#21 - 23/10/14
In today's lesson, we discussed how we could change our digipak design idea to suit the band more. We concluded that we would have a front cover that did not feature that band, like Ellie's previous idea, but a back cover which does feature us in silhouette. We all agreed that this was a good idea and Ellie began to draw up the design using photos from our photoshoot.
#22 - 24/10/14
Today we continued to complete blog work and allow others in the group to catch up so that we can all be fully focused on the filming at hand.
#23 - 04/11/14
In today's lesson we have been creating a survey to find out what our audience wants from our band, music video and digipak. We also put together the digipak using a template provided on the Internet and pictures that we have taken for it.
#24 - 05/11/14
Today we uploaded the teaser trailer for our music video, updated the design of our website and posted about our various social media outlets. We also shot a little footage for a clever sequence during our music video.
#25 - 06/11/14
We created lots of merchandise that Alleyways can sell on tour and through their website. We added further updates such as iconography and widgets. Tour dates have also been posted on the website. We all took part in practising our editing skills using footage that we had shot the day before. I conducted some magazine advert research to prepare me for making a magazine advert to promote Alleyways' debut EP release.
#26 - 07/11/14
In today's session I created a magazine advert or poster for our band. Ellie updated our teaser trailer as it was a little grainy. Zahra also created a poster.
#27 - 10/11/14
Me and Zahra were taking part in an Art session all day today but Ellie and Dom created a Kerrang! 'Introducing' article whilst we weren't present.
#28 - 12/11/14
Today we continued to edit our final music video using all the footage that we have shot so far. We all also conducted a self-reflection on our blogs and thought about what can do to improve them.
#29 - 13/11/14
We continued improving our blogs by researching the music industry and how they treat unsigned artists. Ellie finished editing another sequence for our music video.
#30 - 14/11/14
We looked at the weather forecast to see which days will be appropriate for us to shoot the rest of our music video. We are mostly up-to-date on blogging, research, and planning but we are falling behind with shooting at the moment.
#31 - 17/11/14
During the lesson, Ellie created a presentation on cross-media consistency covering CHVRCHES. They are relevant to our image and sound so it is good for us to investigate them. She also uploaded some edited footage of a sequence that we shot a few weeks ago. She also planned how we will answer the evaluation questions when we get to that stage. I improved our NME Radar article by making the layout of the text more like the original article. I also changed the photograph as it suits our band image more than the previous one.
#32 - 18/11/14
Today we prepared for tomorrow's photo-shoot and music video shooting. Ellie created a poster, inspired by CHVRCHES, to promote Alleyways' EP release.
#33 - 19/11/14
In today's session we completed a brief photoshoot which we all felt went extremely well. The photos came out stunning and we edited them a little to improve the lighting slightly. We all prepared to meet after school and shoot a few more sequences and shots in Dom's garden.
#34 - 20/11/14
Today we began editing the footage that we shot the night before. We are all very happy with it and have a lot of good shots to choose from. I also analysed the other artists' websites to help them improve.
#35 - 21/11/14
This morning we continued editing our music video. I uploaded our GoPro Car Test Shots and Zahra analysed our peers artist websites.
#36 - 22/11/14
Today I uploaded our finalised digipak design. I am extremely happy with how it looks and so are the rest of my group. We all feel that it presents our genre and image well.
#37 - 25/11/14
Ellie continued to edit our first draft of the music video. We all think that it is coming along well despite not finishing filming yet.
#38 - 26/11/14
We uploaded the finalised versions of some of our constructions. Ellie showed us all of our first draft so far and we took notes on how to improve and when we can next film to get extra footage in. We plan to shoot more footage of Ellie tomorrow and to shoot some instrument shots on Friday.
#39 - 27/11/14
We set up a black background and lights in the class to film several shots of Ellie singing on her own. The footage is of a high quality and I am very pleased with how it looks. We also shot some footage of the entire band which was then uploaded and imported into the Premiere Pro first draft file.
#40 - 28/11/14
I wasn't in sixth form today as I was visiting the Norwich University of the Arts. From what I have heard, Ellie continued editing and Zahra and Dom caught up with our blog posts. The three of them shot after school in one of our school's music rooms which includes a professional drum set-up. They put a white sheet behind the kit accompanied by some fairy lights to try and emulate our drama studio performance shots. We realised prior to this that we didn't have enough footage of Zahra and so the three of them took the time out of their evening to shoot gather some visuals of her performing. They then moved to the drama studio to get some more footage of Dom playing guitar.
#41 - 03/12/14
Today we finally filmed our interior car shots during lesson time. I provided party poppers to jazz the scenario and sequence up a little bit. I returned to school and watched our footage through and I thought that it looked really cool! Obviously, we will need to tweak them to perfection but what we have is very good indeed. We will add the footage to our first draft tomorrow. Filming in the car was difficult as we all had to make sure that our actions were noticeable and in sync with each other i.e the party poppers and dancing.
#42 - 04/12/14
Today we finished constructing our first draft and exported it to YouTube.
#43 - 05/12/14
In today's lesson we evaluated our peers' music video first drafts and told each group what liked about their video. We also gave constructive criticism regarding certain shots and editing techniques too.
#44 - 08/12/14
Today we continued to evaluate the remaining music video first drafts that the other groups have produced. We also received some of our peers' feedback on our music video first draft. Our feedback was mainly positive however we have realised that we still have a few things to alter to make our final music video absolutely perfect.
#45 - 12/12/14
In response to our music video feedback, we filmed some extra shots of Zahra playing drums to hopefully divert the audiences attention from her playing a box in the drama studio performance shots. We continued editing the music video to perfection.
#46 - 15/12/14
Ellie and I continued to improve the final draft during today's lesson. Dom and Zahra caught up with blog work and we prepared to film a little more footage to replace our original car pick-up shots.
#47 - 16/12/14
During this lesson we ventured out in Dom's car to shoot some more footage for the final cut of the music video. Unfortunately, just before we were about to commence shooting the battery on the camera ran out despite being charged throughout the day. We were forced to call it a day.
#48 - 17/12/14
We decided to to keep our original car pick-up shots in the final cut however we rearranged them so that the video begins with Ellie instead of me. Ellie added a bright filter to all of our full-colour shots and we all agree that it looks really cool. I like how it completely and utterly contrasts the black and white sequences.
#49 - 18/12/14
We finished the construction of our music video today and we all think that it looks really good despite all the complications we have faced during its production. It looks better than I first anticipated it would.
#50 - 19/12/14
We uploaded the final draft of the music video during today's lesson.
During our first meeting, we presented all of our music video ideas and chose three of them to put forward for our final A2 music video. We decided that we would like to produce a music video for either: Paramore's 'Fast In My Car', Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' or Paramore's 'Born For This'. We all uploaded the three tracks to our blogs and spoke about our opinions on them.
#2 - 22/09/14
In today's lesson we decided to produce a music video for Paramore' 'Fast In My Car'. We conversed about our ideas for what we can include in the video such as balloons, the inclusion of Dom's car and silly string. We also began to put together a narrative that would run throughout the video where we are all picked up by Dom in his car and Ellie, the vocalist of the band, will sing passionately in the passenger seat whilst the rest of the band play their instruments in the backseats.
For our music video, we are hoping to all be dressed in colourful colours and be surrounded by a fun atmosphere. To create this vibe, we will invest in as many bright props as possible.
#3 - 23/09/14
Today we talked about what roles we are all going to play in the production of the 'Fast In My Car' music video. We all decided that our band will be called 'Alleyways'. I will be doing the daily production diaries, Ellie will be putting together the website, Zahra will be comprising a poster for the Alleyways' EP and Dom will be researching similar artists. Ellie will also take part in a lip syncing task to prepare her for performing during the video.
#4 - 24/09/14
During today's lesson we began working on our selected tasks. Ellie started putting Alleyways' website together using Wix, Dom researched a few similar bands and their digipaks. Zahra helped Dom and considered styles that can influence the poster that she is creating for the EP's marketing campaign. I also created a song lyric timeline to help us during production.
#5 - 25/09/14
During today's lesson, me and Dom researched some famous music video directors such as Spike Jonze. Ellie continued creating Alleyways' official website and Zahra began designing a poster for the EP release. We have decided to do our lip sync task tomorrow and to take some professional photos of the band to be used in our digipak, on the website and posters.
#6 - 26/09/14
In today's lesson time, we went to the music department's recording studio to film our lip sync task. We all felt that we were particularly successful in producing a good lip sync video and Ellie performed exceptionally well.
#7 - 29/09/14
During today's lesson, I researched similar artists' magazine interviews. Ellie, Dom and Zahra researched similar artists and influences. We all prepared ourselves for conducting a photoshoot tomorrow for our website, digipak and social media platforms.
#8 - 30/09/14
In today's session, we all took part in a casual photoshoot for Alleyways' magazine articles, website and social media accounts. We had to take the photos by filming the different scenes and then saving good freeze frames. However, after the shoot we decided that we didn't like the outcomes that we produced and so we agreed that we would re-do the photoshoot with the assistance of someone outside of the group to take pictures.
#9 - 01/10/14
Today we got George Brewer to help take pictures of us for our press and social media presence. We found it a lot easier to take pictures with someone else's help. We all made sure to dress up for the occasion too in colourful colours to positively benefit the photographs and our image in relation to the sound of our band.
#10 - 02/10/14
In today's lesson, we started our storyboard and began to put together a risk assessment. We also all assessed each other and learnt our merits and weaknesses.
#11 - 03/10/14
We continued our storyboard and finished our risk assessment in today's lesson. We also finished our sheet which features all of the possible obstacles that we may encounter during the production of our music video.
#12 - 06/10/14
We finished the 'Fast In My Car' storyboard and Ellie began putting together the presentation.
#13 - 07/10/14
Today we presented our band and what we have done so far in preparation for the music video.
#14 - 08/10/14
We all began to catch up with our blog work.
#15 - 09/10/14
Today we all completed a Cross-Media Image Consistency presentation each to adapt the way we wish to present our own band.
#16 - 14/10/14
During today's lesson, we ventured out to shoot the beginning of our music video. It didn't go too well as the setting was a little drab for our band's aesthetic. We will require a re-shoot.
#17 - 15/10/14
We all continued to catch up on blog work and filmed the cramped studio performance scene of our music video during our free time after school.
#18 - 16/10/14
Ellie and Dom edited the footage that we got from the night before whilst me and Zahra left to go to Barcelona on an Art trip.
#19 - 20/10/14
Me and Zahra came back to find that Ellie and Dom had completed a lot of work whilst we were away. They had begun to put together a rough draft of our music video. We then filmed for two hours after school in the Drama studio and the shoot went very well.
#20 - 22/10/14
Today we added footage from the shoot the night before to put into our rough draft.
#21 - 23/10/14
In today's lesson, we discussed how we could change our digipak design idea to suit the band more. We concluded that we would have a front cover that did not feature that band, like Ellie's previous idea, but a back cover which does feature us in silhouette. We all agreed that this was a good idea and Ellie began to draw up the design using photos from our photoshoot.
#22 - 24/10/14
Today we continued to complete blog work and allow others in the group to catch up so that we can all be fully focused on the filming at hand.
#23 - 04/11/14
In today's lesson we have been creating a survey to find out what our audience wants from our band, music video and digipak. We also put together the digipak using a template provided on the Internet and pictures that we have taken for it.
#24 - 05/11/14
Today we uploaded the teaser trailer for our music video, updated the design of our website and posted about our various social media outlets. We also shot a little footage for a clever sequence during our music video.
#25 - 06/11/14
We created lots of merchandise that Alleyways can sell on tour and through their website. We added further updates such as iconography and widgets. Tour dates have also been posted on the website. We all took part in practising our editing skills using footage that we had shot the day before. I conducted some magazine advert research to prepare me for making a magazine advert to promote Alleyways' debut EP release.
#26 - 07/11/14
In today's session I created a magazine advert or poster for our band. Ellie updated our teaser trailer as it was a little grainy. Zahra also created a poster.
#27 - 10/11/14
Me and Zahra were taking part in an Art session all day today but Ellie and Dom created a Kerrang! 'Introducing' article whilst we weren't present.
#28 - 12/11/14
Today we continued to edit our final music video using all the footage that we have shot so far. We all also conducted a self-reflection on our blogs and thought about what can do to improve them.
#29 - 13/11/14
We continued improving our blogs by researching the music industry and how they treat unsigned artists. Ellie finished editing another sequence for our music video.
#30 - 14/11/14
We looked at the weather forecast to see which days will be appropriate for us to shoot the rest of our music video. We are mostly up-to-date on blogging, research, and planning but we are falling behind with shooting at the moment.
#31 - 17/11/14
During the lesson, Ellie created a presentation on cross-media consistency covering CHVRCHES. They are relevant to our image and sound so it is good for us to investigate them. She also uploaded some edited footage of a sequence that we shot a few weeks ago. She also planned how we will answer the evaluation questions when we get to that stage. I improved our NME Radar article by making the layout of the text more like the original article. I also changed the photograph as it suits our band image more than the previous one.
#32 - 18/11/14
Today we prepared for tomorrow's photo-shoot and music video shooting. Ellie created a poster, inspired by CHVRCHES, to promote Alleyways' EP release.
#33 - 19/11/14
In today's session we completed a brief photoshoot which we all felt went extremely well. The photos came out stunning and we edited them a little to improve the lighting slightly. We all prepared to meet after school and shoot a few more sequences and shots in Dom's garden.
#34 - 20/11/14
Today we began editing the footage that we shot the night before. We are all very happy with it and have a lot of good shots to choose from. I also analysed the other artists' websites to help them improve.
#35 - 21/11/14
This morning we continued editing our music video. I uploaded our GoPro Car Test Shots and Zahra analysed our peers artist websites.
#36 - 22/11/14
Today I uploaded our finalised digipak design. I am extremely happy with how it looks and so are the rest of my group. We all feel that it presents our genre and image well.
#37 - 25/11/14
Ellie continued to edit our first draft of the music video. We all think that it is coming along well despite not finishing filming yet.
#38 - 26/11/14
We uploaded the finalised versions of some of our constructions. Ellie showed us all of our first draft so far and we took notes on how to improve and when we can next film to get extra footage in. We plan to shoot more footage of Ellie tomorrow and to shoot some instrument shots on Friday.
#39 - 27/11/14
We set up a black background and lights in the class to film several shots of Ellie singing on her own. The footage is of a high quality and I am very pleased with how it looks. We also shot some footage of the entire band which was then uploaded and imported into the Premiere Pro first draft file.
#40 - 28/11/14
I wasn't in sixth form today as I was visiting the Norwich University of the Arts. From what I have heard, Ellie continued editing and Zahra and Dom caught up with our blog posts. The three of them shot after school in one of our school's music rooms which includes a professional drum set-up. They put a white sheet behind the kit accompanied by some fairy lights to try and emulate our drama studio performance shots. We realised prior to this that we didn't have enough footage of Zahra and so the three of them took the time out of their evening to shoot gather some visuals of her performing. They then moved to the drama studio to get some more footage of Dom playing guitar.
#41 - 03/12/14
Today we finally filmed our interior car shots during lesson time. I provided party poppers to jazz the scenario and sequence up a little bit. I returned to school and watched our footage through and I thought that it looked really cool! Obviously, we will need to tweak them to perfection but what we have is very good indeed. We will add the footage to our first draft tomorrow. Filming in the car was difficult as we all had to make sure that our actions were noticeable and in sync with each other i.e the party poppers and dancing.
#42 - 04/12/14
Today we finished constructing our first draft and exported it to YouTube.
#43 - 05/12/14
In today's lesson we evaluated our peers' music video first drafts and told each group what liked about their video. We also gave constructive criticism regarding certain shots and editing techniques too.
#44 - 08/12/14
Today we continued to evaluate the remaining music video first drafts that the other groups have produced. We also received some of our peers' feedback on our music video first draft. Our feedback was mainly positive however we have realised that we still have a few things to alter to make our final music video absolutely perfect.
#45 - 12/12/14
In response to our music video feedback, we filmed some extra shots of Zahra playing drums to hopefully divert the audiences attention from her playing a box in the drama studio performance shots. We continued editing the music video to perfection.
#46 - 15/12/14
Ellie and I continued to improve the final draft during today's lesson. Dom and Zahra caught up with blog work and we prepared to film a little more footage to replace our original car pick-up shots.
#47 - 16/12/14
During this lesson we ventured out in Dom's car to shoot some more footage for the final cut of the music video. Unfortunately, just before we were about to commence shooting the battery on the camera ran out despite being charged throughout the day. We were forced to call it a day.
#48 - 17/12/14
We decided to to keep our original car pick-up shots in the final cut however we rearranged them so that the video begins with Ellie instead of me. Ellie added a bright filter to all of our full-colour shots and we all agree that it looks really cool. I like how it completely and utterly contrasts the black and white sequences.
#49 - 18/12/14
We finished the construction of our music video today and we all think that it looks really good despite all the complications we have faced during its production. It looks better than I first anticipated it would.
#50 - 19/12/14
We uploaded the final draft of the music video during today's lesson.
Final Constructions
I created the above slideshow using Photobucket - an easy-to-use website of which I hadn't used previously. I intend to use Photobucket more to present my work.
Kerrang! Article - Final Draft
I improved Ellie's Kerrang! Article in order to make it look more legitimate. I consulted 'Introducing' articles that Kerrang! have published in the past to help me get the layout as correct as possible.
I took elements from original articles and edited them using Paint and Photoshop. I then overlaid these elements onto our new portrait photograph.
I erased the original text from the sub header using the colour picker tool on Paint.
I used the colour picker tool again to remove the original information from the 'Vital Stats' box.
I placed the components above the photograph as shown above.
I then copied the 'Best New Band' badge from an original article and pasted it onto my article page. I copied Ellie's original text from her article and rephrased a little of it in order to fit the confinements of the layout. These two processes then completed the Kerrang! article page.
I am very happy with the final article and believe that it looks incredibly legitimate. Straight after the photograph was taken, we all agreed that it could easily be featured in Kerrang! so I'm glad that we got the opportunity to create our own 'Introducing' page.
Website Peer Feedback
We received generally positive feedback regarding our artist website. Our peers think that our website is informative, professional, fun and quirky. However, we need to improve on changing the currency of our products from dollars to pounds, erasing the names of images and changing some of the text colours.
I changed the currency of our products from dollars to pounds.
There is no longer the original file name below the images.
I changed the colour of the line underneath the headers from orange to white which fits our image and overall look of the website better.
Final Digipak Design
(Top left - front cover, top-middle - back of booklet, top-right - left page of booklet, bottom-left - CD, bottom-middle - back cover & bottom-right - right page of booklet.)
I added the final two panels - a lyric sheet and a full-band photo accompanied with all of our names. I am very happy with the final product and believe that it fully presents our band image and genre.
I created the final digipak using Paint and Photoshop. I also used the apps PicsArt and VSCOCam on my smart phone to frame the panels correctly and edit some of the final six chosen photographs with filters.
We all like the minimalistic approach with our front cover and CD design. We like how the members of the band can only be seen through silhouette until the digipak is purchased and the full-band photo page can be viewed. Our EP will only be available to buy through our website and our merch stand on tour.
I created the final digipak using Paint and Photoshop. I also used the apps PicsArt and VSCOCam on my smart phone to frame the panels correctly and edit some of the final six chosen photographs with filters.
We all like the minimalistic approach with our front cover and CD design. We like how the members of the band can only be seen through silhouette until the digipak is purchased and the full-band photo page can be viewed. Our EP will only be available to buy through our website and our merch stand on tour.
Digipak - So Far...
Me and Ellie were inspired by digipaks from labelmates The 1975 and Universal's Lorde. Next I will have to add the last two panels to the digipak which will be a lyrics sheet and a full-band photo.
GoPro Car Test Shots
On our way to shoot at Dom's house, we decided to use our time wisely in the car to shoot some test shots with the GoPro. We all think that the footage came out lovely and some of the shots used will be replicated in the final music video. We all like the fish-eye look that the lense creates.
Recce Shots
We successfully obtained all of our bonfire shots on the 19th of November. We now only need to re-shoot our 'Pick Up' shots and interior car shots.
Analysis of Other Artists' Websites
Grace Starr:
WWW - I love the overall girly look of the website and the layout is really cool. I strongly believe that the website fits the artist's image and genre.
EBI - Spelling errors should be checked on the 'About Grace' page. Other than that, the website is flawless.
Nicholas Alexander:
WWW - The colour scheme and look fits the artist's genre. I love the pictures of Nick used and his bio is very in-depth.
EBI - Grammatical errors need to be fixed on the homepage. Pictures of other artists should be removed from the 'Tour Dates' page.
Encoded:
WWW - I love the countdown widget and the colours fit the genre. The pictures featured are really good and the tour dates are believable.
EBI - Spelling mistakes on 'Band' page need to be fixed.
COSMO:
WWW - The giant photo looks really good on the homepage. The 'wipe' into the next page looks really cool. The gallery layout is awesome. Very professional and fits the artists' image and genre.
EBI - Spelling mistake on the 'Gallery' page needs to be fixed.
Hybrid Beauty:
WWW - The big black and white picture looks really good when overlapped with pink text. Merchandise is really cool (Polaroid photo shirt) and animations too. The website fits the genre and style of the artist well.
EBI - More photos, maybe?
Alex Echo:
WWW - I love the homepage and way that the photos wipe to the next looks really professional. The website fits well for a solo artist and the genre of their music.
EBI - More merchandise (and better quality photos on that page) are needed. URL needs to be changed also.
James Couleur:
WWW - The big photo on the homepage looks really cool and I love the integration with Twitter. Gallery includes lots of photos which is really good! Merchandise is cool too. The website fits the artists' genre and style.
EBI - Tour dates need to be added.
http://onlyjaya.wix.com/jaya
Jaya:
WWW - The site looks very professional and fits the artists's image and genre. The gallery is filled with lovely pictures and I'm sure the site will look great when it is finished.
EBI - Update the 'Videos' and 'Store' page.
Jaya:
WWW - The site looks very professional and fits the artists's image and genre. The gallery is filled with lovely pictures and I'm sure the site will look great when it is finished.
EBI - Update the 'Videos' and 'Store' page.
Photoshoot
Today we conducted a brief photo-shoot to boost our band image and increase the amount of photos on our website. The dress-code was smart but messy - hence the untucked shirts and bright yellow boots. We had lots of fun during this photo-shoot as it was something new and different. We think that the photos look very professional and could easily be featured in a magazine like Kerrang!.
Audience
Ellie created an amazing presentation on Alleyways' audience. The presentation can be accessed from the link below.
Adobe Photoshop
Ellie used Photoshop for the first time to create an official EP poster that is inspired by CHVRCHES' posters and album artwork. As it is a tricky programme to get the hang of, she seeked the help of online tutorials.
Poster
Ellie used Photoshop for the first time to create a minimalistic poster for Alleyways' EP release. She took inspiration from CHVRCHES' posters after she researched their cross-media consistency.
She added a filter to the updated poster above in hopes to erase the grainy look of the photograph.
I love this poster as it fits our band image and musical genre in its simplicity and lack of colour.
Evaluation Questions - Planning
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
- Jump cuts is one of the main conventions of a music video. In response, we will be using a lot of these in order to make ours look legitimate.
- Close-ups are often used to put emphasis on the artist, musician or band. Wide shots are typically used in music videos of a band to fit all of the members in. We will also be using these shots.
- Artificial lighting is used when doing performance shots, particularly inside. We will use artificial lighting in our performance shots - studio lights and fairy-lights being the primary form.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
- Linking our music video to our digipak, magazine articles and website
- Similar colour schemes
- Putting our record label (dirty hit records) on everything
- Linking the location (of our performance shots) with the design of the website and digipak
- Our signature font will be on everything.
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
- As I have not yet received audience feedback, I can't plan my answer to this question.
- To gain audience feedback I will show my music video to as many people as possible and ask them questions about the video to determine the general view of it.
- I will pay close attention particularly to our target audience.
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
- During planning and research i am using a wide variety of technologies, such as microsoft word, youtube, blogger, slideshare, prezi, powtoon and emaze.
- Phone, laptop, desktop computer, imac, tablet in order to gather research.
- During construction, I am using a HD video camera and a tripod to shoot, adobe premiere pro to edit footage, wix to create our website, paint to create posters and digipak ideas. i will hopefully be learning to use adobe photoshop in order to create a flawless digipak.
- Jump cuts is one of the main conventions of a music video. In response, we will be using a lot of these in order to make ours look legitimate.
- Close-ups are often used to put emphasis on the artist, musician or band. Wide shots are typically used in music videos of a band to fit all of the members in. We will also be using these shots.
- Artificial lighting is used when doing performance shots, particularly inside. We will use artificial lighting in our performance shots - studio lights and fairy-lights being the primary form.
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
- Linking our music video to our digipak, magazine articles and website
- Similar colour schemes
- Putting our record label (dirty hit records) on everything
- Linking the location (of our performance shots) with the design of the website and digipak
- Our signature font will be on everything.
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
- As I have not yet received audience feedback, I can't plan my answer to this question.
- To gain audience feedback I will show my music video to as many people as possible and ask them questions about the video to determine the general view of it.
- I will pay close attention particularly to our target audience.
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?
- During planning and research i am using a wide variety of technologies, such as microsoft word, youtube, blogger, slideshare, prezi, powtoon and emaze.
- Phone, laptop, desktop computer, imac, tablet in order to gather research.
- During construction, I am using a HD video camera and a tripod to shoot, adobe premiere pro to edit footage, wix to create our website, paint to create posters and digipak ideas. i will hopefully be learning to use adobe photoshop in order to create a flawless digipak.
Editing Practice
Above is footage that we shot a while back. It has been edited with a black and white filter and slow-motion. All of the above footage will not be included in the final video. Instead we will cut and add it to the music video wherever appropriate to create and visually pleasing sequence.
Further Cross-Media Consistency - CHVRCHES
Ellie conducted some more cross-media consistency research that relates more to Alleyways' genre and image. She explored the links between the artists' media constructions such as album covers, EP covers, single covers and gig posters. Their approach to marketing is something that we would like to emulate - simplicity and mystery within their products.
NME Radar Article - Final Draft
I improved my previous article page with a picture that represents our band image better. I also fixed the formatting of the text and cropped the 'About To Break' box better.
I prefer this version a lot more to our first draft.
Shooting - Weather Forecast
We had planned to shoot more footage on Wednesday 12th November however due to circumstances out of our control we couldn't go forth with filming. We already have enough complications as it is with work commitments but the weather has started to play a big part in whether we can film or not as we are aiming to make our outside footage look summery and fun as opposed to dreary and dull. Looking at the weather forecast for next week, we can see that our possible days for shooting are Sunday and Thursday of which the latter is the only one where we could all potentially be available.
Institution
What do record companies look for when signing new artists?
Talent:
Major record labels spend hundreds of thousands promoting both new and old artist in hopes of selling them to the public so understandably they want some security on the talent they are signing. Due to this fact they insurance themselves by finding new and original talent who's music appeals to large audience. Many labels will simply skip through demos spending under a dozen seconds per CD so these few seconds must be filled with fast paced and catchy music this is good for our band as our music is very quick with catchy rifts and lyrics which will hopefully be noticed by music executives.
Product:
Don't waste a load of money on expensive studio sessions when first starting out as an artist there are numerous other ways to record and distribute music nowadays. By using equipment like a non-expensive microphone, a compressor, a pre-amp, some basic software and any form of computer a song could easily be made and shared. Saving money this way is vital for a new and struggling artist and defiantly something to remember for our bands as we try to break into the industry.
Placement:
After making our product, the next challenge is trying to distribute our song and where we are going to place our record. To be able to get the most publicity and attention for our song we will have to cover several base's and areas as talent agents periodically scan for the latest talent online. These include SoundCloud, YouTube, Band Camp and OurStage fortunately these can all synchronize with each other so we can keep our social media up to date and fresh.
Promotion:
Before trying to get signed on a record label a starting fan base is vital. By starting small with friends from Facebook and twitter and through social media and word of mouth our band can become more well know and popular. As well as this by passing out several CD's of our song it would help secure our fan base as more people will hear our band and music. By using a SoundCloud or BandCamp link when submitting our demo to a record label it increase the chances of us become signed as they can see we have a healthy back catalog of music.
Transition:
At first you don't succeed try and try again is motto our band will go with as if we don't find success the first time around we will keep contacting record labels and keep working on gaining a substantial fan base.
The above information was paraphrased from the following article written by Ruan De Lange:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-5-Pillars---A-Success-Blueprint-for-Unsigned-Artists&id=7437243
We found this article very informative and it gave me a further understanding of the way that the music industry treats unsigned artists. We will need to make sure that we are ticking all of the boxes to build a fanbase and gain success through Alleyways.
Talent:
Major record labels spend hundreds of thousands promoting both new and old artist in hopes of selling them to the public so understandably they want some security on the talent they are signing. Due to this fact they insurance themselves by finding new and original talent who's music appeals to large audience. Many labels will simply skip through demos spending under a dozen seconds per CD so these few seconds must be filled with fast paced and catchy music this is good for our band as our music is very quick with catchy rifts and lyrics which will hopefully be noticed by music executives.
Product:
Don't waste a load of money on expensive studio sessions when first starting out as an artist there are numerous other ways to record and distribute music nowadays. By using equipment like a non-expensive microphone, a compressor, a pre-amp, some basic software and any form of computer a song could easily be made and shared. Saving money this way is vital for a new and struggling artist and defiantly something to remember for our bands as we try to break into the industry.
Placement:
After making our product, the next challenge is trying to distribute our song and where we are going to place our record. To be able to get the most publicity and attention for our song we will have to cover several base's and areas as talent agents periodically scan for the latest talent online. These include SoundCloud, YouTube, Band Camp and OurStage fortunately these can all synchronize with each other so we can keep our social media up to date and fresh.
Promotion:
Before trying to get signed on a record label a starting fan base is vital. By starting small with friends from Facebook and twitter and through social media and word of mouth our band can become more well know and popular. As well as this by passing out several CD's of our song it would help secure our fan base as more people will hear our band and music. By using a SoundCloud or BandCamp link when submitting our demo to a record label it increase the chances of us become signed as they can see we have a healthy back catalog of music.
Transition:
At first you don't succeed try and try again is motto our band will go with as if we don't find success the first time around we will keep contacting record labels and keep working on gaining a substantial fan base.
The above information was paraphrased from the following article written by Ruan De Lange:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-5-Pillars---A-Success-Blueprint-for-Unsigned-Artists&id=7437243
We found this article very informative and it gave me a further understanding of the way that the music industry treats unsigned artists. We will need to make sure that we are ticking all of the boxes to build a fanbase and gain success through Alleyways.
Alleyways - Kerrang! interview
Ellie created a Kerrang! 'Introducing' page using a template from an original article and Paint. The article acts as a short page telling readers who we are. It also aims to gain further interest in the featured bands' music. Ellie included outtakes from our most recent photo-shoot to put across our fun, playful side.
Inspiration - Kerrang! Interview
Above are a few interviews conducted by Kerrang! Magazine who are currently the best-selling British music magazine. They focus solely on Rock music and have featured bands such as Tonight Alive in the past who are similar to us in style and look. We feel that Kerrang! would feature and interview Alleyways.
We would probably first appear in Kerrang! through their 'Introducing' page where they showcase a "best new band" every week.
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