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4) How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Here is a powerpoint of our analysis of all the hardware as well as all of the software that we have used during this process. We have gone into detail to really explain the work we completed and the time it spent to not only learn how to use the technology but to then complete the tasks.
Evaluation of other artists
I have compared our video with other artists which are in the same field of genre that LUNA would be in.
Conventions of a Magazine Advert
We have used these features of a magazine advert to start creating our own advert for our artist, LUNA. We are going to have 3 ratings in the centre of the advert. We have researched similar artists and the music companies who have rated and reviewed pop artists. Such companies include: MTV, Billboard, Rolling Stones. Therefore we are going to include various reviews and ratings on our poster as this appears to be a genre characteristic. Additionally, we are going to conform to each of these conventions in order to appear as professional as we can and as realistic for the pop genre our artist belongs in.
Analysis of our Digipak
Below is the front cover of our digipak. We chose this effect on the image as we believed it to be very effective and also due to the bright colours of purple green and blue this represents the identity of our artist – LUNA. We used the program Photoshop to achieve this effect. The background layer is the print of our LUNA logo, we thought this would be effective and distinctive to the identity of LUNA. Also, we used the same font of our logo- Xpress SF Bold for our title ‘LUNA’ and the name of the album ‘GRAMMY’. Therefore the audience can make links between the logo of LUNA and the front cover, heightening the continuity between the logo and the artist. There is also a black border framing the image of LUNA, reinforcing the importance of the image of LUNA. As the background is plain white with a black border and black title, this enhances the bright colours of purple, green and blue on the background as there is such a strong juxtaposition of colours. We also wanted to make a link between the font and title on the album cover with the spine of the digipak. We continued the black line used for the border and also used the same font. The framing of the features on the album cover are very important as the image of LUNA is directly placed in the centre of the album cover, conveying that the artist is the most distinctive feature of the digipak and the focus should remain on the artist LUNA (this is a genre characteristic for pop). We made the title of the album in a bold black font so the audience can notice it but not fully take away the focus on the artist.
This is the back pane of our digipak. Evidently we maintained the themes of white background, bold black font (Xpress SF Bold) and the bright colours of our artist. This pane focuses on the track list of the album, the tracklist is located on the left hand side of the pane and Luna is situated directly on the opposite side looking directly at the tracklist. We believe this framing of the pane to be effective as it is evenly balanced. The barcode and MBD Record Label logo is also a feature of the back page as this is a common feature of a digipak. The image of LUNA is very bright and juxtaposes the monochrome effect of the pane. LUNA is wearing a tie-dye green, purple and blue top, along with a pair of pink sunglasses and a pink bandana. We altered the colours of this image in order to match the rest of LUNA’s identity.
This is our CD disc pane of our digipak. It consists of our LUNA logo – a brightly coloured nebula with a bold title ‘LUNA’ in Xpress SF Bold in the middle of the circle. We believed this was a perfect image for our CD disc as it would fit well and also be effective. Evidently, the bright colour theme is continued onto this pane, along with the monochrome effect: white background and black border.
Lastly, this is our middle pane within the digipak. As pop genre digipaks usually focus around the artist and their appearance as opposed to just the music itself, we believed this pane should consist of another image of LUNA. Therefore, we used an image of LUNA and placed this image on the left of the pane and placed the lyrics of the song ‘Grammy’ on the other side of the pane. We altered the colours on the image to make the jumper she is wearing bright purple and the denim shorts she is also wearing brightly coloured blue and green. Therefore, creating tremendous continuity throughout the digipak. Additionally, the white background is used on this pane to make the colours of LUNA more effective. Also, the black border is used along with the black writing for the lyrics in Xpress SF Bold. Through carrying out extensive research within the pop genre for digipaks, we found out that a lyrics page proves very popular with a lot of artists.
Evidently, throughout our digipak we have made sure that a tremendous amount of continuity is portrayed. We have done this through:
1) Bright colours of purple, green and blue. All of these colours are used within each of the panes.
2) White background on each of the panes within the digiapk.
3) A black border on each of the panes
4) Black writing on each of the panes – Xpress SF Bold
Dailies Feedback
After completing our second ‘dailies’ feedback session, we gained some very useful feedback from our media studies teacher and classmates. The feedback was based on footage we showed the class of our actress, Zara, in the studio setting singing the song – this is the performance element of our music video.
Positives:
– bright costumes worked well
– close ups of her eyes looked good
– eyes looked sharp
– our actress successfully conveyed the appropriate expression when singing the song
– well formed shots
– good variety of studio shots
– successful and effective lighting
– good hair and make-up
Negatives:
– close up of her mouth singing didn’t work and wasn’t very effective
– less playing of hair when singing the song
– she moves a lot up and down and does not stay in the middle third of the shot
Filming – Studio Shots
After filming our trial shots with Brooke in the location setting, we realised there was a lot to improve in terms of lighting, expression, energy and costume. Therefore, we made sure we successfully improved on each of these areas when we filmed Zara in the same location.
A major issue we encountered when filming our trial shots was the lighting. Thus, we hired another lighting kit to ensure we had enough lights and soft boxes in order to significantly brighten the studio setting and make the backdrop more white in the shots. We also altered the positions of the lights to enhance the light on the background so it wouldn’t look dull in the footage.
During this filming session, we also filmed Zara in numerous outfits. This is due to the feedback we got from our first dailies, as Brooke only wore a plain black top and no jewellery, this made the shot look slightly dull. Therefore, Zara wore 4 different outfits, including statement jewellery. This has worked out well in the shots and looks far more like a pop-genre music video.
Below are some images taken during our filming session on Wednesday 20th November:
Communication with our actress
As we have recently asked Zara to be the actress in our music video, there has been a lot of communication between us and Zara to ensure she is confident with everything in regards to her role etc. We have discussed what the music video is about, the artist ‘Luna’, her style, her availability and costumes. Below are some screenshots of text messages between myself and Zara in regards to our music video.
Shooting
We completed our first day of filming today, on Thursday 14th November. As we dedicated this filming session to the performance element of the music video, we only filmed the studio shots. We used the lighting kit shown below in the pictures and also a white backdrop, to create a studio feel for the shots. We believed a pure white background would look far more professional for the music video, rather than a white/cream painted wall in one of our houses. We found the lighting kit extremely useful as without the lights, there were prominent shadows on the white backdrop when our actress was singing. However, the only negative point we found with the white backdrop, is that it became extremely easily creased as it is only a white sheet, and not a hard material. Therefore, we attempted to use the lights in order to take the focus off of the creases in the sheet and make those parts slightly darker and less prominent. So, we placed a light behind the backdrop to further reduce the shadows. We found this filming session extremely useful as we learnt how to set up and successfully use the lighting kit and also how to create the best illusion with the white sheet as the background. So, next time we film – if the shots do not turn out successful from this filming session, we know how to make it better next time. Not only did we develop skills in lighting and background but we also developed skills using the SLR camera and how to successfully and effectively focus the camera and what setting to use.
Risk Assessment
We have completed a risk assessment in order to maximise our filming and editing time and to also make sure we are fully prepared when we come to film our music video. Therefore we have listed the main risks that may happen and also what they will cause if they do happen and also how we will prevent these risks from taking place. By thinking about how we will prevent each of these risks from happening we have become more prepared and organised for when we come to film.
We believe the highest risk and most likely to occur would be the camera equipment running out or breaking, therefore this is one of our main priorities to make sure we are fully prepared.
mbdwork
LUNA 