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Magazine Advert Planning

Brand identity is especially important for an unsigned artist such as the Plastic Dots who I am designing this promotional package for. For this reason, I intend for the advert to be a direct continuation of the design choices made in the digipak.

Looking at the planning for the digipak, I was particularly inspired by the psychedelic patterns featured on my mood board blog here. Reflecting the indie-psych genre effectively, the uniqueness of each design also mimics the unique, older-sounding vibe that this band possess. Looking back to my analyses, in the sketch below I have outlined conventional elements that I wish to include in this advertisement.

Looking back at my research,  The King Blues used a handwritten font to illustrate each track name to give them an individual identity. I intend for the digipak to be self titled The Plastic Dots as it is their debut album, but I have researched 70s typefaces in case I use this.

Whilst I like the idea of using a font with a traditional connotations to the 70s, both of these examples contrast against the band logo due to them all being gothic, bold typefaces. I intend to create a handwritten typeface for the thank you note in the digipak, so this may be suitable for the text in the advert. If not I intend to use the same Arial Black font from the logo.

Digipak Design Planning

When constructing this mood board, I considered both the music video and the indie-psych genre in order to strengthen the brand identity of this promotional package. I particularly liked the psychedelic patterns and faded aesthetic that is conventional of the indie-psych genre, yet I also like Bowie's uniformly monochrome digipak that I analysed. The idea of stripping back the digipak to monochrome, just as the song is stripped back to a retro, 60's sound.

Whilst I like the idea of having a minimal design, as this is for an emerging band, I worry that this bold choice will not impact upon potential fans. Because of this, I have decided to further explore imagery associated with the indie-psych genre, as well as that which can be linked to themes within the music video, strengthening the brand identity across the promotional package.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE MOOD BOARD BLOG

After collating these images together, the abstract patterns and harmonious palettes are something that appear in the music video, so in order to heighten the brand identity, I will try to create some of these patterns.

Constructing these patterns is something that I am fairly new to. Researching further into these patterns, I discovered that there are two possibilities for creating them, either traditionally using oil in water, or digitally using Photoshop. As I am confident in photoshop, I decided to give try this technique, varying the gradient tool and blend modes to create unique and unrepeatable effects. Below is a screen capture of this process:

Screenshot of Flickr Album
The images from this test are in this Flickr album HERE

After experimenting with the creation of these psychedelic patterns using Photoshop, I am quite impressed by the variation achieved in a relatively short time frame. Whilst this creates a fluid aesthetic that is comparable to the indie-psych genre, these can come across as quite processed due to their digital creation. Some of these patterns are also too varied, I personally prefer the more muted designs such as the bottom left version above. I shall experiment more with the creation of these gradients digitally, and should they not achieve the desired aesthetic, I will move to a traditional process, drawing upon my art skills instead.

Continuing layering gradients using Photoshop, this became difficult to predict, with each result varying from the previous. Keen to pursue this technique, using a paintbrush tool, I layered saying vibrant colours on the canvas, before using the liquify effect to turn it into the psychedelic pattern below. The bold, controlled palette possesses an indie-psych aesthetic that I aimed to achieve with the original designs, inspired by my research.

While I like this pattern, I feel that this is lacking the physical, hands-on element that the artistry of the indie genre connotes. I shall reserve this as a strong possibility, but I will try using inks - of which feature heavily in the music video - to create a psychedelic pattern, strengthening the overall brand identity.

Constructing the prints, with pictures of the mixed ink.

Interestingly, the ink designs below were just as unpredictable as the digital designs. Using mainly primary colours, I laid paper in the tray of ink, removing the paper to reveal the patterns below. Personally, I really like these, featuring texture and depth that I have consciously aimed to maintain within the music video. Such connections encourage me to develop these further, combining them with text to see how the digital and traditional designs compare with this addition.

Edited scans of prints that are to be developed.

After editing these prints in Photoshop, mainly to increase the vibrancy as the scanning dulled the images,  I combined them with the previously developed band logo to see if they could be adapted to form a front cover for the digipak.

Please hover over the white circles below for annotations of each image.

I personally liked the last two examples from above the most, but I feel that the photo of ink holds better links to the music video over the version I created in Photoshop, as well as aesthetically possessing greater depth and tone than the otherwise flat digital version.

Whilst I like the photo, I find that the variation in colour makes the band logo quite hard to read in places, distracting from this vital element in order for the audience to recognise the artist. Because of this, I used the layer blend mode luminosity in Photoshop to create a darker yet vibrant aesthetic that I personally really like. I intend to use this technique for the introduction, furthering the link between the ancillary products and the music video.

I also felt that the solid white logo appeared disjointed against the otherwise fluid background, so I altered the transparency of both the black and white versions in an attempt to blend it more with the image. The result achieved this, but they both looked slightly too subtle. The white version was more legible than the black, so when I refined this further, I decided to continue with the original white variation.

An increase in opacity resulted in the image below. This encompasses my design intentions, and in my opinion, if this was not successful as a digipak cover, this could certainly be part of a booklet design as per my original intentions.

Digipak Layout Planning

Looking at existing albums and digipak's that I own, all 5 featured the above dimensions. Considering that the size of the digipak is important as aspects such as the CD holder, inserts, and flaps are all dependent on it's overall dimensions. For this reason, I have decided to adhere to these conventions.

Flatplans

Referring to my research, I chose aspects from each digipak that I liked and merged them together to form the layout of my digipak. For example, I liked the inside left pocket on Bowie's digipak, especially considering that the band I am advertising is unsigned and independent, this allows for greater content, heightening the engagement of the audience. This promotion of a loyal fan base will also be reflected in the inclusion of a thank you note on the 'folded inside panel', adding a personal touch that I admired in Reckless Kelly's digipak.

In order to better visualise the digipak, I created a physical flatplan which I then annotated using After Effects below.

Satisfied by how the physical version came out, I decided to create a .gif to show even more clearly how the digipak will open up. As this has been successful in the paper model, this will be the layout I choose for the final digipak.

Track list

From my research a digipak would normally consist of 12 tracks. From looking at the band's Soundcloud, they have made just 7. Rather than imagine 5 more tracks, I believe that including exclusive or previously unissued content would be an added incentive for loyal fans which a digipak is aimed towards.

Referring back to my research, both digipaks featured exclusive content, with Bowie's digipak offering 3 'Bonus Tracks' and Reckless Kelly's featuring an alternative version of the main track. Considering the indie genre, I think adding acoustic covers and demo tracks will offer insight into their artistic process, of which is heightened within this genre.

I have decided on the track list above. This lists all of the tracks from The Plastic Dots' Soundcloud, with 'bonus tracks' those that I have created. With a live version of the main track that I used for the music video, and an acoustic version of another of their tracks, this strengthens the overall presence of the band. A demo of a new track gives insight into their artistic process, as well as giving a sense of potential that the fans can invest in. Two covers of older songs also suggests their influences, giving background information on the band which is a partial aim of the digipak.

Checklist for 22/10/14

In order to remain organised for the session in the TV Studio, I have written myself using the multi-platform software Evernote, which I can access at any time through my phone or a computer. I hope to get as much usable footage from this session as possible for the final video, so that another session may not be needed, giving me more time to edit and refine the piece.

Practical Pre-Production - Double Exposure Test 3

After the first double exposure test, I researched into online tutorials which could refine the double exposure effect. Once I had experimented myself into refining the double exposure technique (evidenced in the second double exposure test) I found this double exposure After Effects tutorial below on Youtube.

Described as 'medium difficulty' this tutorial used techniques which I have used in the past, as well as some which I haven't yet come across. Free footage was also available with this tutorial, and I decided to use the tree, dust, and lens flare footage to see if I could get a final result similar to that in the video. I used my own green screen footage of James. Documented below is the progression of my own work following the tutorial, compiled in the online software Canva.

Whilst the end result perhaps does not have as much definition on James's facial features, there are definitely certain aspects to this video which I will continue to refine:
• Using 'Add' to blend the background into the double exposure, creating a more harmonious composition.
• The use of a pan in the background footage, and then duplicate this in a new layer and fragment it, adding depth to the overlaid footage.
• Creating an edge blur by manipulating the blur and shrink/grow transformations within the screen matte to further blend the double exposure with the background. 

After Effects Workshop 1 - Key Frames

Below is the results from an After Effects I attended. As I intend to use After Effects heavily, these sessions will further my knowledge of this software and aid the editing process.

This session covered animation and key frames, using shape and text layers to create various moving parts in a title sequence. Using the transform tool I manipulated: opacity, rotation, scale, anchor point, position, skew, and blur to create varying effects. In order to create smoother transitions between these effects I used Easy Ease on some of the key frames, which removes any jitter in the movement between each key frame.

Anchor Point & Rotation: The yellow star has been manipulated using both the anchor point and rotation transformation tools, with the anchor point the location which the star rotates around. By selecting the start and ending point with two key frames, this caused the star to rotate once around the anchor point.

Scale: Using 3 key frames for the large circle, I used the scale tool to grow and shrink the shape. Setting the shape from 0% (invisible), grow to 140% (larger than normal size), then down to 100%, causing the shape to grow to larger than normal and shrink back to normal size.

Transparency: On the smaller circle, I used two key frames at the beginning and the end of the clip to make the shape appear from nothing. In order to achieve this, the value of the first key frame was 0%, and the second key frame's value was set at 100%.

Position: Used on the "Title Text" text layer, here the position transformation moved the text layer from out of the frame to the centre of the frame, using two key frames and motion blur to smooth this transition. This transition can be created through placing the object in the start position before moving it to it's final position, and the software blocks in this movement automatically.

Practical Pre-Production - Double Exposure Test 2

One thing I found with the previous multiple exposure was the final result appeared quite flat and stencil-like, with just the sheer outline masking the time lapse clip. In this test I wanted to experiment with creating depth within the original green screen footage.

Despite being only 4 seconds long, this clip took around 3 hours to edit, which I believe will decrease as I become more confident using After Effects. Because of this, I am keen to refine the technique and various effects which create the final result to hopefully lessen the time spent creating each double exposure in the final video.

In order to emphasise the impression of 3D on this 2D footage, I created a vignette which will draw the focus to the centre of he frame, where the action is happening. Also, the vignette will lesson the appearance of the double exposure 'floating' in the sequence.

In the previous experiment, Displacement Maps were used to alter the time lapse footage in an attempt to add depth and interest to the background footage. Here I used a Displacement Map on the green screen footage layer, so the face will displace the background footage, and add definition to James's features. Whilst this does create depth, this looks almost Solarised, which results in a loss of realism in this sequence. The Displacement Map was effective in adding depth to this piece, I will be experimenting with adjusting shadows and highlights to create a more natural aesthetic.

Practical Pre-Production - Star Trails

After my previous unsuccessful attempts of getting a time lapse of the night sky, I decided to try to capture star trails instead. The image above is composed of 17 images each with 30 second exposures with an ISO of 600. A time consuming but rewarding process, this star trail captures just a part of the sky, but I am pleased with the effect I achieved, especially for my first attempt. As I do not own a remote trigger I had to continually wait and press the shutter, which was laborious. The images were taken using a Fuji x20 and have had no colour correction.

In order to combine all of the photos I had taken, I uploaded them into Photoshop, and changed each Layer Blending Mode to 'Lighten' which allowed all of the images to be visible in the end result.

Practical Pre-Production: Time Lapse Test 3

On Saturday, upon seeing the storm approaching, I captured these time lapses of the clouds rolling in, demonstrating the growing intensity of the storm. After taking shots on both the iPhone 6 and the Fuji x20, I reviewed each of these clips and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Fuji x20. The first three shots of the video were filmed with the Fuji x20, and the final shot with the iPhone 6. Due to the fading light, noise is especially present in the final shot taken with the iPhone, with the higher ISO creating this in an attempt to capture as much light as possible. As I could manually control the ISO on the Fuji x20, the quality of these shots in low light are a vast improvement on the iPhone, making them suitable for night time shooting.

Storyboard

Storyboard Sketches

In preparation for the storyboard, I created sketches when I had an idea of how to illustrate certain lyrics on screen. I first used pen and paper to sketch out and plan some shots I intended to use.

I then switched to the iOS app Paper by FiftyThree, which allowed me to sketch on the go, with a wealth of colours which would not have been available otherwise. I found this a really useful software which allowed me to revisit sketches, so if I had a quick idea I could jot it down, and refer and refine it later.

Call Sheets

Participant Release Form

Casting

As the track I have chosen has a male vocalist, I was keen to represent this through my casting choices. I decided to ask James who has featured in the pre-production tasks to be the actor in my video as I have already developed experiments with him, so I have a more solid background when filming the actual video.

James and I also share a similar timetable, which is helpful as the TV studio (where the majority of footage will take place) is only available 9-5 Monday-Fridays, which enables me to organise sessions around our free periods.

I referenced existing double exposure videos in creating a simple outfit which will act as the foundation for the overlaid image. A grey t-shirt and black jeans combination in recent years has been seen as an outfit which could suit casual casual occasions, as well as offering layering oppertunities, and is hence popular amongst the target audience. In turn, this fulfils the viewers expectations as to what a younger person would wear, removing any distraction which an outfit can create.

Primary Source Mood Board

Hover over images for annotation.

Risk Assessments

Below is the example of the risk regarding trailing cables connecting the camera to the main power supply. Cables are contained lowering the danger of becoming tangled in them.

Recce Checklist

Practical Pre-Production: Time Lapse Test 2

As I intend to use time lapse within my final music video, I wanted to develop and refine the skills I developed from the original set of tests. After experimenting with double exposure in after effects, I composed each sky shot with nothing in the foreground, preventing any element obscuring the outline of the figure which it is overlaid onto. Whilst the tests using the iPhone 6 proved successful, I'm keen to improve the quality of the time lapses, especially if they're going to be manipulated in post production. Also, the iPhone doesn't give me much control over settings such as ISO, limiting the controls to focus and exposure.

I first intended to use a Canon 600D, and set up the shot for a sunset. Considering I have been filming for an hour at a time with the iPhone, I didn't realise the continuous shooting would be such a drain on the camera's battery. After 16 minutes the battery went completely flat, leaving me with perhaps 10 seconds of footage once edited. This is clearly very limiting, especially if I wanted to get multiple time lapse shots over the course of a day. Despite the battery issues, I am pleased with the quality of the footage I did achieve, and would like to use this camera more, preferably with a charger handy!

As I intended to shoot across the weekend with the 600D and did not have access to a charger, I used my contingency plan which was to use my own 1100D. I have shot with this camera before, and the video results have not been brilliant, again with little control over the exposure and ISO of each sequence. My original intention for using the 600D was to get some low-light shots of the night sky, as well as creating some out of focus shots resulting in Bokeh which would look quite abstract after the double exposure process. After attempting this with the 1100D, the results are very noisy and at times over exposed, creating footage which I would dismiss for the final video. I did manage to shoot a single star going across the sky, but this again was not very impressive or particularly usable due to the lack of interest within the frame.

Finally, I revisited the iPhone 6. After gaining footage of a sunset, I found the results to once again be noisy in the low-light, meaning that I would not use this camera either for the final video. However, the next day the sky was very characterful, and I managed to get some footage of a storm approaching. I was actually very impressed by this footage, leading me to the conclusion that the iPhone's strengths lie in well-lit scenes.

Practical Pre-Production: Double Exposure Test

Inspired by the possibilities of multiple exposure, I used footage from the green screen and time lapse tests to create a double exposure clip. This was created using the skills which I had previously developed, but I do intend to search for tutorials which will further the impression of 3D within this 2D sequence.