Currently, the first verse, first chorus, first instrumental, second verse, and second chorus are edited. This is a significant change on the previous construction update, as my skills have improved in After Effects the time taken to construct each section has reduced, enabling me to be more efficient in the same amount of time.

Throughout the planning stages of this video, the instrumental sections were a strong consideration of mine, and due to the conceptual nature of the video, I decided to wait until I had edited up to this point to view how variety can be added in this sequence. The video so far is constantly focused upon the protagonist's head in either close-up or medium close-up in order to encourage the audiences engagement, with eye contact strengthening this throughout. With the aforementioned variety in mind, I wanted the instrumental to focus upon something other than the protagonist, deciding upon hands for their connotations of expression. This expressive nature is suitable for editing to the music, with the various movements reflecting the fluidity of the overlaid ink. The assortment of movements means I can transfer this to the second instrumental, with the continued use of the double exposure aiding the consistency of the video.

In this edit, I have also changed the lightning sequence in the second verse, third line. In the hot design exercise, this shot received mixed reviews as it originally moved from left to right, which some found disorientating considering the otherwise fixed point movement of some sequences. Also, looking back at my pre-production posts, when developing this sequence I liked how the lightning lit up the protagonist's features that are otherwise shrouded in darkness. Considering this, I have revised this sequence, keeping the shot static and with a monochrome palette, allowing me to easily blend the green screen footage with the background. This blend means that as the white lightning illuminates his features, succeeding in illustrating the pre-production intentions as well as adding drama that is referenced in the lyrics (Andrew Goodwin). Hopefully this change, as it is more consistent with the aesthetic of the video, will be better received by the target audience.

Looking back at my planning stages, I had intended for the video to become increasingly darker as it reaches the end, matching the darker, sadder tones mentioned in the lyrics, as well as the lack of resolution evident. The repeated line in the chorus "I just want to go wherever you go tonight" was illustrated using out-of-focus fireworks, yet to enhance this variety I have decided to use an ink in water shot that reminded me of clouds in the night sky. Once again, this doesn't obviously illustrate the mention of "tonight", however the monochrome palette definitely does. Although, this is not quite the end of the video, and as it has already reached black and white, I'm worried that the subtle change to monochrome will be diluted by this early inclusion. I may change this grading to a darker blue colour, retaining the nighttime connotations.

There are still some elements I want to change before I gather more audience feedback. For example, the map sequence of the third verse is quite subtle, with the lighter grading contrasting against the next darker shot. Also, as I am currently constructing the ancillary products, I have been inspired by the psychedelic patterns derived from the ink and water sequences in the video, so I have plans for the introduction to heavily feature this.

Construction Update 5/02/15

Above is the first 30 seconds of my music video. This has been a long process so far, with on average each 5 seconds taking at least 18 hours to complete. From getting the keying precisely right, to looking at what footage fits well with what colour grading, this has been a difficult but rewarding construction so far.

Featuring the first verse, I wanted to group these four sequences by palette, sticking to a mainly blue/teal grading, as well as utilising the cross processing technique developed after researching colour grading. I decided upon this blue colour first due to the opening line "I stood beneath the floating waves" in order to illustrate this line (Andrew Goodwin's theory that the lyrics are illustrated through the visuals), yet this inclusion of the blue began to symbolise the otherwise relaxed nature of this first verse.

The visuals become increasingly dark as the chorus approaches, which was a deliberate attempt to make the bold chorus colours impact upon the viewer, creating a contrast of tone. As the chorus is repeated 4 times throughout the video, I really wanted this to portray the indie-psych genre through the use of bold colour and imagery to entice and engage the audience.

I was quite experimental in creating this sequence, gaining footage from a projection of abstract colours on a wall, creating layers of simulation. This projection created varied results, as well as adding depth and perspective to the footage, that I would not have been able to achieve through using the original flat colour sequence. Because of the variety evident in this sequence, this enables me to transfer a similar technique to the same line as it is repeated within the song.

Continuing the illustration of the lyrics through the visuals, the final line of the chorus "I just want to go wherever you go tonight" features a darker palette similar to the night sky. I first used a picture of the night sky as outlined in my storyboard, however this was not very visually interest, especially considering the length of this shot being conventional with the indie genre's slow pace of editing. Revisiting my primary research, outlined in my mood board was the use of bokeh; out of focus shots of light sources, creating delicate circles of light that are frequently utilised in indie music videos. I realised that the footage of fireworks would have the same aesthetic of the night sky, while adding movement, reiterating this visual interest.

Magazine Advert Analyses

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.

Digipak Analyses