New Filming Locations

I have decided on another two locations to film in- The Dock and Queens Gardens. While I have already filmed in Queens Gardens, I feel I did not get enough and have found, using Google maps, another location of filming that can be used.

The Dock:

I feel the Dock would be a good place to film because exaggerates the open space convention of the genre and it rarely gets busy, allowing me to effectively film with little disturbances.

Queens Gardens:

Again, I feel that this part of Queens Gardens shows the conventions of the genre and may appeal more to the audience is this is an area where more young people are more likely to hang out.

Final Vector

This is the final vector graphic I have produced for my CD. I am happy with the way it has turned out as I feel it portrays both the artist as an individual, making it a small logo for herself, and the ideology of the genre as a whole. The ideology here represents the idea that your identity is not formed by what you look like. I have therefore made the point of having her name over her (non-existent) face to demonstrate that who she actually is as an individual (her personality) is what forms her identity.

How I Created It:

Vector Graphics

Unlike JPEGs, GIFs, and BMP images, vector graphics are not made up of a grid of pixels. Instead, vector graphics are comprised of paths, which are defined by a start and end point, along with other points, curves, and angles along the way. A path can be a line, a square, a triangle, or a curvy shape. These paths can be used to create simple drawings or complex diagrams. Paths are even used to define the characters of specific typefaces.
Because vector-based images are not made up of a specific number of dots, they can be scaled to a larger size and not lose any image quality. If you blow up a raster graphic (made up of a grid of pixels), it will look blocky, or "pixelated." When you blow up a vector graphic, the edges of each object within the graphic stay smooth and clean. This makes vector graphics ideal for logos, which can be small enough to appear on a business card, but can also be scaled to fill a billboard.

http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/how-create-vector-art-2131975
http://ndesign-studio.com/tutorials/tracing-photo
This is a website I am going to use to help me work my way around Illustrator in order to produce a vector graphic for the CD/DVD in my digipak. Vector Graphics commonly consist of bright colours and are usually very vibrant, used more for R'n'B style music album covers. However, with the alteration of the colours I hope to make a graphic to suit the genre of my album. I can also do this by make the graphic itself very simplistic and something that can represent the artist as an independent artist- making it a logo.

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/drawing-pen-pencil-or-flare.html

Existing Vector Graphics:

I could take on a more relaxed, funny childish feel to it in which it will address a specific type of audience and present the personality of my artist in a fun way. However, I feel it may not fit well with the genre and/or other images on the album.

I could produce a similar vector to this and, instead, use it as the back image of the album. In doing this, I can create the exact amount of space I want/need for text and I feel a simple design will fit well with genre. If I do this, though I will have to create one of a similar style for the rest of the album in order to show continuity. This is something I may look more into.



These are some images I found of vector graphics used on existing album covers.
I could create a single logo to be featured on my album cover, however since my artist is independent it would be more conventional to have a photograph of her or I could create a vector based on her as an individual.

Artist Logo

For every artist, solo or band, there is a specific logo associated with them. For bands an image is also more likely to be seen in order to represent the band as a whole and not each individual member, while for solo artists, it is usually just their name. Either way, the style and font they use will stay the same and the logo we see, on each of their albums/advertisements/music videos, will always be the same logo. Below I have gathered some examples of artists I consider fit a similar music style to my artist. I have gathered these as I think it is important for my artist to have a logo, I am looking at the styles different artists use,  in order to get a better understanding of the conventions of which I should follow when creating my own.

From looking at these, I can see that the logo for my artist should be  in a font that isn't bold and rigid but rather relaxed. The letters also tend to be of the same size, making it look neater. The logo I am looking for mine to look like is either Lucy Spraggan's or Gabrielle Aplin's. I feel that, while Gabrielle's has a more conventional look to it, Lucy's appears more fun and in a font that may attract a more teenage based audience.

Original Photographs For Ancillary Texts

Planning ahead, I took some photographs before filming my music video, for my ancillary texts. I did this because we were in a location in which I wanted the photo shoot to take place and there was a fair amount of greenery. Since I can't do another photo shoot with Jess until she is here for another week of filming, I will be using these photos for my first draft of my ancillary texts. However, Jess is using a different guitar which may pose a problem with the continuity, although this will not happen in the next photo shoot. Since looking at other photographers for inspiration,I will I have an even more clearer idea of what photos I would like to take in the next photo shoot- although I will be following a similar style to some of these.

I'm not sure about using this one because she has different footwear on to what is shown in the video, therefore disrupting the continuity. I do like this shot however and will replicate it in the next photo shoot.

This photo will be best for the front cover as there is space to the side of her head which will conventionally leave room for a title. I will obviously have to crop the image for it to fit the square dimensions of the case.

Alex Lake - Photography Inspiration

Alex Lake is a UK based photographer who has worked with magazines, such Q and Wired, record labels, such as Sony BMG and Island Records, plus other clients. While I have only found two images that I really like, it means I can be more selective with the type of shots I take. Although the first image is of a  group, I particularly like the colour. This is the type of colour I would want to use as I feel it conforms to conventions of the genre. It is also shot in an open space, again-conventional and I like images that are landscaped long shots.

The second image goes back to my earlier research of Sam Jones. This time the image only features one person which is what I want. I like that he is seen to be doing something- therefore black and white to draw less attention to the surroundings. It also draws attention to the fact he is looking directly at the camera. However, this is not something I want in my images.

Roddy Bow - Photography Inspiration

Ben Howard

While I'm not overly fond of the framing of these image, I particularly like the use of editing. Colour has been added to a small of the photos which gives it an old scrapbook look, as if colours have mixed and a new colour has seeped in. This then makes it feel like we are not seeing an image of a well known musician but are looking at a more personal photo of someone we know.

Adam Elmakias - Photography Inspiration

Adam Elmakias is a well known photographer within the pop punk genre. He has mainly worked with bands such as All Time Low, Pierce the Veil and A Day to Remember. While most of his work are live images and of the whole band, I found a few featuring only one band member. The images I have selected show two different types of shots which I would like or am considering to use in my own work. The first, of Ben Bruce, is a high angled mid shot. This has allowed a natural shot while still been able to be focused on his face, expression, and chest tattoos. Since he has tattoos, the image is black and white to create more of a mood from the picture. If it were to be in colour, there would be the distraction of the colours of the his tattoos. I particularly like the last image the most because of the composition. I love the way the attention is drawn to Jeremy and the way he is centered and placed quite far from the camera.  

Sam Jones- Photography Inspiration

While researching photographers that have worked with artists such as Phillip Phillips, Mumford and Sons and Lucy Spraggan, I found Sam Jones whose images I intend to use as inspiration for my own photographs for the album. I have selected a few of his images which are similar to the type of images I want to produce. What I like about his photography is that the subject is shot in a natural state- while some may be posed, their eyes are diverted away from the camera, giving a more natural pose. This is the type of photography I like taking myself as I see photography as a way of capturing things as they happen, rather than staging them. Sam Jones' images are a perfect example of this. Excluding the first image, he also tends to use natural lighting to produce different atmospheric feels. While he may have altered it a little on Photoshop, the colour and lighting reflect the style of the costume and setting. The first image is slightly different in the sense that it is in black and white. It has made me consider the use of black and white in my photos, and I will continue to research photography of the same style and produce my own images to see if it would the genre of my album.

Photography Research

http://photography.tutsplus.com/tutorials/photographing-a-band-for-their-album-cover--photo-12073

While I am not working with a band, this tutorial has broken down the process of a photo shoot and highlights certain areas I may need to consider when taking my own photos.

Digital Plan of Album Advertisement 1

This is the first digital plan I have produced, using Publisher, based off of the conventions of traditional album advertisements. I am going to build on this and create more digital plans so I can make a final decision on what I want my final product to look like. After producing more digital plans, I am going to create a quick mock up of the one I prefer the most.

Creating the Tracklist

Before creating my digipak, I need to put together a track list for my album. To do this, I have searched artists that follow a similar genre to my artist and have chosen songs which I think sound right as song names to be featured on my album. I have also chosen them not only on the basis of the name but on what the actual song sounds like because it is then more likely to fit the style of the album.
I have screen shot the track lists of each artists' album and highlighted the ones I wish to feature on my album.

Initial Ideas for Digipak

Album Advertisement Conventions

Digipak Research

Here I have chosen to look at one album from a solo artist and one from a band because I can establish conventions that I must use in my own product, despite the genre. While this research isn't very broad, it has given me a simple insight into the conventions that a digipak consists of, regardless of the nature of the artist (solo or band), therefore highlighting conventions that I must use in my own product (barcode, title fonts, copyright information, spine design, tracklist etc).

Ancillary Texts

For the ancillary texts, I will be researching and producing

• A cover for it's release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).