Layout of Digipak.

The Digipak has to be 280mm horizontally and 182mm vertically. Yet i will have to take 20mm of of the above measurements for the spine. So on both the front and the back i have 130mm in total to work with.

What should go on my digipak?

Look for logos and bar codes, pay attention to where they are placed on the Digipak, e.g. Jet Pack Man could have their own logo that is placed on the cover in order to create a symbolic sign that fans can associate with the band.

Look for various styles of front and colours, specific colours or styles of writing could represent the band in different ways.

Look for various images/fonts on the spine, the font could be the same on the whole of the Digipak?

What sort of images are on the Digipak? Is there any theme of representation presented though then? e.g. Could use particularly artistic/creative images as the band abstracts from the mainstream, non creative/commercial images.

Different types of Digipaks.

TEXT

PHOTO

GRAPHIC

David Hockney.

David Hockney is a English painter/photographer, based in London. I find his work very interesting as he uses composite polaroids to create these image bellow. I am drawn to this as the use of various angles and exposures create a abstract and fascinating image. I think this style of photography fits into the art house genre as it subverts away from the commercial style of simple standard photographs. I would like to use composite polaroids to create the artwork for my DVD cover.

Other Digipaks that i think are interesting.

I am now going to analyse some other Digipaks that i think are interesting to get an idea of other ways to create the Digipak.

Rage Against The Machine.

Here we can see the the bands representation being displayed constantly through out the Digipak, their band logo (the star) is presented on the spine and on the front cover, the colours green and red are strong colours that represent their strong personalities and view points. Live performance photographs are in the backgrounds to show another side to the band. Bar codes and logos are presented clearly. Same font is used though out in red and white, this DVD cover is simplistic yet effective as it still represents the band well.

Muse.

Here we can see that there is a block colour used to cover the whole of the front and back covers. The font is all in the same golden colour. The bands logo is also in the gold font, it is presented on the front cover and also on the spine of the Digipak. The art work represents the band well as the are well known for having abstract artwork. All of the logos are also in the gold font, this consistency in colour looks good as it is neat and draws the cover together.

Research into Digipaks.

I am going to analyse this Digipak cover as i think Jet Pack Man have links to The Cure, therefore i want to see how their Digipak has been created to get an idea of how to create my own.

The Cure.

Here we can see that this cover is bright and vibrant representing the bands image. The bands name is clearly presented at the top of the front cover in black to stand out against the bright colours. The same font is used through out the Digipak but in white to stand out against the back. Bar codes and logos are presented clearly and neatly o the spine and at the bottom of the back cover. Two different pictures are used both of live performance. The front cover has layers to overlap the image of the stage and then the shot of the singer. The back cover has a image of the stage again with a good rage of colours that draws the viewers eye in to the picture as it is against black.

The Cure.

I think Jet Pack have taken influence from The Cure through stylistic elements of producing the music. I think i could take influence from their art work as it is simplistic yet effective, this will help me to create ideas for Jet Pack Man.

The Cure

I like the idea of this artwork as it is simplistic. The first photograph is abstract art, i like the idea of this as it is very different from the mainstream, this would link to the representation of Jet Pack Man as the divert away from mainstream music. The second photograph is of a child drawing, this is very simplistic, resembles innocence as it is a child drawing yet it is slightly disturbing as we don't know exactly what the child is drawing, other than the lead singer. 

The Maccabees.

Jet Pack Man links with the Maccabees as they link with the same sound, their image and representation are very similar as they are both typical indie and quirky bands. I think that i could use ideas from their album art as they images are very art based which links with the idea of my music video being highly art house based.

The Maccabees - colour it in.

I like the idea behind this photograph with the cups of paint, i think this is unusual and quirky, this represents the band well, this is what i need to do for Jet Pack Man, i want to represent them as being indie, quirky and different. I like the idea of animation art for the second photograph, this again linking to the idea of an artistic and different album cover as it differs from the norm of the mainstream.

 

Bloc Party

Jet Pack Man are very similar in sound to Bloc Party, i think that i can work with ideas from some of their art work. 

A weekend in the city

Here Bloc Party have used time lapse to create their art work. This would link well with my music video as the whole piece is time lapse. Therefore i could create something that matches my music video well if i used time lapse. I think photograph 1 is interesting as it is

 a high angle shot, i like the lighting here as it works well to create a street light effect, which represents the idea of living in a city. Photograph 2 is interesting as the blue lighting again creates the idea of living in the city, the time lapse works very well here, also the blue lighting hanging look very interesting as they create a surreal effect. I like the framing in these photograph, the composition and balance within the photograph are good. I like the use of the rule of thirds as the two sides of the road are divided well and the sign is in the bottom third and the lights are in balance with the rest of the photograph. 

Research into three CD covers.

I am going to create a Digipak for my band. To begin i am going to research into bands of a similar genre to see how they base their ideas. Firstly i am going to research in to CD covers to get a generaly idea of how the bands representation is created. I am going to look at how the image has been framed and composed in order to get a good idea of how to create my photograph. I am going to look for specific styles that they use in order to create certain representations within the photograph. I am going to look at the mise en scene and see if i can find various links that add to the representation of the band. 

Planning to create the Digipak.

Front cover 

Spine

Back cover

The Digipak cover must represent your bands image and audience. 

Representations:

Narrative (if applicable)

Audience

Genre

Ideology

Web - freecovers.net

Final Video.

Re-filming the ending.

After reviewing my film i decided that the ending as not powerful enough. It was not clear to the viewer what was going on, they did not know if she was still in the game world or what had happened to her. So i decided to film a shot that is the same as the opening shot, i wanted the girl to look like she was coming out of a bad dream, almost as if she couldn't breath, i wanted this shot to be around 5-7 seconds long.

Adding the titles.

I have decided to add some titles so the opening and end scenes of my music video as i want the viewer to be able to understand that the girl is going into and coming out of a game like world.

I have thought about a number of possible words and have come to a conclusion that i should keep this part very simple. Enter for the opening scene and Game Over for the end scene.

Re filming the end scene.

I reviewed my video and thought that the ending was not clear enough, that the viewer may not be able to distinguish the ending clearly. So i decided to film a shot that fits the opening shot, but with the girl coming out of the world, almost as if she is waking up from a dream.

Final process of editing.

I have nearly finished editing my footage now, the whole piece is completely in order, the first section is all in sync with certain parts of the song. Now all that is left to do is to make the last section fit certain parts of the song. I want the ending to be distinctive, i am going to cut the last 10 seconds of the song so that they are fast paced, i want it to almost look like a flash back as she leaves the game.

New structure to video.

Inside room -----> girl

Intro - melodic -----> press button

11 seconds - Frantic -----> fast montage of settings

23 seconds - verse - vocals - "you seem so alive" -----> girl

45:10 seconds - chorus - vocals -----> time lapse montage

1:08:00 seconds - verse - melodic -----> girl

1:54:07 seconds - chorus -----> time lapse montage

1:54:07 seconds - guitar solo - fast paced -----> this has to be striking, conversation with brother

2:16 seconds - refrain - slower verse -----> girl and montage

2:56:23 seconds - fast verse - outro -----> "nothing between my eyes, nothing between my heart" - girl at night

Outro - slow down pace - girl

Last shot back in the room

Editing sound in garage band.

I began editing my audio by selected various lops and samples that i thought sounded eery and distorted as i wanted the opening scene to have an unsettling feel to it. I then placed the audio into place and cut it into various sections to make it synchronous to specific areas of the footage.I used a loop that sounded like white noise, this created the unsettling atmosphere that i wanted. I finally chose to use a electronic sounding loops, i cut a small section of this clip and copied it, i then placed it on each part of the footage that cut from one to the next. 

Final filming and changes made.

*Changes made*

After reviewing my footage i thought that some of the shots i had were slightly too long, i wanted to cut my footage up to make it more paced, therefore i decided to film some more footage in order to gain this effect. I also found that some previously filmed footage did not work when edited. I do not like the scene with the bench and the scene when the girl slides down the lamp post. I decided to cut these out as they did not fit the footage as well as i had hoped.

Creating sound in garage band.

Today i decided to create sound for the opening to my music video, the piece of footage that is filmed in night mode, with the girl and the game options. I wanted this sound to be unsettling and almost distorted to fit with the idea of the game world distorting everything around her. Also to link with the tradition ideas of the thriller/horror ideas to the video.

Progress made 30/11/09

I have made progress with the editing on my footage, i began adding effects to the clips. I wanted my video to be visually linked to the art house genre as the band themselves are interested in this and their fans are most likely to recognise this when they watch their video. Therefore i decided to try and adjust the colours within the footage, i used the brightness and contrast effects to create a vivd range of colours and then used the exposure adjust effect to create a brighter effect to the footage.

Re-filming - review.

Today i re-filmed the scene on the bench, this went really well and I found a better location than the one before. Now i have filmed this sequence in a hut on a green, this has enabled me to frame my work with my care as the location before was very limited in terms of framing and mise en scene. I also re-filmed some of the beach scenes, this has worked well as I was able to get a birds eye view of the cliffs and sea by standing on top of the cliff. 

Review of editing sessions.

I have completed editing the opening scene. I am very pleased with how the footage has turned out. I found that by using lots of jump cuts and fast paced editing created the unsettling feeling that I wanted. I have started to edit the footage that matches the music, seeing it on screen and with the music has influenced a few ideas. I found that i need to re-film some footage as it is not fast paced enough, some of the shots were to long, therefore i am going to have to plan to re-film some footage.

PLAN.

Re-film scene with bench-jumpcuts

Re-film the scene with the lamp post-slidingdown-jumpcuts

Progress made 19/11/09.

Today I filmed some more footage of crowds in a town centre. This went well and i was able to get various shot types and angles. Also today I solved a big problem with editing, I had filmed some footage of cars going along the motor way. I then sped this up in imovie, however it was not fast enough and i was not able to repeat this transaction again. However I found that if i dragged the clip out of imovie and then back it i was able to speed it up again as it thought it was a new file. This has really helped my project as some of my footage was not usable as i could not speed it up enough. Now i a able to use the footage again and i am able to use ideas that i did not think i could use as i can speed them up to the correct level.

Anton Corbijn.

Today i watched a dvd of Anton Corbijn's work. I was inspired by the way that he used his knowledge of photography to enhance his moving image.

I like the way that he uses black and white as it creates a gritty and realistic image to his work. I am interested about the framing in this shot as he has placed the man almost in the centre, this normally does not work when using the rule of thirds, yet in this case it has worked well as he has balanced the shot out with the surroundings.

Again i love the use of black and white here, but i also think the way that he has annotated his work is interesting. I am able to read his thoughts on the framing and the ideas about the shot, this helps me as i am influenced greatly by Corbijn's work.

Tasks for this week.

I have to re-film some footage as it has not turned out how i wanted it to. I want to re-film the scene where the girl walks though the crowd as i do not like the framing. I want to re think how the balance and composition is made up within the frame as i am framing my work by using the rule of thirds.

Progress made 11/11/09.

Today i experimented by editing the opening scene of my music video. I found that the night vision works really well as it creates an unsettling and unusual effect. I have decided to cut my footage and add extreme close ups of an eye moving. I have edited this in imovie, i have increased the speed to create an juddering movement to the eye. This works well when aded to the footage of the girl sat in the chair as it makes the piece fast paced, this is similar to Chris Cunningham's style of editing.

Development in ideas.

I want to make my video fast paced so i am going to try and use shot variety when filming. I am going to do this by using jump cuts and shot variation, for example close ups of an object the medium shots to add variation. I also would like to try and experiment with different shots that i have not used before. One shot in particular that i would like to use is in La Roux's music video for bullet proof. From one angle it looks at if La Roux is standing against a wall, then the camera rotates anti clockwise and we se that she is laying on a platform.

Progress made.

I have reviewed my footage and found it to be a successful shoot. I found that filming at night still worked well even though there was not a lot of people around it create the time lapse effect. This still worked as i got my subject to still move at a slow pace but not as slow, and with a jerky movement to create the surreal effect.

Changes to clothing.

I have decided to change the plan for what the girl in the video will wear. Originally I wanted her to wear normal clothes in the opening scene and then a gothic dress in the main piece of footage. This was to separate the two different worlds from each other, the normal clothes for the real world and the gothic dress for the surreal world.

Using the strobe machine.

As I am going to be using a strobe machine in my video I wanted to test the effects of it before I actually began to film it for real. I found that using the strobe on one of the lower settings at a high angle it created a more subtle effect that look better than if the strobe was directly in front of the girls face.

Practicing time lapse.

Today i put my research into practice with time lapse. I found practicing this helped a great deal as i learnt how to more properly, i had to more very slowly in order to create the juddering and jolty effect. I also had to move very slow against a crowd of people in order to gain the effect that i wanted. This has helped me as i have learnt from my own mistakes of moving to fast, i now know this so when i get my actor so do this i can tell her not to make certain mistakes. I filmed this process to upload for viewing, unfortunately i am unable to do this due to a fault with the tape.

Evaluation of filming the opening scene.

Filming the opening scene was overall a success as the footage has turned out to be how I wanted it to look. I used a strobe light i some of the shots to create a distorted and edgy effect, Chris Cunningham uses effects like this in his videos to create the same effects. I found after a few takes that I had to get the girl to move her head faster and with more of a jolty movement to create the crazy looking effect that I wanted.

I like the night shot mode here as it creates the distorted/surreal image that i want to create. I think this works well and I am going to use this effect through out the opening scene. I also like the surreal effect the night shot mode create on the girls eyes as her pupils are dilated, they stand out when in night mode therefore creating a scary effect that i want.

Practicing stop motion.

After planning how to create the time lapse effect I thought it would be a good idea to physically try and film it by using stop motion.

Schedule for planning.

As I am working on my own I am going to be in a better position to film as I have no partner therefore no other times to work around other than myself. I am going to be filming every Monday, Friday and Saturday. I will need to film the footage of the girl walking through the town on a Saturday in order to get the busy streets to create an effective time lapse effect. 

Final Location ideas.

I am still going to be filming in Exeter for the majority of the footage, this for the same reasons as before, for the setting reasons as I want the mise en scene to be perfect. I will need to film this footage on a day when the town is busy so that i can create the time lapse effect. I am going to be shooting some footage on a bridge over a motor-way to capture the lighting effects from the passing cars lights. I will then being going to a beach to film, this to create an interesting effect with the tide coming in and out. I want to get some point of view shots of people and objects to create a dazed and confused emotion from the girls perspective. 

Final Prop ideas and actors.

I don't specifically need any props in my video, the main focus for me will be the location and the mise en scene as they will be important in creating the correct representation for my video. As for the main character I have found someone who is willing to play the part, she lives ear the same area as I do and she does not have strict schedules therefore we are on a set path to film.

Final Clothing ideas.

In the opening scene i want to girl to be wearing normal/indie clothing to represent the fact that she is in a "real" world and to link in with Jet Pack Mans indie genre. Then when she goes into the "surreal" world i want her to be wearing a dress or some sort. 

Storyboards.

Final Treatment.

I plan to create a music video for a band called Jet Pack Man. Using their song titled Prisoned pulse in deceased fortresses I chose them because I thought that they are current and their music has a strong rhythm to work with. Jet Pack Man are a four piece indie band from Torquay, Hugh - Vocals, Tom - Drums, Alex - Bass and Warwick - guitar. After researching into their backgrounds and influences I found that they take influence from bands such as The Cure, The Maccabees and The Kooks. Jet Pack Man play regular gigs in alternative music venues like Rude Bar and Plan B. Venues such as these aim towards alternative music that steers away from the mainstream therefore a perfect venue for Jet Pack Man to play. An audience for Jet Pack Man are both male and female as they have no aspects about them that would make them appeal to a specific genre. Age range from teenagers to young adults (16-21), this due to their young vibrant image and the current style of music. There are differences within the audience when compared to the mainstream audience as they may attend regular gigs and be involved in the arts. Whereas the mainstream audience may tend to be involved in more commercial activities like going clubbing. Jet Pack Man appeal to their audience by playing in alternative venues where their audience would feel comfortable in that type of atmosphere. Their appearance is important as they are part of a subculture therefore certain dress code may apply. In this case they are from the indie genre so a dress code that abdicates them from the norm would be typical. Jet Pack Man use Web 2 to promote themselves distribute their music. I researched into their myspace page and found that fans are able to find various tracks, photographs and videos from gigs, information about gigs, information about the band, contact details and a space for friends and fans to comment.

My idea for a video is disjunctive as it does not have a relation to the lyrics. The character roles do not follow Propp’s character theory of Princess, Villain, Hero) as there is one character and she is subjected through a surreal world. The narrative to the video begin with a indie girl sat in a dark room, she is looking at a game option menu, she picks the Jet Pack Man experience and enters into another surreal world. Everything and everyone in this world moves at a great speed and she struggles to find a way out, she is stuck in the game. To create this speed effect I am going to use time lapse. She wonders around this world trying to find a a way out, searching among the streets, ally ways and road sides. I want the setting and mise en scene to represent the indie genre, therefore I am going to film in urban settings as indie kids tend to hang around more urban areas like cities. I am going to film in exeter as I think it has an urban, young and trendy vibe about it therefore fitting the image of Jet Pack Man. The girl never find a way out of the game, but finds another person like herself at the end of the video. Todorov’s theory of narrative cannot be applied to my video as there is no form of new equilibrium at the end of the video as she is trapped in the surreal world. I want to base my video highly on the rules of photography, rule of thirds and composition as I feel that I can bring my knowledge of photography to my work this way. One of the directors that I researched called Anton Corbijn based his work highly on the rules on photography and I was inspired by his work. I want to use a lot of jump cuts, hand held tracking shots to create an uncertain atmosphere, long shots to establish the setting and finally I am going to base a lot of my shots on framing and composition. I am going to use night mode on the camera to represent the difference from when she in not in the surreal world. I want the mise en scene to represent the indie genre well, traditionally I wanted the girl to wear a gothic laced dress to represent the change into the surreal world. However I rethought this idea and came to the conclusion that the audience may not understand why I had put her in this costume. This could be navigating too far away from the indie genre therefore I decided to keep her in the same clothes to avoid any confusion. I want the lighting to be natural as I plan to change the contrast slightly when I edit the footage to create a vivid and bold visual look. I want to edit a lot of the shots synchronous to the beat within the song. I am also going to speed up the footage to create the time lapse effect. In the opening scene I am going to have ambient sounds to create an uncertain and uneasy atmosphere for the audience.

I think there are three main genres that are presented through my music video. First there are elements of gothic as she is trapped in a world that she cannot get out of. Second there is a sense of surrealism as it is a game like world where every one moves at a great speed compared to her. Finally the video represents the indie genre as the song itself sounds traditionally indie. When researching indie bands music videos I found that a lot of the time the lead singer was filmed for the majority of the video as the main character. As I have chosen not to have any relation with my character to the band I am subverting the typical conventions of the genre. However I think this will still appeal to the audience as it is an alternative idea that is interesting and still has links to the audiences interests like the setting and clothing.

If my music video were to shown on a music channel on television I think it would be on NME as it diverts away from mainstream music, the focus is on alternative bands and artists. Another music channel they may appear on would be Q as again they play bands and artists that abdicate form the norm of the mainstream. Music magazines that Jet Pack Man may feature in would be again MNE and Q for the same reasons as above.

In conclusion I plan to create a music video that is around 4 minutes long. This video will illustrate how a girl becomes trapped in a surreal game like world that moves around her at a great speed. I plan to use a wide variety of shot types in order to gain the ability to edit synchronously to the song. I plan to use speed up the footage to create the time lapse effect to create an idea of surrealism and isolation for the character in the video.

Planning how to create time lapse.

Today i have worked out how to create a time-lapse effect for my music video. If i film 60 seconds of footage and then speed it up in i movie it will take it down to 12. I have learnt that i have to get my subject to move really slowly in order to get the jolty effect that i want to create, i now have a better idea of how to film when in exeter therefore saving me time. I also have thought of some ideas on what clothing i want my subject to wear, i would like the subject to wear fairy tale, almost slightly gothic clothes. This is because i want to create the idea that she is trapped in another world that is almost nightmarish to her.

Change of plan.

As I researched further looking at different music videos from different genres I decided that my ideas were lacking something, so I reformed my ideas into something more interesting. I am now going to be filming my music video by using time lapse. 

I am going to deconstruct a music video that i am influenced by for my own music video - Slipknot - Vermillion. Slipknot are a heavy metal band therefore not in the same genre as Jet Pack Man, however time lapse is not something that is set to certain genres therefore i think it will work well in my music video. They use time lapse through out this video, this is something i am going to try in my music video as i think visually it is amazing. 

The mise en scene is important for this video as the band themselves are in the heavy metal genre therefore the girl in this video is wearing a gothic style dress, i think this works well as she will appeal to the specific audience. The lighting has a blue tint to it, this again is similar to other bands videos that i have looked at within this genre of music.

In this clip we can see the band with the girl, they all have masks on, this represents the gothic, heavy metal genre that they are in. It is also important for the band to wear these masks as it is their trade mark and they wear them in all of their videos. Jet Pack Man do not have any trade mark qualities like this yet.

New ideas.

I have been inspired for my music video some music videos:

Slipknot - vermillion - i like the way this video uses time laps. 

Corbijn - he uses thirds well to frame his shots and his style is gritty - i will use to use my knowledge of photography within my .

Cunningham - editing style is fast and synchronous to the beat - i want to edit like my video with fast cuts and synchronous editing. 

Actors.

I have thought about different people that could be in my music video, i need a variety of people as i want some of the actors to just appear in one or two shots. I will need one main character who i will be tracking throughout the video. I will also need around 6 people to do the short shots lip syncing into the camera.

Locations.

I have thought about various locations and come to some conclusions about what would suit my video and what would not.

I live in Newton Abbot therefore i would be easy for me to film around this area, I could also use Torquay as a setting. However the setting are not appropriate as Newton Abbot and Torquay are more retirement and family areas, therefore they would not suit the urban and city lifestyle that i require for my video.

So I researched further and decide that Exeter would suit my video better than other options that i researched. I came to this conclusion because Exeter is a bigger city therefore has the specific urban style that i require for my music video. There are lots of small alley ways, backstreet shops, music venues and art houses that i think i could incorporate within my music video. For example if incorporated an alternative music venue like the cavern club it would appeal the the fans as they could relate to going to venues similar to the cavern. I would like to film some of the opening at the Exeter central or St Davids train station.

Clothing ideas.

I have various ideas for clothing, i would like it to fit into the Indie genre as this would then fit the image of the band and it would also appeal to the fans. I want to try and use blacks and greys within the clothes as they are dark and mysterious colours therefore they will fit with the lyrics and themes of the video. 

I have now researched into various styles that are seen in the Indie scene. I found that skinny jeans were very popular within both the boys and girls. 

I think that converse would suit the style well as i found that they are typical of this subculture. I one of the actors was not ale to get any converse black pumps would also work well.

Something simple like this jumper would work well as it is black therefore representing a dark and mysterious character and atmosphere.