Draft Magazine Advertisement

Here is my draft magazine advert. As you can see it features the main digipak cover image and the same background. It also features reviews and featured tracks which are common conventions.

Draft Digipak

Here is a draft sketch of the type of digipak i would like to create. As you can see it will feature a boy on the front cover looking directly at the camera so it directly addresses the audience. The digipak will also feature a continual pattern to make it more fun and get the attention of our target audience which is around 13-19. I  want to use 2 different types of font one very basic and can be used for the main album heading and a fancier one as a contrast. I also wanted a bright and bold style to both the tasks, digipak and advert, so there would be a clear style throughout and would be easily recognisable. So i chose dark blue and orange, because they are complimentary and also quite bold. 

Digipak Research

Here are a few examples of the kind of digipak i would like to create. I would prefer it to be very graphical rather than realistic as i feel more and more modern album covers are becoming more graphical and trying different ways to get the album noticed. 

Jason Derulo

Maroon 5

Coldplay

Muse

Keane

Creating Draft Shots

To get an idea of what shots we want to do at our upcoming video shoot we decided to do a few draft shots so that we'd be more prepared and so that we can block our video abit more and get an idea of what clip we want where.

Here are a few screen shots of examples of the video shoot. I have changed the brightness of each of the clips so the contrast is much higher between the colours and i also applied a black and white effect which mades the contrast stand out alot more and we will hopefully apply this to the actual footage to create a more dramatic effect. 

Magazine Advertisement Research

I have already created a draft paper version of what i hope my magazine advertisement will look like but i wanted to do some further research into how i could build upon these initial ideas and see what conventional magazine advertisements look like.

Here are a few examples of different adverts:

 As you can see this advert includes the album artwork, as most do. It also inlcudes some of the most famous songs and the record label which represent the artist.

 This one is slightly different as they have basically used the whole of the album cover in the poster. It includes the release date, the artist and album names. This one also includes the artist label.

This one again is a blown up version of the album artwork which makes the album instantly recogniseable. It includes the release date and where to buy it.

 Conventions to use:

• Album artwork incorporated
• Release date
• Famous songs on the album
• Where to buy
• Record label icon

Keeping in Touch

As we have quite sporadic time tables and we don't come together in school that often, besides media lessons we have decided to set up a Facebook group message where we can have discussions about what is going to happen in the commencing weeks and talk about filming and getting actors ready. This has been extremely useful and we are able to keep in touch constantly and we are able to help each other out if needed. 

Film shoot prep

Here are the preparation photographs from out video shoot earlier this week. 

As you can see there is an example of our costume and actor we wanted to see in the video next you can see two of the final set up. This was set up quite easily as we had permission to use the stands in the drama studio which we just put together as they were already at the location, there was also the musical instruments and amps. This was slightly more difficult as we had to lend the moving trolly from the caretaker(which we had arranged before hand) go upto the music department and set up all the equipment on the trolly and transport that upto the drama studio via the elevator.

Review of Everything

Now that i have began to edit the majority of the footage we have so far on iMovie we decided to review all the footage so that we had a clear idea of what we needed to do next in order to achieve our goals.

For now we have 2 or 3 more scenes to shoot, not including one re-shoot of the postcard scene.

First scene to be shot :

• Close ups of all the instruments being played to allow for more angles in the editing process

Second Scene(s):

• Miscellaneous scenes such as skyline, driving scene etc to fill film space and to create a better overall story.

Re-shoot:

• As our close up of the postcards didnt quite capture the text ones quite well we decided to re-shoot just the text postcards so we can incorporate them into the film.

Health & Safety

For our upcoming shoot our most important thing to consider is definitely health and safety. We take this role very seriously and want to act  as professional as we can whilst doing this video shoot. 

When filming there is a lot of things going on in our mind e.g rushing and watching for hazards. Meaning the risk can increase. To ensure we follow health and safety procedures there are three steps we need to process through. 

• Identify all the hazards
• Evaluate the risks
• Identify measures to control the risks

Organising filming shoot

So we are organising our second film shoot, this photo shoot will be our main musical scene of the band actually playing and singing the song. 

We have already asked the actors and musicians who are going to be in our photo shoot and they are free when we want to shoot, we have also discussed the time and date with both the music department and drama department so we can use their space and equipment.


Shoot: 

• Time:  1:15pm - 3:00pm, This gives us plenty of time to set up before the shoot to get the set properly organised and readied.
• Location: The location is our drama studio as there is lots of light equipment and space to shoot the scene adequately and play around with some effects we like. 
• Actors Ready?: Actors are ready and know the song enough to film, we have also organised a time that works for both the location and the actors
• Equipment Ready?: The equipment is ready to be borrowed from the music department for our organised time and date. 
• Costume: The costumes we have organised with the actors as being T-shirt and Jeans we like this look as it is quite casual and makes it seem like a real shoot. 

Looking at Digipak's

For the brief we also have to produce two other items from the bands promo package, this includes a digipak. I decided to do some further research into what different digipaks look like and how different bands design their logo's and album covers.

Firstly here is a template for a digipak. 

Here are some more digipaks i found:

I like these digipaks because they are quite inventive and creative.

Shoot Review(Close up PC)

Our third shoot went well and we got some really good shots to work with. Firstly we decided to not use the tripod and do all the filming free hand which makes it more casual and free flowing. We also wanted to do close up shots so we could maybe use them as an insert shots. 

Here are some screen shots from our second shoot:

As you can see these shots are a lot more close up and show the postcards off well. We will film some more shots like this so that we have more film to work with when it comes to our post production. 

Film Shoot

For our second shoot we wanted to do close ups of the postcards rather than people holding them up to the camera. This gives us more footage to work with. We also think this is a nice idea to really emphasise the images and text on the cards. Having more footage to work with is good as you are able to really experiment and play with the film more, you are less limited to what you can do. 

Shoot Review

Today we finished filming the first scene of our music video. This was the postcard scene. As Kyle was in a meeting me and max were in charge of the shoot. We filmed on the gardens outside of school, so we could get alot of natural light, we also filmed extra shots to ensure we would have enough film to play around with. Here are some screen shots of the footage we gathered. 

First Shoot

Today we organised our first photoshoot, as we recently printed out the postcards to use in our video we decided to film the scenes of people holding our cards tomorrow. This is going to take place from 12:15 to 1:15. We have discussed renting the camera out for that hour and borrowing the tripod to use. We have also agreed with all our extras that are available during that time when they are going to film and where. 

Band Equipment

We are going to need to borrow equipment in order to film our band music scene. To do this we have asked permission from our schools music teacher to borrow the equipment for our specific time and date of our shoot. 

Researching techniques

We researched into some techniques that we liked. One that really stood out was the "stop motion" use in Adam's Song by Blink 182, where you go into a picture and everything is slowed down and took with singular shots then put together to make a good effect.
Here is the video:

Band Costume

For our music video we have decided that Kyle would be best to organise the costumes and props, as he is connected to the drama department and knows due to his drama skills how to properly pick and design a good set. We all discussed how we wanted our actors to look and what effect this brings. We final decided on a casual look as we want it to look very realistic. So, we chose a band tee a very casual look which many artists use in their videos. We also chose jeans and smart shoes, a common look which many people wear and can relate to. 

Creating a storyboard

We needed a storyboard to show what scenes we were going to do and what locations. We also needed a list of people who were willing to participate in our work as extras so we wrote a list of names and ticked them off as they agreed. This is just a draft storyboard that we can change and adapt to fit our video.

Postcards

For our music video i created postcards for the actors to use here are some examples.

Creating Postcards

For our music video we decided to create some postcards to get people to hold up as insert shots. We saw this on a video and we really liked the effect  as it felt more real. Here are some of the postcards we created. As i had the most experience in editing the group put me in charge of the project and they consulted me on what designs they thought were best.

Creating our logo

We wanted to make a brand for our company to really encompass it as a whole. 

Here is the logo we created. 

Organising Actors

Organisation is key for this brief, we need to ensure we manage our time effectively so we can complete the task. We need to set out clear deadlines so each member of the group know what should be completed by what date to ensure that we all as individuals complete our own tasks and that as a whole we achieve our goals.

Things that need to be decided:

• Ask our friends Henry (guitar), Will(singer) and Adam (guitar/bass) to be apart of the music video, and then ensure they learn the song well enough so they can perform it sufficiently. (Kyle is the drummer)
• Set a date for the first filming shoot, this will be the studio in our school, this is because we can easily set up a band scene and we can add lighting easily to make it more dark and dramatic.
• Complete our storyboard so we know exactly what scenes we are shooting
• Begin individual ideas for extra tasks

Target Audience

Its very important for us to know who our target audience is and how we can attract them to our product otherwise they wont buy it. For our music video we have decided that our target audience would be around 13-19 years old and would be predominantly be female. This is because the indie pop genre is dominated by female fans and teenagers. We have attracted our audience by choosing an all male band much like Jack's Mannequin, we have also attracted them by picking an upbeat and popular song. 

Rule of Thirds

During our AS studies we researched the rule of thirds in relation to our music magazine photoshoot. But now we can apply our knowledge to filming.

Here is an example of how you could use rule of thirds for a shot. 

This keeps everything in proportion for the shot. It works as imaginary lines drawn into the shot which split the frame into thirds. 

Advertisement Research

For our brief we also have to produce a magazine advertisement for the bands digipak. Here are some examples i found:

As you can see all the ads feature the album cover, this is a good feature as they know what to look out for if they want to buy it. Also, most of the ads feature examples of the songs from the album, this is useful to show the audience some of the more well known songs from that artist. They also all feature the date the album comes out.

Digipak Research

For the brief we also have to produce two other items from the bands promo package, this includes a digipak. I decided to do some further research into what different digipaks look like and how different bands design their logo's and album covers.

Firstly here is a template for a digipak. 

Here are some more digipaks i found:

I like these digipaks because they are quite inventive and creative.

Permissions Letter

I have been planning my filming and time management, while during lesson's I have been researching for music suitable for my Music Video. After research predominately using iTunes and YouTube I chose Dark Blue written by Jack’s Mannequin as the song is copyrighted I had to contact Maverick Record Label asking for permission to use the music.

Re:     The Oldershaw Academy 

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am constructing a Music Video for my OCR A2 media coursework 

We understand that you are the owner of the copyright in the musical composition “(Name Song” and would like your permission to include the song in the advert.  

The song will not be used for public use and there is no intention to make any profit from the song. It is simply to support my OCR coursework and the audience is limited for education purposes only

Your signature below, under “confirmed by,” will indicate that you will agree to permit this use without payment of a fee.  Please let us know if you have any questions concerning this license.  Also would you please let us know as soon as possible if this song cannot be licensed so that artistic changes may be made in the songs to be included in the production.  You can reach us in care of:

Mike Liddell

The Oldershaw Academy ,

Valkyrie Road,

Wallasey,

Wirral

CH45 4RJ

0151 638 2800

or

irwinmedia2@gmail.com

Thank you for your help with this matter and we look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely,

Rhya Irwin, Irwin Media.

M.G. Liddell                                               Mr M.G. Liddell

                                                                        Senior Deputy Head Teacher

                                                                        & Media Department

Assigning Group Roles

Production Roles on your Film Set

Essential Crew Members 

Director: responsible for making artistic decisions about the film
We decided that i would be the director as i have the most experience in media, although we would all input into the creative process

1st Assistant Director: assists the director and organises the film shoot

Camera Operator: responsible for recording the shots with the camera
We decided that Max would be the camera operator as he is good at the technical side of things

Grip: responsible for carrying heavy camera equipment or tripods 

Runners: responsible for any jobs or errands the director or 1st assistant director needs doing

Extra Crew Members Clapper Loader: responsible for logging completed shots and using the clapper board! 

We are all going to take on the responsibility of grips, runners and extra members.

Continuity: Responsible for any jobs or errands the Direstor or 1st Directorbneeds doing

We are all going to make sure the continuity is good and clear

Art Department: responsible for props and set design  We decided that me and kyle would be best suited to the art and design of the set as i do art and kyle does drama. 

2nd Assistant Director: responsible for looking after the actor. We would all take on this responsibility

Actors: responsible for performing or appearing in front of the camera 

Extras: responsible for appearing in crowd scenes

Wardrobe: responsible for costumes, hair and make-up. Kyle will be in charge of this role as he is connected to the drama department.

Security: responsible for keeping the set clear from passers-by or interruptions

Sparks: responsible for setting up extra lighting if you have it  and making sure it is safe!

Sound Recordist: responsible for monitoring the sound levels and recording on set if you have an external microphone

Boom Operator: Hold the external microphone so it can't be seen on shot.