Filming- Day 4

We decided to use today to film some of the key shots between mine and Josh's characters. 

Date: 26th of January

Locations: 

Ogmore beach
Heronstonlane

These shots represent the end of the relationship between mine and Josh's characters.  We chose to go on a windy day, as it created the dark atmosphere that we wanted. The bad weather conditions and the waves mirror the feelings of the characters in the shot. We decided to film some establishing shots of the sea itself, as we felt that it was very fitting to the mood and atmosphere of the piece as a whole. 

In these shots, I chose to wear all black as these are the final moments of our relationship. The dark colours represent the attitudes of my character towards her relationship with Josh. She feels trapped and unhappy, outwardly shown by her dark appearence.

We chose to include an argument scene in our music video. We believe that including this scene would allow the audience to truly gain an understanding of the breakdown of the relationship between the pair. We chose to film in from a high angle in order to display my character feeling trapped and lost in her relationship. It makes me look small and the relationship insignificant, showing her true lack of interest in the relationship as a whole.

After filming at the beach, we went to film the argument scene between mine and Josh's characters. We decided to film the main body of this scene using a down angle shot. We did this as it allowed for all aspects of the argument to be clearly displayed within the shot. The use of this shot also symbolises the lack of connection that the couple truly shares. We chose to

The use of this medium shot symbolises my character finally breaking away from the relationship she has felt trapped in. The idea of Josh's character standing small in the background is symbolic for her feelings for him and their relationship. My character physically walking away from Josh is symbolic of her walking away from her past and what makes her unhappy. 

Applying Goodwin's theory to our music video

Album inspiration

When I first began researching album covers, this one really stood out to me due to its positioning and the colours used. The central position of Bowie in the forefront of the cover isolates him and makes him appear lonely. This is a look I wish to achieve in my album cover as it follows the narrative of our video. In this cover, I also really like the use of colour.  As much of our music video follows the idea of my character working out her sexuality, I like the idea of using colour on my album cover to signify this.

 Similarly to the first cover, I really like the positioning and use of colour in this cover. The positioning of the character isolates her against the plain background, allowing her to stand out. The presentation of her from the back creates mystery in the cover, a feature that I would like to include in my own album cover. In contrast to the first cover, I like the use of black and white here as it adds to the mystery behind the cover. As much of my music video is in black and white, this is feature that I would like to include in my album cover.

This album cover is very eyecatching due to the use of bright, bold colours. I really want to incorporate colour in my album cover as it would resemble my character finally accepting herself for who she is. Similarly to the other covers, I really like the positioning of the main feature in the frame as it once again allows them to stand out from the background that they are on.

This is my favourite album cover out of the ones featured. I really like the simplicity of the cover due to the positioning of the main feature. I wish to incorporate this same idea of isolation of the main featuire on the cover in my design as I believe the simplicity of the design would help to draw people in.






Similarly to the previous album cover, I really like the positioning of this album art. The position of the main focus in the centre of the frame but placed in the distance creates a mystery around the cover. I also really like the contrast between the colours in the sky compared to those at the bottom of the frame and I will take inspiration from this in my own album cover.

Digipaks

What is a digipak?

A Digipak is a style of packaging used for CD's. They are typically made from card stock with a plastic insert to hold the disco in place. The most common style is the 4 panel digipak that is designed to open up in the same way you would open a book. Digipak's with higher numbers of panels are also available as they provide more room for artwork to be included in the product. Digipak's give the CD an expensive and professioal look in order to entice the consumer. Digipak's will include well designed album artwork and will be protected with specialist printing finishing options including matte, lamination and embossing.

Digipaks used to be a viewed as a limited edition of an album as they were sold in far lower quantaties and at far higher prices. Due to developments in use and ease of technology, digipak's are now more widely available than ever.

Features

• They usually have a gatefold like a book, allowing for more room for graphic art to be displayed
• They can have multiple panels, ranging from a simple 4 panel to an 8 panel set

Examples of Digipaks

The advantages of digipaks

There are many different advantages of selling albums in the form of digipaks

For the industry..

• Companies are able to charge more for selling digipaks than for the standard CD
• More creative freedom
• Being economically friendly encourages a good view of the company

For the consumer...

• Can be a collectors item
• Often include bonus features such as videos, pictures and bonus tracks
• Less likely for damage of the disk to occur

Changing our song...

Once we began to edit our music video together, we noticed that the footage that we had put together didn't seem as though it belonged to the song we had chosen. The sound and visual did not seem to match up very well and we really weren't happy about the outcome of our initial attempt of editing.

Whilst choosing our initial song, we struggled choosing between our top two choices. Our second choice was a song called 'Sorry' by the band Nothing but thieves. The song talks about an individual battling their inner deamons and eventually finding it within themselves to ovecome them. We felt that this was very fitting for our storyline as the song does not specify exactly what the individual is facing, leaving the song open to interpretation. The lyrics to the song are pictured below.

Sorry- Nothing But Thieves lyrics

You might kill me with desire
Wind me tighter than a wire
It's something that you do to me
I run away like mercury

And I know you think it's rough
When you're try'na patch us up
And I say honey what is love?
You just say I drink too much

Maybe I'm defective
Or maybe I'm dumb
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done
Maybe I'm bad natured
Or maybe I'm young
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done

And I'm the t-shirt that I wear
Pick the thorns out of my hair
I broke your heart so carelessly
But made the pieces part of me

And now it hurts what we've become
'Cause you taught me how to love
It's me who taught you how to stop
And you just say I drink too much

Maybe I'm defective
Or maybe I'm dumb
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done
Maybe I'm bad natured
Or maybe I'm young
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done

I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I been waiting so long

I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I've waited for this
I'm ready for it
I been waiting so long

Maybe I'm defective
Or maybe I'm dumb
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done
Maybe I'm bad natured
Or maybe I'm young
I'm sorry, so sorry for what I've done

.

Existing A level digipaks

In order to seek inspiration for my own digipak, I chose to research some existing A level digipaks that were completed by students at the same level as myself.

 I really like the overall design of this digipak. They have followed the same theme throughout all of the images featured, creating a slick design. It is quite simplistic but effective due to the colour scheme used. I really like the design of the front cover of the album as it is unique and creative. This design however is only a 4 panel digipak. The digipak I am going to create will be a 6 panel design.

I really like the design of this digipak as it is very similar to what I wish for mine to look like. The images and styling of all of the seperate panels all link together, creating an overall theme and look for the digipak. I wish to do this when creating my digipak as I believe that it will make the overall product more attractive to potential customers.

I really like the design of this digipak however, there is not very much continuity in its design. The font of the title changes and the colour schemes are quite different on each panel. When creating my digipak, i will put a lot of focus into the continuity of my design in order to make it as attractive and professional looking as possible. 

Iconic album covers

Whilst carrying out my research into digipaks and album covers, I decided to look into some iconic album covers in order to gain inspiration for my own. 

The Beatles hold title to owning some of the most famous album art in history. Their use of bright colours and quirky designs is what makes them unique, allowing them to become eyecatching for the consumer. The art used for their album 'Sgt Pepper's lonely hearts club' is a very famous example, becoming popular due to the broad use of bright colours. The busy frame creates an interesting image, allowing viewers to become interested, encouraging them to wish to learn more.






It is very popular for bands and artists to feature themselves on their album covers, as it allows the album to be recognised easily. This second album cover is also a very recognisible example from the Beatles. As the cover was shot on the famous Abbey road, this album art has become a very popular image for fans to recreate. Doing this created an interest around the album which encouraged people to wish the listen to the album.

It is a very popular concept for the artist to be the main and only focus of their album cover. The cover for David Bowie's album 'Aladdin Sane' features Bowie's picture in the direct centre of the frame. This central positioning of the artist allows consumers to instantly recognise the album as belonging to him, instantly attracting fans. The placement of his image on a plain background allows him to stand out within the frame. I really like the use of colour in this album art. It is subtle and discreet yet adds a lot of depth to the cover as a whole.

This album cover of the album 'Queen II' by Queen is one of the most famous pieces of album art in history. The main image is a shot taken from their Bohemian Rhapsody video that is not actually included on the album itself. I really like the central positioning of this cover and the simplicity of the album name. The placement of the image over a plain back background allows the band members to truly stand out within the centre of the frame.







This iconic example of album art is very different to the others displayed above. This is largely due to the fact that the artist is not included on their own album cover at all. Instead, the band Green day chose to use a graphic design that closely relates to the contents of the lyrics featured throughout the album. I really like this album cover design as its simplicity makes it unique and eye-catching for its consumers.

A brief history of album covers..

The history of album covers

1910-  records replaced the phonograph cylynder as the main method of distributing music. These records were issues in both 10 and 12 inch sizes, and were usually sold seperately in brown paper or cardboard sleeves. These sleeves often included a circular cutout on the front, allowing the CD to be seen. The packagaing was usually plain however, it was sometimes printed with the artist or producer's name on the front.

1920- bound collections of empty sleeves were sold as 'record albums' that customers could use to store their records. These sleeves often included a leather or paperboard cover and were sold in both 10 and 12 inch sizes.

1930- Producers started distributing collections of records by one artist or of similar music genres. These collections often included a selection of popular songs of the time, related songs by similar artists and also complete symphonies.

1940- Columbia records hired Alex Steiweiss as its first art director. When discussed, he is often credited as the creator of album art. Many major labels soon followed with paper covers and original designs. The term ‘album’ was soon used to describe the 12” long playing records and by the 1950’s, they became the standard format for albums.

1960- A rise in the use of album art to express the genre behind music was seen during this time period. This was due to the dramatic rise in popularity of psychedelia in the mid 60s, with artists producing quirky, elaborate designs for their albums. An example of this is The Beatles, 'Sgt Peppers.'

1980- Larger artists became more familiar with the idea of creating an album cover, as it allowed them to express themselves and to create a mood for their music. Artists began using the idea of photography whilst creating their album covers. 

Album covers and art have ever since continued developing and changing, allowing artists to become creative with their work to produce a physical product, alongside the music presented on their album itself.